Her Highland Master (The Dungeon Fantasy Club Book 1) Read Free Page A

of people away from the club this weekend. Many of the club-goers who had stayed the previous night were hunkering down in private rooms on the dungeon level to wait out the weather. He didn't mind the fact that attendance was down. It was always the same couples anyway, always the same women—most of whom he'd rather face a pit of vipers than get into bed with—not that he hadn't dallied with them. And lately he had been finding it all rather boring. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed the club, or a woman, other than for the perfunctory release that they offered.
    "Declan? Pick up, man." His butler and longtime friend Jared's voice sounded over the intercom near his desk phone.
    Declan was annoyed at the interruption; he had a conference call with London in less than an hour which he wasn't prepared for, what with all the last minute cancellations. Pressing the intercom button, he said, "What? I told you I had to finish up."
    "I have an unconscious woman on my hands and your response is work," Jared's voice blasted him.
    "Bloody hell, man. Where are you?" Declan stood, sliding his leather desk chair back. Only Jared would have a woman unconscious after his lusty attentions. He mentally went through the possibilities of whom Jared might have fucked unconscious. In his world, it happened when a sub went into what they termed 'sub-space'.
    "At the front door. Just get here quickly. Bloody woman is soaking the floor." Jared disconnected the intercom with an oath that, under normal circumstances, would have made Declan grin. But why the hell was Jared bringing club business up to the front door instead of down on the lower level where it belonged? That was what Declan wanted to know. He left his office and took the elevator down to the main floor.
    In the few minutes it took Declan to arrive, Jared had procured some towels and was kneeling next to her, wrapping a tiny frame within them. Why the hell did he need so many blankets, had he killed a woman in the throes of ecstasy? Declan wondered. He could barely see any limb or skin to indicate it was in fact a woman on the ground. He did, however, notice a rather large puddle by the front door, soaking his Tang dynasty rug.
    "What the hell happened? I told you not to try out any of your tricks on the unschooled." Declan couldn't keep the fury out of his voice. This was unacceptable. Jared knew better. As one of the founding members of the club, Jared was the one who normally doled out punishment if a member acted incorrectly, not Declan, even though he owned the damn place.
    "I already took her coat off her, but she's soaked through." Jared talked over him, not affected in the least by his tone. "And do you really think I would take advantage of a woman appearing on our doorstep in a storm like this? What kind of a prick do you think I am? For your information, I have done nothing but offer the lass my aid. Is it my fault she passed out minutes after she boldly walked into the house?"
    "Where did she come from? And she just walked in, you didn't let her in?" All Declan could discern through Jared's rather odd swaddling job was long, midnight hair.
    "I'm not really sure, and yes, she was a might eager, coming in before I arrived at the door. From what I could make of her story, it seems the lass wrecked her car on the road and couldn't get a signal on her phone to call for help. She's out cold, but her body is still shivering. I don't know how long she was out in that storm but she might be suffering from hypothermia."
    "Christ," Declan replied, thinking of the conference call that he was going to be late for now. "Give her to me. I'll take her to my room, she needs to be out of those wet things and warm. Take care of this mess and bring some tea to my room," he ordered, scooping up the shivering, swaddled woman into his arms. She was quite a handful with the mound of towels covering her form. He vaulted up the stairs almost two at a time with his bundle.
    He