Page 40

Drawing a deep breath, ignoring my pounding heart and pushing my fear and self-doubt down as deeply as I could, I banged on the door with the flat of my hand.
Nothing happened. No one came to answer it. Maybe they hadn’t heard me. Chewing on my bottom lip, I banged again, louder this time.
The door screamed on its hinges as it was dragged open from the inside and I could have cried with relief. Standing in front of me was a muscular man with a closely cropped beard and a sharp gaze. “Can I help you?” he asked, his voice gruff and impatient.
“Um, I’m looking for Wolfe Rivers,” I stammered, feeling my cheeks flush under his scrutiny.
“Invitation?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
“Uh, no, I don’t have one,” I admitted, suddenly feeling very foolish.
“It’s show night. No one gets in without one. Come back when you’ve got one,” he said dismissively before slamming the door shut in my face.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, feeling a mixture of disappointment and embarrassment. What had I been thinking? That I could just walk into a sex club and find Wolfe Rivers waiting for me? As if my life ever worked that way.
Still, I wished I’d taken Stef’s advice and given Wolfe a head’s up that I was coming. The very idea of phoning him and saying… God, I had no idea what I even would have said. I thought it would be easier in person and here I was, not able to get anywhere near his handsome face.
I pulled my phone from my purse, letting out a sigh of resignation at the sight of the black screen. I’d put it on the charger when I’d got back from dropping the kids off and hadn’t thought to check its charge when I left home, all dolled up and ready to fuck. How was I meant to know the cheap ass charger had finally died?
Now here I was, standing outside a sex club like a damn fool, with no way in and no clue what to do next.
“Esme, get your shit together,” I whispered to myself, trying to muster up the courage to walk away from the door and figure out my next move. Walking the three blocks back to my shitty old car,sorry, Doris,and drive the two hours back to Esperance was the only possible move. It would be just my luck that Doris would finally give up and I’d be stranded halfway home.
But as I stood there, lost in my thoughts, a shiver of foreboding moved through me.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” a sleazy voice slithered into my ears. I glanced to my right and saw a man with a leering grin crossing the street toward me. He was tall and lanky, with greasy hair and a gaze that made my skin crawl.
“Um, hi,” I muttered, trying to sound polite but firm. I didn’t want him to think he could take advantage of me, but I also didn’t want to provoke him. My heart raced as my mind scrambled for an escape plan, but I drew a blank. How far did I expect to run in these stupid fucking heels?
“Waiting for someone?” he asked, stepping into my personal space. I instinctively took a step back, but he just mirrored my movement, closing the distance between us again.
“Actually, yes,” I lied, hoping that might deter him. “He should be here any minute.”
“Really?” he drawled, his eyes roving over my body like a predator sizing up its prey. “Well, maybe I can keep you company until he shows up.”
I felt icy dread slick down my spine at his words and struggled to suppress the urge to scream. Instead, I steeled my resolve, trying to appear calm and collected, even though every fiber of my being screamed for me to run.
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” I said, forcing a tight smile onto my face. “I’ll just wait here by myself.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” the creep insisted, reaching out and grabbing my arm. Panic surged through me as I tried to wriggle free from his grasp, but he was stronger than I had expected.
“Let go of me,” I said, my voice trembling with fear.
“Aw, don’t be like that,” he cooed, leaning in closer. His breath was hot and reeked of alcohol, making me want to gag.
Just as his lips were about to make contact with my own, the door to the club suddenly burst open. Wolfe stormed out; his face contorted with fury.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” he roared. I’d barely had the chance to register his presence, let alone the look on his face, before he delivered a devastating punch to the man’s jaw. The impact sent him sprawling to the ground, dazed and moaning in pain.
Then Wolfe turned his blazing eyes to me. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He quickly shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders, providing a shield against the sudden chill in the air.
“Um, I…” I stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence under the weight of his rage.
“Never mind,” he snapped, grabbing my hand and pulling me inside the club. His eyes still bright with anger, Wolfe gestured through the doorway outside to my assailant, still lying on the ground, clutching his face. “Clean that shit up,” he said to the gruff man who’d closed the door in my face a few moments earlier. The man absolutely quailed with fear, glancing quickly from Wolfe, to me, and back again. I tried to suppress the spurt of satisfaction I felt, but not very hard.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe,” Wolfe said, pulling me closer as we moved through the short hallway. My body trembled in reaction, and I huddled against Wolfe’s side. The club was absolutely packed wall to wall with people and a quick glance at the stage told me why. There was a dance show going on, with upwards of fifty scantily dressed people simulating sex, their movements slow and sensuous. The bass-heavy music thumped in my chest like a second heartbeat, its rhythm impossible to ignore.
I could feel the anger radiating off Wolfe as we moved through the thick crowd to a door in the far corner. Had I just made a terrible, humiliating mistake? Stef was wrong, and he didn’t want me after all? If that was the case, I was in for a world of humiliation when we got to wherever he was taking me.