“So?” Yuki asked as she came through the door with a steaming cup of coffee.
“So what?” Eveline muttered from where she sat behind her desk staring broodingly at the landscape outside the window.
A landscape she might not see for much longer.
Yuki rolled her eyes. “His name. What is it?”
Eveline frowned. “What makes you think there’s a guy involved?”
Yuki leaned a hip against Eveline’s desk. “‘Cause the last time you looked this cranky, Rashid was still trying to get in your pants.”
Eveline groaned as she recalled the gay sheikh who’d been the bane of her life last year. It was rare for her to accept clients since she’d become the boss of her own business. But when someone who was Arabian royalty offered to pay enough money to match her annual profits for the privilege of taking her out, Eveline could hardly say no.
The sheikh had turned out to be a handsome and incredibly charming man, so much so that Eveline had readily fallen into bed with him to find out if he would be as perfect a lover as he was a date. She’d been surprised to discover that he was gentle yet strangely reticent during sex. Eveline’s instinctively knew the sheikh was hiding a secret. It was only after cajoling him into trying out some more daring stuff that she finally discovered what exactly pushed the man’s buttons and made him go wild between the sheets.
The answer turned out to be asshole play and a strap on dildo.
“Well, it ain’t Rashid,” Eveline said. “The last time I heard from him, he was getting royally fucked by some Greek tycoon on a yacht in the Mediterranean and gave me a blow by blow of how many orgasms they’d achieved in one night.”
Yuki blinked. “How many?”
Eveline sighed. “Twelve, apparently.”
“Whoa,” Yuki said, impressed. Her face brightened. “So, who’s the new guy?”
Eveline rubbed a hand across her eyes. Yuki could be a dog with a bone when the mood struck her.
Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling her. Besides, if Lincoln does make good on our agreement, she’ll soon find out his identity anyway.
“At the moment, his name is ‘Asshole’,” Eveline said stiffly.
Yuki sucked air between her teeth. “Ouch. Is Asshole good in bed at least?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Eveline said darkly.
Yuki’s eyes widened. “Wait. You mean you haven’t done it yet and this guy’s already got you in this state?!”
Eveline’s frown deepened. “And what state would that be, exactly?”
A loud buzzing startled them then. Eveline stared at her cell phone where it vibrated on silent mode on the desk.
Yuki leaned over and studied the bright screen. Her eyebrows rose. “Someone called ‘Asshole’ is ringing you.” She grinned at Eveline’s scowl. “I can’t wait to meet this guy. I bet he has a huge dick.”
Eveline waited until her assistant left her office before picking up her cell. She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and tapped the answer button.
CHAPTER 10
“HELLO. You have reached the voice mail of Eveline Claude. If your name is Mr. Dickhead Asshole Hudson, please refrain from leaving a message and piss the hell right off.”
Lincoln winced at Eveline’s icy tone. He was relieved she’d picked up her cell despite her evident foul mood.
“Hi.” A wave of tiredness washed over Lincoln as he toyed with the glass of scotch in his hand and looked out over Tokyo from where he stood in his penthouse lounge. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier. My nephew got sick on Monday night. I flew over to Washington the morning I texted you.”
Eveline drew a sharp breath at the other end of the line. “What?! Is he okay?!”
Lincoln swallowed and closed his eyes.
When his sister had called him at dawn four days ago and told him Lucas had been admitted to intensive care, Lincoln had feared the worst while he arranged for his jet to take him to the States. It turned out to be a nasty pneumonia that had been doing the rounds at the little boy’s nursery and he made a rapid recovery after the antibiotics kicked in. He’d come out of intensive care after twenty-four hours and was now recovering at home.
“We all aged about ten years in the last few days, but yeah, he’s alright,” Lincoln said, his voice trembling slightly. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “He’s a fighter.”
Silence descended across the connection.
Lincoln tensed. “Eveline? You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Eveline said with a heavy sigh. “Shit. I feel like a bitch now. Here I was calling you every name under the sun, and there you were, a doting uncle who flew halfway across the world to be with his nephew.”
Lincoln grimaced. “I wanted to call but the time difference made it difficult. And I didn’t want to text you.”
“Why not?” Eveline said curiously.
Lincoln hesitated. “Because I wanted to hear your voice.”
In the four days he’d been apart from Eveline, Lincoln had come to a shocking realization. One of things that had kept him strong while he comforted his sister and brother-in-law and supported them through the agonizing hours they’d spent in the hospital had been the memory of Eveline’s face and voice. The way she arched her eyebrow. Her smile. Her sassy mouth. Her flashing eyes when she was angry. The way she’d flushed and moaned and cried out that night when she’d shattered in his arms before proceeding to deliver the best blow job he’d ever had straight after.
Lincoln had wanted to see her and experience all of it again so badly it’d taken everything he’d had not to get on his jet and come straight back to Tokyo the night Lucas got discharged from the hospital.
That was when Lincoln knew the woman had bewitched him. There was no other explanation for the irrational thoughts and desires that filled his every waking moment since he’d left her side.
Eveline’s breath caught at the other end of the line at his upfront admission.
“Since you’ve been calling me names, I take it you’ve been thinking about me too?” Lincoln said quietly.
“You could say that,” Eveline said huskily.
The memory of Eveline on her knees in front of him flashed before Lincoln’s eyes at her throaty tone. His dick stirred. He twisted on his heels.
“Guess what I’m looking at right now?” he murmured.
DESPITE THE REMORSE reverberating through her, Eveline’s nipples hardened at Lincoln’s gravelly voice.
She felt like such a heel now that she knew where Lincoln had disappeared off to these past days. Something twisted in her chest at the thought of the pain he’d suffered. She knew how much Lincoln loved that little boy and she could tell from the way his voice had shaken a moment ago that he was still hurting to an extent.
“What—” Eveline cleared her suddenly croaky throat. “What are you looking at?”
“The couch,” Lincoln said. “The one where we made out that night.”
Heat flooded Eveline. She shifted in her chair, suddenly aroused.
“I can still taste you on my tongue,” Lincoln murmured. “And smell your scent.”
Eveline bit back a moan, a shiver of desire racing down her spine.
“And my fingers?” Lincoln said huskily. “Fuck, Eveline, my fingers are itching to touch you so badly. Both inside and out.” He paused. “’Specially inside. And not just my fingers.”
Eveline nearly lost her grip on her cell. “I—That’s, er, nice!” she managed in a high-pitched squeak.
There was a short silence.
“Seriously?” Lincoln said. “After the way you screamed that night, you think it was just nice?”
Eveline groaned. She could tell from Lincoln’s fake patronizing tone that he was teasing her again.
“Alright, it was fucking hot,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Hmm. There was fucking involved, but it wasn’t the kind of fucking I really had in mind when it comes to you. The next time I touch you, my dick w
ill definitely be playing a primary role in our activities.”
A familiar ache grew at the apex of Eveline’s thighs at the memory of Lincoln’s hands and his sizable junk. He was right. She most definitely wanted more than just his fingers inside her.
“You free for drinks tonight?”
Eveline blinked. “Huh?”
Lincoln chuckled, clearly amused that he’d completely frazzled her brain with his teasing words. “I said, are you free for drinks tonight?”
Eveline cursed internally. “I could be.”
“Is that a yes or a no, Eveline?” Lincoln said, his voice turning silky.
She shivered at the commanding undertone suddenly lacing his words.
“It’s a yes,” she breathed.
“Good. I’ll pick you up at your place at eight?”
Eveline raised an eyebrow. “Sure. Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” Lincoln said mysteriously.
CHAPTER 11
EVELINE SCOWLED. “Heads are gonna roll for this.”
Lincoln grinned and handed her a cocktail glass. “Be nice. Barnaby can be very persuasive when he wants to be.”
Lincoln turned and leaned his back against the bar as he took another good look at the place where he’d brought Eveline for the night.
Le Secret was set over four floors of a building straddling the corner of a popular intersection in Ginza. The main club area spanned a double-height first level and a circular mezzanine that overlooked a sunken section dominated by a sleek, rectangular bar. The interior was an eclectic blend of ultra-modern and vintage, with dazzling teardrop chandeliers and colorful Chesterfield arm chairs interspersed with top-of-the-line intelligent lighting and monochromatic high tables and bar stools. Although there were discreet areas scattered throughout the place, those who wanted a more intimate environment to enjoy the company of the elite escorts mingling with the crowd could have access to the private rooms and VIP lounges on the third and fourth floors if their membership allowed for it.
“I like it,” Lincoln murmured. If the Tokyo branch of Le Secret was an indication of the rest of Eveline’s clubs, then he could see why her business was so successful. “It’s classy.” He clinked his glass against Eveline’s and stifled a smile at her mutinous expression. “Seriously, your assistant didn’t know I was the ‘Asshole’ who’d gotten her boss all riled up these past few days.”
Eveline grimaced before raising her glass in a toast. “Okay, even I have to admit that was below the belt.”
Lincoln grinned and put out his hand. “Give me your cell.”
Eveline narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
Lincoln raised an eyebrow haughtily. “I want to see whether you’ve changed my name or not.”
Eveline grumbled something under her breath before slipping her phone out of her midnight blue clutch purse. She was wearing a matching wrap around dress with a plunging V neckline that exposed the creamy valley between her breasts, and a split up her left thigh that showed tantalizing glimpses of her bare, golden thigh. She’d completed the alluring look with open-toed, suede pumps that showcased her manicured, crimson nails and styled her hair so it swept across her right shoulder in soft, golden waves.
Though Lincoln would probably never admit it to Eveline, they’d almost not made it out of their building. One look at her when she’d opened the door to her condo had gotten him hard in a heartbeat.
Lincoln was grateful he’d asked Barnaby to book the private limo company on standby for his stay in Tokyo. It meant he’d had time to distract Eveline during their drive, so much so she hadn’t realized they were outside her club’s private rear entrance until she stepped out of the car.
The looks they’d been getting since they’d entered the main area told Lincoln Eveline’s staff and the club’s clients weren’t used to seeing her with a date. He wasn’t sure why, but that pleased him. A lot. Though Eveline was in the business of selling companionship, she was obviously more discriminate when it came to her own personal relationships.
Lincoln brought up Eveline’s phone contacts and laughed when he saw the entry next to his name. “Lincoln Hudson, formerly ‘Asshole’?”
“You’re not out of the dog house yet,” Eveline said tartly.
Lincoln crossed his ankles and leaned toward her slightly. “Oh yeah?”
The way Eveline’s pupils dilated and her gaze dropped fleetingly to Lincoln’s mouth told him his proximity was affecting her in all sorts of ways. His dick thickened at the thought of what he had planned for them tonight. One thing he was certain of: it was going to shock the hell out of Eveline, even more so than the fact that he’d brought her to her own club.
“Yeah,” she said, her chest rising and falling just a little bit faster. “We still haven’t agreed the details of this—arrangement, yet.”
Lincoln blinked. He’d almost forgotten why they were here in the first place. This was about the plot of land they were standing on right now.
“That’s true,” he said lightly. “We should remedy that.” He looked at Eveline’s phone and brought up the keyboard. “But first, let’s change this.”
“What are you doing?” Eveline said curiously. She angled her head and let out a bark of laughter when she saw what Lincoln had typed. “Lincoln ‘Monster Meat’ Hudson? Seriously?!”
Need slammed into Lincoln when Eveline’s perfume swept over him. He slipped her cell inside her clutch purse and lowered his head to her left ear.
“Let’s change location,” he murmured.
EVELINE SHIVERED as Lincoln’s hot breath caressed her skin.
He’s driving me crazy!
She’d almost melted into a puddle of lust when she’d opened the door of her apartment earlier that evening and seen Lincoln dressed to the hilt in a formal black evening suit, crisp white shirt, and silk bow tie. The predatory look he’d given her as he scanned her from head to toe almost had her reaching for him and dragging him inside her condo and all the way up to her bedroom.
How they’d managed to make it to the limo and to the club without ripping each other’s clothes off was a miracle. For there was no mistaking the desire burning in Lincoln’s eyes and the hungry way he’d been looking at her since he came to pick her up from her place.
Like he was right now.
“Okay,” Eveline breathed.
She climbed off the bar stool and followed Lincoln as he headed up the stairs to the mezzanine. He navigated the crowded floor and guided her to the back, where a pair of private elevators led to the top floors of the building. Surprise flashed through Eveline when she saw the black and gold VIP card Lincoln slipped from his pocket. He smiled at her and pressed the access card against the security console.
“Wow, your secretary really has been busy,” she muttered drily.
Lincoln’s eyes sparkled with an enigmatic light as she joined him inside one of the elevators. She frowned when they stepped out on the fourth floor seconds later.
Where is he going?
Eveline’s eyes widened when Lincoln turned and headed down the east corridor. He paused at the intersection at the end and took the passage on the right with the confidence of a man who knew exactly where he was going.
Eveline’s pulse spiked when Lincoln stopped in front of the black, leather-padded, studded door at the far end of the hallway. Her steps faltered.
There’s no way he knows what’s inside—
Eveline tensed when Lincoln slipped the VIP card in the security slot under the glittering, glass door knob.
Shit! Don’t tell me Yuki gave his secretary THAT card!
A light-headed feeling swept over her when the lock clicked open.
“How the hell did you—,” Eveline started hoarsely. She stopped and swallowed convulsively.
There were only two VIP cards that could access that room. One was in the safe in her office. The other was available to the highest echelon of the club membership and only after they signed a separate contract. Which meant
Lincoln had paid in advance for full access to all Le Secret’s privileges.
Lincoln twisted the knob and pushed the door slightly ajar. Soft light spilled out from the other side. He turned and fixed Eveline with a heated stare before raising his hand palm up toward her.
“Come,” he ordered.
Eveline shivered at Lincoln’s commanding tone. She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Do you know what’s in there?”
Lincoln’s mouth curved in a sensual smile. “I do.”
Eveline’s knees turned to instant jelly at the torrid look in his eyes.
“And you’re okay with that?!” she said, her knuckles whitening on her clutch purse.
Lincoln shrugged casually, as if what he was asking her to do right now was the most natural thing in the world. “I’ve had…some experience, yes.”
Fuck.
Eveline couldn’t believe this was happening. She hadn’t gotten that vibe off Lincoln at all.
“Eveline,” Lincoln said, his voice hardening slightly.
Eveline closed her eyes briefly and steeled herself before forcing her feet to move toward Lincoln. She took his hand and entered the VIP room ahead of him.
The very special VIP room.
CHAPTER 12
LINCOLN’S HEARTBEAT accelerated as he followed Eveline inside the room and closed the door, the click of the lock inordinately loud in the tense silence.
When Barnaby had given him the black and gold VIP card he’d managed to wrangle out of Eveline’s assistant for the evening and told him about the unique space on the fourth floor, Lincoln’s curiosity had been instantly aroused. He slipped the keycard in his jacket and studied the chamber they’d entered. A thrill rushed through him.
Undisclosed: Nights Series Book 7 Page 6