Dark Xanadu by Sindra van Yssel Read Free Book Online Page A

and stopped so much when she was talking. On the other hand, he was there to keep her safe, not to take advantage of her, as tempting as that was. He had a whole host of questions for her. “Let’s get away from the bondage cross and go talk in my office.”
    She nodded, seeming to notice the crowd that had gathered around them for the first time. Some of them were simply drawn to the drama, eager to know what they could to better gossip with their friends. That never changed. But others were waiting their turn at the play station.
    Kent led her back to an office that adjoined the big public room. She looked up at the sword that hung over the office door, out of reach of all but the tallest men. It seemed like an odd thing to have in a BDSM place; too dangerous to be a toy. There were some Chinese or Japanese characters on the scabbard. She pointed at them. “What do they mean?”
    Kent followed her gaze. “The rough translation is ‘To protect what one chooses to protect, so that life is worth living.’” He opened the door, and gestured her in. There was a gray desk in the office, one he’d had for a long time. It was army surplus after World War II, and it had been his father’s desk, made of steel and rubber and a royal pain to move. The thing would probably last longer than he did. He sat on the edge of it, not wanting to put it between him and Angela.
    She looked between the red leather chair and the black leather couch and chose the chair. It left her looking up at him, which was fine. She crossed her legs demurely.
    “So what are you doing here, Angela?”
    “I was curious.”
    “You weren’t very curious the other night, when I was showing you around.”
    “I was surprised, and so I reacted.”
    Kent nodded. “I should have warned you before I brought you here.”
    Angela shook her head. “I would have never come with you if you had. It’s…” She seemed to search for the right word. “Fascinating.”
    “By it, you mean bondage. Submission. All of that.” When she didn’t object he went on. “But you wouldn’t want to trust someone who was into any of that.”
    Angela smiled slowly. “I guess that’s it. Kind of hypocritical of me.”
    Kent shrugged. A lot of kinky folk thought they were screwed up somehow, and that therefore everyone else who preferred their sex out of the ordinary was screwed up too. Even if they were at peace with their own desires, it wasn’t always easy to believe that other people who wanted the same things might be good people, too. “Are you here as Gerald’s guest?” Usually people who knew each other weren’t quick to use the club safe word. They had their own safe words, for one thing, and more private ways to work things out. It was usually only when strangers played together that the dungeon monitors had to interfere.
    “No. I met him for the first time tonight.”
    “Okay, good. So whose guest are you?”
    “Brennan’s.”
    Brennan. Kent gritted his teeth. Brennan didn’t need permission to date a woman he had been with before, and nothing he had done with Angela gave him any sort of claim on her. But he still wasn’t entirely happy about it. He took a deep breath. The fact was, it was his ego that was hurt by the fact that Angela had run out of the club as fast as possible less than two weeks ago with him, and now was back with someone else. “I don’t think Brennan would approve of you hooking up with Gerald.”
    Angela shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t think Brennan would care.”
    Brennan wasn’t one for long term relationships, but when he was with a sub he was at least as protective and territorial as Kent was. Kent very much doubted that Brennan wouldn’t care. “I think maybe you ought to check with Brennan. If he brings a woman some place, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want her to go floating off.”
    “He didn’t bring me.”
    Kent raised his eyebrows.
    “I just talked to him at the door. He made me his guest because it was the only