Page 12 of Wild Fire

Absolutely not.

I let out a frustrated growl and decide to get out of the car, otherwise I don’t think I ever will. I remind myself why I’m doing this, why I’m here.

Once, this place was a comfort. Now it feels like being gone for twenty years and coming home for a funeral. I pull out my phone and pull up my app to scan my QR code that lets me into the building. Most of the patrons have to reserve a table or a room or get on the waiting list because the main floor that’s open to the public fills up quickly. Though there’s no line right now because it’s still decently early enough. This place sees the most activity around one-thirty a.m. I don’t know why, that’s just how it is.

The doors open automatically, and I enter to see Leighanne working the podium.

“August! So lovely to see you..”

She flashes a sensual smile my way, and I nod at her.

Just hearing someone say my name—my real name, August—almost makes me stop dead in my tracks and reconsider.

I chose to go by August here—when I am teaching or playing—because I wanted to keep my job and my personal life separate. Lot of good that did me.

“Who’s working tonight?” I ask, my heart already starting to race.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t looked at the sub list yet. Though FoxStar is doing a electro-bondage demo in about ten minutes upstairs.” She flashes her eyelashes at me, and I wonder if this was a good idea at all.

“Thanks,” I grunt as I shuffle past her podium. I think maybe I need a drink first. Just to settle my nerves.

I shouldn’t be nervous. I’ve done this a hundred times. More than that, probably. So why do I feel like it’s the first time all over again? It’s only been two years, not twenty!

Two years is a long time… maybe I’m just rusty.

Maybe I just need to jump back in head first.

The hallways are familiar, but not the same. The black and red motifs etched in the wallpaper, the aura of warmth that heats the closer I get to the main dance floor. The music is deep, and heavy on the bass. Some woman sings about Ghostface and dark romance books amidst the hellish melody, and I note the crowd is pretty thick.

The bar is packed with people, as is the dance floor. The crowd makes my skin crawl. One thing I’ve always loved about this place was its intimate feel. This isn’t intimate. Not by a long shot. It’s damn near claustrophobic.

But before I can turn around, I hear a familiar voice.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Daddy August, in the flesh.”

Chapter Four

AJ

I turn to see Jackson, one of my former demo partners, and the switch flips almost instantly.

“Evening, slut.” My voice takes on that deep, almost pretentious tone it usually does when I become Master August. Jackson smirks at me, clearly pleased I’ve remembered his preferred title.

“Mmm, I’ve missed how you say that,” he says with a wink. “Been a while since I’ve seen you around. Those sexy calendar boys keeping you busy?” he teases.

The only reason Jackson knows what I do outside of here is because I saved his sister’s cat after it got stuck in a tree. Yes, that really happened. It happens more than people think. And he recognized me because we’d done a few workshops together at that point, though he swore he wouldn’t say anything to anyone, and to my knowledge, he hasn’t. Most of the staff at the club take their privacy seriously, because, like me, they all have day jobs that might not be too happy with our nighttime gigs.

I don’t know how much he knows, being as the firehouse and the insurance company were adamant as fuck about keeping my scandal under the radar.

“Something like that,” I say carefully.

“What brings you back?” he asks, not bothering to beat around the bush, biting his lip seductively. Though for some reason, all I can think about is Nate’s plump lips and how his teeth would sink into them if he did the same.

What the fuck?

I shake my head, dispelling the random, inappropriate thought.

“Rough day.”