Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Why did I think this was hot? He’s driving me up a wall already, and we haven’t even left the room.
He opens the door. Fabien looks from Thayer to me and narrows his eyes before he gives me a discreet nod. “You okay?” he asks in a low voice.
I look to Thayer for permission to speak to Fabien. Thayer nods. “Good girl.”
“I am,” I tell Fabien.
“Fucking hell.” Fabien curses and looks away.
Methinks Fabien isn’t a big fan of this whole sister-in-law as slave hoax.
“Why the alarm?” Thayer asks as we walk down the hallway that takes us to the main lobby.
“Suspected security breach by the dance floor.” Fabien glances at me, then speaks in a low voice. “Maybe not the best idea to take her.” I open my mouth to comment on there being a dance floor, but quickly snap it shut. I’m guessing the less I say, the better. Thayer curses and grits his teeth. If there’s a security breach, we risk someone seeing me and, worse, identifying me.
Thayer looks from me to Fabien, then back again. “I’m putting you in one of the secure rooms. I won’t be long. You do not leave.”
I hide my disappointment, because I know he’s right, and I don’t want to do something dumb. But damn, I want to see this place. What if we leave, and I never come back? Nicolette and Fabien would be very happy if that happened.
“Have you given her a rundown of Le Luxe?” Fabien asks in a normal voice, as we walk toward the lobby.
“Some,” Thayer says.
They’re both picking up the thread that I’m here as his guest. I walk close to Thayer, trying to look as guest-like as possible.
“We have a strictly enforced code of conduct,” he explains. “As well as a scrupulous screening process to ensure our members and guests are safe. There are secure entrances for members and guests, and private suites for high-profile members.”
I nod, not sure if I should be talking or not at this juncture.
We arrive at the lobby, and now that I’ve had my blindfold removed, I can see everything. My heart races with excitement. This. Is. Incredible.
“C’est magnifique,” I whisper.
Thayer inclines his head gratefully. “Merci.”
Gleaming mirrors, sparkling chandeliers, shining marble floors beside plush carpets in front of the main desk. The water I heard last night is an actual waterfall lined with silver and white stones along a wall. Gorgeous chairs enrobed in matte white leather surround a grated, modern gaslit fireplace.
I am dying to know what the rest of this place looks like.
Several people give Thayer a wide berth as we walk through the lobby and head toward another hallway. I look above us to see a second floor above the first, wrapped with a balcony. I can’t see much because Fabien and Thayer walk so quickly, everything passes by us in a blur. I wonder where they’re going and what they’re going to do.
It appears that this main floor is mostly outfitted for community. We pass the dance floor, then a spa. I see a few women and men in thick white robes sipping tea in a waiting room of sorts. Mirrored doors and hallways make it feel as if we’re in a maze. I am dying to know what’s behind those closed doors. Who goes here. What a private club like this really has to offer.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a dimly lit room, another with velvet drapes that hit the floor, and a third with a half-open door, sunlight filtering in through slats in the shades. Thayer takes me to the last room at the end of the hall and guides me in. He looks as if he’d rather put me in a cage with lions than leave me alone.
“You’ll stay here.”
I look around. We’re in a small, cozy, private library of sorts, complete with leather furniture and bookshelves lined with hardcover novels. Oooh, I could enjoy myself in here. “D’aw. I don’t get the room with the velvet curtains?”
Fabien frowns, his lips turning downward. “This is not a game, Savannah.” Ouch. I didn’t expect Fabien to scold me, too. He turns to Thayer. “Let’s go.”
Thayer hangs back behind Fabien and lowers his voice. “You’ll be safe in here. I won’t be long.” He pauses. “Don’t test me, Savannah.”
The door shuts behind him, leaving me with a pounding heart and enough curiosity that could kill not just the cat but the entire damn zoo.
I turn around and look the room over.
So maybe this isn’t exactly a library. At first glance, that’s what it looks like but now that I see details, I realize this is more of a… game room. From a quick scan, everything looks normal, like something you might find in a high-end resort. A pool table in one corner, table with a checkerboard in another. But normally, checkerboards don’t have leather straps hanging from them, and pool tables definitely don’t have stirrups.