by Nikki Sloane
“You must be the fiancé. I’m Kyle McCreary.” My brother extended a hand.
Once the information settled in, the tension in Dominic’s shoulders relaxed and a smile broke on his face. He took Kyle’s hand and shook it. “Hey, yeah. Dominic Ward.”
“Okay,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom told me what happened. I thought I’d see if I could catch you before you left.”
There was a thin gloss of sweat on Kyle’s forehead as if he’d hurried, and the purple plaid tie he wore with his gray suit was askew.
“So you ran from New York all the way to this restaurant?”
Kyle’s soft smile froze. “No, I live here now.” He pushed his suitcoat back so he could rest his hands on his hips and catch his breath. “You didn’t know?”
He looked so different from the last time I’d seen him, which had been . . . when? My college graduation? Kyle’s hair was more like Dad’s, the color of maple syrup. He’d let it go long on the top and it was a little wild. Soft curls turned up at the ends. I couldn’t tell if he’d skipped shaving for the last three days, or if it was perfectly maintained scruff.
Either way, it was a good look on him.
My arms moved without thought, and suddenly I was hugging him. Kyle stood straight and immobile, confused. My family did not hug. But then again, I’d always been the black sheep.
“No, Mom didn’t tell me,” I said. “She’s too busy, I guess.” I stepped back from him and curled into Dominic’s embrace. “When did you move?”
“About six weeks ago. Dad got me a position with his firm.”
“What happened to New York?”
Kyle’s eyes clouded with an emotion I couldn’t interpret. He looked . . . unhappy? But in a flash, the emotion was replaced with an empty one. “That’s a story for later.” His gaze held mine. “Look, I can’t stay. My schedule’s crazy while they’re bringing me up to speed on my caseload, but . . . hell. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
We certainly hadn’t. My older brother and I weren’t close growing up. I’d done my own thing while Kyle had been the golden boy. I didn’t envy him; the crown seemed heavy. Mom and Dad laid enormous pressure on him, so I understood when he’d high-tailed it out of Chicago, not a week after graduating law school. My parents felt disrespected he hadn’t come to the firm that carried the McCreary name.
But that had been years ago. Now he was back?
“So you ran twenty blocks in a suit to see me?” I asked.
“Mom said you were upset.” He took a deep breath and smoothed a hand down his tie. “Mom and Dad don’t get it. They think their stuff is more important than anyone else’s. I used to try really hard to make them understand, and honestly, my life got so much easier once I stopped.”
My mouth dropped open. It was the most honest I’d ever heard him, and he made his living spinning truths and twisting words.
“I also came to meet Dominic.” Kyle’s focus shifted to my fiancé. “As her brother, I’m supposed to threaten you with bodily harm if you don’t treat her right, but that’s not really my style. So enjoy my threat of litigation instead. I’m very good, and it wouldn’t be pleasant.”
“Aw, you’re sweet,” I said, my voice mocking. “But Dominic’s smart. He knows if he fucks up with me, I’d be his biggest threat.”
“Yes,” Dominic said instantly.
Kyle blinked again at the profanity. Not like he was offended, but more amused. Shit, how far apart had we’d been these last few years? He barely knew me anymore, and I’d never really known him.
“Okay, well, that’s good, I guess.” Kyle fiddled with his watch and checked the time. “I have to run. As in, literally.”
“Thank you for coming,” I said, hoping my voice matched how sincere I felt, because I was a little blown away.
“Should we grab drinks some night this week?” Dominic asked, but Kyle shook his head.
“I’d like that, but everything’s a mess with the move. You two will be back for good in a few months though, right? We could do it then.”
“Sure.”
We said our goodbyes, and I watched Kyle go. It was such a simple gesture for him to come over, and yet it meant so much.
Dominic had a strange half-smile on his face.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Running here and back just to say hello. Your parents don’t get it, but your brother does.”
“Yeah,” I said. Who would have thought?
The premium leather of my driver’s seat was buttery soft. I’d narrowly avoided reunion tears when I’d picked my car up from Logan’s place. Well, technically, our place. Evie and Logan would move out in mid-December so Dominic and I could move in when we returned from Japan.
I felt bad about kicking them out, but only for thirty seconds. The view was to die for, and Logan had known this day was coming since leasing the place from his friend.
“It looks different in the daylight,” Dominic said, gesturing to the blindfold club entrance. He wasn’t wrong. The black door looked smaller, and the wear on the façade seemed greater in the harsh light.
“Yeah, this place is way less sexy during the day.” A fact I’d discovered the first time Joseph had asked me to fill in for him. I hadn’t a clue why Joseph wanted to meet here now, but since the club was a good twenty-minute drive from our hotel, and I had my hands on my Jaguar F-Type, it was fine with me.
“Any chance you’d let me drive the car back to the hotel when we leave?” Dominic’s hopeful expression wasn’t enough to pry my grip from the steering wheel.
He hadn’t driven a car in almost two years. “No way, get your own.”
“Half of this car will be mine when we’re married.”
I shut off the engine and let my expression go serious. “Yeah, the passenger half.”
We hurried across the street and through the front door that Joseph left unlocked for us. It was dark except for the security lights as we strolled through the bar and down the hallway of doors. The silence and poor lighting further detracted from the sex appeal.
To the left were the holding lounges, and to the right were the client rooms. I’d met Dominic in Room One. A smile warmed on my lips as we passed the door decorated with the brass six, the room where Dominic asked me to be his wife.
“Joseph?” I called, leading Dominic upstairs.
“In here.”
Not in his office, but across the hall in the large dressing room. He stood by the bar lining the far wall, his back turned to us. His suit jacket was cast aside on a chair, and as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, I could see his sleeves had been rolled back. This was as close to casual as Joseph got.
“Hey.”
My voice forced him to turn. He probably appeared composed and maintained to Dominic, but like the last time I’d seen Joseph, there were faint edges around his eyes. He looked . . . weary. Not that I’d say that to him. Joseph was all about power, and he’d view it as weakness.
He smiled. “You got him to agree to come.”
“Of course,” I said. “My boy-toy does whatever I tell him to.”
The snap on my hip was sharp and biting. Dull pain lingered on my tattoo, so I glared up at the blue eyes watching me. “Okay, ow.”
Dominic looked smug. “Watch it.”
“You watch it,” I echoed back like a four-year-old.
Joseph carried his drink in one hand and strode toward us, pretending he hadn’t just witnessed the immature exchange. “Dominic,” he said. “I’m Joseph Monsato.”
“I remember.” My fiancé’s words were tight. “Everything about that night was pretty hard to forget. You know, except for those ten minutes after the bouncer’s right hook.”
They’d met face to face in the front lounge when Dominic first arrived at the club almost a year ago. It was protocol with walk-ins, plus Joseph liked to evaluate potential clients to match them with the right girl. That meeting had been fine, according to Dominic, but the way he’d left t
he club was still a sore subject. He’d spent the whole night trying to find me, his head throbbing with a black eye, all because of Joseph.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Joseph said, his expression genuine. “I didn’t handle it well when Payton said she wanted to leave. Your fiancé was a big part of this place, and also my friend, and . . . I wasn’t sure how the fuck I was going to get on without her.”
Joseph didn’t mean it sexually, of that I was sure. Yet his admission made my breath stall in my lungs. When I’d left the club, I hadn’t just quit, I’d effectively abandoned Joseph. I was at a loss for words, which had to be a fucking first.
“It was good, though,” Joseph continued. “For me, and most definitely for her.”
Dominic shifted his stance. He didn’t seem to be faring much better than I was with the seesaw emotions between resentment and surprise. “Uh, yeah.”
Joseph’s attention sought mine. “I bet you want to know why I asked you here.”
“The question had crossed my mind.”
“I need a favor, and unfortunately, I need it from both of you.”
Well, he was just full of surprises today. “What is it?”
The amber liquid sloshed in Joseph’s drink as he swirled his glass. “I hired a new girl, and I can’t get a read on her.” He paused to take a sip. “Usually I can tell whether or not they’d be good, but this one . . .”
“How’d she do with her . . .” I wasn’t about to remind Dominic how the girls at the club got their spots. Several months ago I’d had too much vodka, or ‘truth serum’ as he called it, and spilled all the gritty details about the club. “With her audition?”
“Christ,” Dominic growled.
But Joseph’s face was stoic. “She didn’t audition. Regan’s only interested in being a sales assistant. She’s made it clear she won’t get on the table.”
As far as I knew, that was a first. All girls started on the table. “Why not?”
“She says she has a boyfriend, but I don’t think that’s her reason.”
“Okay, what is?”
“She’s not submissive,” Joseph said.
I could sense Dominic’s impatience with all of this, and tried to get right to it. “So, what’s the favor?”
“I’m hoping you’ll get on the table,” he said, his dark gaze trapping mine. “And let Regan negotiate the deal when Dominic tries to buy you.”
chapter
EIGHT
Regan was a redhead, her hair fire engine red with streaks of copper. She had gorgeous, big blue eyes and high cheekbones, and a slender frame. But beneath her simple black suit dress, I could see power lurked. This woman had a strict workout regimen.
Her sleek nose and bow lips made her look regal. She was beautiful, which was good. Her looks would help her during negotiations. A little older than me, but still young.
“You’ve done this before?” I asked her as I stripped off my clothes and hung them in the empty, open-faced locker in the dressing room. Dominic had been sequestered into one of the holding rooms downstairs, while Joseph went to his office.
My fiancé hadn’t been thrilled with this plan, but I felt like I owed Joseph. I’d abandoned him twice in the last year, first when I’d quit, and once again when I’d gone back to Japan. So I told Dominic I wanted this, and gave him the reminder that he’d be running the show when I was on the table. Total control over me.
So, he was on board.
Regan’s voice was pleasant. “I shadowed with Nina and Tara several times. I know I’m new, but trust me. I’ll get the most I can out of him.”
Even though it came off sounding arrogant, I liked it. Sales were all about confidence, and this woman had it in spades.
I slipped an arm into the silk robe while her gaze lingered at the tattoo on my hip, but she said nothing. She seemed comfortable when I’d gotten naked, not staring, but not averting her eyes either. Like she was assessing me as a product, which was good. I dug through my black hole of a purse until I located a tube of lipstick and went to the mirror to apply it.
“You’re sure you’re up for this?” she asked. “Joseph said you haven’t been back very long.”
I pressed my lips together, spreading the color evenly. We’d decided for a cover story that I’d left Dominic back in Japan, returned to Chicago bitter from the breakup, and flat broke. I was ready to get back to the blindfold club and start earning money.
“Fuck yeah. I might be a little rusty, but I haven’t forgotten what to do.” I gave her a wink. Not that there was all that much to it. I’d be bound, blindfolded, and not supposed to speak.
“All right. Let’s go make some money.” She hooked in her earpiece and motioned toward the door.
If Regan was nervous about her first solo sale, she didn’t show it. Her heels clicked steadily over the floor when she pushed open the door to Room Two and led me inside. She moved with practiced efficiency to prepare. First, the lights, then the thermostat, and finally she went to the cushioned table in the center.
A drawer squeaked as I slipped the robe off and hung it on the hook. Regan already had the straps tethered to the anchors on the table when I made my way toward her.
“Joseph mentioned the client is already in the holding room,” she said, subtly telling me not to dawdle. Wealthy men didn’t wait for pussy. “Did he tell you anything about the appointment? I figure he’s someone important for Joseph to schedule in the middle of the week.”
“Maybe,” I said with forced casualness. It was hilarious how excited I was about the favor. Dominic and I were both going to enjoy this role-play.
Regan rushed through the final stages of setup so I was bound and had the blindfold in place, and she signaled Joseph through her comm that we were ready. There was no sound from her other than her soft breathing. She didn’t bother to move to the chair in the corner to wait, knowing it wouldn’t be long.
In the dark and quiet, my body began to respond. Goosebumps pebbled on my skin and anticipation hardened my nipples into knots. I licked my lips, waiting impatiently for him.
“Good afternoon, sir,” Regan’s voice purred.
I hadn’t heard the door open, but it shut behind him and Dominic shuffled a few steps closer. My legs slid together, rubbing my knees against each other as desire corded around me. Would he leave the blindfold on this time? The straps, I was sure. I’d called the shots both times we’d been here before, and he wasn’t going to give me an opportunity to do it a third time.
“Do you like what you see?” Regan asked sincerely. Not pushing, not yet.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cute.”
My face scrunched under the blindfold. What the fuck was that, cute? I held my tongue, but I’d let him hear about it later. He was probably grinning at how hilarious he thought he was. That was, if he wasn’t blushing.
“Pretty cute?” Regan’s words were dubious. “I think she’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, all right, she’s really fucking hot.” Better, Dominic.
“You two would make quite the pair. It looks like you’re in fantastic shape, if you don’t mind me saying. Do you work out, play sports?”
Good. Regan used the code to communicate that he was attractive when she dropped the sports mention.
“No sports. I’m more into lifting. So, how does this work?”
She paused. “You haven’t been to the club before?”
“No.” Dominic took a step closer. “I almost didn’t come in. This place didn’t look like I expected it to.”
It wasn’t all that much of a lie, and I appreciated the detail. He was doing a decent job of selling it.
“Well, I’m glad you did. Is that beautiful Jaguar out front yours?”
“Sure is.”
I could hear the fucking smile in his voice, and it was insanely difficult not to jolt against the restraints or call him out. Oh, he was going to get it when these straps were off.
“Nice,” she said. “Fifty thousand.”
He gave a sharp noise of surprise. “Are you asking if my car was fifty thousand dollars, or is that the price—”
“It’s for her.”
Holy shit, what the fuck was Regan doing?
“That’s . . . too much.” He stumbled over the words, as if he wasn’t sure what was going on. Yeah, me too.
“You’re saying you don’t think she’s worth that?”
A frustrated sigh slipped out. He’d told me long ago the negotiations made him queasy. He didn’t like assigning a dollar value to me. This was supposed to be fun. Pretend. Her question made it a little too real.
“I’m saying . . . I’d feel more comfortable paying five.”
Her heels clicked as she glided closer to him. “I understand.” Her warm hand rested lightly on my ankle. The indication that she thought he was willing to pay a lot more, which he had agreed to once.
Her hand squeezed, prompting me to respond. I shook my head.
“I’m sorry, she’s not willing to accept the offer. Would you like to try again? How about sixty thousand?”
“What? That’s more.”
I couldn’t understand what her game was, and broke the rule about staying quiet. I tried not to hiss it at her. “What are you doing?”
“Joseph told me to try to get as much out of the client as I could.” Her direct voice was stunning. “I believe this man would pay every last cent he had for you.” Oh my God. “Am I wrong?”
The question seemed to be for Dominic. He sighed. “Nope.”
“You’re her boyfriend?” she asked.
“Fiancé.”
“Fuck,” I said, squirming against the straps. “What tipped you off?”
“Lots of things. He didn’t look at your tattoo, which is interesting, so that made me think he’d already seen it. There’s no security on the premises, which says Joseph trusts this man with you.” She paused. “Also, I could tell he lied about the car. Even if I couldn’t, it was too much coincidence. I saw the Jaguar logo on your keyring as you were going through your purse upstairs.”
A feminine hand was on my wrists, tugging at the Velcro.
“The biggest giveaway,” she continued, “is the way he looks at you. Can’t take his eyes off of you.”