Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
What the hell was she doing?
She heard him chuckle as she refixed her hair, ensuring it wouldn’t get wet. Her brain was buzzing as she took her shower and dried off, looking for any way out of this trap. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to walk out the door and tell Nate she needed to go.
But she needed to go. Aidan would be looking for her, and the last thing she needed was a big reveal “hey, you slept with my baby sister” scene.
Of course, if she stayed in the bathroom much longer, Nate himself would come looking for her.
She settled the mask on her face and wrapped the towel around her.
When she walked back into the room, she realized she didn’t have to fight at all.
He was asleep on the bed, his whole body relaxed. He looked younger, carefree.
The idea she would never see him like this again made her heart ache, but she knew what she had to do.
She quickly dressed and forced herself to slip outside. The minute she left the room, the world came back into focus.
She didn’t really belong here, and he did. He was starting a new life, and all she would do was complicate it. He was looking for something and it certainly wasn’t her. All she would bring the man was trouble, and he’d given her so much.
“Dais?” Hunter had moved from his desk. “You okay? Are you here with the new guy? Dad told me they hired on the dude who used to hang out with you and Aidan. Nate? Nick?”
There was only one way to handle Hunter McKay. Shock and awe. He was a great guy, but he would talk if she didn’t scare him out of it. “Aidan doesn’t know and neither does Nate. It’s masquerade night. You remember what that means?”
“It means Seth might have a shot at getting in Chloe’s thong. It means all the subs who wouldn’t touch Lucas because he’s a manwhore can pretend they don’t know what they’re doing. I call it delusion night. It’s precisely why I’m working the desk,” Hunter shot back. “I know the rules, Dais.”
She stared him down. He was a year older than she was, but she knew how to handle him. He was a rules guy. “Are you going to follow them?”
His eyes closed and he sighed. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“It doesn’t matter. For now, I’m a member of this club, and you owe me discretion,” she insisted.
“I know, but Aidan…”
She was sick of this. “Is my brother, not my father. And honestly, even if my father was here, I’m an adult. I have every right to do what I want in this club. Tell me something, if it was Devi or Bri coming out of a privacy room, would you be clutching your pearls and wondering how fast you can bring the patriarchy down on their heads?”
Hunter’s hands came up. “I’m so fucking glad my sister is in London. Go on. I was only trying to look out for you.”
It was the whole problem with the club. The problem wasn’t that someone cared about her, but sometimes their caring became questioning her choices. If she had one more intervention…
“I’m great. Used a condom and everything.” She’d one hundred percent protected her body. She wasn’t so sure about her heart.
Daisy strode away and didn’t look back.
* * * *
“Hey, how’d your night go, big guy? I asked around and no one said they saw you, but I noticed you weren’t home when we got here.” Aidan sat at the breakfast table, a mug of coffee in front of him.
Nate needed way more than coffee. He needed to find Dee and take his hand to her backside. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He’d meant to get inside her again. As many times as it took to get her to take the mask off and get real with him.
That was the problem. It had all felt so real. He’d spent one night with the woman, and he was fairly certain he would never forget her.
The good news was Aidan had been a member of The Hideout since its inception, and he tended to be pretty observant. When the dungeon monitor had woken him up, the club had been closing and his Cinderella hadn’t even left behind one of her high heels. No clues to track her by except her name. Well, and a couple of facts.
“I met a sub. We decided to play in private. Look, mate, I need to find her. You know a sub named Dee?” Nate got right to the point. He’d driven himself home and the house had been quiet, though he’d seen a light on in the room normally used by Cooper McKay.
Daisy O’Donnell was staying the night. Just yesterday meeting Daisy again after almost twelve years had seemed like it would be the highlight of his week. Now he could barely work up the will to say hi.