Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
In my defense, I was trying. I was changing the scenery. I’d jumped at the chance to be part of a project where they’d send me and my squad to take the combat diver test in Florida soon. I’d be there for eight weeks.
Thankfully, the club wasn’t too loud. They were playing some classic rock. Drinks were flowing, and people were standing around waiting for the first demo to begin on the center stage.
I swallowed the last of my annoyance and ordered a beer, and I stayed in the background for now. Most attendees were partnered up, and given the theme tonight, I saw obedience and grace everywhere. A welcome reprieve. Just for tonight, I didn’t want any brats running around.
I wondered if the Tenleys were here. I hadn’t let them know I was back in town yet, figuring I could call them up tomorrow.
River had mentioned being interested in consensual slavery, though by the sound of things, mostly because he seemed curious about everything. The guy was a sponge. We’d only met up twice, but I’d messaged quite a bit with them. Even more so when I’d been nearing the end of my last deployment.
The twins weren’t easy to make plans with. They probably worked more than I did.
I took a swig of my beer and watched a man step away from the bar with not only one but two partners. They followed him with their heads bowed, and the man had them on an actual leash.
Lucky son of a gun.
The void they left at the bar was filled immediately, and I saw another man—he dropped something from his wallet when he paid for his order, and I wasn’t sure he noticed.
Dammit.
He didn’t notice.
I walked over there and picked up the card from the floor. A fancy credit card from an airline—belonging to a Lucian Leroux, a quick glance told me.
I nudged the guy’s arm and extended the card, and I had to lean a little closer to make myself heard over the music.
“You dropped this.”
He went from frowning to a flash of surprise and relief in an instant, and he accepted the card with a warm smile.
“Thank you very much. Let me buy you a beer.”
“Nah, no problem—”
“I insist. Another Stella?” He nodded at the bottle in my grasp.
Well, okay, then. I nodded. “Sure—thanks.”
He flagged down the bartender again and shook his head. “I’m the one thanking you. My boss wouldn’t be happy to hear I lost the corporate card.”
I snorted softly.
I didn’t have that much left in my first bottle, so I drained it in three gulps, then set it on the bartop.
A moment later, I had a new one.
“Thank you again,” he said. He was about to say something else when it was his turn to be bumped into, and he threw an irritated glance at the men behind him. “Christ, it’s packed here tonight.”
Even though I didn’t have much to compare with—I’d only been here twice before—packed was a stretch.
“If it wasn’t glaringly obvious already, I’m not a club person.”
I chuckled. “I’ll drink to that.”
He smiled and took a swig of his own beer.
“I take it you’re just here for the demos, then,” I said.
He inclined his head. “It seems to be the only way to get access to the demos—to suffer through the club nonsense. Or some seedy basement venue.”
Fuck, don’t get me started.
“Or home parties in a cramped livin’ room where they eventually want you to throw your keys in a bowl,” I said, shuddering at a memory from two years ago.
He laughed. “I’ve been to a party like that. I was out of there within twenty minutes—with a horrified look on my face and a date I never heard from again.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“I’m Lucian, by the way.” He extended a hand.
I shook it firmly. “Greer. You a local?”
“I am. And you’re from…New York?”
Yeah, fucking hard to miss.
“There’s something else in your accent, though,” he added.
“Somethin’ my brothers give me shit for,” I said. “I’ve spent enough time in South Carolina to become the family joke.”
“I don’t know, I find it charming.” He smiled. “Are you only visiting?”
That was the question, wasn’t it?
“I’ve been comin’ to DC for years, but it looks like I’m moving here eventually,” I replied. I couldn’t help it; I gave him a subtle once-over as I drank from my beer. He was damn sexy, this polished suit guy. “I have a couple more years on Uncle Sam’s payroll. Then we’ll see.”
Understanding flashed in Lucian’s eyes, and he nodded with a dip of his chin. “I wondered. You military guys stand out. Where are you stationed?”
“North Carolina—Lejeune—but I’m headin’ to Florida soon,” I answered. “We don’t get corporate credit cards, just your hard-earned tax dollars.” The moment the last word left me, someone did a testing, testing into the microphone onstage, so that halted our conversation.