Page 3 of Private Exhibit
Devon sighed. He wasn't going to live long enough for that to happen. And even if he did live long enough, he knew perfectly well that nobody would want him.
Nobody had ever wanted him.
He almost slammed a fist down on the table in frustration.Damn it. It wasn't fair! He wanted to live. To feel alive. Especially after that attack, being so sure the end had finally come. He wanted to really feel his body. To know he was stillamongst the living. To really experience sights and sounds, smell and touch.
It sounded overwhelming and terrifying and glorious, all at once.
Devon closed the file, logged out of the Gentleman Hackers chatroom, and secured his computers before carefully standing up, testing his legs to make sure they could hold him.
“Oli?”
“Hmmm?”
Devon swallowed hard. “I'm going to the club.”
Oliver stopped what he was doing and went very still. After a moment, he slowly looked up, his eyes slightly widened and his jaw tense. “Dev…”
“You don't have to come with me this time,” Devon rushed to assure him. He knew Oliver would never want to set foot in that club again. It was the last place Dannika had been seen alive.
Oliver chewed his lip. “Are you sure?” He fidgeted. “Maybe…I could…wait outside?”
Devon shook his head. “I've gone to work on my own,” he reminded Oliver. Granted, he'd never once gone to the club by himself, too worried that an attack might come and there would be nobody willing or able to help him. With all the distractions there, it was entirely possible an attack would go unnoticed, and then it would be too late.
Still, Devon had to try. Even if all he managed to do was huddle against the wall and watch, it would have to be enough.
But—Gods!—he wanted so much more. Maybe, just this once, he might get lucky. Maybe someone would finally want to play with him. Touch him. Excite him. Make him feel alive in a way he'd never felt before.
The chances were slim at best, but he couldn't resist. He didn't want to die with so many things left unexperienced.
That night, he was determined to feel something new.
Chapter 2
ANDY GERARD had to be out of his mind.
He huddled against the wall of the main exhibition room in The Dungeon, a popular nightclub in downtown New Haven. This room used to be his playground. His domain. Then it had become the only break he allowed himself. Little moments snatched here and there over the years when his work got to be too much and he needed a chance to reset. A chance to clear his head and get some relief.
Gods knew he hadn't been able to get any relief at home.
Technically, he'd never cheated on Lydia. He'd never actually touched another person when he went to the club. Not that it really would have mattered, considering their marriage had been over before it ever really began, but still. Andy would merely sit in a chair and jerk himself off while any number of strangers watched. And so many had watched. Andy hadn't even had to look to know that subs zeroed in on him like magnets. He felt it. Hells, there had also been plenty of doms who stopped what they were doing and drooled over the sight of him pleasuring himself.
It had always been enough. Nothing had ever aroused him as much as having an audience, even if that audience was only one person. He'd wanted more, of course. So much more. And he'd had it, for a time, with Lydia.
Until he discovered her betrayal.
Andy winced. Twenty years, and it still hurt.
That was behind them now, though. It was all over. His marriage. His family. His work. Andy was free to move on. Had been for a few years.
But this was the first time since Junior died that he'd actually set foot in the club.
Gods. What am I doing here?Andy shook his head. He didn't deserve to move on. Didn't deserve to find someone new. He'd trusted and loved the wrong person, and then utterly failed to save his own son's life.
He deserved to be alone.
But his apartment was too quiet and empty. He'd felt like a caged animal, pacing the cavernous space and having nothing to do. So he'd come here on a whim, hoping.
Hoping for what? For true love to strike twice?Andy snorted a laugh. He wasn't that lucky. And it wasn't like Lydia had turned out to be true love, after all. True love didn't keep enormous secrets like she had done.
