Three Hard Lessons (Blindfold Club 2)

chapter

ONE

Fuck this noise.

Traffic on Lake Shore Drive was the worst I’d ever seen. I should have known better than to try it on Black Friday. Even though I was nowhere near Michigan Avenue, it was a parking lot. I glared out over the lake and turned away from the blinding sun that was sinking in the sky to my left.

My phone chimed with a text and I glanced down at the screen. It was my best friend Evie.

Well, that’s just great. I texted back that it wasn’t a big deal, but I was lying. I’d been looking forward to going out for drinks with them the whole week. Ever since Evie and Logan had gotten engaged, I’d been seeing less and less of my best friend. I was happy for her, though. Logan was a great guy. He was hot, hung, and head-over-heels in love with her.

I drummed my manicured nails on the steering wheel of my Jaguar, stared at the taillights in front of me, and considered my options. No way was I going to spend the night alone at my place.

Joseph answered my call immediately.

“Hey, honey, what’s up?” My manager’s voice was soft and pleasant. He was always so good at making me feel special and anything but another working girl.

“My plans fell through. Can you put me on the list tonight?”

“Of course.” There was a rustle of paper in the background. “Should I call Mr. Red and let him know you’re available?”

Ugh, no. “Don’t do that.”

“Oh? Do we have an issue?”

“Someone else needs to take him on as a client. He’s getting attached.” Joseph knew I didn’t do attachments. Mr. Red had money, and I liked money, but there wasn’t enough in the world to allow me to get tied down. Well, figuratively. Money got me tied down at the BDSM club I worked at all the time.

“Mr. Red is particular, Payton,” Joseph said. “He’ll be difficult to persuade to try something new.” There was an unfamiliar weight to his voice. Was it fear? “He’s also a powerful man.”

That wasn’t surprising. I’d figured Mr. Red was a major player when he talked about owning half the city, and this was while I had my lips wrapped around his cock.

“He asks me to come home with him afterward. Every. Single. Time.”

“A beautiful woman like you probably hears that a lot.”

True, but still. “He says he’s in love with me. I’m telling you, he’s going to turn ugly when he doesn’t get his way. I need distance.” He sure the fuck wasn’t going to get what he wanted from me. I wasn’t capable of loving him. I was fairly certain I was incapable of loving anyone.

“Claudia’s a lot like you,” Joseph said. “Maybe I can give him some incentive to try her.”

“Thanks,” I said, sincere. I knew Joseph was in a tough spot. We’d had plenty of clingy clients before, but not one with serious clout.

“You don’t have to thank me, honey. I’m excited you’re coming in tonight. But fair warning, it’ll probably be slow.” This was his subtle way of telling me to take the offer when I got it, because there might not be another client interested.

“It’s not slow when I’m around,” I said, an evil grin twitching on my lips. Traffic was finally starting to ease and my foot found its home on the accelerator.

“No, Payton.” He laughed. “It certainly isn’t.”

Joseph had chosen Nina to be my sales assistant for this evening. Like Scarlett Johansson, Nina had a husky, deep voice that sharply contrasted her petite and undeniably feminine frame. She was a blonde like ScarJo sometimes is, too.

Pairing Nina with me made us an unstoppable force. Someone was going to blow a lot of money tonight, so at least my evening wouldn’t be a total bust.

The silk robe came off my shoulders and I caught it in a hand, then carried it to the hook on the back of the door. Room One looked just like all the others. Black textured fabric stretched across soundproof tiles that covered the walls and ceiling, and the absence of color always drew my eyes up to the elaborate crystal chandelier over the table in the center. The intriguing and reinforced fixture was the only light in the room and also pulled double duty. There were plenty of places to hook handcuffs or leather straps onto the iron arms buried beneath the clear prisms.

Nina waited beside the table for me to join her, a pleasant smile on her face as her gaze washed over me. “God, Payton, what I’d give for your tits.”

A soft laugh fell out of my mouth. “Please. I’ve seen you naked at least a dozen times. What I’d give to have that ass.”

“It’s easy. Pilates,” she said, “until you’re so sore you can’t move, and when you attempt to, you want to die.”