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At my growl, he chuckled.
“Relax, Papa Bear, I was going to say her fantasy bubble and send her home. You and I both know there is no way she is supposed to be within a thousand miles of this place.”
“And yet, here she is,” I said, motioning to the screen again. Pink and purple curls now concealed her face as her head was bent, the pen moving across the paper.
Nathan groaned, ran his hand through his hair, and then sat back in the chair, a grin slowing appearing on his face as he realized the truth of my words. “What do you need from me?”
That was the question I’d been waiting to hear. With a quick glance at my watch, I calculated the time it would take her to finish the questionnaire and added a few minutes for her leisurely tour across the play floor. Satisfied I had enough time to go over my plan, I flipped off the monitor, leaned forward and answered his question.
CHAPTER 2
Mia
Good grief. Who would ever have thought that just visiting a club for a night required so much paperwork? I sighed as I tapped the pen Jeanette had handed me against the papers held securely by the clipboard. I’d gone as far as to ask if this was absolutely necessary when I’d seen people entering, some stopping briefly at the desk, while a few simply waved or nodded in Jeanette’s direction and then disappeared around a corner. I’d managed to hear a few notes of music playing before it was silenced by the closing of what must be the entrance to the actual club. Revelation was as secure as Buckingham Palace. Well, it would be, with the addition of a few Royal Guards in full-dress uniforms and stoic expressions, standing absolutely still as they protected the place.
“Are you done?”
The question jerked my vision of sexy soldiers back to the cute woman who’d introduced herself as Jeanette. She was at least a head taller than me despite the added height my heels provided. She wore her chestnut hair in a high ponytail that swung every time she moved her head. Her eyes were bright as if finding true joy in her job, and her smile was genuine.
“Almost.” I gave another sigh before flipping to the next page. I suppose this was my own fault since I’d been the one to bring up limits. I attempted to ignore the butterflies in my stomach as I ran my eyes over the list of choices, not about to admit I couldn’t even define quite a few of them. And some of the ones I could brought up images that threatened to turn my face the color of my dress. Taking a deep breath, I told myself to pretend I was taking yet another exam. Randomly circling some and drawing a line through others, I quickly went through the remaining pages and flipped back to the first. The space where I was to give my name was still blank. Once I entered it, I knew the game might well be up. Granted, I was thousands of miles away from home, but all those warnings for the last twenty years were messing with my head. Though Jeanette hadn’t given any indication she recognized me, I couldn’t risk her seeing my given name and putting two and two together.
Damn it. Closing my eyes, I reminded myself I’d come too far to screw this up now, took a deep breath and opened them with a smile. I filled in the blank, and with a final flair, applied my signature to the bottom of the last page stating I gave my consent and agreed to all the rules of the club.
“Done!” I clicked the pen and stood.
“Now, that wasn’t too bad, was it?” Jeanette asked as she accepted the clipboard and pen.
“I guess not. I just expected to walk in and get right to it,” I admitted.
“Like I said earlier, the owners are quite serious about consent and safety. But now that the paperwork is done, the fun can begin.” She beckoned to someone behind me.
I turned to see another woman dressed identically to Jeanette step forward. I supposed the black skirt and white blouse was some sort of uniform.
“Hello, I’m Ginger. I’ll take over the desk while Jenny gives you a quick tour before taking you to the owner’s office.”
That was more like it! “It’s nice to meet you, Ginger.” I internalized the happy dance I so wanted to perform knowing I was finally going to see the heart of the club.
“You can leave your purse and coat in one of our lockers,” Jeanette said. She smiled and tapped a few keys on a tablet she held before extending it toward me. “Press your right index finger here.”
I hesitated. Was that the thing that would destroy the illusion I’d worked so hard to maintain? Would a fingerprint ring warning bells or set off some sort of alarm? Could it be a way for the owners to track a guest?
“I guarantee it’s perfectly secure,” Jeanette reassured me, evidently catching on to my reluctance. “It’s only to pair you with a locker for the evening. The link is instantaneous and the print is unattainable by anyone other than the club owners. One of our most important priorities is to keep the identity of our clientele private. Of course, if you’d prefer, you can keep your items with you, or I suppose I can ask?—”
“That’s not necessary.” In for a penny, in for a pound. I pressed my finger to the pad and heard a beep before, true to her word, the screen flashed and then went blank.
“Great. You’ll see why this is better than having to carry a key around. Your fingerprint is the key and makes the lock activate. It won’t open until you apply your finger to its pad, but you won’t have to remember any numbers or where the locker is.” She paused and smiled, giving a cute giggle and leaning closer. “I mean, if you’re able to do all that, then in my opinion, you haven’t, as you put it, spent enough time in the deepest end of that pool you jumped into.”
Jeanette led me to the adjacent locker room which held far too many rows of lockers for anyone to remember even if stone-cold sober and unaffected by an evening spent at the club.
“Now, all you have to do is press your finger to the main screen here.” She pointed to another pad mounted on the wall beside the door we’d entered. “Go ahead, try it.”
Remembering what she’d said, I pressed my fingertip to the pad and then turned to see a blue light blink on at the end of one of the rows. “Cool!” I let the light guide me until I could press my finger to the smooth pad on the lock. It gave a satisfying click and I stored my purse and coat inside.
“Perfect, and now you don’t have anything to keep up with. Are you ready to continue?” she asked.
“Very,” I answered, shoving the question of who she could have matched me with aside. This was my first time delving into any club so who was I to question how things were done. The fates had favored me thus far; I was trusting them to continue to do so.
That didn’t mean my mouth didn’t go dry at the same time my panties got wet when she opened the door and the music washed over me. I swore my heart beat faster than the bass playing while I tried my best not to look like a complete idiot as my brain tried to process all that I could see.
