Adam looked around, trying to find his friends over the cloud of heads, then nodded his head toward one end of the bar.
Two men were smiling at them as they approached. They were both tall, but that’s where the likeness ended. One of them had a shaved head and tattooed arms and was wearing black jeans and a Motörhead T-shirt. The other guy was the polar opposite of his friend, with a smart suit and neatly cut hair. They greeted Adam with jovial handshakes and warm man hugs. Once the birthday greetings were out of the way, Adam pulled her close, a proud smile beaming from him.
“Rachel, these are my very good friends, Chris”—he pointed to the guy who looked like a biker—“and his partner, Josh.”
“We’ve heard so much about you,” said Chris and took her hand, kissing the back of it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you at last,” said Josh, repeating Chris’ gesture.
“Thank you.” Rachel smiled back at them, relaxing at their friendly manner.
Josh turned back to Adam and grinned. “So,
old
man, only another five years till you’re forty.”
“You can talk,” laughed Adam. “You’re a year older than me. Come on, let’s go through.”
Rachel glanced questioningly at Adam, but he just put his arm around her and led her across the crowded, noisy room toward the far corner, with Josh and Chris following. She wondered if his friends noticed the awkward way she was walking, and silently cursed Adam for making her wear the damned bullet thing.
As they pushed through the crowds, they approached a doorway right in the far corner of the room where a beefy doorman stood guard. The burly man nodded and smiled as soon as he saw Adam then stood aside for them to pass. “Good evening, Mr Stone.”
Adam smiled, greeted the doorman and walked into another bar, quite different from the one they’d just left. Whereas the main bar was noisy and crowded with little seating, this was the opposite. Small round tables were scattered throughout the bar, with subdued lighting matching the equally subdued music.
“This is a private members’ bar,” explained Adam. “Every year we meet up here on my birthday—it’s become a bit of a tradition.”
They made their way to an empty table and, when they reached it, Josh held a chair out for Rachel.
“Thank you.” She smiled, and tried to sit down as gracefully as she could. The bullet thing moved as she put her weight on her arse and she squirmed in discomfort. She scowled at Adam who just grinned back at her. He was clearly enjoying this and she made a mental note to come up with a fitting plan of revenge later.
A waiter approached their table with a bottle of champagne and four glasses. Chris poured the sparkling drink, then they toasted Adam’s birthday, clinking their glasses in a chorus of good wishes. The conversation turned to old friends and acquaintances and Rachel was soon able to work out that Adam and Chris had gone to university together, and that Chris had met Josh on a working holiday in India nearly four years ago.
Rachel listened happily to their lively talk, laughing at the jokes and enjoying the delicious champagne that never seemed to run out. But then, completely out of the blue, the bullet started vibrating violently.
“Agh,” she screamed, unable to hold back her shock, and jumped slightly in her chair.
The three men stopped talking and turned to look at her.
“Whatever’s the matter?” asked Adam, with a look of complete innocence on his face. She saw the glint of laughter in his eyes, though, and glared furiously at him.
Bastard
!
She smiled at Josh and Chris. “I’m sorry about that,” she said sweetly, “I thought I saw a mouse and it gave me a fright, that’s all.” She tried not to move, which was damned hard, as the vibrations were so strong.
Adam raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. She should have known he was up to something and looked down at his hand, which was conveniently inside his jacket pocket where he was obviously operating a remote.
“Ha, I thought Adam was up to his old tricks again,” laughed Chris, winking at Rachel, letting her know he knew about Adam’s kinks. She felt that horrible, familiar blush burn her cheeks again and looked away, trying not to wriggle in her seat as the vibrations increased. She threw Adam a pleading look as she found it harder to look indifferent. The pressure of sitting made the movements vibrate against her clit, which, in turn, was making her horny.
Desperate for it to stop, she kicked Adam under the table and was rewarded with a glare that told her she’d be in trouble later.
“Talking of which,” continued Chris, lowering his voice and leaning closer toward Rachel, “how’s your arse? Has it recovered yet from that flogging you got on Saturday night?”
Rachel stared at Chris in horror then at Adam in anger. Had he been boasting to all his friends about what he’d been doing to her? Tears blurred her eyes as she pushed her chair back and stood up, only just remembering to clench her muscles to keep the damned vibrator in. Without a word, she stormed off to the Ladies’ before she said something she’d regret.
Once inside the privacy of a cubicle, the first thing she did was to reach down and remove the bullet vibrator, which was still buzzing. She threw it angrily in the sanitary bin, sat down on the closed lid and cried. How could he do that to her? Just how many people had he bragged to about what he’d done to her? She was obviously just a joke to him, a convenient fuck-toy to do with as he pleased, when he pleased. Actually, she didn’t mind the latter so much—that was part of the thrill—it was the fact that he was so insensitive to her feelings that upset her so much.
She heard the entrance to the toilets open and a second later there was a soft knock on the cubicle door.
“Go away,” she snapped. “And just in case you didn’t know, this is a
Ladies’
toilet.”
“I know, lovey,” said a soft familiar voice on the other side of the door, “I just wanted to check that you’re okay.”
“Chrissie?” Rachel stood up as realization dawned on her. She pulled the bolt back. As she swung the door open, she came face to face with Chris, who looked at her with a sheepish grin.
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hand and leading her away from the cubicle. “I thought you knew it was me and just wanted to have a little fun.”
“I thought Adam had been bragging about me,” whispered Rachel, still not sure what to think.
Chris shook his head and pulled her into an embrace. “No, love, he hasn’t said a word other than how much he likes you.”
Suddenly, Rachel saw the funny side and started laughing, softly at first, then harder until fresh tears were running down her face. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you”—she giggled—“it’s so obvious now I know.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, Adam just gave me a right telling off for winding you up. It’s a good job I’m not a sub or I’d be in for a proper hiding.”
“Oh, crap,” groaned Rachel, “I’ve just made my punishments worse. Not only did I kick Adam under the table and storm off like that, but he made me wear this bloody vibrator thing and told me not to remove it until he said so, and I’ve just thrown it in the sanitary bin.”
Chris burst into fresh laughter, making Rachel start laughing again too.
“Well, lovey, make sure you blame me. Seriously, though, I really am sorry for upsetting you.”
“That’s okay. I’m probably a bit oversensitive,” said Rachel, and turned toward the mirror to check her makeup. “Oh, God, look at me. I look like a bloody panda.”
“No problem,” said Chris, and reached into the bag he was carrying.
Five minutes later, they left the Ladies’, much to the bemusement of the women now in there. Rachel’s face was perfect again. Chris had redone her eyes and applied a soft pink lipstick to her lips and she felt much better as they approached the table.
Adam stood up immediately, throwing Chris an angry glare, and held the chair for Rachel to sit down. “Are you all right?” he whispered in her ear.
She smiled up at him as she sat down and nodded. “I’m fine, just a misunderstanding.”
Josh filled all their glasses again and signaled to the waiter for another bottle.
They were soon chatting amiably again and everything was fine until Adam leaned over and whispered, “You’ve taken the bullet out.”
It wasn’t a question, and the blood drained from Rachel’s face as she stared into Adam’s angry face.
Shit!
“We’ll discuss it later,” he growled, although there was a twinkle of humor in his eyes.
She looked at Chris who had been watching, and felt better when he winked at her and mouthed,
“Blame me.”
The conversation thankfully changed to something else and eventually led to the club.
“Are you working this weekend, Chris?” asked Adam.
“Yes, on Saturday.”
Adam nodded and started telling him about some staffing problem they’d had behind the bar.
“By the way,” said Chris, when they’d finished discussing the staff issues, “have you managed to sort Dominique out yet?”
Rachel, who had been about to take a sip of her drink, suddenly sat up and took notice. There was something about that Dominique—she gave her the creeps, and when she’d marched into the office yesterday and kissed Adam so intimately on the lips, Rachel’s dislike of the woman had increased tenfold.
Adam’s face changed as his eyes darkened and his eyebrows pulled together. Even his posture changed—the relaxed shoulders became stiff and tense as he placed his glass firmly back on the table.
“Not yet,” he snapped. “I don’t wish to discuss that woman now.”
“Who is she?” asked Rachel, her interest now piqued. She was shocked at the intensity of the jealousy eating away in her stomach. She really needed to know who this woman was.
“She’s…” began Josh, but was interrupted by Adam.
“She’s my business partner,” he said coldly, giving Josh a silencing glare. “I don’t wish to discuss her tonight.”
“But…” said Rachel. She needed reassurance that Dominique was just a business partner and nothing more.
“Subject closed.”
Adam glared at her now and, given the trouble she was already in, she figured she would be wise to shut up, so she closed her mouth and reached for her glass.
The rest of the evening felt a bit awkward after that and she was thankful when Adam stood up and told her Rob would be waiting outside. After saying goodbye to Chris and Josh, he led her out through the main bar and into the waiting car.
As soon as the door had closed, Rachel started to speak. “Adam, I’m sorry about the vibrator thing, but I was so angry and hurt when I thought you’d been talking about me to your friends, and the constant vibrating was driving me mad, I couldn’t stand it.”
“You walked out of the remote’s range before I could turn it off,” he snapped. “It was meant to have been a bit of fun. I’m more upset that you thought I would discuss our private affairs like some arrogant teenager, though.” His face told her exactly how he felt and she swallowed a lump in her throat, gutted that she’d hurt his feelings.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry for kicking you and walking off like that.”
When he didn’t answer, she said, “Are you going to punish me?” For the first time, she sincerely hoped he’d say no, but she knew she deserved to be punished and resolved to take whatever he wanted to dish out.
He was silent for a moment then he said, gravely, “I should put you over my knee and take the paddle to your arse, but I’m too angry right now and I never punish subs when I’m angry.”
Rachel’s heart sank at the edge to his deep tone.
“I’m sorry,” she said, again. “I thought…”
“I know what you thought. It’s not just you, though,” he added, his voice softening slightly. “I’m pissed off with Chris for winding you up and…” His voice trailed off and she was left desperate to know what, or who, had also made him so angry.
“Is it Dominique?” she asked carefully.
“Enough!” he shouted, making her jump back in her seat. She bit back the tears blurring her vision and turned to stare blindly out of the window.
They rode in silence until they were just a couple of minutes away from her flat. Finally, Adam turned back to her and cupped her chin in his hand. “I’m sorry for snapping at you,” he said, his voice warm again. “It’s not your fault.”
She smiled, but didn’t say anything. She realized he wouldn’t be able to see the smile in the dark car and probably thought she was still upset, so when he pulled her into his arms, she reached up and kissed him on the lips.
“Thank you for the present. It really is the most perfect present anyone has ever given me.” He stroked her cheek and she leaned gently into his hand until her head was practically resting in his palm. It felt safe and reassuring and she wished Rob hadn’t just pulled up outside her building. She didn’t want to leave Adam tonight, she needed to be with him, in his arms where she knew she belonged, but when he moved his hand again, she knew she’d be sleeping on her own tonight.
He kissed her softly on the lips. “Goodnight. See you in the morning, and don’t be late.”
She smiled. It amused her that he couldn’t help the hint of Dom creeping out from behind his words. She saluted him, before stepping out of the car. Rob was holding the door for her and she smiled her thanks before turning back to Adam. “No, Sir. Goodnight.”
Chapter Seven
Rachel didn’t sleep well again that night. She went straight to bed with just a cursory greeting to Mandy, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.
She burrowed under her duvet and closed her eyes, but her thoughts were spinning out of control, all tumbling together as if they were in an overheating dryer, and she opened them again in an attempt to calm the manic demons.
Why was she feeling so unsettled? What was it that had changed the dynamic of the evening? The night had started so well with that incredible shower then meeting Chris and Josh and going into the private members’ bar, feeling a bit like a VIP. Even when Adam had been angry with her for storming off and removing the vibrator, things had been okay. There hadn’t been that undercurrent of tension and unease that had hung over the rest of the evening and was still eating away at her now.