Club X-Dare (Siren Publishing Allure) (3 page)

“Yes, madam, and for you, sir?”

“I think the lady has good taste. I will take the same, but put butter on my squash.”

The waiter gave them a polite nod and headed toward the kitchen. “Do you have a problem with milk?”

“No, I just don’t care to load my food up with a bunch of worthless calories. I have the genetic background to become obese, and I refused to do so.”

“Do you belong to a gym?”

“Yes, but I never find the time to go. Most nights I work late, and I try to get to the club two or three times a week. On the weekends I find it very relaxing to go hiking and work in the garden.”

“You sound as if you spend a lot of time alone.”

“I do. But it is by choice. I’m really good at casual relationships, but not so hot on long-term ones. After a day or two I tend to lose interest if someone makes a nuisance out of themselves by hanging around.”

“Have you ever been in serious relationship?”

“I tend to terminate things before they get too serious. What about you?” she asked, turning the conversation off herself.

“I’ve had my share of ‘honey, I’m home.’ Women tend to be a bit intimidated when they find out what I do for a living. They are all into the passionate sex and the sweet talk until we have that fatal discussion. It is weird, but after that, everything that happens has some kinky undertone. They start seeing me as Dracula or maybe Caligula. I am not giving up the club, so I gave up on happily ever after instead.”

“How old are you, Condor? You seem kind of young to be running an X-Dare.”

“Twenty-six. My uncle got me a job on one of his cleaning crews in X-Dare South Carolina. I saved every penny and then, after I graduated high school, got a second job doing landscaping during the daytime. I was living with my parents, and I never spent a dime except to help out with the bills. I took some classes in business management and did a lot of home study on the computer. While most of my friends were in college or working in places around town, I was checking out how to finance an X-Dare. I got a job as a freelance application reviewer and got my foot in the door. I managed to weasel myself a free membership, and I spent every spare moment at the club, learning. My mother was killed in car crash when I was twenty-one. My father had a stroke a year later, and it left him in a near-vegetative state. He couldn’t do anything for himself, and it was impossible for me to be with him twenty-four hours a day. I was lucky because he had purchased insurance that paid for his care until he died last year. Anyway, I was twenty-two when I got wind of a franchise being considered in the Orlando area, and I jumped at it. I took all the money I had and put in a bid on the offer. I have never been so nervous or excited in my life as I was while waiting for a reply. When they asked me to submit plans for a new establishment, I worked nonstop to put all my ideas down on paper. It was everything I had dreamed, and I only had one shot to get it right. I did. A month later the place went into construction. They fronted me some of the money, and I sold everything to get the rest. I was living in a pop-up trailer for almost six months because I couldn’t afford anything else. Every cent I earned doing landscaping went to buy myself clothing to wear at the club. I had to look like a big shot even though I was dead broke. I watched as my dreams grew from the ground up, and I was there to help build each room to my specifications. I moved in upstairs in my office and lived there for about a year before I finally bought the condo. As I’m sure you have heard in the club circles, I have gone from poor to powerful in the last four years.”

“Interesting story. I’m sorry about your parents.”

“Yeah, well, me, too. I felt horrible for putting my father in a home, but he was better off there. I used to go see him two or three times a week for a few hours. Sometimes he knew me, and others he didn’t. It was a nice place, and he got good care. I don’t know what he would think of me now. He hated the idea that I was on a cleaning crew in such a place. I think he would be mortified to know that I now own one. We just broke ground on a second one outside of Ft. Lauderdale. It should be finished in four to six months. I am going to have to find someone to run it for me. I can’t spend three or four hours in each direction on the road to travel between the clubs.”

“So you are a real, live success story, huh?”

His smile flashed again, brilliant and fleeting. “I guess you could say that.”

The waiter set their salads and water on the table. “Please let me know if you need anything. Your meals will be out shortly. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“No. Thank you,” replied Condor, waiting as the man walked away. “So what is your story?”

“Nothing special. I worked my way up the ladder in the insurance business. I got my degrees at night and jumped at every position that was offered. I became the manager of the northeast branch two years ago. I was in a bar with Caroline and her fiancé one night when I met this guy. We talked for a long time, and he asked me if I wanted to go for a walk down the street to get ice cream. The bar was hot and really loud, and I accepted. We got our cones and took a walk down to the beach. Somehow we got talking about rape, and he asked my permission to rape me. I thought that he was joking and said yes. Two hours later I was lying next to him on a deserted part of the beach with my clothing ripped up. It wasn’t really rape, because he went through the motions and then stopped to ask before he actually had sex with me. It was a dangerous game that scared me, yet I liked it. It was also the best sex that I had ever had. He turned me on to X-Dare by giving me a free pass to fill out an application for a two-night trial. I became a newling the following week, and Scarab picked me up. I was his obsession for a while, and then he moved on to someone else. A year and a half after I joined, I was qualified as a lead. I still have fond memories of that first night on the beach.”

“Does he belong to the club?”

“Yes, now I play with him.”

“Do you still have sex with him?”

“On occasion. He is one of the few that I allow.”

“Seal?”

“No.”

“Gargon?”

“Yes.”

“So why is it Seal that gets to go home with you?”

Sam laughed. “Because I don’t always like waking up alone. He is cuddly and cooks me breakfast.”

“Just remember that as a guide you are not suppose to get personal.”

“Yes, sir. I will find my outside activities elsewhere. A guide can’t mess around with a club member anyway.”

“Actually, a guide can choose anyone in the club as long as it is not on their shift. Sex is fine, but I don’t like my guides to get emotionally involved with other members, because it can make for bad scenes in the future. It has happened.”

“Oh really. I didn’t know that,” she said with a sassy smile, poking her tongue through her teeth. Her eyebrows went up in challenge, and she asked, “So, I could take someone on your shift and ask you to oversee?”

Sam was surprised when she saw his entire face darken as if the thought angered him. “I suppose you could,” he replied in an icy tone that brought bumps up on her skin.

“Does that idea bother you? I was only joking. I don’t need a guide.”

“It shouldn’t, but when you said it, I realized that the idea does bother me. Oh, shit. Excuse me,” he said, rising from the table and walking to the nearest waiter. The man pointed, and Condor disappeared behind a room divider.

Sam looked at the empty chair across from her. “What the hell was that about?” she asked in a low voice as the waiter came over with their food.

“Is there something wrong with the salads, madam?” he asked, looking at Condor’s empty chair.

“No, it’s delicious,” she replied, knowing that the waiter was wondering the same thing as her. Had Condor gone to the men’s room or had he just walked out on her.

Condor sat down, the edges of his hair looking dark and damp. “I see our meal has arrived.”

“Are you all right?”

“I think so. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Okay, so what is Disney World like?”

“What?”

“Disney World, SeaWorld. I want to go sightseeing. I have never been to Florida, and I expect a grand tour.”

“I think that I could arrange that,” he said with a chuckle as he began to eat his salad. He watched Sam as she ate, wondering if he was going to be able to handle a week with her. He had spent so much time reading her files that he had become enamored with her. The idea of her sleeping with someone else angered him, and he needed to get his emotions under control. Sam was a wild flower, and it was unlikely that she was ever going to take root under a single star.

Sam closed up the open files on her desk, printing out two payment checks and sending a third case for investigation. Caroline stepped into her office after a repeated course of stroll-bys, and Sam snapped, “What’s wrong? I’m getting nothing done because you are stalking me. What!”

Her furrowed expression relayed anxiety and concern. “I want to stop you, but I don’t know how.”

“I’m sorry, but I am going. Brian is picking me up first thing in the morning. After I finish up here, I’m going to get a haircut and have my nails done. I’m going to pack, and then I’m going to bed. I don’t need to be rescued, and I will be back next Monday either way. I went out to dinner with him last night and had a really good time. He is intelligent and very sweet. He was also the perfect gentleman, kissing me politely on the hand before leaving. I invited him in, and he said no. Brian is going to be my boss and, from the looks of things, nothing more. Please stop worrying.”

Her eyes grew wider as Caroline glared at her. “I have to worry. Think about what you’re doing, Sam.”

“I haven’t thought about anything else, Caroline. Right now, I’m going on vacation, and that is all. I’ll decide about the job once I get back.” Her eyebrows rose to accent the word “Okay?”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise to come back. I was just about to leave, do you want to go get a bite to eat?”

“I can’t. I have a date with my honey. You could come with us.”

“No thanks. I’ll see you in a week. Please get out, and let me finish up these files.”

Caroline smiled and shut the door slowly as if she was reluctant to do so. Sam blew out a deep breath of irritation and turned her attention back to the two cases that had been faxed to her marked
Urgent
in red pen. One was a robbery, and the other was a boat that had sunk just off the coast. Both files were incomplete, and she left them on Larry’s desk marked
Get me more information.

It was her final act for the day, and Sam hurried off to finish her errands. After her appointment at La Croff, she stopped at her favorite take-out restaurant and picked up a large Greek salad and a cup of gourmet coffee. She was barely in the front door when the phone rang. “Hey, Sam, are you avoiding me?” Seal said into her answering machine.

She snatched up the phone and set her things down on the table. “No, I am not avoiding you. I’ve been busy. I’m leaving for Florida in the morning, and I’ll be gone for a week. I have a million things to do, and I’m running late.”

“Any chance I can see you before you leave?”

“No, Seal. I have to pack and wash some clothes. I really want to get to bed early. I am beat. I’ll see you when I get back.”

Seal went silent for a moment and then asked, “Is it Condor? I heard a rumor that he was going to offer you a job as a guide.”

“Just between us, he did offer me a job and I might take it. I don’t know yet. I have to go see what I am getting into.”

“Sam, you can’t do that. I’ll never see you again.”

“I have to do what is best for me, Seal. You know that I am getting really bored with my life here. I need a change. You can come down and visit me.”

“Yeah, right. Have a nice trip!” Seal hung up the phone in her ear, leaving Sam with the empty line.

“Shit! I don’t need this. I warned him that I was not a woman to get attached to. Maybe this is the best thing for him. He will go out and start looking for someone else. I hate to lose him. He is so sweet. Nothing like wanting your cake after you’ve already eaten it. Let it go, Sam.”

She threw in a load of laundry and then sat down to eat her salad. The phone rang, and she snatched it off the cradle, hoping it was Seal. “What are you up to, Sam?”

“Hi, Condor. I was just doing some clothes and eating my dinner. Is something wrong?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to do something.”

“I have to pack. I got out of work late, and it messed up my entire game plan. What time are we leaving in the morning?”

“I will pick you up at 4:00 a.m.”

“Why so early?”

“Because I like the plane when it is empty and I was figuring maybe I could rack up some mile-high club points with you. Interested?”

Sam shook her head slowly, stifling a grunt of laughter. “I didn’t think you were interested. I invited you in last night.”

“I know you did, and I turned you down. Are you upset, miffed, hurt?”

“None of the above. I can take care of my own problems if the need arises.”

“I am glad to hear that. I have a private jet, and my pilot prefers to fly at low-traffic times. I will see you at four.” Condor hung up the phone, irritating her further.