by Lola Newmar
Taylor watched Jay give a brief nod to Brody, then he turned to look in her eyes. As he slowly walked over to her, she could feel the pulse in her neck beating frantically against her flesh. He reached down and used both of his large hands to envelop her left one. He felt warm and masculine against her cool skin, and she felt the heat spread over her body and pool in her silk thong. Damn their witchery.
“Can I be frank?” she asked before he had a chance to say anything.
“Please.” Jay’s eyes were focused only on hers.
Taylor broke the eye contact and looked away as she tried to think of the best way to explain herself without coming off as too pathetic. “When I look at you two,” she sighed and shook her head as she struggled to find the words, “when you look at me—”
“Look at me, Taylor,” Jay commanded, and she obediently gazed into the captivating emeralds. “How about we just worry about the charity today? Maybe we can talk about all the other stuff later, but for now, we want nothing more than to just sit down and get to know you a little better.”
He ever so slowly grazed the mound of flesh that covered her heart, forcing her to suck in a sharp breath of pleasure. She felt the goose bumps form across her skin, sending an electric wave of sensation straight to her peaked nipples. He smiled as if he knew what kind of effect he had on her. “What do you say?”
With a little bit off the pressure lifted off her shoulders, Taylor took a deep breath, nodded, and followed them to their white truck.
* * * *
Taylor marveled at the modern extravagance that breathed through Hester’s Steakhouse. They walked in to a curtain of lovely music coming from the piano man playing in the back of the restaurant. As they walked toward the hostess stand to the right of the room, Taylor took a moment to glance around. In front of them was a large layout of intimate round tables with a lit tea light in the center of each one. In the back of the room was the rounded bar, shelves of hundreds of bottles of liquors displayed right behind it. When she looked up, she saw an enormous, ritzy chandelier hung down from the second floor ceiling. The second floor was an open loft that surrounded the hanging chandelier, enabling the customers to view one floor from the other. As she dropped her gaze back down, she noticed the large booths against the side walls. Every booth and table seemed to be the home of a lively conversation.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Stephens,” the pretty young hostess nodded her welcome at him then turned to Brody and gave another nod as she continued, “Mr. Bartlett. Would you like your private room?”
“No thank you, Claudine,” Brody replied politely. “This is Miss Ewing’s first time at Hester’s, and we would like her to experience it fully,” he indicated the bottom floor with a wave of his hand, “down here.”
Claudine smiled. “Yes, sir. Come with me, please.”
They were led to a booth in the back with one long bench that rounded the far corner. Taylor slid in first, then the men slid in on either side of her. As Taylor looked around, she saw elegant couples on dates, co-workers on lunch meetings, business men celebrating their latest victories, pretty much anyone who was anyone in Male Order.
The hostess handed them a leather-framed single-page menu before walking off.
“Welcome back, Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Stephens.”
Taylor looked up to see a clean-cut young waiter with an impeccable posture and an immaculate uniform. He smiled at Taylor and nodded a greeting before directing his attention back to the men. “The usual, sir?”
Both men nodded slightly, looking completely at ease, their attention focused on her.
Taylor squeezed her thighs together under the table as moisture began to dampen the silky lace patch covering her mound. Damn it, that happens every time they do that, Taylor thought in frustration. She cursed her choice of clothing for the day. Her dress wasn’t slutty short, but it was short enough to make her worry about the desire that had created a wet spot in her thong.
Jay then turned to his left to face Taylor. “Do you mind?” he politely asked and held his hand out.
“Not at all,” she replied and handed him the menu. She couldn’t help but feel intrigued by his confidence to order for her.
Jay took Brody’s menu, as well, before handing them to the waiter. Taylor didn’t doubt this man was definitely used to being the one in charge. “Same entrée for all three. Instead of the sides, we’ll have the chef’s tasting.”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter gave a subtle bow of his head before walking away.
“So are you enjoying your little vacation here in Male Order so far?” Brody asked.
“I am, thank you. Although, I admit I haven’t done much but sunbathe as I escape in my Charlotte Brontë novels.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Brody said with a beautiful smile
“It’s actually been quite divine,” Taylor confessed.
“So you haven’t been going down to The Boom Boom Room during the evenings?” Jay asked as he slightly leaned in, seeming particularly interested in her response.
“I’m afraid that after all the tedious clubbing nights back in Dallas, I have little motivation to go out. Most of the time I’m watching Mission: Vogue reruns on cable. If I really feel like getting out, Aunt Veronica and I usually have a girls’ day where we walk around SoMale to window shop and eat sushi.” She probably sounded like a tired wet towel, but she had to be honest.
Just then, the waiter returned with a large tray that held three plates. Behind him was an army of other wait staff, each holding trays of several small, metal ramekins of various sides. A perfectly cut, juicy prime rib was placed in front of her.
“A medium-rare prime rib with a dollop of horseradish garlic butter on the far left side of your plate,” their waiter explained before stepping to the side to allow the other waiters to step forward. The rest took turns pointing out the au gratin potatoes, white cheddar macaroni and cheese, almond asparagus, bourbon sweet potatoes, and several types of steamed vegetables before leaving them to enjoy.
The meal was the most succulent she had ever had. They three of them barely spoke during the first several minutes. While they ate, they talked about the upcoming college football season, which they were all more than excited about.
“I’m so jealous, I can’t believe you have premium club seating every year,” Taylor gushed in awe.
Brody reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’d love to take you to as many games as you’d like this season.” He grinned, then continued, “Or any other season, for that matter.”
And like that, Brody again had her heart racing with excitement with just a few words.
“This place has yet to fail me,” said Jay as he popped the last bite of his steak in his mouth. The moment he placed his linen napkin on the plate, the waiter was back at their table to take away their empty plates.
“Would you like to order anything from our dessert menu?”
Both men vigorously shook their heads no, their hands waving in defeat. She might come off prim and proper, but Taylor had never been the kind of girl to turn away a dessert.
“I’ll have the chocolate volcano, with an extra scoop of ice cream, please. Thank you so much”. Taylor handed the menu back to the waiter then noticed the shocked faces of Jay and Brody on either side of her. She couldn’t help but laugh. “What? Not every pageant queen is on the all-you-can-eat Xanax and Tic Tac diet.”
The men looked at each other and began to laugh at the same time.
They really need to stop doing that. Taylor once again felt a deep ache in her pussy and adjusted in her seat to allow her thighs to squeeze tighter, temporarily relieving the ache radiating from her core. She could now feel her nipples tighten, pushing against the lace material of her top.
“Well, that’s definitely a first. A woman that can eat more than us.” Taylor playfully slapped Brody’s shoulder, glaring at his remark as she fought to keep a smile off her face.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your fun, but shall we
move on to what exactly you two had in mind for the foundation?”
Both men sat up straighter, and Jay began. “Grayson and Gavin said your father died from HCM when you were twelve. That must have been tough on you and your mom.”
“Extremely.” She smiled a thanks to the waiter as he placed the giant dessert on the table. “To be honest, I expected them to be tough on me, but the boys were extremely polite and paid close attention to the lecture.”
“Well, Taylor,” Brody’s warm gaze bounced to her cleavage before returning to her face, “to say you are enchanting would be a devastating understatement.”
Taylor’s eyes retreated to the gooey chocolate pile before her, and she felt her face blush with heat. “You’re being nice.”
“He’s being honest,” Jay abruptly shot back. Taylor stared at him, and the admiring look he gave her made her stomach flutter with giddiness. “As I was saying,” he continued, shifting his concentration to doctoring up the large coffee placed in front of him, “the twins were quite convincing when they explained why Brody and I should donate to the HCM awareness tour you plan to conduct this year for Dallas-area grade schools.” He steadily poured a cascade of sugar into his coffee as he spoke.
“Yes, if we can get the funding, I know the tour can save lives. HCM is the leading cause for sudden cardiac deaths among young athletes. If we can encourage students and their parents to test for heart abnormalities, we can prevent a lot of those cases.” She noticed Jay had been staring at her lips their entire time she spoke. “What?”
“Nothing,” he replied flatly before taking a large gulp of his beverage. She wondered what he had been thinking. “Our young athletes are an important part of the Male Order community. We want what’s best for them. Would five million be sufficient?” He nodded to Brody who then pulled out a checkbook from his pants pocket.
“F-f-five million?” Taylor could hardly get the words out of her mouth through her shock.
Jay winked at her as he sipped from the giant mug. “You’re right. Make it ten.”
Brody casually scribbled through the check he had begun to fill out and started on a new one.
Taylor shook her head in astonishment when Brody handed her the completed check. “This is incredibly generous, Mr. Stephens and Mr. Bartlett. How can I even begin to thank you?”
Brody laughed softly. “Taylor, stop. Just because we’re doing business together doesn’t mean we don’t like hearing our names on those luscious lips. It’s still Brody and Jay, please.”
“Of course.” Taylor’s heart skipped. She had underestimated the size of their hearts. She was so giddy about the donation, she didn’t hesitate to reach out and grab their hands. “Thank you so much, Jay and Brody. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” She swallowed to fight the tears forming in her eyes, but she felt a slight tickle as two trickled down her cheek.
“Oh, Taylor,” Jay whispered as he reached to wipe her tears. His eyes bore into her as his large palm rested on her cheek. Yes, she definitely knew it now. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. He wanted her just as she wanted him. They both did. Her palms sweated, and she could practically hear her heart racing dangerously. She held the eye contact, and her head felt heavy as she leaned into his touch. He visibly swallowed and inhaled deeply.
“There y’all are! We have been looking all over for you two.” The whiney, high-pitched voice broke through Taylor’s trance. She looked over to see two young women sashaying over to their booth from the bar like two hungry bobcats that had spotted a couple of wounded jackrabbits.
The one that spoke wore a much too tight red dress that looked like it was painted on. Her bleached, overly processed hair had huge chunks of black streaks, and she toyed with her tongue ring as she gave each man a slow onceover. The other woman had a similar hairstyle, only hers was bright red with platinum streaks. She was wearing the same dress as the other woman, only hers was bright white. Taylor winced when she realized the woman chose not to wear a bra under the thin material. They both carried martinis that they frequently took huge gulps of as they talked.
Taylor heard the men curse under their breaths just as the women approached. She released their hands and sat up straighter, attempting to compose herself.
“Good day, Summer,” Jay said to the narrow-hipped blonde skunk in red. He nodded politely though his tone sounded like he wasn’t too happy to see them.
“Candace.” Brody greeted the redheaded fashion victim in white through clenched teeth.
“I go by Candy now, sugar,” she corrected.
“Of course you do,” Brody mumbled.
“Ladies, this is Miss Taylor Ewing,” Jay began. “She’s visiting from Dal—”
“Yeah, that’s nice,” Summer interrupted. “Anyway, Candy and I were curious to see if y’all have decided on your dates for the cotillion this year.”
“Still deciding,” Jay replied quickly before taking another swig of coffee. “Like we said last year—and the summer before that—if we decide we want to be graced with your presence, you’ll be the first to know.”
With that, Summer leaned over the table, her lanky forearms pushing Taylor’s aside as they rested on the surface. Her face was just inches from the Jay’s. Taylor had never been a jealous woman, but she couldn’t shake the sudden deep desire to rip out the silver rod of metal in her tongue that continued to blatantly wag at Jay and Brody.
“I’m sure Candy and I can think of a few ways to sway your decision,” Summer said as she wiggled her flat backside suggestively.
“Maybe we can even invite our twin cheerleader neighbors over. Technically, seventeen is legal in Texas.”
Okay, wow. Taylor had heard more than enough. “Oh! Look at the time. I must be on my way.” She moved as quickly as she could to snatch her purse and motioned for Brody to scoot out of the booth.
“Taylor, wait,” Brody pleaded.
When he didn’t comply to move, Taylor grew angry. “Excuse me, Mr. Bartlett, but I do believe I asked to be excused.” She narrowed her eyes at him to show how serious she was about leaving their awful situation. He must have gotten the hint because he broke eye contact in defeat and scooted out the booth to let her out.
“Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Stephens, thank you so much for a lovely lunch.” Why was she so upset? Better yet, why was she even surprised?
Jay stood and walked over to her, Skunk Summer nipping at his heels. “Taylor, you barely had a chance to touch your plate,” Jay pointed out as he slapped Summer’s outstretched hand away just before it made contact with his cheek.
“Again, I deeply appreciate your donation,” Taylor continued to ignore their protests, pretending to search for something in her purse to avoid their gazes, “and I’ll make certain the Velvet Rope is given the coveted back-cover sponsorship ad in the Miss Dallas Texas Yellow Rose program.” She was certain her disappointment was written all over her face, and she needed to escape as soon as possible before they noticed. “Good day, Mr. Stephens and Mr. Bartlett. And I wish you good luck on the cotillion.”
* * * *
Brody shifted panicked eyes to Jay. He seemed to struggle to find his words as he continued to shake his head.
The lunch was going exactly as planned until Thing 1 and Thing 2 decided to have a little fun. Summer and Candy came from good families, and they were raised comfortably. A little too comfortably. Although their intentions were to give their daughters the best they could give, in the process, both sets of parents had created spoiled brats who grew up to be manipulating monsters. Both had been cut off from their family fortunes several months ago after they were busted trying to smuggle cocaine using Summer’s father’s helicopter. They both had to move out of their new penthouse to come stay in their guest houses, right in time for the cotillion, of course.
He hadn’t missed the look in Taylor’s eyes when she briefly glanced at him to say good day. He couldn’t sense any anger from her, only pain and disappointment. She must have thought they were jus
t common douche bags.
“I guess Miss Shit Don’t Stink Dallas Texas was a little upset about something,” Summer coldly stated. “Maybe she had a doctor’s appointment to get that stick out of her ass.”
“Oh my God, please stop talking,” Brody said angrily, rubbing little circles over his temples with his fingers.
“We were just having a little fun,” Candace said as she downed the last of her gin then popped the olive in her mouth. “We had to make sure she was good enough for our exes.”