I listened and moans and groans filled the room, and I couldn’t help but look away. I caught the bartender’s stare and I could tell his eyes were sizing me up. I felt uncomfortable in the atmosphere with everyone taking off their clothes. I felt Mr. Dobson’s hand lightly descend onto my waist however, and he led me over into a dark corner.

A corner that was concealed from everyone else.

“Mr. Dobson, I don’t think-”

“I’m just going to educate you a bit. I’m not going to touch you if you don’t want me to,” he said.

“Good, because I’m getting out of here,” I said. “What the hell is this place? Where did you take me?” I asked.

“It’s Expose, Miss Ella. It’s a secret hideaway that the billionaires of the city donate to in order to keep it open. It runs solely off our donations, which means that bartender back there makes a serious amount of money to keep this secret. It’s where men like myself bring our little playthings for the evening.”

“Excuse me?” I asked. “Did you just call me a ‘plaything’?”

Did he really just call me a ‘plaything’? Did he actually think that I was going to get down on my knees and willingly suck his dick in front of other people? There was a man currently cumming down a woman’s throat in the corner while another woman panted and moaned while she chased her own orgasm on another man’s face! I wasn’t staying here a second longer, much less taking my clothes off in it.

“Mr. Dobson, I don’t know what kind of woman you take me to be-”

“You’re the kind of woman who knows what she wants,” he said as he ran his hand up and down my arm. “The kind of woman who can toggle between classic, sultry, and innocent depending on the needs of the situation. You’re a talented, vibrant, independent soul who probably secretly enjoys giving over her control to a man who knows what he’s doing. And Miss Ella, I most certainly know what I’m doing,” he said.

“You’re disgusting.” I shoved him away and headed for the door. My heels hit the floor desperately as I tried to get away, but just as I swung the door open I felt his fingers curl around my hand. His long, thick fingers and hands that boasted of hard work. I could feel the softened callouses of a man who had a history-- a legacy-- and for a split second I wondered what they would feel like traveling up the inside of my thigh.

“Is that all you wanted me to be?” I asked.

“It’s all most women want when it comes to me, Miss Ella. You’re lucky, you know. I pick and choose my women with prudish standards. Women experience nights of wining and dining. Women have been known to receive presents from me they can pawn for cash that’ll help them thrive for years after the fact. I change lives, Miss Ella. And I’ve chosen to change yours.”

I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for the act. What the hell was I thinking? Decent men didn’t come to The Rose Club. Men who were looking for decent women didn’t come anywhere near this place. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed him to convince me that I was somehow special. That I was somehow going to wake up next to this beautiful man and swim in his dark, brooding eyes while we ate pancakes in the morning ass naked in his home.

Change my life? No man changed my life. I changed my own life the moment I walked off that stage with everyone chanting my name. I didn’t need some man giving me some diamond necklace I could pawn for money. I’d changed my own circumstances with the hard work, dedication, and long hours I’d put in waitressing and living in a one-bedroom apartment with three other people.

What the fuck was wrong with me? What the hell had I expected?

I turned my gaze back to him and he dropped my hand. If he thought he’d seen the innocent and the sultry and the whatever else he called me out for, then he was really going to enjoy this side.

The stone-cold side that could close someone off and never look back.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the performance tonight, Mr. Dobson,” I said lightly. “I hope you do come back and enjoy the next show.”

I saw the hesitancy flash behind his eyes just for a second. In that very moment, he recognized the grave mistake he just made and I watched him lean back onto his heels. My eyes stayed hooked onto his while my mysterious stare turned to one of ice. My body went rigid and I held my breath, not wanting the trembling of my limbs to give away how absolutely petrified I was of this entire situation.

I was never coming back up here so long as I lived.

Then, when I was sure he was good and turned off, I turned my back and started down the steps.

5

Foster

Even as I was sitting in this meeting, I still couldn’t get my mind off Ella. I should’ve fucking slowed it do

wn with her. I should’ve known from the moment I laid eyes on her that she wasn’t the type of woman that would simply fall into bed with me whenever I crooked my finger. She had style, she had class, she had confidence. She was not the type of woman to simply drop to her knees because I offered her a night of fun and good wine.

And I couldn’t get her voice out of my head.

Those sultry notes and the way they fell from her lips. The way her toned legs commanded that stage in those thin little stockings. The way those heels flexed her legs lusciously, beckoning for my fingertips was enough to drive me wild. She was a woman who wasn’t worried about covering up her imperfections, either. I saw the glimmer of a few stretch marks on the outside of her bosom while she was on stage. I saw the little dimples of cellulite on the backs of her thighs.

I loved those types of imperfections on a woman. They boasted of a life I wanted to get to know. I wanted my body to be another decadent platter to add weight to those breasts and thighs. I wanted to sink my fingertips into the meat of her while those low notes rumbled deep in my ear.

I fell asleep with her last night on my mind and woke up with a raging erection I couldn’t get to go away. Though this board meeting sure was helping with that issue. I crossed my leg and tried to focus on what my project manager was saying. He’d called yet another board meeting to run down some dumbass piece of property he’d found we could acquire. Yes, the business had the money to take on these projects. Yes, we would make shit-tons of money for everyone sitting around this table.

Tags: Nicole Elliot Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net