Hoss’s Limits (House of Lustz #2)

Hoss Chapter 1

I scanned the two new faces strolling up to the entrance of the House of Lustz. By now, I pretty much knew who belonged here by sight, even if I might not know everyone’s name. They were two men in their thirties, if I had to guess. They were grinning and laughing. There was nothing wrong with either of those things. We wanted people to feel joy and excitement here as long as it didn’t go in the wrong direction. This meant I might as well start their membership off right, just to be sure.

I’d been leaning against the wall, but I stood tall now. I had a stool to sit on, but I rarely did that for long. A lot of the time, I paced. Sitting for long periods was a big no for me. I got enough of that in my everyday life. I made sure my arms were crossed as they approached. They raised their heads and glanced toward the door as they got closer. I must’ve been hidden in the shadows because they jerked and stumbled as if they hadn’t seen me until then. Not to be a braggart, but it was rare for me not to be noticed.

As a six-foot-seven-inch Black man, people took notice of me. Add my other physical features to the package, and they often feared me. Sometimes, that fear came in handy, like it would if trouble started here. Other times, I detested it. Just because I was large and Black didn’t mean I was automatically someone to fear. In my world, you had to do something to earn my beatdowns. Their walk slowed, and they stopped laughing and smiling. When they got close, I greeted them. I didn’t smile since I had a point to get across, but I did speak to them nicely and without a scowl.

“Hello, gentlemen, welcome to the House of Lustz. I haven’t seen you before. Let me guess. You’re new patrons,” I said.

“Y-yes, we are. We just got our official acceptances a few days ago,” the taller one stuttered.

“That’s nice. I know you’ve gone through online training and orientation, and the rules have been covered with you. However, I still like to cover a few things with anyone new entering. First, I’m Hoss. You’ll see me typically here on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I’m the doorman and outer security. We should only see each other when you come and go unless you cause problems. Then you’ll see me more. I recommend you don’t do that. It won’t make your night, trust me. Obey the rules, always have consent, and be respectful, and we’ll get along fine. May I have your names?” I asked.

I preferred to know their club names. Most people here went by one to protect their identities, although some used their real first names. Last names were to be kept private. This was covered in orientation, and they were asked to decide on their name preference before coming here for the first time to play or observe.

“I’m Odin,” the one who spoke to me said.

“I’m Atlas,” his buddy said more hesitantly.

“Odin, Atlas, nice to meet you. If you have questions, please ask rather than assume. There are plenty of monitors, guides, managers, and Lustz disciples to answer them. Have a good evening.” I reached over and opened the door for them. As they passed me, they gave me a side-eye glance.

Closing the door behind them, I got back to scanning the parking lot. I was more than the glorified door opener. I kept a watch for anything that may turn into a problem. We didn’t want our patrons running into muggers or being waylaid by other patrons or strangers on our premises. Mikhail, the owner, would have heads if those things were occurring. He ran a classy establishment. Lustz wasn’t some sleazy hangout where you had to worry about being drugged, raped, or murdered. Just because we catered to your sexual fantasies didn’t mean we were into anything like that. A common misconception many people seemed to have.

Thinking of my boss and friend Mikhail led my mind to his fiancée, Tajah. I smiled. Tajah had that effect on people. She was a sweet, loving woman. When she joined the club, Mikhail had been gone on the first vacation I’d ever known him to take. I got to know her a tiny bit. She wasn’t automatically scared of me and would stop and talk for a few minutes. When she explained she was there to do research for her romance series, I’d been intrigued and couldn’t help but wonder what kind of material she’d get and how the patrons would react to her asking questions. Many loved to talk about the lifestyle, but would they be so inclined if it was going into books, especially romance novels?

What I didn’t contemplate was what Mikhail would do when he returned. I should’ve. His response was to kick her out and revoke her membership. It was damn fortunate for him that he changed his mind. He would’ve lost out on the opportunity of a lifetime if he hadn’t. He would’ve never landed his woman. As different as they were, they complemented each other perfectly. He was beyond blessed to have found her—a woman who understood his desires and was willing to actively fulfill them. Tajah was discovering what called to her, and he was equally able to do the same for her when it came to fulfilling her desires.

It was hard to find in our world, even though many would assume it wasn’t. While we lived this lifestyle, everyone was different. We may have labels for our fetishes, kinks, proclivities, or whatever people choose to call them, but not a single one of us, even if we wore the same label, was precisely the same. Take me, for example. Yeah, I worked here, but in my free time, I also played. I was a patron. I had several interests, but my main one was as a brat handler. It should be easy for me to find a brat to handle and fulfill both our needs. Well, it wasn’t. Some of my needs were satisfied, for sure, but not all.

I had a crazy successful company, all the money I could ever need, fancy cars, a gorgeous home—the works. I should need nothing, but I did. I didn’t have a special someone to share it with. I was thirty-nine years old, and I was still single. Sure, I had sex, and I had women lined up to play with me in scenes, but it wasn’t what I ultimately desired. I wanted what Mikhail had with Tajah—a true partner who loved him and who he loved in return.

Recently, I’d begun to hope that there might be someone who could fit the bill. I wasn’t sure, of course, but I wanted to find out. She’d hooked my attention in a single tiny interaction. It lasted less than a minute, but it was enough. My second encounter had been slightly longer, but not much, and it had only ensnared me more. The urge to handle her grew. The funishments and punishments it brought to mind made me hard, and I fantasized about what we would do together. Her name was Cadence, or Cady, as she preferred to be called.

Except for how things had gone lately, it was doubtful I’d get an opportunity to find out. The night of Tajah and Mikhail’s dinner party had been my second glimpse, and it was the night she’d stormed out. She’d been quiet and avoiding Tajah, who had been her best friend since grade school, since that party. I knew Tajah was worried about Cady. She talked to me about it. It wasn’t like Cady to act this way with her. Even Cady’s brother, Carver, another patron, was troubled by her behavior.

The impulse to find her, make her spill what was bothering her, and interact with her brat side was growing. Cady was a classic brat crying out for an experienced handler to take her in hand and not break her. She needed to soar and fully embrace who she was. Deep down, my gut told me that I was the man for her. But first, I had to get time to be near her, which was not an easy task. While I heard they were back to speaking to each other, Cady hadn’t been here. Or if she had, not on the nights I worked. If something didn’t change soon, I’d have to take steps to set the stage. Six damn weeks was more than long enough to live with this unanswered question. Was Cady the woman for me? Only being together would answer it. Well, I wasn’t solving that dilemma tonight or in the next two. It would have to wait until I was off from this job.

Walking into work on Monday at SacketEdge Technologies, I prepared for another busy week. It was never slow here, which was a good thing in my book. It meant my company was giving people what they wanted and needed when it came to computer software. I’d started the company at the raw age of twenty. I’d just graduated from college with my master’s in programming and a few other minors, and I wasn’t open to working for others. I’d seen enough in a few years of interning and working small jobs to know they wouldn’t let my stuff stay as I created them, or they’d steal my ideas and get rich off my work. To prevent this, I formed my own company in my childhood bedroom.

It wasn’t long before I moved out and was doing it from my apartment. The rest was history. I worked hard. I was determined to produce application software that was of high caliber and would keep customers happy. As time passed, I was able to expand into several different software platforms and areas. I began to hire staff to help me with the projects. They were carefully handpicked individuals who saw things the way I did and produced the highest quality in their work. If you don’t have integrity, don’t attempt to work for me.

We produced software for gaming, antivirus software, database management, graphics, and security, to name a few. As it stood, I could retire, and the company would continue without me. I picked my key people meticulously. However, I didn’t just lie back and enjoy my money because I’d be bored to death in a week and probably homicidal in two. If my brain wasn’t working on something the majority of the time, it would cause issues for me. It didn’t have to be work, but it had to be something I was interested in. When I wasn’t mentally occupied, I needed to be physically stimulated. For me, that was satisfied with working out, doing extreme sports, and having sex.

Yet, lately, the sex part was lacking. I wasn’t finding anyone who made me yearn to have sex with them. Even my play at Lustz had drastically decreased. I had plenty of offers, but they felt flat. In the past, the brats there had been fun to play with. Lately, they didn’t stir my interest. Maybe I was getting old. I immediately discarded that possibility. I was still interested in brat handling and sex. My erections and excitement when I thought of playing with Cady proved that. The people I had available to play with were the problem. There I went, thinking about her again. Hoss, you’ve got to put Cady out of your mind. You have work to do, I sternly lectured my inner self.

“Good morning, Mr. Sacket. I hope you had a good weekend.” Alicia Ann greeted me with a smile and a cup of coffee the way I liked. She was my righthand woman. To call her a secretary was to discount everything Alicia Ann did. She kept me on task. She’d been with me for the last five years. Without her, there would be no way I could work the nights I did at Lustz.

The only thing we disagreed about regularly was her insistence on calling me Mr. Sacket rather than Hoss. Most of my employees called me that, but she refused. In Alicia Ann’s mind, it was disrespectful. I’d tease her every so often, asking if we knew each other well enough to have her call me that. Her answer was always no, to ask her again in five years.

“Good morning, Alicia Ann. Thank you.” I indicated the coffee I took from her. “My weekend was good. What about yours? Did you do anything fun? ”

“Mine was good as well. I went shopping and read a book I’ve wanted to read for a while.”

“Alicia Ann, we’ve got to get you out to have more fun. Although, if you like to read, I have an author friend. Are you into romances? I warn you, they’re steamy,” I told her as I raised my brows and grinned.

“I do enjoy romances. As for whether they’re the steamy kind, that’s for me to know. I have friends who devour them, though. If you give me the author’s name, I’ll pass it along,” she said without missing a beat.

“One day, I’m going to figure you out. I know you secretly want that name for yourself,” I teased.

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” was her comeback. She smiled. She came across as stiff and uptight to most people, but I knew underneath, she wasn’t. She was highly professional. I tried not to tease her too much, but we both enjoyed it.

“I’ll email it to you with her link. Okay, I guess I need to get to work. The day is full.”

“Your first appointment will be here at ten,” she called after me. I’d be lost if it weren’t for her keeping my calendar. I greeted others I passed on my way to my office. When I arrived, I sat down to get to it.

The day flew by. I went from one meeting or project to the next. In between, I had conversations with various team members. Some were about work, but others were more personal. I liked knowing about my staff. Lunch was spent at a luncheon with a potential new client. The afternoon was more work, but the kind I truly enjoyed.

I might not get to create programs nearly as much as I used to, but I refused to give it up entirely. I had to have it. It was my creative side coming out. The afternoon was gone before I knew it. I surfaced when I heard people saying goodbye to each other. Standing, I stretched, then went out to say good evening to them.

I encouraged my people to have a work and life balance. When we had deadlines, that was one thing, but they needed to unplug the rest of the time. Too bad I wasn’t as disciplined. I blamed it on being quickly bored and not having anyone to share my downtime with. I had friends, but that wasn’t the same. None of them were available all the time. When I wasn’t able to occupy my mind or body in other ways, work was always there to fill the gap.

Despite this, I knew that if I found someone special, that would change. No way would I add a woman to my life, one I hoped would be permanent, and then ignore her. Assuming we had kids, which I also wanted, they’d take more time. I might have enough money to hire a nanny, but I had no desire to have others raise my children. It would be their mom and me doing it.

After seeing my crew out the door, I returned to my office. I could go back to work or head home. My groove was interrupted, so I chose to shut down and go. If I had the urge to work later, everything would be accessible via my laptop, and I’d do it from home. Outside, in the parking garage, I climbed into my Bugatti Veyron. I had a thing for sports cars and the money to indulge. I didn’t get crazy. It wasn’t like I had dozens of them, but I did have a few. This one was my favorite.

Driving home, I enjoyed the fall air. October in Tennessee was still warm, and the trees were changing. I drove to my place in Belle Meade. It was a wealthy area of Nashville, consisting of grand houses and estates. It was originally the location of a plantation that later was converted into an elite residential neighborhood. I bought here due to the feeling of the area, its history, the streets lined with trees, and the architecture that called to me, not the exclusivity of it.

While the median price of homes was two million or more, I got mine cheaper. When it came on the market, it was neglected, and it showed. I saw the potential once it was restored to its former glory, so I snatched the property up. Even with the money I put into it, the estate was worth more than it cost me to purchase and restore it. I enjoyed walks through the fifty-five-acre botanical park and Percy Warner Park, which has its horse and hiking paths close by.

I parked in my garage and then went inside. I was hungry, and it was time to decide what to make for dinner. Generally, I ate healthy-ish. I cheated and had things that weren’t good for you, but overall, I tried to stick to the healthier options. I knew there were some skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the fridge. I could make a couple of those, along with a side of steamed vegetables and brown rice. I upped the taste factor of the food I made, not with butter and oil, but with herbs and spices.

First, I needed to get out of my suit and into comfy clothes—jeans and a henley. With that done, I headed to the kitchen. It didn’t take me long to fix my meal. After I was done eating and cleared away my mess, I put on a movie. I was hoping it would keep my attention long enough I would be able not to work. If it didn’t and I restarted, I’d be up all night. I made it through, barely, but I knew I’d never be able to watch another. I was about to say the hell with it and get my laptop when my cell phone rang.

I had it tucked into the back pocket of my jeans. Fishing it out, I glanced down to see who was calling. Depending on who it was, I would decide whether to answer or let it go to voicemail. If it were my brother, then it would go to voicemail. If it were one of my friends, then I’d answer. The name Mikhail on the screen had me answering it. I was smiling when I did.

“Hey, Mikhail, you miss me already? It’s not Thursday, but do you need me to come in?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. Someone might’ve called off.

“Hoss, I don’t love you that much. And I’m not calling to ask you to work or for a friendly chat. I wanted to know if you’d meet Tajah and me somewhere. If you’re otherwise occupied, I understand. No pressure.” His tone was slightly off, and I could hear the tension in it.

“I can tell there’s something wrong. What is it? What do you need?” I immediately asked.

“You said you wanted a chance to get to know Cady. Well, here’s your chance. She called Tajah and said she had an issue at her veterinarian clinic. It seems it was broken into after she left. Carver is out of town on business. Taj said she sounded upset. We’re headed over, and I thought this would be a good way to get your foot in the door.”

I’d told him what I thought when it came to Cady. I hadn’t been as blunt or vocal with Tajah, although I hadn’t hidden my interest. No way would I pass up this chance. Who knew when or if I’d get another?

“Hell, yeah, I’ll go. Give me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Great. I’ll text it to you. We’re about to leave. I think it’s somewhere between you and us. See you there.”

“Will do.”

Before he even hung up, I was headed for my boots. It took a minute to get those on and then out to my car. I entered the address he sent into my phone, and then I was off. It was after nine, so traffic wasn’t an issue. During the day and at peak rush hours, it could’ve doubled my drive time. Mikhail was right. The address was between Belle Meade and The Gulch, where they lived on the third floor of Lustz.

They’d planned to move out to a house on his property in Culleoka, but a crazy Lustz employee put that on hold when she burned his house down. Ultimately, they took it as a positive since it would allow them to build a home that would suit them both. He had an architect drawing up the plans, and as soon as they approved the plan, they would have it built. I liked the wide-open spaces out there, but I wasn’t sure if I’d want to give up my house. It would be a hard choice. Mikhail had been telling me there was a large property next to his. He said we could be neighbors. I informed him that was enough reason right there not to buy—him as a neighbor. Tajah had laughed herself silly when I told him that.

Finally, I pulled into a deserted parking lot. The closest building, the one that was the clinic, according to my directions, had lights on. If that weren’t enough to tell me this was the place, the police car parked outside would. I didn’t waste time getting my ass to the door. I yanked it open and walked in. I was met by a female police officer. She came walking toward me with her hand on the butt of her gun and a wary look.

“Hold it right there!” she demanded.

I stopped and raised my hands. “I’m expected. I presume Mr. Ivanova and his fiancée are here. I’m a friend. He called me.”

“Who’re you?”

“I told you, a friend of Mr. Ivanova.”

“I want your name.”

Usually, I would more than comply with a police officer’s request, but I was anxious to see Cady and talk to them.

Instead of playing twenty questions with her, I called out, “Mikhail, mind coming out here and verifying I’m supposed to be here before this officer shoots me?”

The murmur of voices grew louder, and within moments, he, Tajah, a male officer, and Cady were in the lobby area. I saw shock on Cady’s face and amusement on Mikhail and Tajah’s. I grinned at them.

“Officer, he’s fine. I asked him to come. I had no idea how extensive the damage was or what might need to be done. As you can see, he’s got the muscles to help,” Mikhail indicated with a chin thrust toward me. It was true, but it wasn’t as if he was a five-foot weakling. He was six feet four and weighed not much less than me.

“Yeah, ‘cause you can see, he’s a weak pansy. The ladies need my muscles,” I quipped back.

He scoffed at me. “Like hell. I’ve changed my mind. Shoot him,” he told the female officer.

She was swinging her head back and forth like she was watching a Ping-Pong game. Tajah was trying to smother her giggles, but wasn’t doing a very good job. Cady was staring at me. The other officer was the one to say something.

“He can’t be in here or touch anything. We’ve got to take prints. In fact, you all need to go outside.”

“I can’t. Those dogs in the back are upset. They hear us out here. I need to calm them down. They had surgery today and shouldn’t be getting overly excited,” Cady said.

“You’ve already dusted for prints. Cady didn’t call us until you’d been here a while. What else do you have to do?” Tajah asked.

“Forensically, there could be other clues,” the man added rather huffily.

“I would believe that if your CSI techs hadn’t already been here and left. It’s too late to gather more evidence. I have to get this place in order for us to open tomorrow. There’s a full day of patients on the books,” Cady told him. She had a slight bite to her voice. It wasn’t her being a brat for the sake of being one. She was genuinely annoyed, and I couldn’t blame her. Plus, she had made an excellent point.

“Officers, unless you bring your team back now and have more questions for her, we’re getting to work. This place won’t clean itself. When I came in, she was standing here staring off into the distance,” I said as I pointed to the female officer. Her face flushed pink at me calling her out, but it was true.

The male’s mouth tightened, but he must’ve known he was beaten. “On second thought, we’re done here. There are so many fingerprints everywhere, it’ll be impossible for us to determine who was in here illegally,” he said snidely.

“Not on the lock, there aren’t. I can understand the door handle and front counter having a bunch, but not there. Only a few of us have keys to lock that. If it had been one of the employees with a key, they would’ve had the code to disarm the alarm. The alarm going off triggered you and me to be called,” Cady reminded them.

Their radios crackled to life, and a female voice came across, rattling off codes and an address. This energized them.

“Ma’am, we’ll let you know if we find anything.”

Again, it was the male talking. If she hadn’t asked for my name, I would’ve wondered if the female cop had gone mute. Right before exiting, he handed Cady a business card. Cady stomped over and flipped the lock when the door shut behind them.

When she turned back around, she looked at me with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Mikhail called and told me you had a break-in, and they were coming here.”

“I got that, but why are you here?”

“I came to see if you were alright and if you needed my help,” I told her, giving her my best smile.

“Well, lucky for me, I don’t have an elephant in the back room. If I ever get one and the poor animal can’t move, I’ll give you a call,” she snarked back.

I loved just being near her, but her brat showing herself lit a spark inside me, and my handler-self perked up.

“Feeling like some handling, Tiny?” I shot back.

“Handling? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means a brat like you needs a brat handler. And I happen to be an expert.”

“I’m not a brat, and I don’t play like the three of you, so don’t involve me in your games. I have no patience for the regular ones men play. Listen, thanks for coming, but I can take care of things. A little readying up the place, and we should be good to go for tomorrow. Why don’t you guys leave? I’ll call you tomorrow, Taj.”

“Readying up?” I asked. It wasn’t a term I was familiar with.

“Sorry, that’s something they always said in my family. It means to get things ready, to clean up.”

“There’s no way we’re leaving you here alone. It’s dark, this place was broken into, and the animals need tending along with the cleanup. Neither Mikhail nor I can leave you. So, no more arguing. Us guys will do the readying up, and you ladies go calm the dogs,” I suggested.

“This is my office. I say who stays or goes,” she snapped.

“And I have size on my side. So unless you can pick my ass up and carry me outside, you’re stuck with me, Tiny.”

“Stop calling me that!” she hissed as she stomped her foot.

“I’ll think about it if you do what I say,” I smirked.

The growling sound she made deep in her throat had my cock stiffening even more. Without another word, she turned her back on me and stomped down the hallway. I assumed it led to the exam rooms and where the dogs were. Tajah smiled at me, kissed Mikhail quickly, and then went after her friend. Mikhail was grinning.

“You like to live dangerously, don’t you? Cady is a brat, but something tells me she’ll take a chunk out of you if you push her too far. Remember what Carver said. She’s tiny but evil. He’s afraid of her, I think.” He chuckled.

I laughed. “And that is why I’ll keep doing it. You know I like to live dangerously. Skydiving, parachuting, rock climbing, and the other things I do should’ve told you that. Was anything stolen?”

We began at the front counter. Drawers were open, and papers and other items were strewn everywhere, even on the floor. I saw chairs had been moved out of place and furniture overturned. It made me wonder what the rest of the office looked like.

“She said it didn’t look like it.”

“Do you have any idea why they broke in? Was it for money? Although, I wouldn’t think much money would be kept here.”

“They do keep some, but it’s locked in a safe. It’s not one you can pick up and steal, either. It’s in her office and is built into the wall. That’s always possible, but it would take time to break into it. They had to move fast with the alarm going off. Cady thinks they were looking for drugs. There are sedatives and painkillers they use on animals, as well as antibiotics. All of those are in demand, especially the first two.”

“I can see those two, but why antibiotics?”

“Animal and human antibiotics are the same in most cases. They’re packaged and sold as one or the other, but there’s no difference. I didn’t know that until she told us. This isn’t a horrible area of town, but the crime rate has been rising. It was only a matter of time until this happened.”

“If it’s getting worse, they’ll likely try again. An alarm isn’t enough to keep determined burglars out of homes and other businesses. Why would it deter them from a clinic? And if the crime rate is worse, there’s only so many cops to work. They can’t be everywhere. She needs to move her clinic to somewhere safer,” I said.

“Tajah mentioned it, and from what I got, it wasn’t the first time she had. Cady replied that it wasn’t so simple to up and move. I bet anything, it’s a cost factor. She’s the only vet here. She rents the place, not owns it, but even rent isn’t cheap. When you add in paying staff, insurance, equipment, plus everything else, it’s expensive. I’d offer to help her, but she’ll say no.” Mikhail sighed.

“Once she’s with me, she won’t get to say no. I’ll do it and fight her afterward. Her safety and that of others means more,” I muttered darkly. I thought I said it softly enough, but I didn’t. Mikhail burst out laughing.

“Oh Christ, I can’t wait to see the fireworks. Please, make sure I’m around when you do it.”

I gave him a smirk. He could laugh, but I was serious. Tonight only confirmed that Cady was definitely for me. Now, all I had to do was bring her around to my way of thinking. The visions of how that would happen made me hard. Yep, handler versus brat. Let the fun begin.