“And for you, my sweet linebacker. Because I want you to know we’re tied together, bonded like the knots in this band. All three of us are in this together, and if that means we take on the weight of your struggles, then we do. Okay?”
Fuck, this was the corniest I’d ever been. These two cute assholes were ruining my bad boy reputation. Now I was one big fucking softie.
KC’s lashes fluttered and his smile was ten times brighter than the sun. “Okay, you romantic.”
“Ugh.” I laughed again and dragged him into a kiss, then watched as KC turned and did the same to Oliver. I couldn’t tear my attention away from them, the sight an aphrodisiac that wove a spell through me. Blood bolted south and my cock hardened as their kiss deepened. “Okay, okay. No sex in the car. We’ve got an event to get to.”
KC broke the kiss, though he looked rather reluctant.
We got out of Shakira and made our way to Black Out together, my hand clutched in KC’s while KC held Oliver’s. We passed the line of people waiting to get into the club on the first floor. A thumping beat spewed out of the open doors.
One of the bouncers in a shirt with STAFF on his chest glared at me and held up a hand like a traffic cop.
“We’re here for the event,” I called.
He nodded and pointed to a set of double doors on our left. We headed up a long set of stairs to a landing. The moment we reached the top, we were stopped by a burly guy full of ink I’d take the chance to admire if I wasn’t in such a rush to start playing.
The man wasn’t familiar. He held out his hand. “Invite?”
I fumbled, getting my phone out of my pocket, then found Luke’s text. Exhaling the breath I’d been holding, I flashed him the screen. He scowled as he scanned the QR code with his phone.
“Renshaw Booth?” He paused, thinking. “You were invited by Barber. You related?”
“My brother,” I admitted, forcing myself to be polite even though I was very much in a rush.
He grimaced and pointed at my face. “You will follow all the party rules or you’ll be out on your ass. You get me?”
“Yes.” What the hell had Luke done? “Of course.”
“Good. I better not hear about anything being broken or set on fire, either. Right inside you’ll find a reception desk. They’ll explain the rules. Follow them or you won’t like what happens.” The guy yanked back a black curtain, and I nodded in thanks as we slipped behind it.
The low glow around us provided just enough light to see another man standing behind a gleaming black wooden desk. He was tall and slim, filling out a swanky suit that I couldn’t quite catch the color of because he was in shadows.
“This way, please.” The accent—Scottish—filled the space between us and I dragged KC and Oliver toward the desk.
I couldn’t get a good look at the employee, but his long hair gleamed where it pooled around his shoulders.
“The rules of this game are straightforward. One or two of you are the prey, and the other one or two are the predators. This is fantasy involving primal, animalistic desires. The predator or predators will wear a mask and chase the prey.” He flashed glow-in-the-dark wristbands. One was a bright red, another green. “You may choose to play with only each other and wear the red bands or play with others and wear the green.”
“Red,” I said. “Only fucking red.”
The man chuckled but passed over three wristbands. I helped KC and Oliver secure theirs before I did the same for mine.
“Now, a code word. If someone finds you, they may not sexually touch you until you have given them thecorrectcode word. I will give you the codes to stop any overlap.” He passed us two folded pieces of paper. One for thepreyand one for the predator. I opened mine and snickered at the word inside.
“Motorcycle.”Original. Not.“What’s yours?”
KC smothered a chuckle while Oliver huffed.
“Kitten,” Oliver answered, and even in the dim light, his body language gave away his irritation.
“Fits you both.” I winked.
“Finally, there will be a universal safe word within the maze. Itmustbe followed at all times. Here at Black Out, we care about our patrons. If safe words are ignored, then you will be kicked out of this club and banned. And if we’re feeling particularly cruel, we may make sure the entire kink community knows about your reputation.” His tone bled seriousness, but it also sounded sexy with his accent. “Am. I. Clear?”
“Yes,” we all said.
“Good. The safe word is Cardinal. Like the red bird. Donotdisregard it if it’s said to you.” The warning thickened his brogue. “We will begin shortly. The prey has two minutes to enter the maze and hide, or run, whatever they choose. Then, a horn will signal the predators to chase. How many predator masks do you need?”