Read Online Hearts Under Fire by Kelly Wyre and HJ Raine - Free Book Online Page A

his body as the water came in. As a child, every trip to the beach found his mother under an umbrella, his father absent, and Clark lying just where the waves broke and buried his small, tanned form. Inevitably some good Samaritan would drag Clark away from the water, scolding and asking where in the world his parents might be.
    But before Clark got so rudely interrupted, he would lie on his back with his eyes closed, feeling sun and salt warming and chafing his skin. He loved the way the water moved over him, found it fascinating and inevitable. Clark remembered the way the water would cover his face, the odd peace that came when he couldn’t breathe for a moment.
    Ten minutes later, Clark had opened his eyes and continued to get dressed. He went for simple, as it suited his mood. The velvet, blood-red vest had black buckles that criss-crossed the back. The deep vee of the neckline stopped an inch above his solar plexus, and the three black buttons on the front were linked with small pieces of silver chain.
    To go with the vest, Clark slid on a pair of snug black pants. Black and silver buckles ran down both legs, stopping mid-calf. They clung low enough on his hips that flashes of skin stood out between vest and waistband when he walked. Clark took a length of small-test chain and wrapped it twice as a belt. He grabbed a pair of black combat boots and laced them up his calves so they stopped just below the last buckle on the pants. Over all of it, he threw on a lightweight duster. Clark was never one for jewelry, but he did cinch on his wide-band leather wristwatch that mimicked a manacle just enough to amuse him. Besides, cell phones weren’t allowed in Break, and the watch would serve its true purpose along with its decorative one.
    Clark threw together dinner, cleaned up the mess, and then headed down to the garage he rented along with the loft. The Jag offered a nice, lulling ride, and Clark kept the windows down along the way. He breathed deeply and evenly and felt like his usual self when he pulled around the stone-and-stained-glass structure of Bliss to find a parking space toward the very back. Two safety lights gleamed overhead, and Clark opted to wait out in the cool air as opposed to inside the car.
    Being so early, the only other cars in the lot when Clark arrived were Lucian’s and a few other staff members’ vehicles that Clark recognized. While he waited, three other members pulled up, one with a new boy in tow and the other two by themselves. Clark nodded and waved at them all, enjoying the appreciative gaze Tristan flashed at him. He looked forward to seeing Tristan work over his choice of sub later in the evening; it was always a good show.
    The breeze rustled the trees nearby, and Clark calmly watched and waited.
    ***
    Daniel stood in front of the mirror and tried to sooth nerves that were making his stomach knot. He knew what crazy could be in the world of kink. This was not even close.
    A sleeveless, silk mesh shirt, shimmering with deep-water blues, greens, and hints of silver, clung closely to his torso. All the practice he did with impact tools showed itself in the lean lines of his upper body. Daniel wanted something other than the basic black so many BDSM people wore, and the mesh allowed the koi tattoo that wrapped about his left side to glimmer like a ghost amid the waters.
    Daniel paired the shirt with dark blue leather pants laced at the top with diagonal straps that hugged his hips. Buckles held on the front pockets and emulated chaps. The blue wouldn’t show in the low lighting, but after Clark’s reaction to his eyes, Daniel wondered what Clark would think. He looked at his shoes and went with simple, steel-toed industrial boots.
    “Shit. It’s as if I’m dressing for a date, not a business meeting,” he said, glowering at himself in the mirror. He thought about tossing it all and just wearing a pinstripe suit with sapphire silks, but he also didn’t want to appear a complete