Light Gathers Darkness | 18+

29.

We meet Asher and Dominic at the entrance of the club.

Since Easton was doubting for very long about my dress, we're later than he'd said. And Fire and Nicky aren't happy with that.

But I quickly step in between. "You like my dress? Easton loves it."

Their eyes swap to me. I do a little spin.  

Dominic groans under his breath and Ash averts his eyes. I cock an eyebrow. "You don't like it?"

Asher decides to suffer and looks back at me, but his eyes immediately go down. "I love it, butterfly. It's gonna distract me for the whole night, though."

I grin. "Perfect, then. Come on, Nicky, let's go!" I cheer and take his hand. He groans again, clearly suffering to be a gentleman.

"The club's opening in half an hour. We can visit the club and take place at our seats," Easton informs us. I nod. Sounds good.

We pass through the large dance club. Now I see it empty, I'm surprised it's completely filled every night. It's huge!

But they stride further, and since I'm holding Dominic's hand, I hop with them. My eyes widen when we enter a room I haven't seen before—but wanted too.

The BDSM club.

I inch closer to Nicky, anxious about what we'll see. My previous relationship weren't very kinky, neither were my one-night stands. Sure, some tying up, but very basic.

The room isn't dark like I'd expected, but pretty lit. There are a few velvet red chairs, two a table. In the front of the club, there's a  big bed and a pole, then a wall with a lot of...attributes.

"Freaked out?" Dominic whispers, bending a little to my ear. I frown, then slightly shake my head. I'm not freaked out, but really curious. And maybe a little nervous.

"I don't have to... perform tonight, right?" I ask him. If I do, I'm running outta here.

"No," they grunt at the same time, the three of them having a possessive tone in their voice. I smile, releasing a breath in relief. "So we're just watching?"

Asher nods. "Just watching and taking notes on what you do and don't like." That satisfies me.

I release Dominic's hand and look around in the room. "The lights dim when the show starts, kitten. No one will even notice us," Dominic's low voice sounds. I nod, head tilted at the wall behind the bed.

I see lots of different cuffs, a few collars and some whips. I narrow my eyes. I think those are gags, and then I'm not even talking about the variations in vibrators here.

If only I could sneak some with me.

I walk to it, interested. I look over my shoulder, seeing the three of them watching me me intently.

I grab the pole and spin around. "Wee! Oh, this is fun!" I grin. Easton chuckles, shaking his head at me. "Crazy woman."

Damn right I am. 

I jump back down and walk back to them. Ash grabs my hand before Dominic can, who reaches too. He sighs.

I grab his hand in my other and follow Easton to sit down in the corner. When I glance at Dominic, he's smiling broadly. 

That makes me smile too. There's something around him, some energy I can't explain. It's like he's carrying something with him, although he doesn't show it. But hell, I could be wrong. It's just a feeling.

When we sit down, Easton lays a hand on my thigh. He keeps it there while people enter the room.

They exchange a few words, but Easton stays distant. So do Asher and Dominic. Their answers are shot and grunted out.

A man approaches, grinning broadly. My three guys—God, I love to say that—tense up, eyes focused on me. I give a small, nervous smile and slump in my chair.

Dominic bends a little to me, gritting out, "Not a single word. Understood?" My eyes widen and I nod. They seem to be serious, but still. Why can't I talk?

"The Whitlock brothers! Got a new girlfriend?" he grins. Easton shrugs. "Something like that. Not completely."

Excuse me?

My eyebrows raise. If I'm not their girlfriend—which we've spoken about this morning—then what am I doing here?

I tense my muscles, ready to stand up and fucking leave, but Easton senses it and pins me down with his hand.

The man laughs. "So just a hooker? Ah, so father, so sons. About your father, he'd like to see you again."

"No," Dominic snaps, voice raw with emotion. The man grins again and steals a chair from another table. "My brother isn't the best man, I know that too, but man up, goddamn it. It's not like he's done anything to you."

Dominic huffs out a laugh. "You don't know shit," he hisses. He stands up and leaves through the doors, slamming them closed.

I'm watching all this with my mouth shut closed. This man's clearly not their favorite, so that might be why I can't talk. I'll ask when he's gone.

The man rolls his eyes. "Man, is he grumpy again? Fucking always," he grumbles and leaves to a table in the front.

Asher and Easton relax in their chairs, releasing a breath. "For fuck's sake, it's day one," Ash mumbles. 

"Can one of you explain to me why the fuck I'm not your girlfriend? Because I can just leave, you know?" I scoff.

Easton pinches the bridge of his nose. "You are. You are. That man is our uncle, and he's a pain in the ass. If we introduce you as our girlfriend, he's gonna tell Father and then that asshole is going to want to push even more to meet up."

Asher nods, taking my hand in his. "It's not you, butterfly. It's just our fucking past chasing you. But man, thank you so much for staying silent."

I shrug. "It didn't seem the right moment to crack a joke."

He gives me a small smile. "Yeah, it really wasn't."

I glance at the front. Nothing's happening yet. "Should I go search Dominic?"

They nod. "Go, baby. Show isn't starting for another ten minutes. I'll get a drink for you." I nod and get up, making my way to the doors.

When I get out, loud music reaches me. My eyes widen. I totally forgot there was a dance club here too. You can't hear the music from here in the other club.

I spot Dominic in the VIP lounge, his gaze set on the crowd. I walk towards him, pushing dancing bodies away. 

When I arrive at the VIP room, the guard has already seen me. I have to look twice to see it's Michael. He gives me a sigh. "Get him before he's wasted by sulking."

I nod and walk to Dominic. He doesn't look up when I stand in front of him, but does when I sit down on his lap. He puts his whisky away. "Kitten..."

"No," I silence him by placing a finger on his lips. "I know that man is from your past. I know you have bad memories, but they're behind you now. I don't know how bad they are, nor do I know what they are exactly, but I do know that I'm here to talk about it."

He presses his eyes closed and shakes his head. "There's nothing to talk about."

I frown. "I don't believe that." He makes a tortured noise and holds his hand up. "Please, Daisy. It's nothing."

I don't feel good about it, but nod. "Let's go back."