I swore, shucking my jacket off, and headed for the lower level.
****
The door to playroom four stood ajar. It hadn’t been locked, which made my covert entry all the easier. From the quiet, panicked breaths I could hear from my side, his torture hadn’t started … yet.
Martin Lansdown was an ass of the highest order. The fox shifter received more warnings than any other person in the club, and I’d suspended his membership on one memorable occasion. That he’d been set up with a newbie irked me, but then she’d been the one stupid enough to tick theanythingbox on the form. A rookie error. Martin Lansdown liked to play hard and often left his toys … broken.
I couldn’t have that now, could I? Willow would be mine, and the thought of anyone else’s hands, his hands, on her brought bile to my throat. I swallowed it back and let my ragefuel me, uncaring that I was doing the exact opposite of what Killian recommended.
I pushed the door open, stepped inside the room, and jerked my head.
“Out.Now,” I ordered.
Martin swiveled on his heel. A shock of bright orange hair flopped over one eyebrow, giving him the look of a preppy school kid, despite that he must have been in his forties, making him a solid decade older than me.
His hand strayed from the row of clamps, over a small sharps box. We allowed the use for decorative purposes on club premises, but Lansdown pushed those limits every time he walked in my damn door.
He made no move to leave but watched me with a curious gaze. “Want to join me, Astor?”
“You have thirty seconds to vacate the room.” My emotionless voice terrified most.
Lansdown didn’t seem to pick up on that cue. My gaze flicked to Willow as she pretended to be still in her bonds while the exchange took place in front of her. Powerful waves of fear hit me head-on, mixed with a tang of arousal. My lip curled. She liked not knowing what was coming for her, did she? I could work with that later.
Lansdown gripped the sharps case, fiddling with the lock. “I paid for her time.”
“And I’ll pay you for yours.” My gaze dropped to his lingering touch, my stomach turning over on itself.
The harder player liked the sharps, but his playmate was supposed to be aware of his intentions in that regard.Beforethey started playing. It should have been included in her locker room information. I doubted he’d declared the night’s activities to her, or to anyone else.
Fear rolled off Willow as she hung spread-eagled inher bonds. Limbs tightened, trembling as she stood silent and waited. She couldn’t do much else from her tethered position.
Lansdown hesitated. Lust, greed, and something else I couldn’t quite define passed across his face. It happened so fast I would have missed it if I hadn’t been looking.
“Now, Martin.” I shot him a hard look.
The fox shifter scurried out the door. It slammed shut behind him, leaving the room silent.
I crossed to the door and flicked the lock. Not our usual policy, but my club, my damn rules. The click echoed in the open space, giving me the effect I wanted. Willow squirmed in her bonds, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. My senses picked up the change at a distance, her natural tendency to flee calling me to her.
She’s your prey.
My body knew that, knew I should open the door, call an attendant, and walk the fuck away from the whole situation.
I took a step closer to her.
Willow’s limbs were long and lithe in her bonds, leaving her exposed to me in her cute-as-a-fucking-button pink harness.
A wry smile curled the corners of my lips. “Pick that one out yourself, did you?”
Her blindfolded face jerked up, turning in my direction as she likely tried to work out where I stood, andwhohad decided to play with her. What would happen now that the program she expected had changed.
I strode around the inside perimeter of the room and approached her from behind. My fingertips grazed her sides, testing for ticklish areas.
She released a small yelp. It cut off as she slammed her mouth shut. “Where is he?”
Her breath puffed hard through her nose, though the rest of her body stilled, adjusting to the new circumstances.Her raging heartbeat evened out as she exerted control over her body’s natural reaction to a predator she couldn’t see and couldn’t identify. She just knew I was there.
Well, well. My little fluffy bunny was becoming an interesting little plaything.