by Nicole York
It’s for hurting people, she realized. Or protecting them.
Neither thought scared or excited her. It just felt like the truth and it made her even more intensely curious about him.
Her gaze wandered down to his hands. Big. Strong. Powerful.
She swallowed past the tightness in her throat. Normally, she knew all the right things to say. Flirting was one of her favorite pastimes. But before this man? She was speechless.
Pauline was going to make fun of her until the day she died after this.
Cole nodded at the drink in her hand. “Do you like it?”
“Oh, this?” she asked dumbly, holding the drink up before taking a dainty sip. “I do. The ice is a nice dramatic touch.”
“I thought you might like it.”
Was he implying she was dramatic? He wouldn’t be wrong.
“You have good intuition,” Cameron said.
His lips didn’t move, but she thought his gaze softened, and she felt like he was smiling at her even though his expression remained still and somewhat severe.
He touched her elbow and brushed past her. “I’m sorry, but I have to continue my rounds.”
Cameron turned with him and caught the sleeve of his uniform. “Come find me later.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between hers. Once. Twice. He nodded and slipped away into the crowd, leaving her to slump against the bar as he took her breath with him.
Someone chuckled behind her and Cameron looked over to spy the bartender grinning at her as he skewered olives with a little plastic sword.
He plunked the sword into the freshly made icy martini on his bar mat. “Well played, Miss White,” he said.
She lifted her drink as if in a toast to herself. “Thank you.”
12
Cole
Cameron White.
What on earth had compelled her to introduce herself like that? Cole wasn’t a wealthy businessman, politician, trust-fund baby, socialite, or celebrity. He had nothing to offer a woman like her.
And yet she’d looked at him like she was undressing him with her eyes.
He’d had a lot of women look at him like that, especially in the days since he started working at Kadia. Some he’d taken home. Others he’d left behind, much to the criticism of Dean and the other guys. But the mood had to be right and so did the woman. Cole didn’t settle for just any broad.
But Cameron White?
Dean was right. She was way out of his league. Hell, she was galaxies out of his league.
And yet…
As Dean made his rounds, his gaze continuously pulled back to her, and every time he glanced over, she was either watching him or laughing with her friend. He liked when they locked gazes across the club. He liked the way it felt like they were standing side by side even though there were at least two-hundred people between them and at least seventy-five feet of space.
He climbed the stairs to the second level, turned right, and walked along the railing, his gaze flicking over the dancers on their platforms and returning slyly to Cameron.
This time, her back was turned.
He indulged in a good look at her back side. She had an ass that wouldn’t quit and a waist he wanted to grab onto as he took her from behind.
He gave his head a shake and focused on the task at hand: making sure the dancers and servers on the second floor were safe and unbothered. He made his rounds, checked in with all the girls, and got the okay from them that everything was going smoothly tonight. There were no handsy customers and no rowdy men shouting at them during their performances.
As the night wore on, he made his way to the third floor.
Things were a little more extreme up there.
Women in skimpy outfits slipped between men and ran their hands over their shoulders, tantalizing and teasing, doing their damndest to get the man to buy a private room so they could get more intimate in private. Others who clearly didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on a room had taken to finding the corner with the darkest shadows to conceal them while they made out and let their hands wander under each other’s clothes.
Cole sighed.
Zandra was a miracle worker when it came to club profits but it sure made people ugly in his opinion. Sure, he was curious what it felt like to be that riled up and horny, but he wasn’t curious enough to ever put a little blue tablet on his tongue and find out.
Not in public at least.
In the privacy of his own home with the right woman?
Maybe.
He did his duty and pried apart the customers who were getting a little too hands-on and told them if they wanted to take this further they’d have to buy a room. They couldn’t just fuck right out in the open. He received a lot of grumbling from the men, who were now under pressure to book a room as their women hung off the front of their shirts with smeared lipstick and lust-heavy eyes.
Cole might have been a buzzkill, but he was defending their own dignity. Come morning time, they’d be thanking their lucky stars one of the Kadia bodyguards had the sense to suggest they either take it down a notch or go buck wild in their own room.
Almost everyone booked a room.
Another hour ticked by and the business of the club began to taper off. Cole’s rounds became less and less interesting, and by the time three in the morning rolled around, there were more guards than needed, so he stood at the railing on the second floor and peered down into the thinning crowd, looking for the dark-haired woman in the slinky silk dress.
He spied Cameron standing at the edge of the dance floor with a bottle of water in hand. She twisted the cap off, tilted her head back, and drank greedily. Even from this far away, Cole liked the way her full lips pressed to the bottle and how her throat moved when she swallowed.
It gave him plenty of dirty ideas that teased his cock. He cleared his throat, gave his head a shake, and willed his erection to not betray him as he descended the stairs.
As he approached, Pauline saw him coming. She tapped Cameron’s wrist and both women turned to him with pretty smiles on their lips.
“You waited,” Cole said.
Cameron nodded. “I said I would.”
Pauline looked back and forth between them, waited a beat, and heaved a sigh. “Well,” she said, pausing to adjust the chain strap of her small purse on her shoulder. “I think I’m going to go.”
Cameron looked over at her friend. “What? Why?”
“It’s almost four in the morning. The last time I was up this late, I’d had more tequila than I had any right to drink and that kept me going. But right now? Right now, I want my pajamas and my bed. Are you good if I take a cab home?”
Cameron licked her lips, and much to Cole’s surprise, she nodded. “Yes. Are you sure you want to go home?”
“Absolutely positive,” Pauline said. She flashed Cole a smile. “Thanks again for tonight. And Cameron? Call or text me later to let me know you’re okay. I mean it. I expect a message.”
Cameron drew an X over her heart. “Hope to die.”
Pauline gave her an assertive nod before brushing past Cole and making for the doors. Cameron watched her go, one corner of her lips turned down, and turned her attention back to Cole. “Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t expect her to bow out like that.”
“That’s nothing to apologize for. She’s just tired.”
Cameron bit her lip and nodded.
God, she’s beautiful.
Cole was certain that Cameron was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his entire life. Her fair skin was radiant, even in the club lighting, and he ached to see her in sunlight away from all these stark shadows and neon lights.
“You know,” Cameron said, “I was warned that Kadia could be a bit of a rough place before I came here tonight.”
“It can be.”
“I’ve been hit on by men plenty of times. Believe me. But those clowns?” Cameron scoffed and a bit of heat returned to her voice as she spoke of the men who’d harassed her and P
auline. “What fucking assholes. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to deal with guys like that on the regular.”
Cole shrugged. “It’s kind of satisfying to be honest.”
“Satisfying? How?”
“If they push me too far, I can kick the shit out of them.”
Cameron blinked.
Cole internally grimaced. Had he come on too strong? Should he avoid topics of violence? Fuck. It had been so long since he spoke to a woman he was actually interested in.
He laughed. “Sorry, I was exaggerating.”
“No you weren’t,” Cameron said simply.
He studied her. “You’re right. I wasn’t.”
She smiled. “Why did you backpedal?”
Damn. She was calling him out on his shit.
Cole smirked and shook his head. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“I’ve been waiting around for you like a bird at an empty birdbath for two hours. Did you really think that would be enough to send me running for the hills?”
If only she knew the things I’d done, she’d run all right.
“Maybe I wanted to play it closer to the belt,” Cole said. “Keep you on the hook. Keep you guessing.”
Cameron threw her head back and laughed. She sounded like the songbird at the bath. Beautiful and melodic and feminine. She reached for Cole’s hand and pulled it toward her so that his knuckles rested against her lean, firm stomach. She ran the fingertips of her other hand over his red knuckles. “I know a fighter when I see one, Cole,” she practically purred. “And you? You’re definitely a fighter.”
“Is that a good or a bad thing?”
Her smile was as seductive as her dark gaze. “I haven’t decided yet.”
Cole chuckled and knew he was in trouble. She released his hand and he rubbed the back of his neck. She watched him calmly, gaze calculating, like she knew the effect she was having on him. She effortlessly disarmed him. He felt like she was pulling him inside out in the best way and she was seeing him—really seeing him. She saw the violence and the anger and the broken shell of a man he was and yet here she was.
Still here. Still present.
Still curious.
He knew he should have told her he wasn’t interested. Getting involved with a woman in this line of work never seemed to be a good idea. Sure, Marcus had found Keesha, and their love story ended well, but for a moment there, it looked like things weren’t going to work out at all. When Cooper got involved, the first thing he’d done to gain leverage over Marcus was to kidnap his woman. That simple move had left Marcus exposed. Keesha was a wound he could not endure to win the battle. He caved, Cooper walked, and the fight Cole and Marcus were supposed to win went up in smoke.
But he didn’t want to tell Cameron he wasn’t interested. He couldn’t lie to her like that. She’d sensed he wasn’t being forthright with the fighting. She’d suss out another dishonest line in a heartbeat. She was inquisitive and sharp, cunning and quick. It was a wicked combination.
Cole caught Zak coming down the stairs from the second floor as the club began shutting down. Guests were leaving in droves. The dance floor was damn near empty save for six drunken women standing in a circle dancing like nobody was watching. They all wore sashes. Five were pink and read Squad on them, while the sixth woman’s sash was white, and it boasted cursive letters that spelled Bride.
Aside from the dancers, there were a few couples staggered throughout the club sucking each other’s faces off.
Zak was likely about to kick them all out. He wore all black and a cocky smirk on his lips as he and Cole locked eyes.
Cole groaned internally. The guys were all going to give him hell for this.
Cameron shifted her weight from one foot to another and drew her long curtain of dark hair over one shoulder. “I heard a little rumor about this place that I’ve been wondering about all night but was too scared to investigate for myself.”
Cole cocked his head to the side. “And what might that rumor be?”
She averted her gaze almost bashfully. “I heard the third floor is a very scandalous place.”
Cole felt like she’d just grabbed his cock in one hand and gripped it like a vise. Was she seriously asking him about the third floor?
“You’ve heard correctly,” he said.
“Interesting,” she mused, her big brown eyes flicking back up to him. “How do I convince you to bring me up there and show me around?”
Cole was taken aback by her request. She was bold. That was for certain. What would someone like her want to see up there? If she was Wayne White’s daughter, wouldn’t she want to avoid the third floor like the plague? What if she was seen?
Cameron put her hand on Cole’s chest. “What do you say, Cole? Will you show me around?”
A little red flag popped up in the back of his mind. This was too good to be true.
Was she working for Cooper? Did someone send her in here to bring Cole’s guard down and get closer to Marcus?
Don’t be ridiculous, Cole thought. He’d let Cooper weasel his way into his brain too many times already. It was time to take back control.
Cole could think of one good way to do that, and she was looking right at him.
13
Cameron
Cameron took the steps one at a time to the second level while Cole, walking in front of her, took two. She hid her smile as she stared at his ass and the tapering of his waist, which was obvious even beneath his jacket. She knew he was hiding some dangerous goods under there, and even though this was something she’d never done before, she knew she wanted to see with her own two eyes just what those goods might be.
Even if it did seem crazy to hook up with a guy she’d just met.
Seem crazy? She thought to herself as they reached the second floor and worked their way over to another set of stairs. It is crazy. You’re not this person. You never let a guy kiss you on the first date, let alone see you naked.
All of those thoughts were valid and her consciousness raised valid points.
However, it was missing one key ingredient: she’d never wanted a man this badly.
Sure, she’d experienced her fair share of knee-quaking attractions, but even those she’d been able to manage. But Cole?
There was something about him that spoke to her. He was dangerous, to be sure, but she also trusted him for some inexplicable reason. Maybe it was the whole knight in shining armour complex. Perhaps intervening and sparing her and Pauline from the asshole businessmen had been enough to let her defenses down.
Perhaps it was something else.
Either way she knew how she wanted this night to end.
They climbed the second set of stairs. When they reached the third floor, Cole stepped out of the way and turned to the side so Cameron could get a good look around. The place was empty save for two servers who were picking up discarded glasses and personal items like jackets and purses. Both young women offered Cole and Cameron smiles and went back to their work, unbothered.
“Would you like to see one of the rooms?” Cole asked.
“Rooms?”
He smiled. “Yes, Kadia has several private rooms available for guests to book if the mood strikes and they require privacy.”
Cameron’s blood rushed in her ears.
So it was true. People had sex there. All kinds of people.
Could Cameron be one of those people?
She followed Cole to a black door set against the far wall. He knocked and fished a key out of his pocket. Nobody answered, and after he cracked the door an inch and listened with his ear to the opening, he pushed it open wide, revealing the depths of a suave, sophisticated, sexy room.
Cameron stepped inside.
She never would have dreamed a room like this was just above her head the entire night. The floors were darker than obsidian and flaked with sparkles that dazzled under her shoes even though there was hardly any light in the place. The room wasn’t all that big, perhaps half the siz
e of her bedroom back at the estate, but it was so nicely appointed that it felt spacious and welcoming.
Well, welcoming enough for a sex room.
There was no bed. Instead, there was a sleek black leather sofa, two armchairs, and a glass coffee table. In one corner was a bar cart with several liquors and six stacked glasses. Apparently, more than two people could enter a room like this at a time.
A shiver ran up her spine at the thought of the kind of orgies that happened here.
“Is it clean?” Cameron asked.
“A good question,” Cole said as he moved over to the sofa and dropped into it. “Yes, quite clean. After every guest, our cleaning staff makes a full sweep.”
Cameron nodded at the darkened windows behind the sofa. “And those? Can people see through?”
Cole shook his head and got to his feet. He moved to the windows and beckoned for her to join him with a flick of his wrist. She moved up beside him and they gazed out the windows at the club. Across the way was more of the third-floor balcony. Below it, the second floor looked like a sprawling horseshoe dotted with tables. Cameron spied broken beer bottles and glasses littering the floor. And lower still was the first floor. The bartender was sweeping behind the bar. Another woman behind the bar, a redhead, was wiping down the bar top.
“It’s a two-way mirror,” Cole explained. “We can see them but they can’t see us. On the other side, the windows are glossy black, like dark mirrors.”
Cameron nodded appreciatively. “So we’re completely incognito up here?”
Cole looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
She wanted him to make a move. On the way up there, she’d been so confident and sure of what she wanted, and she still was, but she’d lost a bit of her edge. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to do all kinds of things to him. But she didn’t quite have the nerve to take the first step.
“We are entirely alone,” Cole said.