Page 21 of Dare to Love Again

Chapter 6

USING THE REAR ENTRANCEfrom the parking garage, Keiran took the back stairs from the second floor to the administrative suite. Eric had left a message. He wanted a word. How the savvy owner knew he intended to be here, he did not know. He was weird that way, even more so since marrying Valerie who also had a sixth sense or clairvoyance or intuitive nature of some sort.

He regretted telling Jerry he’d take his DM shift tonight. Rossi kept him so busy he could work 24/7 and never get caught up. The four new men starting next week wouldn’t bring the deluge from their leaky dam down to a trickle. He needed a dozen more, maybe two.

He’d turned away three new cases this week alone. If he couldn’t guarantee results, he wouldn’t put the Rossi name on the line. What he wouldn’t give for a good old embezzlement case or something cut and dry like a black ops extraction where the mission was simple—infiltrate the stronghold, secure the target, and get out.

Keiran thanked the good Lord he had control of the security business rather than the club. If he thought he had problems, he couldn’t imagine the headaches and drama five hundred members could create when mixing sex, pain, and power exchange. Dupree could have it. He’d stick to working with a team of highly skilled professionals even when their prime objective was keeping filthy rich, often spoiled, celebrity clients safe. His men were no drama, caused minimal headaches, and at the end of the day, were happy to keep busy and collect their pay—which was considerable.

Once he hit the lower landing, he pushed the panic bar. The door swung back on its hinges with a bang—he cringed not having intended to tear up the place—then strode to Dupree’s open office door.

Standing behind his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, his business partner was waiting for him. “Stealth doesn’t appear to be your strong suit,” he observed wryly.

“When it’s called for, I’m as sure-footed and quiet as a panther. Getting called on the carpet by the master dom didn’t appear to require my cat-like qualities. What’s up?”

“I need a favor.” He picked up a file folder and extended it over his desk.

Keiran took it but didn’t open it. Instead, he looked back at Eric, puzzled. “You need me to run background? Tristan usually handles that for potential members. If he’s backed up, Jerry or Victor are fully capable. Or we can kick it to Jonas and his team.”

As soon as he suggested it, he silently nixed the idea. The San Antonio boys had bailed them out too often as the branch got on its feet. He’d run the check himself before asking.

“It isn’t a potential but a trial membership, and her three months are almost up. She’s a beautiful young widow who needs an experienced dominant to help her get back in the game.”

Ordinarily, that would have gotten his attention, but his plate was full and spilling over onto the table. And he didn’t see what the problem was; many single doms came to mind who’d be willing to take on such an assignment. Not him, not right now, however.

He waited for his friend to get to the point.

“I’d like you to handle her personally,” Eric added.

As he suspected. “I don’t have time to take on a project. Let me suggest Jerry or Victor, again.”

“I considered them, but I thought you might work better for her.”

He dropped the file onto the desk. “Sorry, I barely have enough time to enjoy a scene with a submissive I don’t have to handle with care.”

“You handle them all with care. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Why me? We’ve got at least one hundred unattached doms on our roll.”

Eric grimaced, not overtly, just with a slight flattening of his mouth. If he didn’t know the man so well, he’d have missed it. His hesitancy over disclosing the problem with the sub made him even more set to decline.

“Out with it, man. I’ve got three free hours and didn’t plan on conducting an interrogation.”

“She’s having trouble opening up. The doms she has rejected, nearly all the one hundred you mentioned, have nicknamed her Elsa.”

“Who?”

“You know, the Disney princess fromFrozen?”

He blinked, frowning before he drawled, “You’re kidding me, right? How the hell would I know anything about Disney princesses? A better question. How the hell do you?”

“Valerie has a seven-year-old niece, and I haven’t been living under a rock for the past two years. Regardless of how I know, earning the nickname of an ice princess at a sex club is problematic, don’t you agree?”

“What’s her problem, specifically?”

“In her time here, she hasn’t engaged once. Doms offer, she declines. Even the male subs have approached—nothing.”

“Maybe she’s into women.”

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