Page 2 of Wicked Player

Like Tristan promised, everything was the same. The chair in the corner that looked perfect for a Sunday afternoon lounge with a glass of wine and a good book was more deceptive than it appeared. It curved and dipped, making sex on it absolutely delicious.

I’d been with a partner there once. The positions required more intimacy than I typically experienced. Not for lack of want, but connection.

I skipped my eyes over it to the corner where the St. Andrew’s Cross had been. In its place was a large potted plant, which explained the soft lilac scent.

Only Tristan would take away a sex toy and replace it with a pot of fresh flowers.

The scent was soothing and I glanced away as quickly as I’d seen it. The memories of last time weren’t going to enter my mind. I moved to the bed and sat down at the foot of it. It was high and my toes brushed gently over the lush cream rug. This was my time. My night. This was the night I took periodically, solely for me, seeing to my own needs and I had my own routine.

As butterflies swarmed low in my stomach, I kicked off my heels and flexed my feet, brushing them over the carpet. For two years I’d done this very same thing, flexing and relaxing my hands, rolling my shoulders.

I inhaled slowly, counted to five, and blew out each breath through my lips. The lilac scent invaded, soothed me easily, and soon I was ready.

I opened my eyes and removed my clothes. Folding them methodically, I set them on top of a small dresser along with my shoes. No man I’d ever been with asked me to do this, but the process helped prepare me and get me in the right frame of mind.

For not the first time, it occurred to me how odd I was. I was controlled in every single moment of my day from pre-planned outfits to a strict cleaning schedule. Yet when it came to sex, I could only enjoy it when there was the danger and darkness, pain and pleasure. I threw myself into situations many considered reckless and yet I still knew the truth.

With one word able to fall from my lips, I held all the control. There was safety and security in the word “red.” One I’d only used once.

With my clothing removed, I unclasped the white lace bra. The cool fabric scraped deliciously over my hardening nipples as it fell to my hands. It left me in only the matching thong and I re-took my seat at the edge of the bed.

The blindfold was within reach and I slid it over my eyes.

By my count, I had a minute before the door opened.

So I took the time. Breathed slowly. Rolled my shoulders. My neck. Relaxed the tension in my body.

And prepared.

Two

Gage

“She is not just a member. She’s special. Be good to her.”

My brows arched at Tristan’s quiet but clear warning. I’d been coming to Velvet for three years, finding it almost a year after being traded to the Rough Riders from St. Louis. He hadn’t spoken to me like this after the general rule reminders when I first began.

I already thought it odd he caught me outside the door to the room I preferred. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Something I need to know?”

“The lady in there…Beth…she’s been a member a long time. Left for a few months after an unsavory incident—”

“Injured?” I balked. “You didn’t tell me this.”

Shit. A woman who’d been injured in a club like this could be damaged. It was where trust was ultimate. If she didn’t have that in the club…or me…

“Non, not physically. She stopped it. She also took a break but if she wasn’t perfect for what you desire, I wouldn’t have had her come in.”

“I’m her first?” My spine prickled. This went from bad to worse. “Tristan.”

“It will be well. I’m simply reminding you to be good to her. She’s strong and if I had doubts, I wouldn’t have called her.”

This had disaster etched into the walls. “Maybe you should find someone else.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“But now I’m not sure I’m comfortable.” The verylastthing I needed in my life was a woman claiming I beat her. It’d not only ruin my career and my reputation but my family’s.

Tristan grinned. I respected the hell out of the way he and his partner Joel ran their business, but this pushed the edges of my comfort zone. That grin was a tease on his otherwise serious expression. “Trust me, you’ll be comfortable. Go see her. You don’t feel what she can give you after a few minutes, you can end it, and I’ll explain it to her.”

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