“Kylee.” Myka didn’t know what to say. Christopher knew that she planned to leave the tour once her contract was up, but now didn’t seem a good time to announce this.
“I bet you think you’re going to marry him and then you’ll take off,” Kylee accused, her voice high and shaky. “I mean, look at the past few weeks! You haven’t bothered to even check on me at all. How can you say you care about what you do? You left me hanging.”
Myka felt guilty, and angry about feeling guilty; the way she felt guilty without need when a clerk followed her too closely in a jewelry store, watching everything she touched. “Kylee. You asked me to back off—told me that you and Christopher had things handled. When I knocked on your door or called you, you didn’t answer. I did try. Many times.”
“Not hard enough.” Kylee’s voice was tight. “Nobody tries hard enough. I’m sick of it. I mean, I’m, like, important here, right? This tour is a huge deal. Why can’t you try harder to help me?” She pulled open her laptop and typed furiously, bringing up a webpage. “Myka. Have you see this picture from Fashion Gossip?”
Myka looked, then did a double take. It was a picture of Gabriel in a tux, a tall blond woman on his arm dressed in a flowing evening gown and heels. Another picture showed them in an embrace, Gabriel’s lips brushing hers. A caption read, Local millionaire investor Gabriel Chevalier and his date, Armani model Flora Santini, cut it up at the Cancer Center Charity Ball after making their contribution.
“This was two weeks ago, Myka, when we were in Europe. I guess you guys have an open relationship? That’s cool. I could never handle that. Oh, here’s another recent one.”
Kylee typed, brought up another page; this one showed Gabriel and a gorgeous brunette—Rachel. Myka recognized her from the Topping from the Bottom article. They were deep in conversation, faces serious, bending together over a table in a coffee shop. Rachel was ridiculously beautiful, dressed impeccably… and hugely pregnant. Gabriel’s hand touched her face, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. The caption read, Gabriel Chevalier and old flame Rachel O’Reilly meet up to discuss growing events from their split nine months ago.
Kylee grew a crooked grin. “I hope this doesn’t, like, make you sad, Myka. Because you’re such a nice person. You totally deserve to have someone all to yourself, you know? Someone who doesn’t have a pregnant ex.”
There was a baby? Was it Gabriel’s? Myka felt vomit rise into her throat and made a gagging noise, put her hand to her mouth. She needed to get away from Kylee, who smiled at her with an odd grin.
Forcing the bile down, she managed, “Those pictures don’t mean anything. How about we get you some water before the doctor arrives?” Her hands trembled and she tried to still them, fighting back tears. Here she was, in love with him, and he’d been out with other women whenever she was out on tour, and the whole time he was spending time with his pregnant ex? Apparently ‘exclusive’ meant something different to him. Not to mention the using-her-like-a-whore thing.
Kylee said, “Guys will do that, you know, date around.”
Myka’s phone trilled: The doctor. After Myka took her up in the service elevator and left her alone with Kylee, she ran to her room to collapse on the bed and sob. In the middle of her misery, she realized there was no way Kylee could have found those websites on the fly; that meant she already knew Gabriel’s name, before she even asked, had already searched for his pictures. It didn’t make sense. And now Christopher was going to get all enraged again, once he found out about the doctor visit.
But right now she didn’t care about Kylee and Christopher—Gabriel filled her mind. Gabriel, who had never bothered to tell her about Rachel. He’d never asked Myka out to a charity ball, to a fancy event. No, they stayed home and… fucked. That was basically it. Myka thought about being his handy-dandy perpetual booty call, about his promise of love, and then his denial. About being humiliated by him at the club. About Flora and the charity.
When the phone rang she snapped it up. “What.”
There was a silence, then a woman’s voice said tentatively, “Myka?”
She cooled her tone. “Yes?”
“Hi. It’s Lili.”
“Oh, hi!” Myka forced a smile into her voice.
“So I know you probably didn’t expect this call, but I have something important to ask you. Dax and I went to talk to the new owner of Dark Sin when he came back from his trip, about Marcus. And he listened! Can you believe it? Marcus was banned for three months, and will be on probation if he returns.”
“That’s great. I hope it makes the place better.” Myka tried to give a single shit, but heard dispassion in her voice. At the moment, she wouldn’t care if Dark Sin burned to the ground. In fact, she was so angry that she almost wanted to go arson up Gabriel’s stupid club too, and incinerate it to ashes.
“Oh, it will. But I need a favor.”
“What is it?”
“So we told the owner about Marcus’ behavior toward you, and he—the owner, Taylor, that is, wants to talk to you about it. Document it. It might change his mind on whether he even reinstates Marcus later. Will you do it?” Her voice was high. “I told Taylor I wasn’t going to give your personal information to him, but that I’d call you and see. He’d appreciate it. And so would the rest of us. Although I guess he could get your number from your membership?”
“Um.” Myka thought. Dark Sin made her stomach ache, and on top of her current heartache, she didn’t need the additional angst. But then she thought about another woman experiencing that, and her reply was easy. “Yes. I’ll talk to him.”
“Oh, thank you so much. I wasn’t sure you’d do it.”
“But why?” Myka was hurt, curious, but her mind wandered. She pulled up web pages, and while she talked on the phone, she stared at Gabriel and Rachel. There were more knives to discover: a series of shots of him donating money and toys to a children’s charity. It was a thing she’d love to be a part of, something she’d have completely appreciated about him, and he had never even mentioned it.
When she tuned back in, she heard, “—because Gabriel was so hard on the place, and I’m sure he doesn’t want you there. I figured he probably forbade you to have anything to do with it.”
Myka tried not to snap. “I make my own decisions about where I go and what I do. And I’m happy to help.”
“Well, okay. Great! When can you meet? Taylor said any night is fine, he’ll be there every night this week. You can call, or email, or stop by.”
Myka decided. “Tonight is fine. I’ll come in person. I’ll meet you there. Nine p.m. okay?”
“Great! Thanks so much. You won’t have to pay admission. Just tell the desk that you’re there for an appointment with Taylor Dalton. I’ll be there too, so please come say hi, okay?”
Myka agreed, then texted Jessica to cancel some long-standing plans; she and Gabriel—years ago, it seemed—had planned to meet them tonight for drinks. She wrote,
Can’t make it. I’m going to Dark Sin to meet the owner, Taylor Dalton. Don’t know what Gabriel is doing. I don’t ever want to fucking see him again.
That felt rude, especially because Jessica had been so kind that awful night, but it fit the mood she was currently in. Guilty, she added another text.
Thank you for your help the other night and for dropping off my laptop at the front desk. When I glue myself back together, I’d like to meet up?
Jessica called a minute later and called again; Myka swore to herself and picked up. “Hi, Jessie.”
Jessie’s voice rushed out at her, sympathetic and sad. “Myka! I’m so sorry. After what he did at the club, he deserves to be dumped. He’s not welcome here for drinks. Brett can meet him somewhere else if he needs to.”
Myka heard her talking in an undertone. “No, she’s not. Yes. Yes, of course because of that! She’s going to Dark Sin.”
Then Jessie said, “Sorry. Brett was curious, worried too.”
“Thanks, Jessie.” Myka’s voice trembled. “I don’t know why
I let him push me so far. I turned into a total doormat.”
“You were trying to be what he wanted, I think. Right?”
Myka bit her fingers. “Jessie, I want to die. People saw me crying about love and getting rejected. Why did I do it?”
Jessie sighed. “I wish I could help. I told Brett we’re not going to the club again until Gabriel apologizes.”
“No, Jessie. You guys love it there.”
“I love it when it’s a good place. What he did wasn’t good. And he knows it.”
“It’s your choice, but he’s not going to apologize, so you might need to rethink it. I don’t know what to tell you. Right now, I need to get going. I have plans.” Myka’s voice was dark.
Jessie sounded cautious. “Myka. Gabriel hates that place. Are you sure?”
“Gabriel doesn’t own me, and I don’t give a flying fuck what he hates. He has no business with me right now, anyway, so it doesn’t matter much.”
“Well, he’s going to call Brett later. Should I tell him where you are?”
Myka shrugged. “I don’t care, and he won’t either. I have to go now. I’ll call you next week, okay? Thanks again for your support.”
* * *
Myka dressed as provocatively as she could within the bounds of good taste, and ended up in a tiny peach skirt that barely skimmed her upper thighs, a tight white off the shoulder tank top, tall silver heels, and pretty filigreed silver earrings. She left her hair down and curled, and put on bold red lipstick. When she was done, she smiled at the mirror. Maybe she wasn’t ready for a black-tie gala, but she looked damn good.
This time, she was not as nervous walking in the door of Dark Sin. She strode up to the reception desk and announced, “Hi. I’m Myka, here to see Taylor Dalton.”
The receptionist picked up her cell phone, and a moment later a man came out to meet her. Myka did a double take: He was without a doubt one of the most visually stunning males she’d seen in a long time. He was tall and lean, probably in his early forties, and he moved with a panther’s grace. His sandy hair was a little long, skimming the backs of his ears, and his silver-blue eyes were like biting steel. His chiseled jaw and fluid muscles made him a heart-stopper.
“Myka,” he told her, taking her hand. “Thank you for coming.” His eyes burned into her, stayed on her as he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. It was so over the top that Myka wanted to laugh, but his confidence and easy dominance somehow had her blushing and saying, “No problem.”
Apart from Gabriel, he was probably the sexiest man she’d ever met. He gave her a knowing smile, as if he could tell what she was thinking, but then dropped her hand and said, “I appreciate your time. Will you come to my office, please?”
Myka was glad not to walk across the large pulsing play floor, and followed him through the ante-room to a large professional office. Unlike the main playroom, this office was decorated with eclectic art and leather furniture.
“Wow, this is… nice.”
“As compared to the rest of the club?” His voice was wry.
Myka met his eyes. “If you want the truth, yes.”
His tone was apologetic. “First, I’d like to address the most important issue. I want to apologize sincerely for what happened to you here. I understand that you were accosted by a club member and then you were not adequately assisted by the dungeon monitor? Can you please tell me the whole thing?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you.” Myka took a deep breath and let the words spill out. He didn’t interrupt, but took notes with a silver pen.
After she was done, he read the account back to her. His eyes were sympathetic behind the dry words, and he looked at her several times, as if checking her composure. “Did I get it all accurately?”
“Yes.” Myka nodded, her palms sweaty.
“All right.” He put down his pen and rubbed his temples with both index fingers. “Here’s what I’ve done so far. I suspended Marcus for three months, pending a full investigation by me. From what I’ve heard, including your story, I’m going to permanently ban him. I’m also going to notify the other club owners in the area about his behavior, so they can make their own decisions.” He sighed. “Again, I am so sorry that this happened to you.”
Myka nodded. “I’m not going to tell you it’s okay, because it’s not. But I’m glad you’re taking steps to prevent this from happening again.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “It’s not okay. I fired the monitor who gave inadequate help. I initiated an immediate retraining program for all dungeon monitors. I’m requiring more of them to be on site each night.”
“Good! That’s good,” agreed Myka.
“I’ve also had each club member re-sign their contract with an enhanced section about safety and safewords, and what will happen if they are violated. It’s a zero-tolerance policy now. One issue, they’re banned.”
Myka nodded. “Okay. Good.” She paused. “So why did it take you so long to react? Lili told me there were prior complaints.”
Taylor nodded. “I recently acquired the club, and I was out of town on personal travel. My assistant manager was handling issues. It’s my fault for letting an inadequately trained person take the lead. I take full responsibility. From now on, things are going to be different.” His voice was vehement. “I’m going to make this club the best, sexiest, and safest club in the city.”
“You are?”
He nodded. “I want to revitalize this place. It’s always been a dream of mine to own a club that’s a haven for kinksters.”
“Well.” Myka took a deep breath. “I wish you all the best of luck with that.”
A smile played across his lips. “Would you like to see the floor? I’m making changes. One addition is some large signs stating the club safe rules and the policy about touching. I’d like to show you. Dax and Lili are back there—I know they’d love to see you.”
“Sure, I’d like to see it,” she said, feeling reckless.
Taylor stood and gestured for her to follow him, and led her back through the lobby. At the double doors, he paused and took her arm in his. “Shall we?” he said, piercing her with those eyes.
“Let’s go,” said Myka, her voice coming out a little hoarse. She cleared her throat and saw him smile to himself. Then he pushed the doors open. Myka was relieved to see that the stupid Sinners Enter Here sign had been removed.
The place looked better. The pulsing red lights and the religious crosses were gone, and the music was lower and sultrier. The signs, obvious immediately, were presented in ornate frames.
“I like the changes,” she told him. “This is much less intimidating. Friendlier.”
He laughed and held her arm closer. “All the club members so far seem to agree.” Myka felt a tingle being next to him. It wasn’t like being with Gabriel, but this was a sexy man, and her body couldn’t help but react.
“I rearranged the equipment and implemented a new cleaning policy. In addition to self-clean guidelines, the additional DMs on staff will take turns wiping and sanitizing twice an evening, regardless of usage. No exceptions.”
“Wow. Great.”
Taylor’s gaze was direct. “You’re blushing. Why is that?”
“The only BDSM club I go to, usually, is a private one, and it’s—well, it’s very different. And I don’t ever play in public. That time that Marcus accosted me? It was my first time ever to a BDSM club of any kind.”
“And it was a terrible experience, and for that I’m sorry.” His voice was rueful. “I certainly hope this visit comes closer to meeting your expectations?”
He touched her shoulder, his eyes asking a different question. Myka felt another tingle, but pulled away, shaking her head. “I’m sort of… I just ended a relationship. Or it got ended on me. Either way, I’m not ready.”
He nodded. “I understand. And he’s a fucking fool.”
Myka rolled her eyes. “I wish he—thanks. Yes, this visit is much nicer.”
Taylor smiled and released her arm som
ewhat, the grip looser. Both of their gazes caught on a stocky man with a beard and blue jeans across the room who ducked his head and moved away at the notice.
“Friend of yours?” Taylor asked, his fingers gentle on her skin.
Myka shook her head. “The only people I know that go here are Dax and Lili.”
“He may be new,” murmured Taylor. “I’ll greet him later. I still don’t know all the regulars.” Then he pointed. “Speaking of Dax and Lili. Want to say hello?”
“Yes!” Myka was eager to add more people to their conversation. She was relieved at how easily he understood and respected her no, but felt slightly awkward. Thankfully her friends weren’t playing. Although Myka had gotten accustomed to seeing people having sex and enjoying scenes in Gabriel’s club, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see Lili or Dax in the throes of pain or passion. It was a unique shift, seeing everyday friends in such an intimate way.
Lili came and hugged her, not seeming to care that her boobs squashed into Myka’s chest, so Myka did her best to act like it was normal for her too. “Myka! I’m so glad you came. You look so nice! Where’s Gabriel?”
Next to her, Taylor stiffened. “Gabriel Chevalier?”
“I really don’t know where he is. And I don’t care.” Myka shrugged and swiped at her eye, letting her non-answer be her answer to Taylor.
Lili tilted her head. “Uh-oh. What happened?”
Myka shrugged. “We’re, ah, not seeing each other anymore. It didn’t work out. So hey, are you here with anyone special? Are you going to scene tonight?”
Lili bit her lip and blushed, shot a sidelong look at Taylor. “No, I—I think I’m going to take a break and hang out. I guess I’m… no. Not tonight. Probably not for a while, you know.”
“Ah. I see.” Myka didn’t, really, so she looked around the room and her gaze caught on the cross, and she flinched without meaning to.
“You don’t like the cross?” Lili’s eyes were sharp, but it also seemed to Myka like Lili wanted to change the direction of the conversation. Taylor listened, his eyes following both women, a small smile on his face.
Myka and the Millionaire Page 27