AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you could help out at the club tomorrow night?”
“Thursday?” The beginning of the week had flown. Probably because she wanted it to slow down.
Allyson had asked her about coming to the club when they had lunch yesterday, but she’d brushed it off, saying Gabriel was busy and she was tired. She wasn’t sure her friend believed her.
“Yes. Anthony Payne is doing a demo, and a lot of members have signed up to see it.”
Dani vaguely remembered seeing it on the club calendar. “Sure, I can help out. Anthony’s doing a demo with knives?”
“Yes, he’s a master with them. The members have been asking for a demo for a long time.”
“That will be interesting.” Her mood improved. She’d love to watch knife play. While they were a hard limit, she’d had some notes around knife play. Mainly she wanted to watch first and decide for herself if she wanted to try it. She was curious about how Anthony used them. “Do you want me there at seven-thirty?”
“Actually, can you be here at seven? I think people are going to show up early.”
“Sure. Anything else?”
Max stared at her. “Yes. Are you okay?”
“Fine.” She looked down at her clipboard.
“Dani.” Max’s voice was soft. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”
She lifted her head. “Thanks. It will be okay.” She smiled, but Max shook his head as he walked away. Her phone beeped, and she pulled it out. The last delivery for the job over at the Andersons’ had arrived. One more thing to cross off her list.
* * * *
Dani shifted from one foot to the other when Anthony took the stage. She’d gotten a good look at all the items he’d brought. Who knew so many things could be involved?
Allyson grabbed her hand. “Come sit down; Lara saved us space.” Allyson pulled Dani around the group and to one of the sofas at the front. She patted the empty cushion, and they sat down. Zeke and Colby sat on stools behind the sofa.
“Tonight, I’m going to talk about knife play,” Anthony said. “I want to tell you: I don’t draw blood. That’s not what knife play is about for me. Not about cutting or pain, just pleasure. It’s about the sensation of running different types of implements across one’s skin.”
Dani sat forward, intrigued.
* * * *
Gabriel walked into the club, feeling out of sorts. He wanted to blame it on dinner with his father, who talked about his upcoming marriage, number six, to his latest girlfriend. He shook his head; the dinner had seemed to go forever.
He wanted to get to the club and see Anthony Payne’s demo. Payne was a master with the knives, and while Gabriel didn’t choose to play with knives, he appreciated Payne’s artistry. Gabriel also knew Dani wouldn’t be there because knives were on her hard limit list.
What was he going to do about Dani? His father had droned on and on tonight about how, if this marriage didn’t work on, he’d move on again. Gabriel didn’t want to turn out like his parents, marriage after marriage. Yet he had to wonder if it would be different with Dani.
He shook his head. No sense in taking the chance. In the end, if he couldn’t commit to one woman, he didn’t want Dani to hate him. He’d rather end it now than have that. Hell, she probably hated him now.
Taking a deep breath, he slipped into the club, surprised by the number of people there. He had to move around the crowd to find a decent view.
“Anyone else from the audience like to try?” Payne asked.
Damn, he’d missed most of the demo. Oh well, there would be another time. Plus, he was sure Payne would stay around and answer questions. Several hands shot up, and Payne looked around, and said, “You” and pointed to someone sitting in front.
It wasn’t until he saw the woman mount the stage his heart stopped. Dani? Knives? Shit. He took step forward. A hand on his arm stopped him. Gabriel looked up at Max.
“Let go. Knives are on her hard limits list.”
“I know, but she chose to do this.” Max tightened his hold. “Let her be, Gabriel.”
