“Please come sit.” He gestured to the couch and settled down on the cushion. “We need to talk, yes?”
She snorted a laugh. “I’d like to say no, but I think that’s out of the question.”
“Entirely out of the question.” He watched her lower down next to him with a warm gaze. The silence continued, but Ella couldn’t look away from the compassion in his shadowy gaze.
After many—oddly, not uncomfortable—seconds, he finally asked, “Do you care for me, Ella?”
“In a boss-and-employee way?”
“Friendship. Family. Is the way that I mean.” He hesitated, and at her silence, since what he said was so unexpected, he added, “Since you started working for me, I’ve felt quite attached to you. Do you see me in that same light?”
Until Kyler, Aidan was the only friend she had in Vegas. She knew he wasn’t wrong—they shared a closeness that she’d never had with a former boss. She always had the sense that he took care of her in odd ways, like sending her to buy new clothes on the company’s tab, which usually included getting her hair and nails done, too. That compassion had brought platonic love between them, she believed that. “I do feel close to you.”
“I’m glad.” His smile was tender, as was his voice. “Here’s the thing: I would’ve brought you more fully into my life had I not lived the lifestyle I do. I never mix business with pleasure, which is why you’ve never met any of the Club Sin Masters before. When Club Sin opened, I requested everyone stay away from my office. Privacy, to me, is important.” He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “Your being in the dungeon comes as a relief. Now there are no secrets between us. Nothing between our friendship.”
She regarded him, understanding his meaning. Not just your boss, the message was clear. “Your showing up just shocked me. I wasn’t expecting …”
“For me to see you having sex and having an orgasm,” he said flatly.
“Yeah, that!” She laughed. “I mean, it was pretty obvious that you were a member there and all, but I wasn’t expecting to see you last night. Then you were there … and you saw the rest.”
“Yes, I saw the rest, and it was beautiful.” He took her hand, and his touch felt like the closest thing to a family member touching her in a long time. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing you like I did last night. And I’m not talking about the orgasm. It’s not about the sex. It’s about seeing you happy.” Squeezing her fingers, his brows rose. “And you are happy, aren’t you?”
“Happy” didn’t describe it. She was living the life she had wanted to that day she took up the radio show’s challenge. Look where the dare had led her: She was having the best sexual adventures of her life and was surrounded by amazing people, and she had Kyler. “I am happy.”
Aidan nodded with soft eyes. “That’s what my focus is. You being naked, fucked, or screaming out in pleasure doesn’t hold any thoughts in my mind when I see you in Club Sin.”
Hearing those words from Aidan made her gape, but she wondered if that’s why he’d said it. Perhaps he took off the edge of how awkward that moment had been. And she noticed herself relaxing. He’s just a man. A friend who cares about you. Still, she couldn’t help but ask, “Will you be doing those things with Cora, too?”
“Of course.” He smirked. “That is the point of Club Sin.”
She studied him, trying to get herself into the same frame of mind as he was. It was indefinitely harder.
He frowned at whatever crossed her expression, shaking his head. “You have to get it out of your head that this is an unusual situation. I see people embracing an erotic lifestyle every single weekend. It’s normal for me—normal for all those in Club Sin. It’s not about the sex. It won’t ever be. To see that smile I saw last night. To see how happy you are with Kyler and how he cares for you—that’s what is important to me. That’s what I’ve wanted for you since we met. Nothing else.”
Put that way, she realized, how could she not understand?
She regarded Aidan, so touched by him. So appreciative of everyone she’d met at Club Sin. To come from a place where all her friends had turned their backs on her, to now having so many special people in her life, she simply felt grateful. “Okay. I understand. We’re friends, then? Not only coworkers.”
“Precisely,” he agreed with a firm nod. “Close friends who only want what is best for each other. And if you saw a friend that you cared about being happy and fulfilling parts of their soul that brought them joy, would that bother you?”
“No,” she replied without hesitation.
“Exactly why it doesn’t bother me. And why it shouldn’t bother you to see me in my Club Sin role.” Then he dropped her hand and took her into a warm hug. “I like you this way.”
She fought the tears rimming her eyes. Hugs like this she missed—warm embraces that came only from those who loved you unconditionally. “What way?”
He whispered in her ear, “Finally smiling and living again.”
Casino machines and the mind-numbing noise of voices rushed across Kyler as he strode through the lobby of the casino. The foyer was bustling with people out for a good time; some were drunk and others were dazzled by the fountains and sparkling crystal chandeliers.
Kyler dipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans, pulling
out his badge. When he reached the hotel lobby, he lifted his badge and said to the clerk, “I need you to tell me which room Rory Snow is in.”
The young clerk raised her brows and then moved to the computer. She typed for a moment. “He’s in room four hundred and twelve.”
Kyler couldn’t decide if it pleased him that the fucker was still in Vegas, or if it only proved how stupid Rory was. “Would you call him and ask him to come down to the lobby, please.”