In wonderment, I ran my fingers over the the dress, but I didn't take it. “It does matter. When did you pack this?”
He said, “When I decided last night that I'd convince you to come to LA with me.”
Amazed, I started to close my grip on the black dress's hem—then I stopped. “We're not going to a funeral, are we?”
Cracking a smile, he shrugged. “If we were, you'd look incredibly stunning.”
“I'm sure the grieving family would appreciate that,” I teased. Gently, I looped it over my arms. “Okay, so I've got a dress. What about—”
“Shoes?” He nodded downwards, and I followed his eyes to spot a pair of glossy heels in the bottom of the suitcase.
Just how far ahead had he planned our evening?
Is he planning beyond that? I suddenly wondered.
Shaking myself, I grabbed the shoes and cradled everything in my arms. “I guess I'll get ready for... whatever you've got in mind.”
He smiled so hard that his eyes crinkled on the edges.
I'd never seen anything like Hollywood at night.
It was everything I'd ever dreamed of.
“You're going to fall out the window,” Silver said, chuckling.
He was driving a convertible—another car he owned that stayed in LA—and I'd insisted the top stay down. My hair was tangling over my face, but with the taste of the wild night life on my tongue, I didn't care.
Silver pulled down an alley, parking on a quiet street. We were surrounded by graffiti and the air lost its exciting energy, replaced by garbage. Even so, I noticed many of the other cars in front of meters were as expensive as Silver's.
Taking my arm, he helped me down the sloped sidewalk. There was no line in front of the barely lit entrance. A man who looked weirdly like the man who'd checked my name off at the Red and Ripe sat in a rusted chair.
With a quick glance at Silver, he nodded for us to go inside. I'd expected him to ask our names, but maybe he didn't need to. Or maybe he knew who Silver was? Eyeing him, I was blinded by darkness as we passed through a hallway.
“Are you ready?” he asked, pulling up short in front of a black door.
Laughing, I looped my arm with his. “Do you honestly expect me to turn back now?”
Winking, he let me inside.
Hanging from the ceiling were giant cages. Gold and opal, they shimmered under the circles of lights overhead. That was majestic enough, but it was the contents of the cages that took my breath away.
Women. Real, actual live women. Flashes of color highlighted their nudity, white boots the only things they wore. Each of them swung and gyrated, and a few weren't alone behind their bars.
I had a clear shot of a man fucking one of the dancer's doggy-style.
“Well?” Silver asked, running his fingers up my spine. “Is this okay?”
My heart was rumbling, but I managed to meet his stare. “This is what you planned for tonight?”
There was no hint of shame in his face. “Last time, our fun was cut short.”
Anxiousness crept into my bones. It made a home there, refusing to be evicted no matter how I tried to calm myself.
Around us, club-goers danced and shouted. They wore everything from suits to barely-there jean shorts. I didn't know the name of this place, but it only seemed to care about one thing; being erotic.
Silver urged me further into the swaying bodies, his touch as firm as any chain. Turning me in a circle, he brought me close to one of the large, white cushions set around the outside of the club's dance floor. This was good, because my legs were wobbling on my heels; I needed to sit.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, looming over me when I settled.
“That'd be great.” Laughing uneasily, I grabbed his sleeve before he could leave. His eyebrows went up. “Look, I know I seem nervous. Okay, I am nervous. But it's okay, I'm not going to run away this time.”
Silver considered me carefully. There was a softness in his eyes, just beyond that ever-constant layer of mystery. “I believe you. So let me go get you that drink.”
My hand fell away. I set it in my lap once he'd slipped out of view among the throngs of people. Crossing my bare legs, I looked around and tried to act normal. What's normal for a sex club? Jeez, if Laralie knew I'd come to one of these places—twice, even—she'd lose her mind.
Silver broke back into my eyesight, two glasses in his hands. He was smiling, but right as he got close to me, his attention swept just over my shoulder... and his joy vanished.
“Hey! Kes!” Someone was waving an arm, heading our way with purpose. The man looked as if someone had poured a hundred pounds of nails into a smelter, then carved the hard metal into a multitude of swords.
I'd never seen someone with such fierce features. When he swung out a hand to shake Silver's, I nearly reached out to stop him, just in case he'd slice the other man's arm in two.