Page 115 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

KIERA

“ Y ou’re joking.” Dixie and Fiona stare at me as if I’ve grown a second head. “Tell us you’re joking.”

I swallow my sigh. My girlfriends don’t think I should scene with Nolan and Caleb tonight. I’ve heard their protests for the last twenty minutes. “You know we’ll find out what’s going on,” Dix says. Again. “You don’t have to sleep with them to learn the truth.”

I believe Dixie; she’ll get answers. There’s no earthly reason to go through with my insane plan. And yet… I can’t seem to stop myself.

“What if I want to?” I ask my friends mildly. “I mean, I’ve been flirting with Caleb for months. Nolan’s a good-looking guy. I’d be a fool not to be attracted to them.”

They open their mouths to argue with me, and I hold up my hand. “I’m not changing my mind.”

Fiona frowns at me, clearly unhappy with my plan. “Fine,” Dixie says after a long pause. “You’re an adult. You have the right to make your own decisions, stupid as they are. I’ll be at the club tonight. Just in case.”

She tilts her chin up, daring me to challenge her. “Are you going to interfere?” I ask.

“I’ll sit in a corner and glower at Caleb and Nolan,” she says. “But I won’t do anything else.”

I picture Dix, who weighs less than a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, giving Caleb and Nolan death glares, and the image makes me laugh. “Fair enough.” I toss some money on the table and get to my feet. “I’ve got to go home and change. See you tonight, Dix. Fiona, will you be there too?”

She nods vigorously. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Great. That’s what I really need tonight. An audience.

I start my shift at seven. Normally, I am too busy to think, but tonight, I’m incredibly distracted.

I keep looking at my phone every five minutes to see if one of the guys has texted me.

Adrian and Brody will sometimes give Fiona instructions on what she’s to wear to the club.

I thought that Caleb might do something similar, but he doesn’t call.

Maybe he’s changed his mind about tonight.

“You’re jumpy.” Farid reaches over me to get at the beer taps. “What’s going on?”

I dance out of his way to give him room. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

He gives me a sympathetic look. “No air-conditioning?”

Caleb’s house was perfectly cool. When I eventually went to sleep, I slept well. But I seize on the offered explanation. It’s not like I can tell Farid the truth. “Thank heavens there’s rain in the forecast.”

Dix comes in at eight. She’s wearing a shimmering gray dress with complicated shoulder straps. She draws several admiring looks from the men in the room. Ignoring them all, she makes her way straight to the bar. “Well?” she demands. “Any sign of the dangerous duo?”

“No.” I look around to make sure there’s no one within earshot. “Maybe they’re going to stand me up.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Kiera. You’re amazing. They’re lucky you want them. They’re not going to stand you up. If they do, I promise you that I’ll personally knee them in the groin.” She chuckles. “It won’t be a hardship. Really.”

I bite back my smile. “Down, Sparky. Want a glass of white wine?”

“Yes, please.”

At half-past-nine, Caleb finally walks into the club. I’m busy with customers, but I notice the second he appears at the entrance, and my heart skips a beat.

For an instant, I forget everything that’s happened since last night. Xavier’s warning. Greg Dratch’s photo. The reason I asked to scene with Caleb and Nolan tonight. For an instant, when Caleb Reeves walks into Club M as if he owns it, nothing else matters except that he’s here. For me.

He’s wearing a black suit tonight. His shirt is gray. No tie. He’s gorgeous. I can’t stop staring at him.

He holds my gaze in his as he walks up to the bar. “Hello, Kiera,” he says, sitting down. Dix is scowling at him, but he doesn’t notice.

His mouth was on my pussy last night. His talented tongue licked my clit until I came, screaming and flailing. “Mr. Reeves.”

His lips curl up. “Is that how we’re playing it?”

His voice is a soft growl that sends shivers through me. “At ten, I’ll obey.” My hands are trembling. I set the glass I’m holding down on the counter before I break it. “Until then, not so much.”

His fingers brush mine, a fleeting touch. He glances at his watch, a smile playing about his lips. “Seems reasonable.”

That watch probably costs more than a year’s rent. I try not to let that thought bother me. “Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, please.” Laughter dances in his eyes. “I’d like a Harvey Wallbanger.”

“Wallbanger. Funny.” I grin at him. “I thought you would have asked for a Blowjob.”

He shakes his head. “Too obvious. Unimaginative.”

Will he ask me for a blowjob tonight? Will he order me on my knees, free his erection and slide his thick cock into my mouth? Anticipatory goosebumps rise on my skin. I take a deep, shaky breath. “Your drink,” I stutter. “I’ll make it.”

Thankfully, the Harvey Wallbanger is an easy drink to make. Conscious of his gaze, I fill a glass with ice, pouring the vodka and orange juice, and topping it up with a Galliano float. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Just as he takes a sip, Nolan walks into the club, also in a suit. He’s not alone. He’s locked in an animated conversation with two men. I’ve seen them before, but I don’t know their names.

Nolan comes up to the bar. “Kiera.” He catches sight of Dix, and his smile brightens. “Dixie Ketcham. It’s a small world. I thought you were in Louisiana.”

“Mississippi,” she corrects. She doesn’t look at the two guys that flank Nolan. “I moved. How are you, Wolanski?”

“Can’t complain,” he says easily. “You still working for Lockhart I loved the beach.

Whenever I could, I'd escape there. I'd slather myself with sunscreen and sit on the sand for hours on end, watching the waves crash into the shore.

There was a rhythm to it that was almost hypnotic.

At low tide, the sea would become peaceful, but it was a deceptive sort of calm.

There was a wild current underneath, and if you weren't paying attention, it would pull you under.

I would sit at the edge of the water and watch the quietness of low tide build to a crescendo. Slowly, gradually, the waves would get bigger. They would crash into shore with heart-pounding intensity. Over and over, they would batter the beach, powerful and relentless.

My arousal is like the sea.

All day, ever since I made my phone call to Caleb, my lust has simmered underneath the surface. But now, wave after wave of anticipation pummel me. My knees tremble as I take off my apron. I murmur a greeting to Kellie and a farewell to Farid, and all the while, tides of excitement batter my body.

Caleb and Nolan have already made their way to the back room. I appreciate their discretion and their thoughtfulness. If I were to head there with them, everyone here would know exactly what was going on. I'm nervous enough about tonight; I don't need the stares, the whispers, and the gossip.

I'm wearing my Club M uniform. Black tank top and a short flared black skirt. It's ordinary. Boring. The club floor is busy, filled with suit-clad men and expensively dressed women. They are peacocks, and I'm a blackbird.

I don't belong in the private rooms.

As a bartender, I blend into the background. No one looks at me, no one pays any attention to me, and that's just the way I like it. I thought I was content with the way things were. I thought I was content to look, but not touch. Until last night.

Everything changed last night.

My world is shifting around me. Walls are being torn down. Rules are being rewritten. It's a brave new frontier out there, and I stand at the threshold of it, staring at a closed black door, terrified about the prospect of stepping in.

Before I can raise my hand to knock, the door swings open. Nolan stands there, big and broad and unsmiling. He's taken off his jacket. He was wearing a tie earlier; that's gone as well. He's rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, baring his forearms. He looks impossibly sexy.

I want to pinch myself. Am I dreaming? Is this real? Is this some sex-soaked fantasy that will end with the cruel blaring of my alarm, right when I’m at the edge of climax?

His dark eyes rake over me. “Come on in,” he invites. “If you dare.”

I lift my chin and step into the room. This is it. No turning back. “One would think you were trying to scare me away.”