Bottoms Up (10 page)

He sighed. Matt hadn’t been the only one affected. Johnny knew he had changed too. Lisa had been his first love. His only love, really. Unforgettable. Her energy had been boundless, her zest for fun and life never-ending. Every moment with her had been an adventure.

Her death had been a betrayal.

The same betrayal he had felt seeing Destiny come apart between him and Matt. She was Lisa all over again. Impulsive. Reckless. Destiny would never refuse a dare. She’d do anything, no matter what the cost.

He wouldn’t put himself through that hell again.

Johnny steeled himself to go back into the club. Matt was right. He had to get his ass back up to the bedroom and apologize. He might not be able to scene with her anymore, but he was responsible for her welfare tonight. He walked slowly through the crowded bar and back up the stairs.

No one Upstairs seemed to have noticed the uproar. They were all engaged in the usual activities. He opened the door to his bedroom.

The room was empty.

Damn. She must have hit the back door while he was out front with Matt. Johnny cut through the throng of naked bodies and rushed down the stairs again. He pushed open the emergency door.

He saw Destiny, wearing his clothes, slide into a taxi and shut the door. Relief, then shame, washed over him as her taxi sped away from the bar.

Chapter Eight

Destiny met Bonita’s eyes. “I fell for him.”

Rather than call in sick to work, Destiny had chosen to spend her Saturday mooning around Come Again until her boss had demanded an explanation. “Totally humiliating, and not in a good way.”

“Are you sure? Falling in love in a week is impulsive, even for you.” Bonita’s eyes were skeptical over the take-out iced latte Destiny had brought her.

“Well, it’s not the bondage, and it’s not the pain. If any other man picked up a cane and said, ‘Lie down,’ I’d say, ‘Go fuck yourself,’ but there’s just something about Johnny that totally does it for me. I like him, Bonita—or at least, I did before last night.”

“How do you know if you like him? You two haven’t done anything together but have sex.”

“We had dinner together.”

“And then had sex.”

“We’ve talked on the phone a lot.”

“Phone sex?”

Destiny collapsed on the stool behind the counter. “You’re right. I’m an idiot.”

“You are not an idiot, sweetie. BDSM is heavy stuff, and you’ve really pushed your boundaries this week. What happened last night, anyway?”

Destiny filled her in on all the sordid details, beginning with Damian walking in with Mistress Karina, then the caning, and the ménage. By the time she was finished, Bonita’s eyes were blazing green fire.

“Are you telling me the man caned you for an hour, and then, when you were still flying, he talked you into having a threesome with his best buddy? Are you fucking kidding me?” Bonita rarely cursed. “What an asshole! Then he waltzed out the door like you were a brunch buffet and he was full?”

Destiny laughed in spite of the hollow ache in her stomach. “Johnny made it clear from the very beginning that he was just looking for kicks. He didn’t make me any promises. He didn’t lie to me.”

“Don’t you dare defend him!”

Destiny sighed. “It’s not his fault. He’s a Leo.”

Bonita gave her a hug. “Huh? You lost me at Leo.”

“It’s that whole king of the jungle thing. Leos are impossible to resist. When he touches me, I turn into a freaking lemming. I would follow him anywhere, do anything, jump off a bridge, ass-fuck another man—”

“I get the picture.” Bonita’s eyes crinkled delicately.

The shop bell tinkled.

“Heads up, sweetie. Incoming customer.”

Destiny wiped her eyes. Damn the reckless impulse that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. Ignorance had been much more comfortable. She glanced at the door. “Oh, fuck, that’s Matt.”

“Curiouser and curiouser.”

“I never noticed your resemblance to Alice until now.” Destiny attempted a smile.

“We’re not done talking about this.” Bonita squeezed her hand and faded toward the back.

Matt stopped at the counter. “Good morning, Destiny.” His cool gaze probed her face. “How are you today?”

“Fine.” In spite of the tears, she lifted her chin defiantly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Johnny told me you disappeared last night. I was worried about you.”

Destiny put her hands on her hips. “I had another engagement.”

Matt’s eyes lit with a brief flash of silvery humor that made Destiny think of mercury. He nodded. “I’m sure you did. Listen, our friend Johnny can be an asshole, but he has never, ever, to my knowledge behaved that way with a woman.” He gave her a look that made her believe his knowledge was extensive, indeed. After last night, she wouldn’t be surprised. “I don’t suppose you’ll take it as a compliment?”

“Not likely.”

Matt took a breath and blew it out slowly, then he nodded once, tightly, as if he had come to a decision. “He won’t apologize, and I can’t do it for him, but if you ever talk to him again, ask him about Lisa.”

“Who the fuck is Lisa?” Jesus, if Johnny had a steady girlfriend, or a wife, she was going to kill him.

“You’ll have to ask him—not that he really deserves it.” Matt tugged a roll of bondage tape from the counter display and laid a ten on the counter. He caught her hand as she reached for the bill and placed a business card in her palm. “Give him another chance, Destiny. He’s different with you.”

She ignored the card. “I didn’t know pimps wore such classy suits.”

Her jab only made him shrug.

She handed him his change. “I’ll think about what you’ve said. Thanks for stopping by.”

His silvery eyes caught hers, held them as he inclined his head. “Thank you for last night. I’m sorry it ended the way it did, Destiny.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “I’m sorry too—”

Matt held up his hand. His polite mask dropped back into place. “You have nothing to apologize for, Destiny. Nothing at all.”

The bell sounded forlorn as the shop door swung shut behind him.

“He’s right, you know,” Bonita declared as she returned to Destiny’s side. “This is not your fault. You don’t have to hold your head high and carry on like nothing happened. Johnny Delcorral owes you an apology and an explanation, and you know it as well as I do. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt for two reasons—the man owns a BDSM club with an excellent reputation, and his best buddy just came in here to tell you he’s acting like an asshole. Something is up with him, and I’d bet my new shipment of SoloPlay vibrators that
you
are what’s up with Master Johnny Delcorral. So what are you going to do about it?”

“Bonita, if I knew what to do, we both know I’d be doing it. I’m totally stumped.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Bonita smoothed her blond hair away from her face, waiting for Destiny’s nod. “Honey, if you are going to foul out, take the other guy out of the game too. Go tear a couple strips out of him just to make yourself feel better.” Bonita’s bloodthirsty grin changed her whole face.

“I never knew you had a vicious streak,” Destiny said admiringly.

“Right is right. And wrong is wrong. Set him straight, sister.”

“Right now?”

“Why not? Crystal will be in to take over for you any minute.”

It wasn’t her fault.
What a freeing concept.

Not only that, it was true. She’d been in no condition to behave logically last night, considering she’d just had her brains fucked halfway out of her skull. Johnny had left her high and dry. With a stranger. After working her over with a cane. In front of a crowd. And then double-fucking her. That was a big no-no in their world.

If Johnny had any hair, she should have grabbed it last night, dragged him back into the bedroom, then forced him to finish the job properly. Maybe she should have chased after him through the club. At the very least, she should have waited for him to return to his room so that she could kill him. It now seemed impossible that she had run away last night.

But Johnny had run first, hadn’t he? Why? Because of Lisa?

Destiny looked down at the card Matt had placed in her hand.
Johnny’s Uptown, Main Street, Snyder.

The door of Johnny’s Uptown bar flew open.

He should have followed her home last night—or called, at least—but he hadn’t been able to pull his attention away from the club. Or so he had told himself. It was a lame-assed excuse, and he knew it. In fact, that’s why he’d headed Uptown today. Destiny wasn’t the wound-licking type, and he knew she’d come after him pretty quick. He had hoped to buy some time to figure out what he was going to say to her when she found him.

Too late.

The ominous sound of her bootheels on the polished hardwood floor sounded like a warning. Clad in skintight leather from the tips of her toes to the tips of her breasts, her dreadlocks flying around her face like dramatic snakes, she looked like a deadly Medusa with an angel’s face. The only thing that could have made her more enthralling would have been a whip in her hand.

Hell hath no fury
was right. She looked like she would cheerfully murder him with a roomful of eyewitnesses and not feel a moment’s regret.

Her voice was mild. “Run away much, motherfucker?”

“Mind your mouth, babe, you’re Uptown, now.”

She cast a disparaging glance around the bar. “Fuck you.”

“Again? So soon? It would be my pleasure.” Conflicted or not, he couldn’t resist baiting her, just for the pleasure of watching her struggle for control. If they had been standing on the street, she might have spit in his face. As it was, he would lay money on her throwing a punch soon.

Destiny put her hands on her hips. “I don’t allow myself to be treated like a whore in the name of fun, Johnny. What you did to me last night was wrong. No self-respecting Dom would walk out on a scene like that. You dumped me in Matt’s lap like garbage. I deserve an explanation.”

“Destiny, we can’t have this discussion in front of customers.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere else with you.”

Johnny leaned close, risking her fists to make his point. “We both know if I touch you, you’ll do anything I want.”

“Try it.” Her dare made him hard as a rock. She’d mastered her temper for the moment, but she was throwing off energy like a sparkler. The look in her eyes was calm, cold and livid. “You think I can’t resist you? Thank your lion pride for that misapprehension. Fucking Leo.”

Johnny tossed a glance over his shoulder. His second-in-command waved him away from the bar. “Got it, Johnny.”

He lifted the bridge and stepped to her side of the bar. He put his hand on her arm. She didn’t pull away, or in any way respond to his touch. Oh, what he’d give to put her on her knees in front of him right now. She was so strong, so defiant, so absolutely dangerous to the careful life he had built. His cock pulsed and his grip tightened. He forced himself to drop her arm.

He gestured toward the back hall and his office. “After you.”

She shoved him away and swept toward the back of the bar, barely giving him a chance to shut his office door before she attacked.

“I allowed you to Dominate me, so drop the whole über-Dom act. There aren’t that many men who could do it, and even fewer whom I would allow the privilege. It’s not like I don’t understand the dynamics of Dominance and submission. You had a responsibility to me last night, and we both know it. Why did you leave?”

What could he tell her? The truth was just too pathetic, and all the lies he had been telling himself were insulting and untrue.

Destiny narrowed her eyes. “Okay, let’s start with this. Who’s Lisa?”

“Who told you about Lisa?” Dread sparked in his chest.

“Matt came to see me at work today.” Johnny juggled the emotions her words caused. Anger and surprise, mostly, but jealousy too. “Are you married, Johnny?”

He snorted. “Not even close.” Bitterness welled in his chest.

Fuck it. He owed her an explanation, a real one. If he had been honest with her the night she had challenged him to explain his need for Dominance, he would have saved them both time and trouble. He sighed and sank into one of the chairs in front of his desk. She sat in the other one. “Lisa was Matt’s older sister and my girlfriend. She was brave, fearless, constantly looking for the next adventure. Right up until the moment she drank a six-pack and decided to climb Glen Falls.”

“The waterfall in that park on Mill Street?”

He nodded. “There’s a guardrail there now, but when we were teenagers we used to sneak into the park after dark. Someone dared Lisa to climb to the top of the falls. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen to anything I said. She never refused a dare. The shale gave out beneath her and she fell, hitting every rock and ledge on her way to the bottom. I pulled her out of the water, but it was too late. She died on the way to the hospital. Broken neck.” He forced himself to meet her eyes before he continued. “An accident. A stupid, reckless mistake that fucked us for good. I’m sure Matt told you I never got over her, that I turned to the BDSM lifestyle to make sure none of my girls ever tried anything like that again.”

Destiny shook her head and tilted it to one side, eyebrows drawn together. “He didn’t tell me anything. You liked this girl, right?”

“I loved her.”

“Then, if I remind you of her, that’s a good thing, right?”

God, it would be so much easier to walk out the door right now, to just ditch the whole subject, but that hadn’t worked last night, and he found that he wanted Destiny to know why he was angry. “You were fucking Matt. I didn’t like it.”

“It was your idea!”

“I guess I was hoping that there might be a dare you wouldn’t take. I can’t be with a girl who won’t say no. I won’t put myself through that hell again.”

Destiny dropped her chin and gave him a level look from under the slim arch of her brows. “I’m going to assume you know how utterly unfair that is. I wanted to please you last night, Johnny, and no matter what bullshit line you’re trying to sell me now, you were into it. You might think you don’t want a woman who is up for a dare, but you do. You totally do.” She arched an eyebrow and slowly shook her head back and forth. “Have you looked at the art on your walls lately? That Black Cat doesn’t look tame to me.”