Amelia popped upright in her seat and snapped her laptop shut. Her eyes grew three sizes too big with excitement. “I knew you liked her!” she shouted.
Eyeing her office door, I prayed my brother wouldn’t hear the commotion and get involved. “Keep it down, will you? I have a reputation to protect. And…no. I don’t like her. I just think she’s cute.” I didn’t want to marry the girl or anything—just wanted to have a good time together.
“What was up with you guys the other day?” she demanded.
“What do you mean?” I asked, doing my best to remain indifferent. Though, I wasn’t fooling her one bit.
“You guys kept staring at each other. And then she couldn’t leave fast enough. What did you do to her?” Her tone was accusatory, and I didn’t care for it.
“I didn’t do anything. Why does everyone think I’m the big bad wolf or something?”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Maybe because you are the big bad wolf? I know all about your reputation with girls.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if she were my mother scolding me.
“Those girls are consenting adults. They’re not doing anything that they don’t want to be doing, so I’m going to let that comment slide because you’re my sister.” I didn’t need to explain myself to her or anyone, for that matter. I only hooked up with women who were legal, and they could always say no. I wasn’t into forcing anyone for pleasure.
“Just think about how you’d feel if someone treated Meena the way you treat those women.”
The vein on my neck throbbed at the mere mention of my niece. I would kill anyone who dared to look at her.
“Not feeling like such a stud now, huh?” she smirked.
Although I was still fuming, I understood her point. Damn her for knowing how to poke holes in my thinking.
The interrogation continued. “So, do you know her?”
I debated on how much to share. Judging from the look on Claire’s face when Amelia interrupted us, she would be horrified if I divulged the details of our first meeting with anyone, let alone her student’s parent.
I settled for the really short version. It was all anyone needed to know. “Not really. I just saw her at a party.” If Amelia knew the whole story, I’d really come off as the big bad wolf.
“You should ask her out.” My sister-in-law was forever hopeful that I’d mend my ways and settle down. She wanted me to wine and dine a woman and then propose to her, even though I’d reminded her countless times that marriage just wasn’t my thing.
I sighed out my annoyance. “I don’t do that kind of stuff.”
As if on cue, she harped, “Don’t you think it’s time to settle down?” Here we go.
“Nope.” Nothing she could say would change my mind.
“Well, maybe if you gave one woman a chance, you’d change your mind.” She added the emphasis on one, hinting at my favorite way to pass the time…or rather ways. Three, to be specific.
“I give women chances all the time. Lots of them.” I smirked at my own freshness.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever.”
“Trust me. You don’t want me to pursue her. She’d end up hating me and Meena would be out a ballet teacher. I can’t have my niece hating me.” This would only end in disaster. I was a one-time kind of guy. Most women wanted relationships, especially those that were sophisticated ballet teachers…with firm asses. Fuck. I crossed my legs to subtly readjust the growing bulge in my pants.
“Why would my daughter hate you?” Shyam joined us inside of the office. Great. Two against one. They were always ganging up on me about this subject.
“No reason.” I eyed Amelia to keep her mouth shut. I didn’t want to hear him go off on me too.
Completely ignoring me, she updated her husband. “He’s into Meena’s ballet teacher.”
I flung my arms out as if asking her, What the fuck?!
She simply responded by flipping me off with her middle finger.
“Classy,” I murmured in a resigned tone.
She flashed me an evil smile. Shyam chuckled at his wife’s triumph, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Taking a seat on the edge of her desk, with one foot on the ground, he laid into me. “Why are you harassing my wife at work?”
“Exactly what I was wondering. Why did you come here?” She eyed me.
Two sets of eyes stared at me, expecting an answer. Fucking hell. My mission to find out more about Claire had backfired. Now everyone was on my ass.
“Do you want me to set you up with Claire?” Amelia beamed.
To be honest, I did want to see her again. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and those electrifying eyes—so bright, like the blue part of a flame. Lord knew my hand had gotten enough of a workout picturing those eyes fixed on me as I fucked myself into oblivion.
“You should go for it. Her looks are agreeable,” Shyam offered.
“Her looks are agreeable? Who the fuck says that?” What was she? A couch? My brother had the strangest ways of expressing himself. She was far above agreeable. She was damn gorgeous.
He bit back a smile. “I’m sorry for offending you. Didn’t mean to touch a nerve, buddy.”
Amelia burst into laughter. “That was a good one.” She raised her hand to Shyam, who slapped a high-five against it.
“Fuck both of you.” Family sucked.
“We’ll be more careful about how we talk about your girlfriend next time.” Amelia managed to say through the fit of giggles she had fallen victim to. Even my boring-ass brother was doubled over in laughter.
Fed up with all these jokes at my expense, I stood up and pointed my finger in their faces. “Fuck you. And you. I’m out.”
“Wait! Wait! Stay! We’ll stop. I promise,” Amelia begged, heaving in an attempt to settle her hysteria.
I sat back down.
Taking a deep breath to contain any more of the laughter that might try to escape her, Amelia said, “Look if you want me to, I can talk to her. Maybe see if she’d be up for dinner or something.”
This was too weird. My sister-in-law setting me up with women as if I couldn’t get them myself.
When I didn’t answer, she continued, “We could do a group thing. It might be less intimidating for her.”
“All I really came here for was to get her number from you.” I didn’t want to do a big group-date thing. That would totally mislead her from my true intentions. I just wanted a one-night fling, then she’d be out of my system just like the others before her.
“Oh, come on!” Amelia pressed me to agree. “It’ll be fun. We can have a fun night out dancing!”
“I don’t dance,” I said.
“Neither do I,” my brother added.
She smacked Shyam playfully on his arm. “You know what I mean. Please! Let me do this for you.”
Her investment in my love life was unnerving. “Ugh, fine.” This was such a terrible idea. Now I’d have an audience as I tried to convince Claire to spend the night with me. Just fucking peachy.
Chapter VII
Claire
The lights around the sign for Nirvana glowed brightly, illuminating the line of people waiting to get inside.
“I can’t wait to see Craig!” Lana exclaimed giddily as we neared the roped-off queue.
“Who’s Craig?” I shouted over the honks of the cabs zooming by.
She shoved my arm. “The bouncer who invited us to that hotel party?! Duh!”
Oh, right. How could I forget? I only remembered that night each time I struggled to fall asleep, tossing around restlessly. It always ended the same way, with me replaying every detail specific to Jai—his eyes, his chest, his dick—until the pressure was too much to bear and I eventually needed to release the ache.
Seeing him at Amelia’s house only made the urges stronger, despite my wishes. What were th
e odds that he was related to the one student I instructed privately? I was mortified when I stood in front of him with nowhere to hide. And that cheeky bastard loved every minute of it.
Though, it was surprising that he even remembered who I was. He must have gone through hordes of women, erasing them from memory as soon as his dick got wet.
If I hadn’t agreed to private lessons, I never would have run into him. After my stint with Meena was over, I was officially swearing off private instruction.
“This line is so long! We’re never going to get in!” Lana hopped impatiently from foot to foot to see over the heads in front of us.
We were like yin and yang standing next to each other. She was decked out in a short gold dress completely covered in fringe—another one of her haute couture creations. I’d opted for black leather leggings and a cropped tee that exposed part of my belly. It was much tamer than Lana’s outfit, which gave everyone an eyeful every time she bent over to adjust her shoe strap. Her face was covered in chunky glitter and pink metallic lipstick, while I had decided on dark-rimmed eyes and sheer gloss on my lips.
The only way I ever wore my hair was in a bun high on my head, so I wasn’t too experienced with styling it like Lana was. She had set her hair into the most luscious waves, pinning them all around her head like some old-school pin-up model. It took one disapproving look at my bun before she laid into me about my hair. I’d ended up wearing it down instead, sans curls, so she’d stop harassing me.
“Let me text Amelia.” I pulled my phone from my pocket to let her know we were waiting. Another good thing about wearing pants was that I didn’t need to fuss with a wallet or bag to hold my money and phone.
Hey, I’m outside, in line.
She texted back a moment later. Stay there. I’ll send someone to get you.
I thought it strange that she had asked me to join her and her friends on a night out. She was technically my employer and knowing who her brother-in-law was made tonight even less desirable to me because I didn’t want to risk running into him again. Thinking of him at night was more than enough and seeing him in person wasn’t something I wished to make a habit of. But I liked Amelia, and she seemed like a genuine person. A girls’ night out with her friends sounded safe enough. And surely, Jai wouldn’t be invited to some chick party.
A large man in a black t-shirt and jeans approached us, with an earpiece attached to the side of his head. “You Claire?”
Lana shrank back behind me, intimidated by his massive stature and humorless expression. “Um. Yeah.”
“This way,” he grunted, heading back into the club without waiting for us.
I followed him hastily, pulling on Lana’s arm; at first, she refused to budge, like a scared kitten.
We weaved through the throngs of people on the dance floor. I had been to Nirvana a few times before and it had always been packed, just like tonight. Lana lived for this type of environment and wouldn’t pass up a chance to attend a party. She was the other reason I had agreed to take Amelia up on her offer. When I told her that we’d been invited by the owner of the club, she had damn near lost her shit and grabbed my phone to text Amelia that we’d be there. “Think of all of the free booze we’d get in VIP! Everyone will be so jealous seeing us party with the owners!”
If I had said no, she probably would have stolen my phone to pose as me and accept on my behalf. Explaining Lana’s appearance in my place would have been kind of awkward. Not for Lana, though. No. She’d have been on cloud nine.
The bouncer led us up the stairs to the second level, where the private booths were. Sheer red fabric hung from overhead, allowing for a sense of privacy at each booth. The curtains of most were drawn back so guests could see out to the dance floor on the first level, but some had them closed, allowing for seclusion. Lord only knew what people were up to in those.
At the biggest booth on the end, the fabric was completely pulled back and Amelia stood waving us over. The huge brick wall of a man who had showed us the way stepped to the side, allowing us to approach her.
She pulled me into a big hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”
“Thanks for inviting us,” I said, wrapping one arm around her back before pulling away quickly. Motioning to my squirmy companion, I made the introduction she was dying to hear. “This is my friend, Lana.”
As if on cue, my friend eagerly extended her hand out to shake Amelia’s.
Amelia graciously accepted her hand, giving it a polite shake. “Hi, Lana. I’m Amelia. It’s great to meet you.”
Lana’s voice came out all high-pitched and shaky, like she was meeting a celebrity, and words spilled out at a pace that was too difficult to keep up with. “This club is fantastic! I’ve been here a few times but never in the VIP lounge with the owners.” I needed to get some liquor in her to get her to calm down, and fast.
“I’m just an owner by marriage, but I don’t mind reaping the benefits.” She winked.
“Wow, you look amazing too. Can we talk about this dress?” Lana kept going, fawning over Amelia’s outfit.
She did look amazing in her black halter dress and contrasting red hair. Flirty yet classy. It amazed me that she probably had so much money yet looked like the girl next door. A really pretty girl next door, but still approachable and kind.
“Thank you!” Amelia beamed appreciatively. “You both look amazing too.”
“Oh, this thing?” Lana brushed her fingertips down the length of her dress. “I made it in school. I’m not sure if you know, but I’m in fashion school.” I scrunched my eyes closed hearing the verbal diarrhea growing worse.
I shoved my shoulder into Lana’s to get her to shut up. I loved her, but she became a chatterbox whenever she was nervous or excited, which was most of the time.
If Amelia was annoyed, she didn’t show any hint of it. “I love it,” she said to Lana. “Come join us in the booth for a drink. Everyone’s here.” She stepped aside to let us through.
My eyes suddenly fell on deep brown ones. Fuck.
Jai sat back in his seat, his arm stretched along the top cap of the booth, body relaxed and free of troubles, as if suggesting I slide in next to him. His mouth was fixed into a sly grin; meanwhile, my belly was full of jitters.
My gaze flicked around the table, desperate to find space anywhere else. Next to him was his brother with Amelia at his side. Beside her was another woman and my traitorous friend, who sat on the end.
My eyes snapped back to the sly playboy who was relishing in my trepidation, once again. This was becoming a regular occurrence, much to my chagrin. And yet again, I lifted my chin up with resolve. Refusing to let him get to me, I slid into the booth. He could have easily reached out to touch me, so I sat as close to the edge as possible, my ass half-hanging off the seat just to put any extra distance I could find between us.
“Everyone, this is Claire and Lana,” Amelia announced. “Claire, you’ve met my husband, Shyam, already. And my brother-in-law, Jai.”
Lana and I greeted them with “Hello,” in unison. I focused my eyes on Shyam to avoid looking at the man next to me, though I could feel his stare burning into my skin.
“And this is my friend, Natalie,” Amelia continued.
“Call me Nat,” her friend said, offering a welcoming smile. Her bright-orange hair and rainbow-colored dress implied that she was going to show us one hell of a party tonight. “Amelia tells me you’re Meena’s ballet teacher? What’s it like getting to boss that little one around? Share your secrets to get her to listen!”
“Excuse me! That’s my daughter you’re talking about.” Amelia smacked her friend playfully on the arm.
“Relax, mama bear. Everyone knows that baby cub is the real boss of your house.” Nat chuckled.
“It’ll serve her well later in life,” Shyam’s deep voice sounded. He didn’t seem much like a talker but when he spoke everyone paid
attention.
“She’s a wonderful student,” I defended Amelia. “She’s strong-willed and outspoken, which reflects in the way she dances. She holds her head up high, never dropping her eyes to the ground, even when she’s unsure of herself. It’s the mark of a true dancer.”
Amelia bounced in her seat, unable to contain her glee from my evaluation.
“You have to say that. Her parents pay you,” Nat joked.
“Nat. Shut up!” Amelia looked mortified. Her forehead creased as she looked at me apologetically, as if I were offended by her friend’s remarks.
I chuckled. “Yeah, and I’d like to keep my job, so I’m sticking to my assessment,” I teased Nat.
She pointed at me. “I like you, lady.”
“I second that,” Jai’s voice hummed next to me.
I peeked at him from my periphery to find him still staring at me intently, like he was about to undress me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned away. “Lana is in fashion school,” I blurted out awkwardly. Someone! Change the topic!
“Oh shit. No way!” Nat turned toward Lana. “So, you can hook me up with free outfits?”
“I’m only a second year, but I pretty much make all of my own clothes.” Lana raked her hands through the ends of her hair.
“She made her dress!” Amelia shouted over the booming base from the dance floor below us.
“Fuck, that dress is hot. Can you make me one?” Nat propped her chin on her interlaced fingers.
“Are you serious? Of course!” Lana was elated that she had found two new fans of her work. I always supported my friend’s ventures, but her style was definitely not my thing, and I wasn’t the type to gush over color-coordinated fabrics and shiny buttons.
“Sweet!” Nat pumped her fist in the air.
“So, what do you do, Nat?” I asked, trying to ignore the intoxicating cologne enveloping me. I felt my inhibitions lower, growing drunk off the smell of cinnamon and scotch.
She raised her hand in the air. “Tech nerd.”
Control: Power Series #3 Page 5