Then again, he’d overheard Sam and Ashleigh talking, and there was a very strong possibility that she might just look like her daddy after all. According to them, dark hair and blue eyes were exceedingly common for babies.
They’d just have to wait and see.
Part One
Chapter One
Seven weeks earlier…
Reluctant wasn’t a strong enough word to describe Cole’s feeling about tonight.
Did he want Sierra going with them? No, not really.
Did he have much of a say in the matter? No. And there wasn’t a
not really
about it either.
Sierra was adamant that Luke and Cole take her to the club. According to her, if Sam was getting to see it, she was going no matter what they said. Needless to say, he and Luke had lost that battle.
And here they were walking down the narrow corridor that would lead them to the very private, very secret fetish club. The same one that was supposed to be closed down entirely. It would be too if it weren’t for the fact that Luke was trying to get a decent feel for what the Walkers intended to do with their resort. Since Travis hadn’t been able to outline what he was planning to do with the two clubs that were supposed to be inside the walls of the super exclusive resort, Luke had offered to give them a tour.
Considering Cole hadn’t been there since he met Sierra, he wasn’t exactly sure what they’d see. With a majority of the members now relieved of their contractual obligation, he wasn’t expecting much. He couldn’t say he was disappointed about it either.
Worst case scenario, some of the few remaining members would be in attendance and having a grand time putting on a show for the few people that would likely be there.
At least Cole wasn’t going to have to worry about anything getting too far out of hand. Although Sierra had been quite adamant that she not get left out of the tour, he could tell by looking at her that she wasn’t feeling well. As the baby continued to develop, Sierra was overcome by exhaustion easily these days, which meant their evenings out usually ended early. He didn’t expect tonight to be much different.
“You feeling all right?” Cole asked Sierra, his hand sliding protectively against her lower back as he walked beside her down the corridor that would lead them to the double doors into the club.
“A little tired, but yes, I’m fine.” Her sweet smile told him she wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but then again, Sierra did her best not to worry them. Sometimes she overdid it, just to avoid their concern. Especially Luke’s.
Since they had already endured an hour and a half at dinner, Cole knew Sierra wasn’t going to want to be out much longer. Not only would she be getting tired, but she had been complaining that her feet were bothering her. He could only imagine. It seemed as though in the last couple of weeks, the baby had gotten significantly bigger.
However, because Luke was required to be here, and Sierra’s curiosity was going to easily trump her discomfort, Cole had resigned himself to the outing. So far it had been interesting, especially listening to Travis Walker and his recent, and not so minor, changes to the resort. Since the conversation started, Luke and Logan hadn’t weighed in, but Cole knew they were probably cataloging every word. It seemed as though Travis was seeking input, but his brothers had been all the support he needed by the time dinner was over.
Having dinner with seven extremely outgoing, distinctly different brothers, was entertaining in itself and Cole found himself laughing on more than one occasion at the banter between them. Having grown up an only child until Tag’s father married Cole’s mother – after he had moved out on his own – he didn’t have any experience with that type of sibling interaction. Again, interesting was a fairly decent description.
As they walked inside the club, most of the others stopped immediately to observe their surroundings, leaving Cole and Sierra wandering behind them. As he watched the intrigue on their faces, he couldn’t help but wonder what the outcome was going to be for their club. Being that Luke abruptly closed the doors a short time ago, there’d been little discussion about reopening them. Well, at least not without some significant changes.
Without a vested interest, apart from being in a permanent relationship with Luke, Cole wasn’t sure what he hoped would happen. Initially, he’d thought that Luke would have more free time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. In fact, Luke was probably spending more time at Club Destiny than before he closed the doors. It was clear that the current situation was weighing heavily on Luke’s mind. No matter how much he and Sierra tried to reassure Luke that they would stand beside him on any decision he made, it was clear Luke had some concerns.
They did seem to be making some progress on the inclusion factor though. Luke was insisting that both he and Sierra provide their input, and he wasn’t at all tolerant of their evasiveness.
Since the three of them were lovers, partners in every sense of the word, it was a no-brainer that they’d support Luke, but other than that, they wouldn’t be able to persuade him to make a decision either way. They knew it, and Luke knew it. Luke was going to do what he wanted to do. That’s the way Luke was. One of the many reasons Cole loved him. Unconditionally.
As the group began to break up, Cole remained with Sierra, keeping an eye on her as she began venturing through the club slowly. She didn’t try to keep up with Sam, and Cole noticed that Ashleigh had taken off in another direction with Alex, likely looking for some interesting fodder for one of her upcoming novels. If anyone would benefit from the visit, Cole had no doubt it would be her.
Cole noticed that Luke and Logan were giving a brief tour to Travis and Sawyer while several of the others went their own way. Trying not to hinder Sierra from getting what she came for – which he still had no idea what that was – he remained quietly by her side. He didn’t need to follow Luke because he knew the history better than most. Having been a member since Club Destiny’s inception, Cole even knew what the former club’s design was, which was in no way as upscale as this one.
The Destined Hearts Club had obviously needed some radical revamping as well as a financial boost by the time Luke came along and managed to save what was left of the failing establishment. Only Luke took it one step further and developed both a nightclub and the fetish club, though most people were oblivious to the latter.
Although Luke spent the better part of the last five years growing the club into something no one had probably ever anticipated, it seemed that it had begun to deteriorate in the last few months. Blackmail and deception had clouded much of the member’s judgment and once that rolled over into Luke’s and Logan’s lives, well, that’s when Luke put an end to it all.
It hadn’t been an easy road either. After some pictures of Samantha McCoy surfaced and were used to blackmail Luke and Logan, they’d made some decisions they swore they’d never make. In an attempt to salvage Samantha’s reputation, as well as that of the high profile company she was working for, they’d allowed the blackmailer admission, which had come back to bite them in the ass.
The members that Luke and Logan worked so hard to protect reacted exactly how everyone should have expected. They didn’t care that the reputation of many were going to be affected if the pictures got out, and they insisted that their anonymity be protected at all costs. According to them, it wasn’t because they were ashamed of their lifestyles, but it was in their best interest not to attract the attention of the media. Cole called bullshit.
So far, the McCoy’s had done a remarkable job at keeping things under wraps. Luke took care of the bullshit and the deception. He shut down the club and officially cancelled the membership agreements with about ninety five percent of the members. Based on what Cole saw tonight, it looked like most of the other five percent were in attendance, which wasn’t all that surprising.
Cole understood both sides of the argument, however, his loyalty was to Luke and Sierra only. Which was why he supported Luke’s decision, promising he’d help to rebuild in any way that Luke deemed necessary. At this point, Cole still wasn’t sure whether Luke was going to move forward.
Based on the conversation they’d engaged in recently, he got the impression that his lover might just be looking to take the club in another direction. He also knew the potential changes weren’t completely Luke’s idea. Trent Ramsey, another silent partner, played a prominent role in swaying him. Up to this point, final decisions hadn’t been made, so Cole continued to wait to see what Luke wanted to do.
Despite what people thought, the BDSM and fetish industry were growing leaps and bounds lately. The sheer volume of applications that Luke received bordered on ridiculous. Luke and Logan managed to keep their membership numbers relatively low due to the hefty price tag they placed on membership. He knew the Walkers wouldn’t have to worry about that since they were keeping theirs on an invitation only basis.
And it would appear that tonight was all about proving to the Walkers that Luke didn’t go into business as a nightclub owner. The few members that remained were some of the kinkier and the most discreet, and the selected few had been informed that the doors would be open for one night only.
As Cole continued to walk with Sierra around the perimeter of the room, he kept an eye on her as well as notated the few changes he noticed since the last time he was there. There weren’t many. Based on the scene taking place in the large glass room on the main floor, Mistress Serena was still in charge and putting on a rather entertaining show tonight.
Mistress Serena was officially the manager of the fetish club, as well as a Domme who loved to show the patrons exactly who was in charge. There probably wasn’t a night that went by in which her presence wasn’t requested in at least one or more scenes. Tonight wasn’t any different.
Sierra stopped in front of the glass enclosed room, watching intently as Mistress Serena directed some pretty intense interaction between two men and one woman. Based on the little bit that Cole had heard, one of the men was about to understand what it meant to submit to another man.
“Do you come here often?” Sierra asked, dividing her attention between what was taking place a few feet in front of them and him. Sliding his hand in hers, twining their fingers together, Cole grinned down at her.
“No.” It was the absolute truth and based on the small smile Sierra gifted him with, she appreciated his response.
Cole rarely had the urge to return to the club, and when he had, it was only because of the darker urges that he’d learned to manage in recent years. He never would’ve seen himself as a submissive, but as it turned out, he was. At least when it came to Luke.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have some vivid fantasies about being anything
but
submissive. His interests these days revolved around the three of them, nothing more. Although they continued to push the boundaries with one another, there were still a few that Luke had refused to breach. Those were the fantasies Cole continued to have, the ones he counted on coming to fruition at some point.
The club couldn’t offer them what they could find together, just the three of them. One of the biggest draws of the club had always been the voyeuristic aspect. On any given night, one could come and enjoy enough visual stimulation to last an entire week. Since that didn’t appeal to him, outside of watching Sierra or Luke, or both of them, Cole had no desire to visit.
The familiar snap of a whip and Mistress Serena’s following command caused Sierra to jump, which in turn had Cole releasing her hand and folding her into his arms. With his chest pressed against her back, he could easily wrap his arms around her and rest his hands over her protruding belly. When she took his hand and moved it over her stomach, he grinned the moment he felt what she was trying to show him. A small, rounded ball protruded slightly from her stomach, probably a knee or an elbow he’d been told.
Their daughter was undoubtedly an active one, especially now. He didn’t know what it said about him that he gladly would spend the day with his arms wrapped around Sierra, his hands molded to her belly as he felt the precious child moving inside. He couldn’t wait for the day he held her in his arms.
“Want to see the rest of the place?” he whispered against her ear, making sure she could hear him over the thunderous boom of the sound system.
She nodded her head, but didn’t move away from him immediately, so Cole waited until she was ready. They continued to watch Mistress Serena for a couple of minutes before Sierra took his hand and led him away from the glass room.
With a protective hand on her back, Cole followed Sierra up to the second floor, then stayed beside her as they traversed the narrow walkways that formed a square with glass rooms on one side and rows of seating on the other. They didn’t stop to linger, and when they reached the stairs once more, Cole held his arm out, signaling for her to head back downstairs.
“What’s up there?” she asked, and he read her lips more than heard her words because, for some reason, the music was blaring tonight. Or maybe he was just getting old, he thought to himself.
Leaning down so that his mouth was close to her ear, he whispered some of the not so erotic fetishes that took place up there. When her face paled, he knew she wasn’t going to want to pursue it any further. Taking her hand, he led the way down the stairs, taking his time to walk beside her.
When they reached the ground floor once again, Cole noticed Samantha and McKenna, along with Tag and Logan, now standing near one of the bars, laughing and talking. Considering they weren’t partaking in any of the action the place had to offer, Cole knew it was going to be a short night. For that, he was grateful.
Rather than moving to join the others, Sierra surprised him when she turned around and headed toward the glass enclosed rooms, specifically the one that Mistress Serena was still in.
He had to admit, the scene was rather intense, but nothing that Sierra wouldn’t have been used to already, considering there were many times where she opted merely to watch him and Luke. In this particular scene, there were two men, and it appeared that everything they’d done thus far had led up to what was about to happen.