Her gaze swept the club, and then she looked back up at him and nodded.
“So what do you do here?” she asked him.
“Security. My brothers own the club. Sometimes I work here, sometimes I patrol our territory.”
A cry of pleasure rang through the air, and she twisted around to see the woman on the spanking bench jerking at her restraints and shuddering in orgasm. Flora’s eyes widened in surprise.
“So, your first time inside this kind of club?” he asked.
“What?” she said, with a look of mock hurt. “I thought I blended right in.” Then she glanced down at her blousy, figure-concealing outfit. “Maybe if I was wearing something tighter. And more revealing.”
“You’re fine just the way you are,” he said. At her self-deprecating laugh, he added, with more heat than he’d intended, “That panther who was hitting on you sure thought so.”
“I think the tequila might have helped him along a little bit,” she said. So, she was a hottie who had no idea how hot she was. That made her even more attractive.
“Anyway,” he said, pointing to the play area. “That is called a St. Andrew’s Cross. We also have the spanking benches and the whipping horse – those are very popular.”
“So I see,” she said, and then flushed in embarrassment and looked away quickly.
Finn stifled a groan. He was rock hard now, and every time he moved, the friction of his jeans rubbing against his cock threatened to send him over the edge.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate on the equipment in the club.
“That is an ob-gyn chair,” he continued. He pointed at a bed that dangled from four chains. “Floating bed.”
“So what are the rules?” she asked. “I mean, are there any rules?” She was watching a woman being bent over a pommel horse and spanked with a paddle.
“Absolutely. Consent is number one. Everyone has to establish a safe word before they start a scene. At any time during a scene, if they say the safe word, anyone else involved in the scene must stop immediately. And anyone who violates that will be removed from the club, permanently.”
“Oh.” The way her breath caught in her throat set his nerves on fire. “That sounds…safer than I thought it would be.”
“Do you think you’d ever want to try something like that?” Finn asked.
Her eyes widened at the thought. “I…I don’t know,” she said, her cheeks coloring. “I mean…being half naked in front of all those people?” She glanced self-consciously down at her body.
“You’ve got to stop that,” Finn growled. “If I were looking for a woman – which I’m not – you would be exactly what I was looking for. You. Your body. Exactly like you are.” Damn. How had that spilled out of his mouth?
“Why aren’t you?” she asked, looking him right in the eye and catching him off guard. He wasn’t used to frank questions like that. The type of women who hung out at the Lion’s Den generally didn’t want much more from him than what was in his pants, and he preferred it that way.
“Why not? Well, I… Bad experience in the past. I’m just not relationship material.”
She gave him a chiding look. “That sounds like an excuse. We all have bad experiences. But anyway, that’s your business, not mine.”
Before he could answer her, Jennifer walked up to him. “Hey, are you and your sub going over to the other side? Looks like the whipping station is free,” she said in a loud voice, right when there was a lull in the music. Everyone within earshot swiveled around to stare at them.
Flora’s cheeks flamed red. “I’m not with him. I should go,” she said quickly, and turned and hurried off, disappearing into the crowd. Finn moved to follow her, and found himself blocked by Jennifer, who’d accidentally slid in front of him.
Finn scowled at her. Where had that come from? He’d never been with Jennifer, he’d ignored her mild attempts at flirting until she’d stopped, and she’d never acted like she cared when she saw him with a woman. She’d never pulled a cock-blocking move like that before.
“What was that all about?” he demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I asked a simple question. Not my fault your weirdo friend freaked out,” she snapped, looking offended, and turned and hurried off through the crowd.
Finn was tempted to pursue her and demand an answer, but he let it go. He’d always tried to cut her more slack than he would anyone else. When she’d showed up at the Lion’s Den a few months after Marybeth’s death, he’d stepped in immediately. He’d gotten her a job and a place to stay. He’d spread the word that anybody who messed with Jennifer was messing with him.
But he’d also made it quite clear to Jennifer that he viewed her as a little sister, someone to be protected, and nothing more. She’d always been okay with that – hadn’t she?
With a growl of impatience, he hurried after Flora. What was she even doing here? She was in way over her head, both at this nightclub and in the Badlands in general.
