obstacles there,” Tyler said. “I’d like to bring you into the house first, though, so we can talk privately about the protocols in place tonight.”
Rory took the ramp, Daralyn next to him on the steps. She passed her hand over the tops of the ornamental grasses between them, smiling when the feathery tops tickled her wrist. She spread out her fingers to enjoy the sensation, sending Rory a pleased look.
“Is your wife here tonight?” Rory asked Tyler.
“Most definitely.” The flicker in Tyler’s gaze, the trace of heat and pleasure in his voice, reflected his feelings for his spouse, even in her absence. “She’s handling other hostess duties while I greet you.”
His attention moved briefly to Daralyn as he opened one of the double doors. “She’s particularly looking forward to meeting you, Daralyn. Julie’s told her a lot about you.”
That surprised Daralyn. Rory, too. But Julie loved Daralyn as much as the rest of his family, and was equally protective of her. So maybe Marguerite and Daralyn had some common interests, though Rory wasn’t sure what those would be. He didn’t know a lot about Marguerite. He remembered a woman who had a unique kind of beauty combined with a strangely goddess-like vibe, for lack of a better word.
No. There was a better word. A Domme vibe.
Now that he had a different context in which to frame it, that was what he remembered about her. Since Tyler was obviously a hundred percent Dom, it created a puzzle with no ready answer in Rory’s mind.
Well, Marcus had said seeing Dom/sub relationships playing out in real life, versus in a book or on a screen, might give him a whole different perspective on what the possibilities were. Not only how wide an area there was to explore, but the freedom to choose what corners of it fit him and Daralyn. Tyler and Marguerite’s relationship might be a case in point.
Tyler gestured Daralyn in before him and stepped back so Rory could maneuver over the short stoop.
Once inside, he counted himself fortunate that Daralyn took a long, jaw-drop moment to gaze at the foyer, because it let him do the same.
A double staircase curved along the walls on either side to meet on a wide landing bordered with painted white iron balustrades. The window in the backdrop was the shape of a half moon, nearly ten feet in diameter. A glittering chandelier hung in the foreground, descending from a domed ceiling that showed a blue sky punctuated with soft clouds. On one of his mother’s trips to Vegas, she’d brought back pictures of the Venetian shopping mall ceiling, which looked a lot like it.
They could hear the murmur of conversation somewhere, the faint notes of music. Pleasing scents filled the air. Fragrant and teasing, not overpowering. Though Rory couldn’t separate it out enough to figure if it was food or floral, something about the scent spoke of the erotic, sharpening his senses and making him want to slide his fingers along the lengths of Daralyn’s, stroke and play. She felt it too, her own fingers curling into his shirt.
“Please take a seat here.” Tyler gestured Daralyn to a divan placed in the foyer, lots of gold velvet and dark wood. It had space next to it for Rory’s chair. Rory noted her eyes were everywhere, digesting the personal photos and colorful art on the walls, the flower arrangements, the French doors that led to a sunken living room where they could see a horseshoe of deep sofas and a giant flatscreen. Though their surroundings obviously said money, there were plenty of personal touches that projected a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. This place was a home, not a showpiece.
Reinforcing it, Tyler had sat down on the other end of the divan, one knee up on it to face Daralyn and Rory. He looked as relaxed as Rory would in his own home. Just beyond his shoulder, Rory could see beneath the right side of the curving staircase. A large oak door was flanked by the sculpture of a nude, dancing woman with long flowing hair. A vibration seemed to be affecting the door, as if the music they were hearing might be playing behind it.
“That leads to the inside dungeon play area,” Tyler said, following Rory’s attention. At Daralyn’s startled look, he smiled. “That’s a common term in our world, but it doesn’t mean anything scary. Not that way. When I’m not holding one of these events, it’s a recreation area, including an indoor saltwater