His jaw tightened with anger, but she held her ground and waited for his comeback because there would be one. There always was.
“Tonight,” his fist clenched on the seat beside him, “we are going to my club, and I expect no damn funny business from you. You act like a lady and as though you want to be there, otherwise, the deal is void.” His dark eyes chilled her to the bone.
He was going to be in for a shock. She might seem confident and she might be headed to heaven knew where, but she could be awkward when she wanted to be. He was going to discover that fact...and soon.
Emma’s attention was focused on Dahlin but she shifted it to outside the vehicle as it started to slow down. More than curious, she realized they where driving through the old part of Karim. The buildings had a look of New Orleans, with the balconies and trellises it resembled the French Quarter, and one hotel had two guys outside playing the blues.
The tune floated into the car as it pulled to a stop outside a beautiful building. It was the same as the others, but had no windows, giving it an air of mystery. The wrought iron lamps outside the building gave a soft glow and matched the wrought iron railing on each balcony. It was weird that the building had no windows but still had balconies. What was with that?
Trevor, Mr. Dahlin’s driver, opened her door within seconds of him pulling up at the sidewalk. He offered Emma his hand, which she ignored. He wasn’t bothered and smirked when she ignored him and climbed out with Dahlin close on her heels.
“What did I tell you?” Dahlin hissed right next to her ear as his fingers dug into the flesh of her arm. “You do as you’re told.”
For the first time, terror turned her blood to ice...she had never been scared of him before. Tonight he wasn’t himself. Oh, he’d been slimy, after all, he’d blackmailed her to be here, but this was different. She started to realize that perhaps she should have told him what to do with his job regardless of needing the money.
With a tight hold on her arm, he seemed satisfied that he’d gotten through to her and pulled Emma with him toward a black door.
There was no handle or even a lock present. It just looked like a large piece of cardboard had been used to block the entrance. That idea disappeared when she watched Dahlin as he pressed his thumb down onto a small panel she hadn’t noticed.
What was this place? She had a really bad feeling and sure as hell didn’t want to go inside with or without him.
As the door started to open, she realized it wasn’t cardboard—a stupid thought—it was steel.
The thick door opened and, just inside, a huge shadow of a man was stood silently in the dim light. Her first thought was secret service. But she shook that thought free. The secret service wouldn’t be at this place. Would they?
“Maverick,” Dahlin sighed, not sounding too happy to be greeted by the man.
“Jeffrey Dahlin, what a surprise,” he growled.
The man, Maverick, stepped out of the shadows and met Emma’s nervous gaze. He was over six feet tall, and had a hard, chiseled jaw that was clenched with what looked to be anger. There was a vivid scar running from beneath his right eye along his whisker-covered jaw to a stop at the corner of his mouth. Her gaze stayed fixated on his lips, and it wasn’t until they started to twitch, that she realized he’d caught her staring.
Emma’s eyes shot up to his and desire pooled in her panties when their gazes locked and held. She held her breath—she’d never experienced such a bolt of lust before, and by the shock that appeared in his eyes, he felt it too.
“She’s mine...Maverick,” Dahlin sneered, making a claim that wasn’t true. “You have your pick of women every night so I suggest you look elsewhere.”
If anything, Maverick’s jaw turned to steel at the words. Even though the words had been spoken, she didn’t believe them. It was obvious Mr. Dahlin and Maverick didn’t like each other so Dahlin was trying to piss Maverick off in front of Emma.
She wanted Maverick to know that she didn’t believe a word out of her boss’s mouth. She had an urge to step closer to Maverick and let his energy and strength seep into her own body because she felt so weak and defenseless.
That’s what Dahlin wanted though, wasn’t it? He wanted her vulnerable and now Dahlin had felt a threat to that with Maverick’s presence.
Maverick ignored Dahlin, his eyes sweeping over her body, but it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. She wanted him to look. He asked, “And you are?”
Her throat had gone dry but after the third attempt, she finally managed to introduce herself, “Emma Miller.”
“Maverick.” He held his hand out to her, and as their fingers slid together and his closed around hers, she discovered that she didn’t want to let go. He made her feel safe, regardless of his size.
But of course it ended all too soon when Dahlin snatched her hand from Maverick’s grip.
“That is enough, Maverick,” he scoffed. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Maverick’s body language said that he wanted to flatten Dahlin with his fists, and Emma had a feeling that she’d love to watch.
Maverick punched some numbers into a keypad and another door opened. “Go through...I’ll be watching,” he warned and glared at Dahlin. Emma felt her belly gather butterflies when Maverick pointedly looked at her.
His silent promise was to protect her. He wanted her to know that he’d make sure she was okay.
Chapter Four
She shouldn’t be here was Maverick’s first thought as soon as he caught sight of Emma Miller. Her gorgeous blue eyes had a deer in the headlights look, and now that he’d sent her through into the club with Dahlin, he couldn’t get her out of his head.
Not many women would have that look on their face when they entered The Club. They knew what they were getting into—Emma looked unsure—hell, she looked terrified. What was with the dress she’d been wearing? It was something his grandma would have worn.
He’d always trusted his gut feelings and right then and there, it was telling him to keep his eyes on Emma while she was in The Club. Dahlin couldn’t be trusted, and it wasn’t because Maverick had had an immediate dislike to the fucker. There was something about him—like he was too slick and smooth to be above board.
Maverick kept telling himself that she’d be safe, that it was all in his imagination, but he wasn’t all that sure that it was.
From the minute their eyes had met, he’d wanted her for himself. He’d wanted to rip Dahlin’s arm out of its socket when he’d touched Emma.
Maverick was in trouble because he should never react to a guest the way he had to Emma. The last thing he wanted was to piss one of the members off more than he usually did.
Jeffrey Dahlin was a pissant and didn’t deserve to be a member of the club. He was very close to being banned and if there was one more incident he’d be out.
Maverick wanted him out so badly that he’d hoped on Dahlin’s next visit, he would push the boundaries and be banned. Unfortunately, this was his next visit and he had Emma with him.
What the fuck was he supposed to do? Sit back and let Dahlin screw with the rules while he had Emma with him, or keep a close eye on him to make sure nothing happened to Emma that she didn’t want.
His only problem was his own want. He wanted her. The desire he’d felt the minute his eyes landed on the brunette was unexpected and he’d put it down to lack of sex in his life, until their hands had met. The touch of her skin against his palm had made him glad he’d worn a blazer—his reaction was that fast. He’d gone from flaccid to a rock solid erection within seconds. So much so that he’d felt the tingle of pre-cum as it had raced along the length of his dick the more he stared at the beautiful Emma.
Too long without a woman...
What Emma must think after Dahlin had accused him of having his pick of women every night. That ass had it coming to him and Maverick just hoped he would be the one to give it to him.
Maverick had worked at The Club now as a ‘suit’ for around eight months
and in that time, he’d worked all the floors and never had a hard-on. He’d even entered one of the rooms about a month after he’d started working for The Club. He’d seen a naked woman spread-eagled with her ankles and wrists tied to upright poles in the floor. The guy had been naked and kneeling between her spread thighs while he ate her out. Her breasts had been large and swayed with her movements as she thrashed in pleasure against her restraints. Maverick had walked back out without even a twitch in his pants.
With a heavy sigh he knew he needed to check on Emma, and now.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he used the ‘suits’ way of communicating—earpiece and mic at their shirtsleeve—and had someone come and stand in for him at the door.
It wasn’t the most wanted job, but it was a job and being part of the security team paid well, which was why he’d stuck it out for as long as he had. If his buddies could see him now, they’d laugh their asses off at him working in a BDSM Club.
He sighed. It definitely didn’t tie into his plans. He’d been thinking a lot lately about putting down roots, and as he crept closer to forty, he’d even thought about a wife and kids.
The minute a wife and kids popped into his head, his mind drifted off toward Emma and her nervous eyes. She was too damn sweet for The Club...she was also too young for him. That didn’t prevent him from wanting to make sure she was okay. He could do that without getting involved with her.
He hoped.
“Hey, Mav,” Cole said as he appeared. “What’s up? I didn’t think you liked being in the club.”
“I don’t, but I want to check up on a guest.”
Cole smirked. “Wouldn’t be the chick who came in with Mr. Dahlin would it?”
Maverick’s eyes snapped to Cole, unable to control the anger that would be clear as day in the icy green depths.
“Oh, that bad, huh?”
He clenched his jaw...Cole was an idiot and probably got off every night in the voyeurism room.
Maverick wasn’t about to give Cole any ammunition to use against him during his last day of working here.
How the fuck anyone became obsessed with someone so quickly mystified him, but that had happened. Thirty minutes ago, he’d had no clue she existed and now that he did know, he had to do something about it.
“I’m heading onto the floor if anyone wants me.”
With that said, Maverick entered the club without letting Cole see how much he wanted to knock the fucking idiot’s head off.
He quickly gave a once over of the first floor before he walked around the booths, his eyes scanned the dim space as he looked for where Dahlin was hiding with Emma.
Coming up empty, he avoided the security office, and used his security clearance to move up to the second floor. He made a casual once over of the Deuxieme Bar area as he walked through and still came up empty.
He’d noticed the looks that one or two other ‘suits’ had thrown at him in surprise when he’d crossed their path, but nothing had been said. That was the way they worked though—stay hidden until they were needed.
As he made his way past some of the private rooms, he noticed only a handful were in use and he prayed the fucker Dahlin wasn’t in one.
The stairs up to the next floor were through the VIP lounge and it was as he headed through that he finally spotted Emma.
It was as though she knew she was being watched because, at the same time he froze with his gaze fixed on her, Emma lifted her head. Her eyes widened and filled with pleasure before they dimmed in sadness.
The light that was set in the center of the table gave her features a soft glow, and as she placed her drink onto the table, he noticed a slight tremor to her hand.
Was she nervous because he stared at her like he’d never seen a woman before or because she didn’t want to be in the club?
He had to find out.
He shook himself out of the lust he’d felt the moment he’d gazed upon her and strode over to where she had been left alone.
Without being invited, Maverick took the seat beside her. She shifted deeper into the booth as he crowded her. He liked the fact that she didn’t cower from him but simply made room for him. His size didn’t seem to bother her like it did a lot of people, and women usually turned the other way once they’d taken a look at the scar that covered one side of his face. He, and many of those women, considered it hideous. He used it to his advantage on more than one occasion to put the fear of God into someone. Right now while he sat next to Emma, he wished he didn’t have it.
“Where is he?” Maverick asked, wanting her to answer that Dahlin had left, even though Maverick knew he hadn’t. “Tell me, Emma.”
“He went to talk to someone. Said he’d be back in about thirty minutes...and not to move.”
Tears appeared on her lashes before she turned her head and blinked them away.
“How old are you?” he blurted.
All of a sudden, he needed to know her age because she looked so damn young that it frightened him.
His question had startled her, but she answered, “Twenty-two.”
Maverick’s heart sank. He knew she was young, and hoped that she looked a lot younger than her actual years, but she wasn’t.
He watched her as she waited for him to say something to her, but what he needed to do was back away instead of encouraging the attraction he knew they both felt.
“I’m thirty-eight...and sometimes I feel a lot older,” he admitted. “That’s sixteen years older than you.”
She offered him a wry smile. “I did quite well in math at school.”
Nodding, he didn’t find any humor in her witty reply because he wanted to crush her soft, curvy body against the hard contours of his own. But instead, he replied, “That’s the problem...you still remember how you did in school where I can’t even remember the classes I took.”
Sixteen years...She was beautiful and fresh faced...He needed her...
Reaching out, he took Emma’s hand and pulled her out of the booth with him. “I want to dance with you. Just one dance.”
“No one else is dancing.”
Chapter Five
Emma had her hand wrapped up in Maverick’s and her whole body quivered with desire for the man. What was wrong with her? She’d met him briefly when she’d walked in the door...and had him in her head for the past thirty...forty...minutes since she arrived.
She was inexperienced with men, although she’d had sex with a couple of guys while she’d been in college. In fact, one of those had been her boyfriend, but that had fizzled out after five months. Apparently, she lacked imagination, which was why he’d been fucking someone else on the side.
Even though Maverick looked to be all muscle and could probably get anyone he wanted, she had the feeling that he was a one-woman man. Something told her to trust him.
As her eyes met his in the dimmed room, her heart started to crack open. It was the last thing she’d expected to happen, and for once, she was going to go with it because her blood hummed with desire, and it had since their eyes had met.
Looking at him, she had the feeling he was upset by their age difference. Sixteen years was a wide gap and she knew it bothered him more than it did her. Mature men always attracted her attention, apart from Mr. Dahlin that was. Dahlin was just a creepy asshole at any age.
Within a minute of being dragged from her seat, Emma found herself in the stairwell with Maverick’s breath caressing her neck as he stood close against her. The heat from his body seeped inside her and started to warm her from the inside out. Her cheeks felt warm with a blush as he moved her to one side.
“This is the only blank spot for the camera. I can’t be seen with a guest,” Maverick whispered into her ear, sending shards of pleasure straight to her core.
Her panties melted when he wrapped one of his arms around her waist and hauled her against his body. With his other, he reached up and used his hand to cup the back of her neck, his thumb caressed the line of her jaw.
T
heir eyes met and held.
“What’s happening,” Emma moaned, and turned her face into his palm. She placed a tender kiss there and felt him shudder against her.
“I’ve never felt a connection with anyone the way I did when our eyes met downstairs. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’d been drugged.” Maverick pulled Emma flush against him so that every last contour of his hard body could be felt.
He really was hard all over, which tempted her to want to see him naked. All that hard muscle on display for her eyes only, and her hands as she would caress over his skin.
She gasped and buried her face into his chest with the X-rated thoughts. When he started to sway to the music that drifted around them, she knew she was in big trouble. She wanted nothing more than to crawl inside him and stay there forever.
The more they swayed together, the more aroused they became. She could feel Maverick’s arousal against her stomach and decided to tease him. As their bodies clung together in dance, Emma pressed her hips forward and rubbed her body against his hardness.
He gasped and jerked against her in response. It made her feel as though she could do anything, which was how she found her fingers running through his dark, cropped hair.
Their breathing was heavier and the air was filled with desire as Maverick moved his hands to her bottom. He hauled her up his large body. Emma yanked her dress up so that she could wrap her legs around him. His hands slipped onto her panty-clad bottom and held her against him. His arousal was thick and heavy between her spread thighs as he pushed against her wet panties.
Once...twice...she was so close...
“Fuck,” Maverick cursed, and dropped his forehead against Emma’s as he tried to control his body’s response. “I’m sorry,” he groaned as he slowly released her, and met the embarrassed look in her eyes.
One Dance (The Club, #7) Page 2