3. Thomas

THOMAS

Lewd imagination in the night …

I rolled my neck, groaning at the series of cracks that came with it. Sometimes I thought I was getting too old to be a bouncer. The tussle with a couple of drunks the night before had really hit hard. I was a big guy. Huge, if I'm being honest but those two idiots were built like brick shit houses. It was probably only the fact they were drunk that allowed me to subdue them. The thing was, I loved being a bouncer at Club Inhibition. Of the clubs I'd worked at, it was by far the best. Seb and Chase were fantastic owners and even better bosses.

I arrived early for my shift, not at all surprised to find the club already packed. It was going to be a busy night given the length of the lineup outside the door. I hadn't made it too far in before I came across Cam. As the head bouncer, I had decent relationships with all of the managers and he was no exception.

"Thomas, man, how are you doing?"

"Not too bad. A little sore after last night."

"Yeah, you took a couple decent hits from those idiots. I was on my way to help you but, as usual, you had the problem well in hand."

"Well, I'm certainly practiced in it," I chuckled. "You guys do a great job vetting people but add alcohol and anyone can turn into a moron."

"That they can. Other than that, how have you been? It's been a while since you and Leslie ended things."

"It has been. It's fucking hard finding a decent sub. I find that most of the unattached subs are only looking for occasional play. I want more than that."

"You're certainly nothing like I was before Heidi," he laughed.

"Dude, no one is like you were."

I dodged his playful punch, both of us laughing. His face grew serious and I worried that something drastic was wrong. Cam never looked that way about anything.

"Have you met Shelby?"

"I don't think I have. It's not like I know everyone by name, Is she new?"

"She is, yes. She's a friend of Raven's."

"Oh, wait. I did meet her. She's fucking hot, man."

"I'm a taken man, so I can't say that you're right," he grinned. "I will say that you're not wrong."

"Not wrong about what," Heidi asked, kissing Cam hello.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't expect you so early, baby girl."

"Clearly. Thomas, will you tell me?"

The twinkle in her eyes showed how serious she was but there was no way I was stepping into this situation. She was laidback enough that she would probably just laugh but even still, wasn't gonna happen.

"Nope," I grinned.

"Fine. You boys keep your secrets, I'm going to grab a drink. See you in a few?" she asked Cam.

"Yes, I'm almost finished here."

I watched as she walked away and turned back with a smile.

"You're a lucky man, Cam. So, tell me, is Shelby a sub?"

"Shit, I'm honestly not sure but it's worth finding out. Worst case, you share a couple of dances and go on your way."

"That's true. I'll keep an eye out and maybe reach out."

"Sounds good. Now, I'd best go find my sub. Try not to get in any fights tonight, eh?"

"Very funny. Kind of part of my job description. Sort of," I laughed. "Catch you later."

He waved as he walked away and I headed to my office. As the head bouncer, I was lucky to have an office and a private room. The rest of the rooms on the level were for the managers but Seb and Chase felt I should be included. I wasn't going to argue it. It was nice having a dedicated room for my subs. Leslie and I had been in a relationship for two years. There was nothing wrong with her, we just drifted apart over time. We agreed it was time to end things about six months ago and I'd been on the lookout ever since.

I tossed my keys and wallet and headed for my shift at the front door of the club. I was about an hour into my shift when Shelby and Raven got to the door.

"Hey, Thomas, how are you doing?" Raven asked. "It looks crazy busy tonight."

"I'm not bad. It has been pretty busy. Just so you know, you two are getting death glares from the other women in line."

"Good," Shelby laughed and wiggled her fingers at them. "It's good for them to know their place."

"Oh, my God, Shelby! Thomas, you remember Shelby, right?"

"Well, if I didn't, I definitely will now. Have fun, ladies."

They walked away and I couldn't help but admire Shelby's curvy figure. Between that, her long dark hair, and huge expressive eyes, she checked all of my boxes. If she was a sub, that would be even better. I decided right then that I would seek her out the next time I came to the club and wasn't on shift. She was someone I definitely wanted to know better.

It was a few days before I was able to get to the club as anything but a bouncer. I grabbed a drink from the bar and settled on a stool, scanning the dance floor. Tonight, I wanted to find Shelby and maybe get a dance or two in. Maybe we'd even have a drink and get to know each other but time would tell. Right now, I just wanted an excuse to have her gorgeous body pressed up against mine.

When I spotted her twenty minutes later, my heart dropped. She was dancing with Kenley, one of the subs here, and they looked very close. In fact, their dance was practically pornographic.

Hell, Thomas, did you even consider maybe she's not straight?

I watched them dance, struggling to control my desire for them. They looked fucking hot out there. The way they were dancing, they had to be a couple. I was trying to decide whether to approach them or not when Kenley whispered something in her ear and walked away. I decided to take a chance and started wading through the crowd toward a still-dancing Shelby.

"Hey, Shelby," I greeted when I reached her. "Would you like to dance?"

"Love to," she answered, throwing her arms around my neck. "They finally gave you a night off."

"That they did. Gives me a chance to dance with you."

"Well, I'm glad for that. Kenley just had to use the ladies' room."

"You two looked pretty close out here."

"Dude, look around. Everyone is close, it's packed in here tonight."

"That's true," I said, not happy that I hadn't gotten more from her.

As I continued dancing with her, I decided I needed to know one way or another if they were together. If they were, I would simply continue my search elsewhere.

"You look like you're deep in thought," she yelled in my ear.

"I guess I was. Are you and Kenley together?"

I held my breath as I waited impatiently for her response.

"No, but I wouldn't mind taking you both for a ride."

I stared at her in wide-eyed shock, surprised at her sassy as fuck response.

Okay, not a sub.

I loved the smart-assed response but I didn't love the fact she clearly wasn't a sub. I was about to say my goodbyes when Kenley made her way back. I was a little surprised as she sidled right up to me and joined our dance. I found this unusual as I knew she was a sub. It seemed these women weren't having a shy night.

Kenley stayed snug against me, sandwiched between Shelby and me, for several dances. Now I didn't know what the fuck was happening. Could both women be interested in me? Fuck, a guy couldn't have better luck than two hot women vying for his attention. The problem was, did Kenley actually want me too or was she just dancing with me to stay close to Shelby? It figured. Two hot as fuck women, one not a sub and the other probably not interested.

Could I have worse luck?

As it turned out, yes, yes, I could. Seb approached from the far side of the dance floor, a concerned expression on his face.

"Thomas, I have to talk to you."

"Right now?" I asked, knowing it had to be something important for him to interrupt.

"Sorry, but yes."

"Sorry, ladies. Save a dance for me?"

"Sure thing, hot stuff," Shelby winked.

"I'll be here," Kenley said shyly.

I nodded and followed Seb off the dance floor and up to his and Chase's office. I didn't expect to see Chase waiting in there and I was really worried that something had gone drastically wrong. I had never been called into their office like this.

"What's up, guys? You're scaring me a little," I laughed nervously.

"We've got a problem," Seb started, anger barely contained.

"We don't have a problem," Chase growled. "Leo has a fucking problem."

"Leo? What about Leo?"

He was one of my best bouncers and I wondered what he had done to warrant the wrath of Seb and Chase. He was working the door tonight and I couldn't think of what could possibly have happened.

"Leo—"

"He—" Chase started. "Ugh, you tell him. I'm too fucking disgusted."

"We found out something disturbing tonight. We've been noticing an influx of members in the club that none of the managers recognize. Obviously, we don't all know all of the members but these women have been causing problems with unsolicited touching in the club. As you know, you can't so much as put a hand on someone's shoulder without their consent."

"Of course."

"Well, all members go through interviews with one of the managers and we've talked. No one interviewed these women," Chase snapped.

"What does this have to do with Leo?"

"It turns out, Leo has been letting them in for the promise of dates," Seb explained.

"He fucking what ?!" I growled, rage bubbling to the surface. "I'll fucking kill him."

I stood from my chair, immediately ready to fire his ass. I would never have expected this from him. Over the last few years, we'd had the occasional issue with bouncers. One of them even accepted bribes to let people in but Leo had been the most trustworthy bouncer I had. Well, I thought he was.

"Sit down, Thomas. He's already been escorted out of the club. This wasn't something that could wait for you. I had to get him out before Chase actually killed him. We need you to go through some of the resumés we've received as soon as possible. We'll need to replace him ASAP."

"Of course, for now, though, I'd better take over his post."

"Don't worry about that," Chase said. "Jason agreed to take his place for the night."

"I'm so sorry, guys. I?—"

"We don't blame you for this," Seb interrupted. "We all thought we could trust him. I have no idea what the fuck he was thinking. He knows as well as anyone that you need to be vetted to be at the club. What he did could have come back badly on the club."

"I'll start going through the resumés now," I said, standing.

"Tomorrow will be fine," Chase chuckled. "There's nothing going to happen tonight."

"Yeah, maybe you can find those two beautiful women you were dancing with when I interrupted you."

"Maybe so. Thanks for letting me know about this. I'll be screening the next applicant very closely."

I walked out of the office, livid that this had happened under my watch. Despite them saying not to start I grabbed the folder of resumés out of the main office and settled in to read them.