Inferno Anthology

by Gow, Kailin

  “Well, what do you expect, growing up with all that wealth and pressure to succeed?” Why the hell was I defending him? The man made me feel anxious and intimidated and humiliated. And maybe a little bit excited. Oh, and horny as all get out. I wasn’t even going to acknowledge the fixation I knew I would have on him if I didn’t get myself under control.

  I took a deep breath, hoping to release the strange knot in my stomach that thinking about Hudson created. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Don’t worry, Laynie.”

  Remembering he was the one I was almost sort of dating, I met David’s blue eyes, straining to recapture the certainty that he was perfect for me.

  Misinterpreting my anxiety to be about my job, he continued. “Pierce has too many high profile assets. He won’t want to spend too much of his time on the club. I’m sure he’ll let things run pretty much as is with maybe some minor finessing. And as long as I have a say in it, you’ll have a more significant role.”

  David grinned, more at my chest than at my face. “Want to stay and help close tonight?”

  His playful change of attitude provided the assurance I needed. “I was counting on it.”

  ***

  At four a.m. the club shut down for the night, and David and I worked quickly and efficiently, splitting the managerial duties between us. When all the drawers had been counted and the money dropped in the safe, he dismissed the rest of the staff and sat behind his desk to finish up the reports. I perched on the desktop and swung my feet as I watched him work.

  David glanced over at me and smiled before returning to his monitor. “Thank god you were behind the counter earlier. Who knows what else Hudson would have said about your outfit if he’d seen those pants?”

  I glanced down at the black slinky pants that were so tight they gave me camel toe. They made me feel sexy, and for some reason that made me think of Hudson’s dark expression when he’d first laid eyes on me. The expression I’d since convinced myself was imagined.

  “Great. Now you’re telling me I have to throw these out too?”

  “Well, just don’t wear them while you’re working.” He stood so he could reach the printer on the corner of the desk behind me. “For the record,” he said as his arm brushed my waist. “I don’t disapprove of this outfit in the slightest.”

  I, on the other hand, wanted to burn the whole ensemble. It had caused me nothing but trouble all night—drunk patrons thinking they could touch me and say things to me that they otherwise wouldn’t.

  But I’d worn it for David—for the moment when we’d be alone. This was it.

  I put on a fake pout. “Too bad your opinion isn’t the one that matters.”

  David leaned in close. “My opinion doesn’t matter?”

  “Actually,” I said, grabbing his jacket by the lapels, “your opinion matters very much.”

  His voice lowered. “Then I think you look sexy as hell.”

  He covered his mouth with mine, plunging his tongue deep inside. I wrapped my arms around his neck and darted my own tongue between his lips. The arousal that had been ignited by the heated stare of Hudson Pierce hours earlier had remained just at bay throughout the night. Now it returned full force with David’s kiss.

  I moved my hands along his torso and downward to his pants. But when I began to fumble with his buckle, he pulled away.

  I opened my eyes and startled. For a moment I’d expected to see the gray eyes of Hudson staring back at me instead of David’s dull blue. What was wrong with me? Man, that Hudson could mess with a girl’s mojo.

  David caressed my shoulder. “We need to stop this, Laynie.”

  I blinked. “What do you mean? Why?”

  “Look, I like you. I really like you. But…” He appeared to be struggling with himself. He dropped his arm from my shoulder. “If you’re serious about getting the management position, do you really think we should be messing around? How would that look? I’m sure that Pierce wouldn’t approve.”

  I hadn’t thought about it quite like that. In my fantasies, David Lindt and Alayna Withers-Lindt ran The Sky Launch as a couple, driving the club to new and unbelievable success. The fantasy had never included a part where the rest of the staff and the club owner accused me of sleeping my way to the top.

  “We could keep it secret,” I said softly, not willing to let go of a vital part of my dream. Not willing to lose my safety net.

  “It doesn’t have to be forever. But for now, especially when I’m not sure what Pierce’s plans are for me or for the club. I think we need to take a break.”

  “Sure.” I forced a smile. I didn’t want him to realize the extent of my disappointment. We hadn’t even been dating. We’d barely been fooling around. Why did I feel so crushed?

  I thought about what had drawn me to David in the first place. He wasn’t the smartest guy I knew and not the hottest. I didn’t even really know him all that well. And it wasn’t as if I didn’t have other options. I was an attractive girl working at an elite nightclub—I’d had plenty of opportunities for sex in the city. Yummy opportunities. Not anyone as yummy as Hudson Pierce, but yummy nonetheless.

  I shook my head as I hopped off David’s desk. Why did my thoughts keep leading back to Hudson? Even in the middle of a sorta-not-at-all break-up, I was thinking of him. And Hudson was exactly the kind of guy I shouldn’t be thinking about. At all. Ever. Not if I wanted to maintain the modicum of control I’d managed to acquire in the past few years.

  “Are you okay, Laynie?” David’s voice brought me back to the present awkwardness.

  Damn it. I’d been so sure of a relationship with David that I’d pictured us sending Christmas cards together. Okay, maybe I’d fixated on him more than I wanted to admit, but not so intently that I was going to wig out about ending it. The biggest bitch of the whole situation was that now I didn’t have a safe guy to hide behind. Now I was vulnerable to notice other not-so-safe men. Men like Hudson.

  Oh, god, was this the beginning of an obsessive episode?

  No, I’d be fine. I had to focus on my promotion. I was stronger than this.

  “Yeah. I’m fine. If you’re almost done, I’m going to get changed.”

  David nodded. I hurried to the staff break room across the hall. Stripping out of my corset and tight pants, I changed into sweat shorts and a sports bra, stuffing the troublesome outfit into my duffel bag. Since there wasn’t a straight subway line from Columbus Circle to my apartment at Lexington and Fiftieth, I usually ran it. Sometimes after a long shift I’d take the bus or cab, but with all the stressors of the night, I needed the cardio to direct my focus.

  Fifteen minutes later, I hit the pavement, taking in the fresh morning air with the rest of NYC’s early morning joggers. I loved the feeling of unity it gave me, even though most of the other runners were starting their day, not ending it as I was.

  Quickly, I got into my groove, running along the south border of Central Park, but the steady rhythm of my body wasn’t enough to drown the thoughts of David and my future at The Sky Launch. Wasn’t enough to drown my thoughts of the gorgeous new owner who had demanded I meet with him later that night. Worry set in again. Was Hudson planning to fire me? Or did I still have a shot at promotion?

  One thing was certain—I’d be a lot more thoughtful about my choice of wardrobe in the future.

  Chapter Three

  I took a cab to the club that evening, which had been a mistake. Unusual traffic had me arriving at three after nine. I hurried toward the office but was stopped at the upstairs bar by Liesl.

  “David and hot owner boy are already in there,” she said over the club music, playing with a strand of purple hair. “Hudson told me to have you wait here. He’ll let you know when he wants you.”

  “Dammit! I’m not that late, am I?”

  “No, they went in there about ten minutes ago. They have no idea what time you got here.”

  I relaxed, thankful that my exclusio
n from the meeting wasn’t because I’d been tardy. I hopped onto a bar stool nearest the office and set my computer bag on the floor at my feet.

  “Hold on, Laynie,” Liesl said coming around the bar. “Let me see you.”

  I stood up again and turned around, displaying my bodycon dress. I’d picked it because the white tie color had a business style to it, but the tight black skirt said nightclub instead of office secretary.

  “Fuck, girl, you look good!” Liesl’s validation calmed me more than she could ever know. Or maybe she did know. She was a good friend.

  “Thanks. I needed that. Especially after Mr. Disapproval last night.”

  “He is now known as the Bar and Wardrobe Nazi.”

  I laughed and hopped back onto my stool. The same stool Hudson had sat on the first time I saw him. “Hey, you know he’s the suit I was telling you about, the one who gave me the hundred.”

  “You’re shitting me!”

  “I’m not. Do you think he wants me to blow him to get the promotion?”

  “Would it be that bad if he did?”

  “Yes. It would be utterly, wonderfully, horrible.” But mostly it was horrible how not bad that idea sounded.

  While trying to empty my mind of Hudson blowjob images, I surveyed the club. The place was slow, even for a Wednesday night. From the bar, I had full view of the ten bubble rooms that circled the perimeter of the upper level. The bubble rooms were The Sky Launch’s highlight. Each room, round in shape, featured a glass wall overlooking the dance floor on the lower level, and had private access much like box seats at a stadium. They all had a curved seating area around a table, and fit eight people comfortably. The bubbles provided a relatively quiet and discreet area while still being very much part of the club. When the occupied lights were on, the outer walls of the bubble rooms glowed red. Only two were lit up. A shame. If the club had the kind of notoriety it could have, those rooms would fill within the first ten minutes of being open.

  “God, I hope it picks up,” Liesl said, draping her torso across the counter next to me. “I can’t make it through a full shift at this pace. It’s so boring!”

  “I hope so, too.” We should have been busting with the summer crowd by now. The lack of business made me feel more confident about my ideas for the club. I fidgeted, anxious to get in the office and share them with my bosses.

  “What did you do today?” Liesl asked.

  “I worked on a PowerPoint presentation all morning. I crashed about two.”

  Liesl narrowed her eyes. “You need more sleep than that, Laynie.”

  “Nah. Five hours is plenty.” I actually felt pretty good. Gathering the best of my thoughts for The Sky Launch into a presentation had been very therapeutic, easing my concerns about my future at the club. Hudson couldn’t fire me after he saw how much time and effort I’d put into the business, could he? Not if my ideas were good, and I knew they were.

  I pulled my phone out of my bra cup where I kept it—no pockets in my skin-tight dress—and checked the time. It was almost nine-thirty. How long would they keep me waiting?

  They walked out minutes later. I stood the moment I saw them, smoothing my dress down and looked to Hudson, eager for a sign of approval.

  But the expression that met me took my breath away—an expression of total male power and dominance. Even in the dark of the club, I could make out his eyes as they perused me—the way he did every time we saw each other. Again I felt claimed by his overwhelming magnetism, my heart racing just at the sight of him. My legs turned to jelly and my knees buckled, tipping me forward.

  Into his arms.

  He caught me with a graceful ease that contradicted the solid body that held me steady. My hands clenched his dress shirt—how did my hands get under his jacket?—and I resisted the urge to run them across the firm pecs I felt under my grasp.

  He mistook my motion, seeming to think I was searching for further stability. “Alayna,” his voice flowed over me like liquid sex. “I’ve got you.”

  I’ve got you. Boy, did he.

  “Laynie, are you okay?” David peered at me over Hudson’s shoulder. Did he have to ask? Couldn’t he see that I was drowning in lust?

  “Yeah,” I managed. “I’m, um, new shoes.”

  Hudson glanced down at my strappy rhinestone embellished sandals. “They’re lovely.” His voice came out so deep it rumbled and my belly knotted with the sound.

  “Uh, thanks.” I was breathless. And embarrassed when I realized I was still in Hudson’s arms. I eased my grip and pushed myself into a standing position.

  “Sorry we kept you waiting.” Hudson’s hands lingered on me until I was steady. “I had a few things to discuss with David privately.”

  “No problem.” I still felt the burn of Hudson’s hands on my bare skin. For distraction, I dove into business discussions. “I have so many ideas I’d like to share about the club. I put them into a presentation. I brought my laptop.”

  Hudson’s lips curled with a hint of amusement. “How thoughtful. Set up a time with David. I’m sure he’s very interested.”

  How thoughtful. As if I’d done something cute. Something only big boys did. How fucking patronizing.

  My heart plummeted. I really shouldn’t have been so disappointed. It wasn’t as if I’d been asked to prepare anything. That had been my own hyper-focusing. In fact, I hadn’t even known why I’d been invited to the meeting. Especially now that it was apparently over and I hadn’t even been in on it.

  “How about tomorrow, Laynie?” David suggested. “You’re opening anyway. Why not come early? Does six-thirty give you enough time to present?”

  “Yeah. I’ll leave my laptop here if you don’t mind.” I bent to pick up my bag, but Hudson reached it before I did.

  He handed it to David. “David, could you lock this in the office? I need to eat something. Alayna will join me. I’ve reserved one of the bubbles.” His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the empty rooms. “Though it doesn’t seem a reservation was required.”

  I tensed at Hudson’s latest demand. Why wasn’t David joining us? Did Hudson plan on firing me over pecan-crusted salmon? Was that what they had discussed privately?

  Or maybe Hudson’s interest in me was less business and more pleasure. The looks he’d given me had suggested it was, and after receiving the same expression on several occasions, I realized I may not have imagined it like I kept trying to convince myself I had.

  And that was a scarier thought than being fired. Especially when I’d already felt a tug of fixation. I’d been so stable for the past three years—I couldn’t open myself to get all obsessive over my hot boss. That was a disaster waiting to happen. I definitely should say no to the bubble room.

  Except I hadn’t given up on my promotion. And because there was a slight possibility that Hudson wanted to talk to me about that, I had to say yes to dinner, though my acquiescence hardly seemed necessary since he’d had his hand pressed against the small of my back directing me to one of the more private bubbles before I’d even agreed to join him. My body tensed under his touch, and my stomach twisted in a nervous knot that wasn’t exactly unpleasant.

  And I was very aware of the eyes that followed us, few as there were in the club, sure that many of them flashed with envy. Alone in a bubble room with Hudson Pierce? All the women in Manhattan should be jealous. Kinky things had been known to happen in those bubbles. I smiled at the possibilities.

  Goddammit. What the hell was I thinking? The guy had invited me to dinner, not to his bed. Just because I was all gaga over him, reading sex into his every move, didn’t mean he reciprocated. And the gaga needed to stop once and for all, even if he did reciprocate.

  Inside the room, I turned on the occupied light out of habit. Usually a hostess would have done that when they seated the customer, but since we’d sort of skipped the whole hostess formality, I took it upon myself. And I had to do something with my nervous energy. Continuing the job, I grabbed a menu from the wall and handed it to Hu
dson who stood waiting at the edge of the seating.

  He took the menu from me and gestured for me to sit. “After you.”

  It had been quite some time since I’d been in a bubble room off-duty and the reversal in my role combined with the “Fuck Me” aura that surrounded Hudson unbalanced me. I slid onto the plush cushion, gripping the table for support.

  Hudson stayed standing, watching me intently for several seconds before he removed his gray suit jacket and hung it on the hook behind him. Damn. He was even hotter in only his fitted gray dress shirt. I bit the inside of my cheek, admiring his hard thighs straining against his pants’ fabric as he sat down. God, he was so yummy.

  God, I was in trouble.

  He tossed the laminated menu on the table without looking at it. “I don’t need this. Do you?”

  “No, thank you, Mr. Pierce.” I had the menu memorized. Besides, there was no way I could eat in his presence.

  “Hudson,” he corrected.

  “No, thank you, Hudson.” His eyes widened slightly when I said his name. “I’ve already eaten.”

  “A drink then? Though, I know you work at eleven.”

  I licked my lips, thinking more about the man sitting across from me than of thirst, wondering what he had in store for me. “Maybe an iced tea.”

  “Good.”

  Out of habit, I reached to press the button in the middle of the table to summon the waitress, but he beat me to it, our fingers colliding. I moved to pull my hand away, but he was quicker again, taking my hand into his. I inhaled sharply at the sensation of his skin against mine.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was admiring your soft skin.” But his eyes never left mine.

  “Oh.” I thought about saying I’d been to an amazing spa, but really, did he care? And besides, talking was difficult with that thing he was doing to my skin, burning it so thoroughly with his caress.

  His phone rang and he let go of my hand. I pulled it to my lap, needing the warmth of my body once it’d lost the warmth of his.