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Chapter One
“Here’s to the birthday girl,” Jillian announced, lifting her margarita glass in a toast. “Enjoy your day. You’re never going to be this young again.”
Stephanie Randall laughed in agreement and clinked her own cocktail to the other five raised in her honor. Taking a sip, she glanced at her closest girlfriends seated around her at the Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego, so grateful to have each and every one of them in her life.
“You all know how to make a girl feel special,” she said, her heart overflowing with affection for these women. “Thank you for taking the time out of your hectic lives, especially on a Saturday afternoon, to take me to lunch to celebrate my birthday, even though we’ll be meeting up again later this evening at The Players Club.”
“I can’t wait for tonight,” Paige said enthusiastically, who’d recently had a baby and always looked exhausted as she tried to juggle her custom corset business, a toddler, and home life. “I’m so ready to have some alone time with my husband. I told Sawyer to book the Tarzan-themed room for this evening, because I miss his ropes.”
Paige’s husband, Sawyer, practiced the art of Shibari, and his wife clearly enjoyed his brand of artistic rope bondage and riggings.
Raina grinned, her eyes dancing playfully. “Someone is going to get all tied up tonight,” she said in a light, singsong voice.
“Damn straight I am,” Paige said with a decisive nod. “And no fussy, teething child to interrupt the sublime pleasure of being the sole focus of my husband’s attention.” Her expression turned dreamy at the thought.
“Here, here!” Kendall agreed, since she, too, had a little one at home and understood Paige’s difficulty getting quality time with her hubby. “I’m surprising Jase with the Beauty and the Beast-themed room. That whole forced-captivity fantasy is so freaking hot.” She fanned herself with her hand.
Stephanie was incredibly proud of those private, provocatively themed suites she’d created specifically for The Players Club, which were far more erotic than the elegant, whimsical, and romantic bedroom concepts she usually designed for her regular clients. She smiled to herself, remembering how much fun it had been to seduce her now fiancé, Mac, in each of those rooms as she’d finished them. Taking on the massive project had been the catalyst to Mac finally giving in to his desire for Stephanie. Now, a little over a year later, she was engaged to the man of her dreams with a wedding fast approaching, and she couldn’t be happier.
Paige sighed as she reached for the bowl of tortilla chips on the table and scooped one into the salsa. “Between work, babies, and doting on our significant others, most of us are insanely busy these days. We really need to make room in our lives for this kind of girl time more often.”
“I agree,” Raina said, swirling her slushy margarita around in her glass. “I miss our Cocktails and Cocks get-togethers.”
Stephanie grinned at the name they’d dubbed their monthly girls’ night out back in the day when they’d all been single and had no idea The Players Club even existed. Those fun get-togethers had consisted of alcoholic beverages, which made ranting about men who were jerks and their own lack of good sex the featured topic—though they could always count on Raina to recommend something kinky from her upscale adult boutique, Sugar and Spice, to make up for those lack of orgasms.
“Well, most of you got married to great guys who are equally generous about sex and orgasms, so it made our original reason for Cocktails and Cocks null and void,” Stephanie pointed out.
Jillian—the oldest of the group and Stephanie’s right-hand woman at her fantasy bedroom design firm—arched a dark brow. “Another three weeks, and you’ll be right there with the rest of us.”
Yes, married to my own sex god of a man, Stephanie mused with a private smile.
“Which will leave me the old maid of the group,” Summer said wistfully, who’d been quiet until now. “You all are so lucky to have found the one.”
“You’re twenty-five and hardly old,” Paige said, putting her hand on Summer’s, who was a good friend and also managed her corset shop. “When you least expect it, the right guy will come along and sweep you off your feet.”
Summer rolled her eyes dubiously. “I’ve been waiting, but my patience is wearing thin.”
“Trust us,” Raina said with a soft smile. “The right guy is worth waiting for.”
Even though it was Stephanie’s birthday, she had a special gift for Summer that would hopefully change the other woman’s single status. Summer was the only one in their group who hadn’t been to The Players Club yet, and at the moment, she believed she wasn’t going to be a part of the evening’s festivities since she wasn’t a member. It took an invitation for anyone new to walk through the doors of the mansion, and since Stephanie had an in with the owner, who was also her fiancé, she’d decided it was time for their last friend to experience all the pleasures The Players Club had to offer.
Their lunch orders arrived, and while they ate their various Mexican dishes, the girls chatted about Stephanie’s upcoming wedding, wanting to know how everything was coming together. Despite it being a small, intimate venue with only family and close friends, it had been a lot more work and planning than she’d anticipated, even with the help of a wedding coordinator.
When they were finished eating and their dishes cleared away, Stephanie opened her birthday presents and was showered with spa items, lingerie, a beautiful Tiffany bracelet from Jillian, and of course, the latest and greatest sex toys from Raina that had each of the girls wanting to
check out those particular gifts.
“This was such a lovely afternoon,” Stephanie said happily as she set the last gift bag aside. “You all have spoiled me. But as much as I’d like to hang out a bit longer, I have an appointment with my hair girl in about a half hour.”
“We completely understand,” Paige replied, then winked at Stephanie. “We’ll see you tonight at the club for a different kind of birthday celebration.”
Stephanie grinned. “Yes, you will.”
Mac had insisted they invite their small group of friends to the VIP area of The Players Club for a drink and birthday cake before everyone went their separate ways, to do their own thing. Her fiancé had also informed her that her present was at the mansion, in his private suite, actually, which meant it was most likely some kind of addition to the playroom they’d built there together with all their favorite items. Stephanie was beyond curious to know what he’d gotten her, because for the first time in a very long time, Mac had seemed uncertain and a bit nervous about this gift of his.
“I hope you all have fun tonight,” Summer said, trying not to sound disappointed that she was the only one in the group who couldn’t attend. “I wish I could be there, too.”
“So do we,” Stephanie said as she retrieved her handbag, completely aware that the other four women—who she’d told about her plans to include Summer this evening—were watching the younger woman avidly, anxious to see her reaction to Stephanie’s impromptu gift.
“This is for you.” After withdrawing the coveted pristine white envelope from her purse, Stephanie gave it to Summer, who initially eyed the offering with confusion, until Stephanie explained. “Consider me your fairy godmother, because I’m granting you an invitation to The Players Club for tonight.”
Summer’s mouth fell open in shock, then closed again as she accepted the envelope, which had the word Welcome embossed in black across the front. “Is this for real?”
Stephanie and the other women at the table laughed at Summer’s disbelief. “Yep, one-hundred-percent real. I happen to be sleeping with the owner, and I know exactly what it takes to get something I want out of him,” she teased with a wink.
Summer shook her head, still trying to process the fact that she was finally going to The Players Club. “Thank you. I’m so excited,” she said, her voice now reflecting that enthusiasm. “Oh, wow, I need to go buy something sexy to wear!”
“There’s something else you need to do.” Stephanie handed Summer a slip of paper with a website URL, a user name, and a passcode that Mac had created for vetting and approving new members. “Because it’s last-minute, you’ll need to go online as soon as you can and fill out some paperwork under the account I’ve already created for you. You’ll need to provide some personal information, sign a few standard disclosures and agreements, and most importantly, don’t forget to complete the form for your soft and hard limits, though you’ll also need to discuss those sexual preferences with anyone you might choose to play with tonight.”
