shadowland

by Radclyffe

  Their eyes locked and Kyle saw the undisguised wanting in her friend’s hazy gaze. Nancy’s hand rested on the sheet over her bare abdomen, and Kyle felt herself respond to the soft caress. Her stomach quivered, and she prayed Nancy didn’t feel it. Careful not to move, she asked quietly, “Is the party over?”

  “Long over, thank God.” Nancy’s voice was thick, and her breasts rose and fell rapidly beneath her black silk robe. She broke away from Kyle’s intense gaze and glanced down, seeing her own hand, as if it were a stranger’s, stroking her friend’s body. “And Roger’s gone to some meeting upstate until Monday.”

  “So I guess you want me to get up, huh?” Don’t do this, Nance. We don’t have anywhere good to go with it.

  “I want...” Nancy waited for some sign from Kyle. Any indication that her touch was welcome. After a long moment, she eased away, letting her fingers trail over the sheet and off Kyle’s abdomen. “I want you to keep me company.”

  Relieved that the inflaming fingers were gone, Kyle groaned and sat up. She peered at the floor by the bed. “Where are my clothes?”

  “I don’t know.” Nancy feigned ignorance. “Where did you leave them?”

  “Nance,” Kyle said threateningly. “I had a little too much wine but I remember getting undressed right here.”

  “All right.” Nancy laughed and stood up. “They’re in the dryer. I’ll have them out for you in a minute.”

  Kyle fell back gratefully into the pillows. “Good. Wake me up when they’re done.”

  “Oh, no you don’t! You’re getting up.” She pulled a robe from a hook behind the door and tossed it onto the bed. “Here. We’re having breakfast, and then we’re going to the shop.”

  “Oh, fun.”

  “And then we’re going out.”

  Kyle regarded her suspiciously. “Where?”

  Nancy gave her a self-satisfied smile. “To that club you’ve been hanging out at lately.”

  Shocked speechless, Kyle could only stare.

  Chapter Ten

  Nancy pirouetted before the full-length mirror in Kyle’s bedroom. “Well, how do I look?”

  “Great.” Kyle surveyed the sultry brunette, who somehow managed to look elegant in blue jeans and a plain pale yellow cotton shirt. “And you know it.”

  “Are you sure I can’t wear your leather pants?” Nancy looked over her shoulder to study her backside in the mirror and pursed her lips critically. “God, these jeans don’t do a thing for my ass.”

  “No, you can’t wear my leathers.” Kyle shuddered at the thought. “And your ass doesn’t need help with anything.”

  “You’re not wearing them,” Nancy pointed out practically. She tilted her head and regarded Kyle’s black jeans. “Those are hot. Don’t wear a shirt over that black T though—it shows off your...muscles so nicely.” And every other part of you, too. She’d had a hard time all day forgetting exactly how good her friend had looked and felt lying naked under just a sheet that morning. She’d always found Kyle attractive, but she’d never been quite so feverishly aware of her physically before. The timing might have had something to do with her own growing dissatisfaction with her increasingly frequent extramarital liaisons, but that subject was not something she intended to spend any time pondering. Not when a night of fun lay ahead.

  “Thank you for the fashion advice,” Kyle said dryly. “I can dress myself.”

  “Oh, I know.” Nancy smiled sweetly as she held the garment in question up to her body, assessing the leg length. “I just want all the girls to be jealous of my date.”

  “First, my pants are too big for you.” Kyle ignored her friend’s attempt to distract her from the issue. “Second, I don’t trust you in them.”

  Nancy’s eyes grew large as she tried to look innocent. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “I don’t want the competition. Put them back.”

  “Ky—yle.”

  “No.” Suddenly serious, Kyle asked, “Why do you want to do this?”

  “Why not? We haven’t been out together in a long time,” Nancy said casually, giving up on the pants but continuing to comb through Kyle’s closet in search of a jacket. “And before you say anything, we’ve been to gay bars before.”

  “This isn’t just any gay club, Nance,” Kyle reminded her. This is one game you don’t know how to play.

  “How much different can it be?”

  Kyle merely shook her head, knowing nothing she said would deter Nancy from her plans. How much different, indeed.

  *

  Brad saw Kyle the moment she entered. She smiled in anticipation and studied Kyle’s pretty companion with interest. Another new one. Carrying her beer, she threaded her way through the crowd and settled at the far end of the bar to watch the couple. The sexy brunette looked tasty—ripe for the picking and, from the way her eyes roamed the crowd with eager anticipation, ready and willing. Kyle, Brad noted, looked just as good as she had the night before—the well-built body, great face, and seething sexuality were definitely intriguing. Although Brad rarely had to compete for company, she still enjoyed a challenge. And Kyle represented that and more—she was new to the scene, but had a natural confidence that suggested she would be a versatile and willing partner in bed. Plus, sensing that Kyle was involved with Dane only heightened the thrill. Nothing aroused Brad more than a battle with Dane, especially in the sexual arena.

  Since they had parted, Dane’s reputation as a demanding but safe top had flourished. Women trusted her to take them unharmed through a scene. Word was, too, that she never let anyone top her, and that only added to her mystique. Brad refused to acknowledge that Dane, intentionally or not, represented real competition, but she welcomed the opportunity to reestablish her own superiority. Seducing Kyle would certainly be satisfying, and if it hurt Dane, all the better. As she slowly sipped her beer, she waited for an opening to make her first move. She was in no hurry; she enjoyed playing the game as much as winning.

  She watched as Kyle and Nancy found a place halfway down the bar and ordered drinks. Catching the bartender’s eye, she motioned her over with a tilt of her head. The burly woman in a sleeveless white T-shirt that showcased the large tattoos on each upper arm frowned but hurried over.

  “Yeah, Brad. Need something?”

  “Let me have another beer,” Brad said. “And give those two women who just ordered whatever they asked for with my compliments.”

  The bartender grinned knowingly. “Which one you going for?” When Brad merely stared, her eyes hard and flat, the bartender flinched. “No problem. I’ll take care of it.”

  *

  When the bartender set the bottle of beer and vodka tonic down in front of Kyle and Nancy, she gestured toward the far end of the bar. “From your friend over there.”

  Following the woman’s gaze, Kyle flushed when she met Brad’s cool gaze down the length of the bar. She tried to ignore the involuntary surge of excitement stirred by the lean, leather-clad figure. When Brad lifted her bottle in greeting, Kyle nodded in return.

  “What’s happening?” Nancy watched the exchange with interest.

  “We just got drinks—from Brad.”

  “Yeah?” Nancy regarded the dark-haired woman dressed completely in black leather with open curiosity. Since the woman was staring at her in frank appraisal, Nancy saw no reason for subtlety. She smiled slightly and got a lazy once-over in return. Her skin tingled as the hot dark eyes played over her. You are an arrogant thing, aren’t you?

  “Whew,” Nancy said throatily, finally breaking away from the woman’s hypnotic stare. “She is something.”

  “Uh-huh,” Kyle said, keeping her eyes on her beer while intentionally avoiding Brad. The woman might kick start her hormones, but she wasn’t the one Kyle wanted.

  “So, now what happens?” Nancy sounded breathless.

  “Damned if I know.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to do something?”

  “What would you like me to do?” Kyle gave Nancy an exasperated s
hrug. “Take my clothes off?”

  “Well, you’d better think of something.” Nancy cast a surreptitious glance back down the bar. “Here she comes.”

  Before the words had even registered in Kyle’s mind, Brad was next to her. Standing with legs slightly spread, a bottle dangling from her right hand, she seemed to tower over them even though she was no bigger than either.

  “Kyle,” Brad said smoothly.

  “Brad,” Kyle said, meeting her gaze evenly.

  “Having a good time?”

  Kyle nodded. “Thanks for the beer.”

  “My pleasure,” Brad said, turning toward Nancy and extending her hand. “Hello. I’m Brad.”

  “Nancy.” She gave a small start of surprise as she took Brad’s hand. The woman looked so hard, but her touch was not only soft, but unexpectedly gentle. Voice throaty, Nancy added, “It’s a pleasure.”

  “Yes,” Brad agreed with a slow smile. “It is.”

  “Thank you for the drink.” Emboldened by the flirtatious tone in Brad’s voice, Nancy decided to flirt back. Flirting was something she not only understood, it was something at which she excelled. She let her eyes slip languorously down Brad’s body, intending to send Brad the message that she wasn’t intimidated in these new surroundings. But her breath caught and she gave a small involuntary start when she saw the unmistakable swelling nestled in Brad’s crotch along the inner curve of her left thigh.

  To her consternation, Nancy blushed. Brad laughed so quietly that only Nancy could hear, and when Brad cocked her hips forward in a move calculated to tease, Nancy’s stomach quivered with excitement. Unwilling to be outmaneuvered, she met the dark eyes boldly. “Is it appropriate for a lady to ask for a dance?”

  “Nance,” Kyle whispered, reaching for her friend’s hand. What the fuck are you doing?

  “Oh, without a doubt.” Brad settled the beer bottle against her thigh and almost laughed again when Nancy involuntarily looked down at her crotch for a second and then dragged her gaze away. What had begun as a tingle of arousal when she’d first seen Kyle and Nancy walk in escalated rapidly to a steady throb. “But I was about to go somewhere with a little more...action.” Her eyes held Nancy’s. “Perhaps you two would like to join me.”

  Before Kyle could say no, Nancy’s hand closed hard on her arm.

  “Sure, why not?” Nancy said quickly.

  “I don’t know,” Kyle objected mildly. “We just got here and it looks like there’s a good crowd tonight.”

  Brad, unperturbed, finished her beer and placed it on the bar. “I just thought you might be up for a change.”

  “Come on, Kyle.” Nancy, fascinated and more than a little turned on, was persistent. “We don’t have any plans.”

  “Okay,” Kyle agreed reluctantly. She recognized the “won’t take no for an answer” tone in her friend’s voice. “Sure, why not.”

  “Excellent.” Brad smiled a satisfied smile. “I’ll drive. It’ll be easier.”

  As the three women filed out into the night, none noticed the woman watching from the shadows.

  *

  With Nancy perched on Kyle’s lap in the cramped front seat, Brad maneuvered her red Mercedes sports coupe through the sparse downtown traffic. Once on a wide avenue running along the waterfront, she picked up speed and glanced at Kyle.

  “Ever heard of Encounters?”

  “No.”

  “You’ll find it interesting. Your friend here is cool, isn’t she?”

  Nancy, one arm curled around Kyle’s shoulder, leaned forward to catch Brad’s eye. Her tone was honey smooth, but there was an edge beneath the charm. “You don’t have to worry, Brad, my dear. I’ll be just fine.”

  Brad laughed and flicked her eyes to Nancy. “I’m sure you will be.”

  The block in the warehouse district where Brad parked was deserted. The broad, pothole-filled street was empty, and all the factory buildings on either side were dark. Here and there a semi stood waiting for its next shipment, but there were no pedestrians and very few vehicles. As she followed Brad down the block, Kyle’s initial discomfort blossomed into apprehension. She felt responsible for Nancy, and Brad was a virtual stranger. The only thing she knew about Brad with certainty was that she could be dangerous. If not physically, then emotionally. Her opinion was partly based on instinct and partly on memory—the memory of the confusion of emotions on Dane’s face when Brad had appeared. Anger, above all, but perhaps a hint of involuntary lust—and beneath all that, fear.

  “Listen,” Kyle said hastily when Brad stopped in front of an unlit door marked only by a small sign stating Private Club. “I don’t know about this.”

  “Don’t worry.” Brad gave a feral smile as she pushed open the door. “You’re with me.”

  There was no time to reply as Nancy hastened after Brad up the dimly lit stairway toward the light on the second floor. Kyle followed.

  “Yo, Brad,” a small, tight-muscled redhead seated behind a rickety card table at the head of the stairs said. “These...” she looked Nancy and Kyle over with an insolent grin. “...hot items with you?”

  “Yeah.” Brad grinned back and handed the woman twenty dollars. “My lucky night.”

  The woman added the bill to a stack in front of her, passed Brad her change, and smirked. “Have fun.”

  Beyond the narrow entrance hall, unadorned and lit only by a single unshaded bulb on a frayed cord, was a cavernous high-ceilinged room with a bar along one wall and a central stage ringed with tables. Brad pointed to an empty table at the edge of the floor.

  “Grab that one and I’ll get drinks.”

  Kyle sat down with Nancy and checked out her surroundings. The room was dim, although multiple spots shone among the pipes and heating conduits overhead. The air was a hazy yellow from the combination of weak lighting and smoke. On the raised platform directly in front of them was a scaffold of some kind formed by stout beams.

  “Kyle?” Nancy queried softly, staring at the short chains which dangled from heavy metal hooks embedded in the wood. “Do you think that’s just part of the décor?”

  Following her friend’s wide-eyed gaze, Kyle shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Look, Nance. We can go—”

  “Are you kidding?” Nancy’s voice was high with excitement. “I can’t believe this place.”

  Looking around, Kyle had to agree. Most of the tables were occupied, and women jostled three-deep in front of the bar. There were more leather collars, studded bracelets, chaps, and boots than she had ever seen in one place before. More than a few of the woman were obviously packing, the outlines of their generous equipment blatantly displayed beneath tight denim and leather pants.

  “Oh my God,” Nancy gripped Kyle’s thigh, “look over there!”

  A small, dark woman standing by the bar with several others wore a thin leather collar around her neck and, except for her shimmering leather pants and boots, she was naked. Her well-formed breasts glinted with small gold rings through each nipple.

  Kyle swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. She felt as if she should look away, but the woman was beautiful and clearly didn’t mind being observed. “She’s...interesting.”

  “And I thought I was liberated!”

  Brad returned with their drinks and placed glasses and bottles on the table before settling into a chair between the two friends. “It’s early yet. Things should pick up in a while.”

  As she spoke, a handsome middle-aged woman in a white silk shirt, impeccably tailored trousers, and matching vest strolled by leading another woman by a short leash connected to wide leather shackles binding her wrists together at her waist. The bound woman’s face was obscured by a hood that entirely enclosed her face except for holes over her nose and mouth. She was naked from the waist up.

  “You mean there’s more?” Nancy said sarcastically as she watched the strange procession.

  “Oh, yes—much more.” Brad laughed, appreciating Nancy’s aplomb. />
  “They definitely do not charge enough to get into this place.”

  “What’s back there?” Kyle asked, indicating several doorways toward the far end of the room. The shirtless woman with the pierced nipples had disappeared through one of those doors.

  “Scene rooms,” Brad said, enjoying her role as guide. “There’s space for playing—or watching others play. Whatever pleases you.”

  “And privacy?” Kyle lit a cigarette casually, reluctant to allow Brad to see how affected she was by what she was witnessing. She was disturbed and disturbingly aroused at the same time. The idea of blatantly dominating or being dominated in the manner of some of the women she had observed did not particularly excite her. But she had to admit that the very atmosphere of unapologetic physicality did stir her.

  “If you want that, you can go upstairs.” Brad laughed. “Very private. But then again, that’s all part of the fun—getting to watch.”

  The overhead lights dimmed, the huge space grew dark, and conversations dropped away to a background hum. In the eerily quiet space, a single unfocused spot blinked on to highlight the center stage as three women approached.

  “I think you’ll get the idea in a minute,” Brad observed, anticipation stirring in the pit of her stomach.

  Chapter Eleven

  The elegant woman in the stylish suit led the hooded woman to the platform with a practiced tug on the leash. The manacled submissive, subtly guided up the three steps by another woman who appeared from the shadows, stopped in the spotlight and waited docilely.

  “Who is the third woman?” Nancy whispered, leaning close to Brad. She eyed the new arrival with curiosity and just a bit of envy. The surprisingly feminine brunette was attired in figure-hugging black silk pants and a laced bustier that barely restrained her full breasts. She’s beautiful, and she knows it.