Velvet Haven

unhooked the velvet rope and waved them through. “Sign in, name and phone number. Then take the stairs and turn right. Mr. Macdonald will show you where to go from there.”
    “Cool!” Rowan squealed as they entered the club and scribbled their name on a clipboard. “It’s even better than I thought.”
    The doors suddenly shut behind them, creaking on the old rusted hinges. Inside, neon blue and pink beams of light flickered over the dance floor, illuminating the gyrating dancers. The music was loud . . . pulsing . . . the techno beat hard and heavy. In the shadowed corners were shimmery fabrics in fuchsia and black. The furniture had a Victorian Gothic vibe that reminded Mairi of an old burlesque club. Only it wasn’t occupied by men in tuxes and ladies wearing feather boas. The clientele at Velvet Haven were in leather and PVC. Mohawks and piercings and long Matrix -like coats replaced the tuxes. There were cyber Goths wearing their silver wigs and metallic costumes, as well as those creepy Babydolls who dressed like little girls and walked around sucking their thumbs. Some Metal Heads were holed up in a corner, their leather jackets covered in spikes, their necks adorned with dog collars. A group of women dressed in long black gowns that looked like something out of the Victorian age floated past them. One of them had two little puncture holes on her throat with two drops of blood dripping from the openings.
    Talk about taking things seriously.
    Against a wall filled with gilt mirrors, the DJ was spinning records, his shoulder-length black hair streaked with electric blue dye, his arms bulging with muscles and tats. He was at least six feet five and the expression on his face was beyond intense.
    “Oh my God,” Rowan gasped, looking at the DJ. “That’s him ! The Tarot Guy.”
    Mairi swung her gaze to the wall to check out the man who came into Rowan’s New Age boutique on a weekly basis. She got an eyeful, all right. In the reflection of one of the mirrors behind the DJ was a couple making out, the guy’s hand steadily moving down the woman’s belly, only to escape beneath the waist of his date’s black leather skirt. Beside them, another couple watched eagerly as they fondled themselves.
    Holy shit! Just what the hell had they walked into? What was this place, some sort of fetish club?
    “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Mairi yelled over the loud music. Rowan nodded, swallowing hard as she watched the couple in the mirror. The man was now sinking to his knees.
    “Rowan, who exactly is this guy who gave you the tickets?” Mairi’s eyes widened to three times their normal size as she watched the guy shoulder his way between the woman’s thighs, his palms sliding up her fishnet stockings, lifting her skirt. Nervously, Mairi glanced around and noticed that no one else was watching the show in the mirror. Everyone else was so blasé.
    “I know I have a terrible history of picking up the wrong sort of man,” Rowan said uneasily. “But I swear, Sayer is . . .” She trailed off as another guy came into the reflection of the mirror to join the busy couple. “That is . . .”
    “C’mon, we’re leaving. This Sayer is obviously a twisted pervert, just like that other asshole you’ve finally gotten away from.”
    “I’m not twisted. Nor am I pervert.”
    Jumping, the two of them whirled around, only to find themselves looking up at a giant. A beautiful, golden giant with eyes that shimmered in the strobe lights. His beauty was beyond anything Mairi had ever seen. And his body . . . Her gaze slid over the tight black T-shirt that showcased his pecs and arms.
    Obviously hard-core in the workout department.
    There was something inhuman about him, he was that drop-dead gorgeous.
    He smiled, a slow sensual grin that was almost hypnotic. “Welcome to Velvet Haven. We’ve been expecting you.”
    “We?” Mairi glanced back at the DJ, who was still playing music.
    The man grinned and moved to the left, revealing the most dangerous, sexiest man Mairi had ever laid eyes on. When he looked at her from across the room, her entire body jolted and images flooded her brain. He was dark, brooding, intense, reminding Mairi of a black thundercloud. Menacing yet strangely fascinating.
    There was a fierce storm brewing inside him. Mairi could feel it, a strange energy radiating off of him. Her body lit up like a nuclear power plant and her breasts suddenly grew heavy. She was aroused, and her arm tingled