Cari going to make of that? He rejoined her at the table and took a sip of his wine.
"The club that my twin goes to. It isn't a bowling club, is it?"
"No," Ryan said, quietly.
"And my twin is a member?"
"Cari, I'm not allowed to talk about The Club or its members."
"So how were you planning to tell me?" She picked up her cell phone from the table and put it in her handbag.
Ryan shrugged, not sure what to say. He was done with The Club. There was only one thing dragging him back night after night.
"I'd like to go home now please."
Chapter 4
The moment Ryan pulled his sports car in front of her house Cari opened the car door and marched up to her house.
"Cari wait," Ryan said, leaping out his side and racing after her.
"Good bye, Ryan." She dug for her key, inserted it into the lock and threw the door open. Anger seethed inside her but she bit it back. Here she was thinking Ryan was some ordinary guy, someone who had served and was ready to give his life for his country. A stable engineer. Huh! She really could pick them.
"We need to talk," Ryan said, following her inside, closing the door behind him.
She rounded on him. "Talk? Are you nuts? The time to tell me of your little hobby was when we were at dinner. You could have included: footy, hanging out and BDSM. Just dropped it in there so I wouldn't have had to hear it sprayed around the restaurant by a drunk."
"It isn't something I could tell you about without getting to know you better."
Cari jabbed her index finger into his chest. "You knew I was having trouble getting over Rob's death. You knew I was vulnerable. What were you planning? To groom me so you could stick me on a collar and a lead?"
"Nothing. I liked you. It was that simple."
Cari shook her head. "I'm not stupid. Nothing is ever simple. No wonder you enjoyed playing out my fantasy. You're not an ordinary guy."
"But Cari, it's a sexy fantasy. My fantasy too. Don't make it into something dirty. Something bad." Ryan looked genuinely hurt.
Cari heaved in a deep breath, telling herself to be calm. "There's a whole scene going on here in Karim that I'm not privy to and clearly you Maks have got my sister involved too. You must think I'm some kind of joke not catching on earlier? You must be laughing at me."
"Not at all." Ryan tried to take her elbow to guide her to the lounge. "Let me get you a drink and we can talk."
"I don't want a drink." She jerked her elbow away but she did sit on the lounge. Her mind was reeling. While her inclination was to demand Ryan leave, she had to force herself to hear more for Annabel's sake. She needed to understand what Ryan was in to. What kind of people was her twin involved with? For a top model, she'd thought it was strange that Annabel had decided to live in Texas rather than New York in the apartment the twins had inherited.
Though Annabel had stayed in her old bedroom and visited New York regularly, Cari had believed her twin when she'd said she'd chosen to live in Texas because of her love of horse riding and the open-air lifestyle. Instead, if the drunk could be believed, her twin was leading a new boyfriend called Con around on a chain like a dog. Oh hell. Her mother would roll in her grave. Her father would shoot Con. And Ryan? This supposedly sweet guy who made her feel good about herself for the first time in two years? This guy who made her laugh? He was a freak. Cari buried her face in her hands.
Ryan rubbed her back, his hand warm. "Cari please let me explain. It's not what you think."
She turned to face him. "What is it then? You'd better start explaining and that includes answering all my questions."
Ryan's face tightened.
"Nothing is going to be off limits tonight. It's either that or you walk out that door and you never come back."
Ryan sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "What do you need to know?"
"What is The Club?"
"It's a venue, here in Karim, where people who have a kink can go and meet other like minded people."
"And
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley