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Chapter 1

Tyler

Wars as I straddled entle swells and watch the sunrise over LA in the distance Gold, indigo purple, and fla pink streaked across the clouds in a sky that seemed to stretch on forever The saltwater air cleansed me from the inside out as I took aon overhead A sense of serenity and peace overca wave

This—this hy I worked so hard, why I spentmy ass to be able to afford to live in Manhattan Beach on the southern California coast I loved this stretch of land, loved the neighborhood that I’d grown up in adjacent to it, loved my community and my family There wasn’t anywhere else on earth I wanted to be, and I counted myself lucky to be one of the few people able to say that

Although a few earlysurfers and beach walkers shared the area, I felt truly alone in the litter like aforward, I stretched outaway Mondays were always busy, and I had to head into work early to go over the security upgrades at Club Wicked Technology was changing by the second, and it was one of my jobs as chief of security to ht jeopardize the safety and privacy of Club Wicked’s elite guests

If you’d asked ive up my job as a police officer in order to work a private security gig at a BDSM club, I would’ve said you were fucking crazy But life has a strange way of working out, so when my childhood friend—now a famous movie star and a member of Club Wicked’s board—asked me to consider a position as one of their heads of security, I took it I was tired of the murder, the crime, the vileness of humanity that I had to deal with on a daily basis as a police officer I was also tired of the unpaid overtime, the random hatred that I’d encounter fro wear and tear on my mind and body

I’d needed a break from the real world, and Club Wicked had provided all that and more

The watch onwas up I caught the next swell in, riding it as smooth and easy as can be I’ve always had an affinity to the water I’ve been surfing withas I can reo of cancer, but on days like this, I swore I could still hear hilee in the crash of the waves

Hauling ht of the world seemed to return to s to do at work One would think that doing private security wouldn’t be so high pressure, but they didn’t know Club Wicked When I say Wicked is a BDSM club, I don’t mean one of those dark, seedy, ceear placed in the corners No, Club Wicked was…so else Once I’d heard someone refer to it as the Taj Mahal of BDSM clubs, and I didn’t disagree

The Mediterranean style a mansion had been built deep in the hills north of Hollywood in the 1930s by the founders of the club Located on thirty acres, it was surrounded by private homes and just about as secure as any place in the world can be these days Keeping the property and the people inside both safe and protected fro eyes of the media wasn’t easy, but it was essential Most of the , and we did our best to make sure it was never violated Movie stars, politicians, business a preachers, crime lords and trust fund babies—we had them all and more The member list offered a veritable treasure trove of black criminal

The sand crunched under my feet as I stretched out,a little o

After a quick dry off, I grabbed an the fa lot, wishing once again there’d be so for ood co and just about the best damn cat alive, and Mia was always ready for a cuddle—but it would be nice to have a bed filled with a war woman One that would s that I was salty from the sea