Page 39 of Obey

“No. I told you, Pyre’s an idiot. He used GPS to get there and I just looked it up while I was using his phone.” Nevaeh gets her own phone out and extends it in our direction. “That’s Pyre. I think it’s easy enough to pick him out in a crowd.”

I bite my lip to stifle a laugh. With his bright red fauxhawk, and equally pierced face, yeah, Pyre does stand out.

“Don’t pink and red clash?” Maddox asks, and the laughter I was holding in bursts out.

Nevaeh rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” She looks at the photo again and smiles. “He’s an idiot, but he’s mine. And I’m tired of waiting for those fuckers to send him into a situation he’s not going to come home from.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Maddox says, sounding considerably more sober at that. “All right?”

I pocket the paper with the coordinates. “Let us know if we can do anything for you.”

“If you manage to fuck with the Gators, that’s payment enough for me.” Nevaeh stands up and glances at the dance floor below us. “Feel free to stay as long as you like. I told my brother you’re on the VIP list for tonight.” She gives us both a once over. “The private shows are nice, if you’re into seeing men and women tied up.”

“Right. Not that kind of club,” Maddox mutters under his breath. Louder, he says, “Thanks. We really do appreciate it.” He glances at me. “I’m tired. Let’s just go back to the hotel.”

The hotel, where we’d gotten two separate rooms with two separate beds, and I can just spend all night thinking about him being right next door.

“I’ll stay,” I say. “I could do with a nice performance. That’ll help me unwind from the long, stressful drive.”

“Would’ve been less stressful if you’d paid attention to the speed limits and stop lights,” Maddox retorts. “But it’s not safe for you to stay alone. We need to stick together.”

He’s right that splitting up is a bad idea.

But I don’t want to wallow in misery for however many hours it takes me to fall asleep. “It’s fine. I think I can handle myself. But if you’re worried about your own ass, sure, I’ll protect you.”

“I can take care of my own ass, thank you very much,” Maddox says, bristling.

“Oookay,” Nevaeh interrupts. “I’ll leave you two to your squabbling. Have fun, or not, or whatever.”

She walks off, leaving me and Maddox glaring at each other.

“I’m not going back to the hotel yet,” I growl. “There’s no reason not to have a little fun while I’m here.”

“Then we’ll stay,” he snaps back. “I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight as long as we’re in this fucking city. Got it?”

“If that’s what you want.” I stand up and head in the general direction Nevaeh had pointed in. Whatever kink shows are going on, they have to be better than thinking about Maddox.

There’s a small stage that’s sectioned off behind a curtain. There’s ample seating around various tables, and I slide into an empty one near the wall.

Up on the stage, a woman is tying up a man with bright red bondage rope.

Maddox follows me, slouching into the chair next to mine. His gaze follows mine to the stage, and I don’t know if I’m imagining his shiver or not.

Yeah, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind being the one tied up.

“Really isn’t a kink club,” he mutters, and I can’t miss the sarcasm in his voice even through the loud music.

“The sign was pretty clear! No sex on premises. No spanking or whipping either.” I stroke my beard and watch the stage. “I guess ropes aren’t sex.”

“Yeah.” Maddox goes quiet, but he leans forward when the bondage gets to be a little more intense.

It’s my turn to think about what he’d look like in that position. We hadn’t had the chance to play around with ropes and chains much back then, beyond bathrobe sashes and anything else we could find on hand.

The woman has tied the man to the chair, and she says something to him that makes him turn bright red. She turns to the audience to show off the knots she’d made, and I have to admit it’s a good design.

She pats the man on the head, then says, “I’m going to teach you how to do suspension bondage next. Any volunteers?”

Before I can grab him and stop him, Maddox stands up, raising his hand with a determined look on his face.

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