“He’s fucking fine with it.” Leo spoke through a laugh. “He already gave the go-ahead. He’s just being his typical moody self.”

Brute shrugged. “Your girlfriend is a hard woman to deny.”

“My girlfriend being the operative words.”

It was Brute’s turn to chuckle. “Yes, currently, she is.”

Leo growled and straightened, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Come on, guys.” T.J. was going to have to crash on one of the Vault beds if they didn’t get this conversation done with. He didn’t want to drive to his apartment when he couldn’t keep his eyes open. “I guess we all agree about the masquerade party. So where do we go from here?”

Brute laughed. “I’ll let Leo answer that one too.”

“Actually…” Leo drew the word out. “Shay’s arranged for the first trial run to take place next Thursday night.”

T.J. struggled to ignore the nudge of betrayal filling his chest. “Right…” They’d planned it without him.

“We weren’t sure when you were going to return to work.” Leo held up his hands in surrender. “You’ve—”

“Doesn’t take much to pick up the phone. Or text.” He’d never felt more alone. Cassie was gone. The club was moving on without him, evolving, when every part of his soul was crumpling to shit.

“Yeah, well, that’s a two-way street.” Brute raised an accusatory brow. “You could’ve given us a heads-up about when you were returning. Or that you planned to bail on us in the first place. This is a business. We rely on you.”

Ouch. It wouldn’t hurt so much if they weren’t right.

“I couldn’t deal,” he admitted. With work. With the world. With life in general. He’d had no choice. Finding the strength to hand over the divorce papers hadn’t been easy. Reflection and determination had taken time.

“We know.” Leo nudged his shoulder. “It’s no big deal. So about this masquerade thing…”

“I guess I’ll just sit back and let you guys run the show, seeing as you’ve already started the project.” He kept the resentment from his voice the best he could.

Brute smirked. “Don’t look at me. This is all on Lothario. He couldn’t say no because Shay has his balls in the palm of her hand.”

“Shay prefers my balls in her mouth, asshole,” Leo snarled. “And to be honest, I always thought it was a good idea. I would’ve shut her down otherwise.”

Brute snorted and received a middle-finger salute in return.

“The entry and dress codes will all remain the same,” Leo continued. “We’re still obtaining non-disclosures before they arrive, proof of identification and photos. The only difference is that patrons can maintain their anonymity from other guests once they arrive. Brute will know who they are from the online registration.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. He didn’t have the energy to protest even if he did disagree. “Has there been much interest?”

An arrogant smile brightened Leo’s features. “We’re almost at full capacity.”

Chapter Three

Cassie increased the volume on her earphones, trying to drown out her thoughts. It didn’t help that she was sitting at the dining room table, her gaze glued to the website causing the pain in her veins to increase.

Vault of Sin.

She was on their mailing list. Had been since the club opened a year ago. Today, she’d finally had the strength to enter back into the real world—showering, cooking, cleaning the house, and lastly, checking her email.

It was a sign. A blatant nudge from fate. The Vault was holding its first masquerade party. A private, anonymous event. Cassie’s heart was racing over the notification. Something churned in her belly, telling her she had to be there. Yeah, it could be indigestion, but she chose to ignore that train of thought.

It was the perfect opportunity to insert herself back into T.J.’s life. Gradually. Without him even knowing. Without anyone knowing.

This email acknowledged all her fears and set them at ease. With a disguise, she could attend the event at the Vault and see if T.J. was already moving on. Determine his mindset about the divorce. And hopefully gain a better plan to reconnect. All she had to do was overcome all the obstacles stopping her from getting through the front doors.

She’d never stepped foot in the private part of the business. No matter how intrigued she was by the mere thought of her husband’s sex club, there hadn’t been time to visit. Not since her relationship with T.J. had hit rocky ground around the same time the establishment had opened. Beforehand, he’d spoken to her at length about his involvement, obtaining her understanding over the duties he would be required to perform. She’d trusted him. Unequivocally. The only unmanageable emotion she had felt had been excitement, knowing the club would eventually become a part of their sexual journey.

That part of their future had never eventuated.

Now, the place readily available for sex and seduction was constantly on her mind. Not only because it was a significant threat to losing her husband to another woman, it was also the perfect location to try and win him back.

“Cassie,” a female voice called behind her, followed by a loud knock that startled her to her feet, the earplugs painfully yanking from her ears as her chair fell to the floor.

“It’s just me.” Jan, her friend from across the street, held up her hands from the other side of the glass sliding door. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well, you failed miserably.” Cassie breathed deeply, working hard to calm the rapid beat of her heart. Six months hadn’t been enough time to get used to living without a man in the house. She still found it hard sleeping alone, without T.J. to protect her.

Obviously, Bear wasn’t the best guard dog either. He currently sat at Jan’s side, his large tail wagging, his eyes bright with playfulness.

Cassie unlocked the door and slid it open. “What are you doing here?” Again.

Jan shrugged. “Just dropping by before I hit the sack.”

“I’ve told you—” a hundred times, “—that isn’t necessary. I swear, I’m fine.” Or she would be. One day. In the unforeseeable future. Depending on the outcome of her marriage.

“Sweetie, you lost your husband.”

“I didn’t lose him.” She knew exactly where he was. “He’s just stubborn, that’s all. He’ll be back before you know it.”

Jan gave her a placating smile. “Are you sure? He doesn’t seem the type of man to make mistakes. Especially big ones.”

There was a first for everything. T.J. was a man that owned everything he did—his attitude, his strength, his determination. Most importantly, his love for her. He just hid his confidence under a gentlemanly façade, not needing to prove himself to anyone. It was only a matter of time before she convinced him to return. But there was no point arguing with Jan. She would never understand. Nobody would.

Jan’s gaze drifted to Cassie’s laptop screen, her brow furrowing. “What are you looking at?”

Oh, Christ. Cassie lunged toward the laptop and slammed the screen closed to cut off the sordid images that set the scene on the Vault’s website. “Nothing.”

Jan’s lip twitched. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No. Of course not.”

“You sure you weren’t watching porn?” Jan raised a brow. “Did I fuck with your motion of the ocean?”

“Oh my God.” Heat burned in her cheeks. “No.” The last thing her body was capable of was arousal.

“So what were you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

Jan cocked her hip, settling into a comfortable position that wordlessly announced she wasn’t going anywhere without an answer.

“Fine.” Cassie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m working out a plan to get T.J. back.”

“With the help of porn?” Jan’s expression turned bleak.

“It’s not goddamn porn.”

“Okay, okay.” Jan balked. “Then explain.”