* * *
I found Sara in the bathroom, putting on the pair of diamond earrings her father sent after Anna was born.
Bending to kiss her neck, I said, “I’ll have Scott come for us here at eight—”
“No.” She turned to face me, running her hands up my dress shirt and straightening my collar. “Don’t.”
I blinked, tilting my head as my stomach dropped. Had she changed her mind? “You don’t want to go?”
Her smile was a sweet reassurance. “Of course I do. But I want to meet there. Scott can bring me. You come separately.”
She wanted to leave for the club separately? “But we’ve always gone together.”
“I don’t want to drag anything behind us when we leave. If he picks us both up here, we’ll fuss over the details of leaving Anna, we’ll talk about her in the car. I think I’m going to take her out and do some back-to-work shopping then head to your mom’s. I’ll coordinate with Niall. Scott can get me there and I’ll see you at Johnny’s. We can just be us tonight.”
“You sure?”
She pulled her lip between her teeth and smiled around it before whispering, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Innocence, anticipation, lust, and something sweeter than pure sugar. It was everything I loved about Sara distilled into a single expression.
“Right then. I’ll meet you there at nine.”
* * *
I left for work, expecting to see Sara at lunch, or even get a call from her as I usually did during the day, but knowing I might not. I suspected Sara might want a little distance today to help put her in the right mind-set, and I was right. A text came just as the office was clearing out, to let me know Niall was picking Annabel up at Mum’s flat and she would meet me at the club, as planned.
The distance was odd, but also thrilling.
I went home, showered and dressed, and walked through the rooms of my empty flat. Niall had rung to say he’d be back with the baby shortly, and I had to admit that I agreed with Sara, it would be better if I left before they got here. Annabel was in excellent hands, and Max and Sara as parents could be put on hold for a few hours.
There was nothing left to do; it was time to meet my wife.
My phone buzzed on my way out, a text from Johnny: Use the front door.
We always came in through the back hallway and directly into Room Six. Having performed dozens of times at the club, Sara and I were recognizable to nearly everyone who would be there on a Wednesday night. Johnny wanted her to walk in, right in the middle of all of that?
My protective instinct flared.
Did Sara request this? I replied.
Shut up. In a fucking meeting.
This was as good as a yes; if it was for any other reason he would have said so.
Laughing, I replied in eight separate messages:
It’s
A
Shame
About
Your
Tiny
Shriveled
Dick
* * *
Once I confirmed with our driver Scott that he was picking Sara up at my mother’s flat, I called for a cab to get me over to the club, Red Moon. I’d put on something simple, not knowing how Johnny would have the room set up for our return to the club. I wore black trousers and a simple pressed gray check button-down shirt. It had been so long since we came in through the secretive front entrance that I was actually nervous—wanting to make sure I remembered how to get down there: with a key, down several flights to the receptionist. Except standing at the desk waiting my arrival wasn’t Lisbeth, but a stunning redhead who circled the desk, hand outstretched.
“I’m Trin,” she said, smiling in welcome. “You must be Mr. Stella.”
I fucked my wife for everyone to see in this club. It seemed a little odd to be so formal. “Max, please.”
“Lovely to meet you.” She gestured to the heavy steel door that would lead into the club itself. “Mr. French is very much looking forward to having you and Mrs. Stella back in the rotation.”
I smiled, arching a brow. “The pony play and multiple ménage scenarios are growing a little tired?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I think the regulars like your story,” she said. “It’s sweet. It’s different from everything else we get in here.”
And of course it was. What other married couple would let their most intimate moments play out in such stark display for complete strangers? Who else would invite the world into their sex life?
But being back here, even in this unfamiliar anteroom to the main event, felt deliciously surreal. I could smell the mix of wood polish and leather emanating from the other room. I could hear the faint beat of music pounding through the enormous door. It was a sensory trigger for me, being here, knowing how Sara would get off on being watched, and how I would get off on watching her bloom. It never ceased to amaze me that her greatest turn-on was exhibition, given that in our everyday life she was beautiful but unassuming, brilliant but endlessly humble.
“How’s the baby?” Trin asked, pulling my attention away from the door and back to her face.
“She’s brilliant, yeah,” I said, feeling my grin split my face. “Home with my brother.”
Her eyebrows rose wickedly. “You have a brother?”
“I do,” I said through a laugh. “He’s tall, a genius, and has enough repressed sexual energy to power this club. I should give you his number.”
Trin tilted her head before finding a card in the top drawer of her desk with her name and phone number. “Give him this.” She turned and gestured that I lead us to the door. “Mrs. Stella is inside. I don’t want to keep you.”
Through the door, the club opened into a large main room, dimly lit with wall sconces and lined with a lavish, intricate wallpaper of subtle stripes and swirls. Velvet curtains hung beside a number of small alcoves surrounding low tables, making the entire room feel both lavish and faintly medieval. A small bar stood in the corner, where I remembered, but the design of the room had been modified so that the stage was directly in the center, rather than jutting into the floor from one far end of the expansive space.