Chapter 3

          "Almost there," Sandra announced, pointing to the right. The outline of what looked to be a massive log cabin came into view. The closer they got, the bigger it looked. The grass lot out front was filled with cars, and more than half of them had the university parking sticker on the windshield.

              "Told ya it was popular," said Sandra.

       She wasn't kidding. Men and women were filing into the wooded mansion and warm yellow lights glowed through the many opaque windows on its three stories. It was hard to believe this was a BDSM dungeon rather than a secluded Swiss chalet.

       "How do you like the Lodge?" Sandra asked smugly. She must have noticed Bella's slack-jawed state.

       "It's beautiful," she admitted. "Not at all what I expected."

        She laughed. "Bet you're gonna say that at least ten more times before the night's over."

       The group in front of them came to an abrupt halt at the door. They were talking to a man Bella could only assume was the bouncer. At least there was something typical about this club. She was no shrimp at five-seven, and the man in front of her was easily over six feet tall, but the bouncer made them both look like kids.

      Bella managed to wriggle her fingers into her pocket and feel for her ID. She couldn't see him well, but he didn't seem like the type you wanted to keep waiting. She looked over to see Sandra take out some sort of card. She wasn't sure yet what the Washington driver's license looked like, but she doubted that was it. This was a jet black card with scripted red lettering and a picture square.

             When the bouncer stepped aside to allow the next group in, Bella could finally see his face. He was the most gorgeous bouncer she'd ever seen, although her sample size was admittedly limited. He had shaggy dark brown hair that would have seemed black if not for the warm glow of the light above the door betraying some golden strands. 

          Honey brown eyes shifted from Bella to Sandra and seemed to take in everything at once. Heavy dark circles ringed them, giving his otherwise generically handsome face some character. He had a strong jaw and the biceps stretching his plain black T-shirt's sleeves to their limit had probably been listed as references on his job application. He was the boy next door all grown up and potentially embroiled in a steroid scandal. If trouble ever reared its head at the Lodge, Bella had a feeling it didn't last long.

        Bella realized she was gaping, but her embarrassment was short-lived once she noticed he was doing the same. His gaze was so intense that she looked behind them in search of the rightful object of his attention. Surely it couldn't be her.

          "Hey, Sandra. Long time no see," his voice was a surprisingly rich tenor when he finally spoke. "Who's your friend?"

           "Hey, Darian," said Sandra. She slipped the bouncer her strange red card. "This is Bella. We're here for the competition."

         Darian's eyes flickered over Bella and a slow smile curled his full lips. "Well, he already has my vote."

         Bella didn't know what to say to that. When it looked like Sandra wasn't coming to her aid, she said, "I'm not entering. Just watching."

       "Huh," he said, placing a red stamp on the back of Sandra's hand before handing his card back. He sounded genuinely disappointed. "Too bad." He drew another stamp from his pocket, not the same stamp as the one he used on Sandra and turned his callused palm up. "Give me your left hand."

        "Isn't there a cover charge?" Bella asked. Sandra's card probably gave her a free pass, but surely she owed something. Herhand hovered awkwardly by her pocket. There were others lined up behind them and she could feel the energy of anticipation and growing impatience. She was sure they weren't too happy that they were holding up the line.

         "No cover for subs," he replied matter-of-factly.

      Bella opened her mouth to argue but Sandra shot her a dirty look. Darian took her half-extended hand and placed a blue stamp on her palm. Bella was expecting a red one like Sandra's, but for all she knew it was some "sub" thing.

        Bella tried to pull her hand away, but Darian held onto it. Their eyes met and his smile turned lopsided like he was acknowledging some secret between them. "Maybe I'll see you inside, Bella."

      Bella managed to tug her hand free. Sandra started pushing her toward the heavy wooden door before she could respond. "Thanks, Darian,"Sandra called, pulling the door open with some effort. The bronze knocker tapped against the wood a few times. 

      Bella noticed as they passed through the entryway that the silhouette of the door knocker belonged to a wolf rather than the typical lion. In fact, her stamp was in the shape of a wolf’s head, too. 

  

             They really were committed to the theme, she thought.

        Once inside, they were met with a delightful rush of warmth. She didn't know what she had been expecting. Even after seeing the elegant exterior of the Lodge, she somehow expected there would be whips and chains and strange tables everywhere. Instead, she was surrounded by pine log walls, luxurious red leather furnishings, Persian rugs and a huge hearth in the center of the room with a crackling fire roaring within.

          There was no sign of the crowd that had preceded them. In fact, aside from a black-haired man reading a book and sipping a hard drink by the fire, the front room was nearly empty. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, black slacks and an elegant red vest, an ensemble that belonged in a reading room, not a glorified night club. He didn't even look up when they came in. The only other person in the huge room was a beautiful raven-haired woman at the front desk. The desk itself was so successfully tucked away behind the front door that she didn't notice it until she was standing in front of it. 

  

       "Welcome to the Lodge," she said in a proper English accent. "Mr. Donovan, it's good to see you again. And I see you've brought a friend."

         Bella was beginning to think the Lodge had to be the fanciest nightclub in the country to have such an attentive concierge, but when the group behind them came in, she barely gave them a glance before they disappeared down the hallway to our right.

         "She's a first-timer," Sandra replied. She was beginning to feel a bit like a purse dog being taken around for greetings.

        "Do you need to see my stamp?" Bella asked, hesitantly holding up her hand.

     She gave a musical laugh. "Oh no, Lodge members and their guests don't—” She seemed to freeze in place when she saw the stamp. "N-no," she said with a short cough. "As long as you made it past Darian, you're free to enter the Cave."

     "Come on, we should grab some drinks before the contest starts. It was good seeing you, Clara!" Sandra grabbed her hand, already pulling her toward the hallway.

             "Enjoy yourselves," the receptionist said with a wave. Maybe Bella was just being paranoid, but she couldn't help but think there was something uneasy in her polite smile. When they passed, she noticed that the man who had been reading by the fire was gone.