“Good evening, ma’am.” The valet nodded at Nick. “Mr. Kent.”
“Hey, Kyle.”
The young man looked at Jannie with curiosity. “Welcome to SSD.”
She took his proffered hand and slid down as gracefully as she could. “Thank you.”
Nick tossed him the truck key before opening the back door to retrieve a suit jacket.
“How is everything?” he asked, shrugging into it and fastening the top button.
“You know it’s great.” Kyle grinned. “You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.”
“You deserve it.” Nick gave him a benevolent smile. “Full house tonight?”
“Yes, sir. We’re waiting on one more couple, and then we close the doors.”
“Good.” He discreetly handed Kyle a folded bill. “Take care of her.”
“Always.” Kyle ran a loving hand over the Tahoe’s fender, then jogged around to climb into the driver’s seat. “New leather! Sweet!” He grinned at Nick and drove off with a jaunty salute.
“What was that about?” Jannie asked.
“He’s been after me to sell him my truck. I found one like it for him.”
“That was nice of you.”
He made a dismissive gesture. “I did it for myself, too. Got tired of being pestered.”
The music boomed louder and louder as they approached the entrance, and Jannie gripped Nick’s arm a little tighter as the massive arched doors opened, and two doormen stepped aside to allow them in.
People.
So many, many people.
It looked like one grand party, and thankfully, everyone was dressed. And very elegantly, she observed. Had she not known what this place actually was, she would have thought she’d entered a lavish gathering at someone’s mansion.
Her shoulders sagged with relief as her gaze swept across the room, taking in the subdued atmosphere, with patrons holding cocktails and flutes of bubbly champagne or eating hors d’oeuvres from small plates. Men smiled, clearly doing their best to impress, while women openly flirted. Yet beneath that was a charge, something electric and thrilling that she couldn’t quite define, and she sensed these people were sizing each other up.
The music was loud enough to drown out nearby conversations, yet it inevitably brought people closer if they wanted to hear one another.
“First impression?” Nick asked.
Jannie watched a man take a woman’s hand and bring it slowly to his lips. “Not at all what I expected.”
He chuckled, looking down at her with amusement. “And what exactly did you expect?”
“Not, um, this.” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from a middle-aged couple, deep in conversation, their gazes locked, she looking up at him adoringly.
Nick lowered his head to speak directly in Jannie’s ear. “Leather garter belts and harnesses? Cupless fetish sets?”
Yes.
Jannie shuddered at the images his words conjured and at the feel of his lips so close to her, his warm breath fanning her cheek.
He lowered his voice. “Spanking skirts, maybe?”
What the fresh hell was a spanking skirt?
