Just to be safe, I scan the place myself, looking from one person to the next. In the far right of the room I catch a glimpse of red, but when I make my way over, I see it isn’t her at all, but a much older woman.
Sheena’s on the young side. Fair skin dotted with freckles, delicately arched light brown eyebrows over beautiful light gray eyes.
Really a shame she’s my nemesis.
The black-haired woman, on the other hand, promises a night of fun. I take in her vivid, dark brown eyes, clear porcelain skin. She’s wearing a green and black snake-skin sheath dress that hugs every curve and leaves little to the imagination. I swallow hard.
“Evening,” I say when I reach her. “Buy you a drink?”
She smiles and doesn’t answer, but pushes herself off the stool and beckons her finger to me.
“Ah, no,” I say. “I’m not about to blindly follow you. Not until we’ve at least made each other’s acquaintance.” I give her what I hope is my most charming smile. I’m interested. I’m totally fucking interested, but I’m not the type to follow a girl who beckons.
“It’s too loud in here,” she says in a French accent, her voice a soft purr. “Let’s get some privacy? Then you can ask all the questions you’d like.”
I’d follow her all night long to listen to that voice, that accent.
She turns and walks away, clearly confident I’ll follow.
So maybe I am the type, because I find myself dodging between people, keeping my eye on her as she leads to the more private rooms.
She stills before we head down the hall, squares her shoulders, and swallows hard. Is she afraid? I wonder what scares her.
I watch her curiously. What’s her game plan here? I’ve learned to translate body language, to learn how people give physical cues to how they feel. When we enter the hall, she’s momentarily off her game, no longer the coy seductress. Finally, she takes a deep breath and moves on.
I look over my shoulder and catch Lachlan staring at me. He pumps his fist in the air, clearly eager to see me hook up.
Am I that uptight?
I give him the one-fingered salute and follow her down the darkened hallway. I need this.
A girl doesn’t beckon a stranger at a sex club because she wants sweet, vanilla sex. The Craic welcomes all sorts, and even has a club safe word.
I’ve missed this. I’ve craved this. I need it.
She doesn’t enter a room, though. She’s waiting in the hall, leaning her hip against a doorframe.
“You came,” she says in the same low, seductive whisper. Her accent is intoxicating. “Do you have plans this evening, sir?”
Fuck, she knows how to play the sub card well. I can already taste her.
I did, but my plans are shot to hell, so I’m thinking that’s a no.
I shake my head. “No.” I pause, folding my arms over my chest. “Do you?”
I don’t miss the way she looks at me, her eyes roaming over me. She swallows hard, and for one brief moment, it seems as if her mask drops. Her nostrils flare with an intake of breath and her lips quirk up at the edges. It’s an odd reaction.
Does she like what she sees? Or is it something else?
“You,” she whispers. “I’ve seen you here before.”
Has she? How come I’ve never seen her?
“Have you?”
“Yes, sir,” she whispers. That sweet voice whispering that word I haven’t heard in so long makes my need grow even stronger.
Sir.
I take a step toward her as if drawn by her spell, the faintest scent of her exotic perfume permeating the air between us. Her beautiful eyes widen as I approach, and she swallows visibly.
I reach for her and weave my fingers around the back of her neck. I close my eyes and kiss her cheek, a chaste kiss. Her skin is velvety soft, and when I kiss her, her breath comes in little gasps. One hand reaches for my wrist not to stop me but to steady herself, and her eyes flutter closed.
I pause. There’s something about this that’s so familiar, I stop for a moment.
I’ve met her before. I’ve touched her before. And it didn’t end well.
But no, that isn’t possibly. I’d remember a girl like her.
“Please?” she whispers. “The bedroom, sir?”
Yes. I want her alone. Maybe if I get her alone we can figure this out.
“Are you sure we haven’t met?” I ask her, just to be safe.
She shakes her head. “No, sir. I’d remember a man like you.” She’s using all the classic lines, but hell, I like them.
I lead her down the hall to a room I’m granted permission to use. I may not have been here recently, but I’m part of The Clan. And they take good care of us here.
I reach for her hand, and again, I’m surprised that this feels familiar. I look back at her sharply, but she only gives me a wide-eyed look.