Sure enough, Sally Lyn took a header toward the back of the stage. Another girl took her place. Wispers was a well-oiled machine.
“Does the owner know he’s missing an h?” Chase couldn’t let it go. It offended his sensibilities.
Twilene waved that off. “Oh, Cooder, doesn’t believe in silent letters. He says they’re just a way to make a man pay more for his signs.”
So Cooder was a philosopher.
“Anyway, we heard this was the place to come to party.” Ben easily smoothed the path back to where they needed it to go.
“Oh, yeah. We’re not actually in the county here so they leave us alone. We’re unincorporated so we pretty much do as we please,” Twilene explained.
“I like the sound of that.” Ben took a sip of his whiskey. “We’re not used to being out in the sticks and away from civilization, if you know what I mean.”
“Where are you boys staying?”
“We have a nice suite out at the spa.” It was time to dangle some more bait. The spa was the most expensive place in the county. It would also be interesting to whoever was running the underground club.
Twilene’s eyes went wide. “Really? I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve heard it’s real pretty. I know some of the employees come out here from time to time.”
That was interesting. And he couldn’t pounce since he was a bored oil and gas executive who probably shouldn’t give a crap about what the employees of his hotel did with their time.
Ben didn’t pounce either, but Chase was sure he hadn’t missed that little fact. “I’m surprised they would come out here. I walked into that dungeon the other night and thought I might never leave. It’s really nice.”
And there it was, a little flaring of the eyes that told Chase Twilene knew something. There was a hint of distaste, but she was smart enough to cover it up. “I’ve read about places like that.”
Chase shrugged. “I’ve done it all. That dungeon is a little rigid for my tastes. Too many damn rules, but how else am I supposed to amuse myself out here?”
Twilene’s eyes drifted back toward the bar where a burly dude was staring at her. She turned back. “I don’t know, though in a place like this you can probably find something fun to do.”
Chase slid his brother a look. They might not be totally in, but someone was interested in some cash.
Twenty minutes later, they headed out of the parking lot with five hundred dollars’ worth of pot and a number to call if they wanted to really party.
They also left with a tail, a nondescript brown sedan that followed them all the way from the club to the closed gates of the spa.
Chase didn’t like that tail at all.
Nat woke up cuddled up to one of her men. She groaned. She had to stop thinking that way. And then she realized neither Ben nor Chase had boobs. Yep, those were boobs against her back, soft breasts, and there was nothing soft about the Dawson twins. She felt her lips curl up. “How long was I out, Kitten?”
Kitten hugged her from behind. “Not long. Oh, Nat, you subbed out.”
She had. She’d heard that thud, felt it like hard rain on her back, and gone to that place she was sure she’d lost forever.
“Can we start looking at collars?” Kitten asked, rubbing her nose against Nat’s neck.
It wasn’t surprising. When they’d been in the cage, Nat had often awakened from a troubled sleep to find Kitten pressed against her. In the days after they escaped, Nat had slept with Kitten to get her through the night.
She put a hand on Kitten’s, trying to get her to slow down. “Hon, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Just because a flogger still works on me doesn’t mean I’m going to throw myself into another D/s relationship.”
Kitten sat up. “You haven’t been in a D/s relationship before.”
Nat turned, hugging the sheet although it wouldn’t bother Kitten at all to see her naked. She turned and found Kitten staring at her all big, sad eyes and tense mouth. “Sweetie, I do know what you’re saying, but I had a little experience before.”
“But you never had a Dom. Not a long-term one,” Kitten pointed out.
“Neither had you.” It had been worse for Kitten. Katherine Taylor had no training before Hawk morphed her into Kitten. “And I haven’t had a real Dom, not one who belonged to me.”
“A Dom doesn’t belong to you, Natalie. It’s the other way around.” A new voice grumbled through the room. Gretchen turned the corner and entered the playroom. She looked around, her eyes taking in everything. “Wow. Playroom deluxe. Hope it’s okay. They told me you were up here. Is there something you guys want to tell me?”
Gretchen grinned a little, pointedly staring at their undressed forms.
Nat sighed. Naturally Kitten had tossed off her clothes, too. “I fell asleep. I assume the Dawson brothers had something to do so they probably asked Kitten to watch me.”
They wouldn’t want to leave her alone in a place they didn’t know intimately. And they wouldn’t have invited Logan in, therefore they’d used Kitten as her guardian. They really were good Doms.
“I’m supposed to text the Masters when you wake up.” She reached for her ridiculously blinged-out cell phone and started to text. “Chase asked me to text photos of you while you were sleeping. It’s all right. I only got a few where your nipples were showing. The Master will likely be very disappointed. They were concerned about your safety, Nat. They didn’t want you to think they left without a good reason. I do not know what that reason is, but I bet it was good.”
“They aren’t the only ones concerned.” Gretchen wore her spa uniform, dark pants and a spa T-shirt and sneakers. “You just left without telling us where you were going. One minute you’re up for a murder rap and the next you were gone. Damn, Nat, I was worried.”
Nat sighed. Now she would get to hear about all the ways she’d screwed up. Gretchen almost always took the negative view, but then she’d been with Hawk the longest. “Sorry, the Dawson Doms didn’t give me much choice.”
Gretchen’s dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but it shook a little as she laughed. “I am just so shocked that you’re with those guys. Seriously, they’re hot. I like them.”
Holy crapballs. Gretchen didn’t like anyone. “Really?”
Gretchen looked down, frowning. “I’m sorry, Nat. I know I can be a pain in the ass, but I want you to be happy. I’m with Kitten on this one. You should grab them and run and not look back. Whatever happened between you and Stan, it doesn’t matter. They’re rich. They’re smart. You won’t do any time if you stick with them.”
Nat lay back. “I did not kill Stan, Gretchen.”
Gretchen frowned. “Well, I had to ask. I heard rumors about the two of you.”
“God, his wife is crazy. I never touched the man except to get rid of the knots in his traps. The man was a ball of stress.” And it brought up the question as to where Gretchen would have heard rumors. Gretchen didn’t have many friends on staff. She went into town on a regular basis, but as far as Nat knew, she didn’t have friends in town, either. How far spread were these rumors?
“Nat would not have slept with someone called the Furniture King,” Kitten said primly. “I don’t think Nat has slept with anyone since…well, she hasn’t in a while. Except for Master Ben, of course.”
“I doubt there was a lot of sleeping going on,” Gretchen replied.
Nat was well aware she was blushing. “I thought I was sleeping with Chase. Now I kind of want to sleep with both of them.”
“Nat wants a ménage.” Kitten clapped her hands.