Uncover (Club V Book 3)

by Gisele St. Claire

  “Why don’t we get back to the interview?”

  I laughed at that. “Sure, if that’s what you’d like, Penny. Happy to get back to the interview. Ask me anything you want. Really, anything.”

  “Okay,” she began, opening the notebook again. “Has it been difficult to maintain the privacy of your members as the club has opened up locations nationwide? How do you convince them that they are safe when they sign up for a membership with you?”

  “Great question. It’s something we take very seriously. If our members can’t trust us to maintain a certain level of discretion then our business is done. Security is key, but so is keeping up with who we let in. For instance, it’s doubtful that we’d let someone in your line of work become a member, no matter what they were able to pay.”

  Penny smiled. “Don’t worry, I don’t get paid nearly enough to apply for membership.”

  “Well,” I began, scratching my chin. “If you ever change your mind, I might be able to pull a few strings for you.”

  “I’m making a note of that,” she said.

  “Please do. And I assure you that by the time our interviews are completed, I will have changed your mind.”

  That caught her attention and I thought I sensed her bristle at my words. This woman was strong and very clever, probably a little too clever for me, but I felt like she was worth it. The only trouble was that I could see her already making her mind up or choosing to put up a wall. She didn’t want to be reached and she was going to do whatever it took to keep me out. Not because she wasn’t attracted to me, but because, as far as I perceived, she had made up her mind before she walked through the door that she wasn’t going to entertain the idea of being attracted to me.

  “Is that so? Well, Mr. Wilson—”

  “No, no. None of that Mr. Wilson stuff. I insist that you call me Pete. We’re going to be very good friends, Penny. Get used to it.”

  Something flared in her eyes. I couldn’t tell what it was—anger, lust…maybe a combination of the two. She narrowed her eyes at me and pursed her lips slightly.

  “You don’t know who I am,” she said, challenge ringing in her voice.

  “No,” I shook my head. “I’ve never met you before today. I do intend to get to know you…very well, if you’re obliged. And I do believe you will be.”

  Chapter 4

  Penny

  I hadn’t anticipated that when I entered his office and saw Pete Wilson for the first time in a decade that he would look as good as he did. I wasn’t expecting his blue eyes to pierce me the way they did. He looked just as good as he ever had in college, but like people often said about men, he had improved with age. It was easy to tell that he was still taking very good care of himself. He had been an outstanding athlete in college—not only the quarterback on our university’s football team, but he was also a star baseball player and track star. He had done everything he was able to fit into a school year and I could see that he was still taking the time to focus on his fitness even now, ten years later. It was paying off too. Even through the well-tailored shirt, he wore I could see that his muscles were well-defined. It didn’t hurt that the shirt was cut just perfectly to show off the ‘v’ of his body. God, he was exquisite and it was everything I could do to keep myself in check and not drool over this guy.

  I jotted something down in the notebook as he answered one of my questions and worked hard to remember why I was there. There was no way I could be attracted to this man, not after what he had done to me. It had been the most humiliating event of my life and even though I knew other people had been a part of the prank as well, he was the one behind it all. He had been the one to step up to the plate and make me the victim of his cruel joke.

  I looked up at Pete Wilson, who was still going on about some of the details of the club. It was almost too difficult to focus on what he was saying and for that reason, I was glad I had decided to set up the tape recorder. I could refer back to it later when I inevitably had to sit down and go through my notes again at the kitchen table when I got back home.

  How could this man sit there and yammer on about his successes and the business he had started in college, all when he had, at the same time, used me in such a terrible way? Didn’t he ever think about it? Surely my face or name must have crossed his mind on occasion? My face…well, my face had changed quite a bit. Losing 50 pounds, working to keep it off and keep my body fit and toned had changed my look entirely. My high cheek bones showed now, whereas they had been nothing but a dream whenever I was in college. All that baby fat had been hiding who I was underneath. The nose job had altered my appearance somewhat as well, and now that my hair was straighter and under a little more control it would be difficult to imagine me as the girl with the frizzy hair, glasses, and occasional acne flare-up that I had been the last time he saw me.

  Surely my name though—Penny Saxs. Who the hell knew anyone else by the name of Saxs? But no, he hadn’t reacted to my name at all. I thought that might be a giveaway. If he had recognized me based on the name then I might have had some kind of upper hand in the situation and I had been prepared for that eventuality. If he felt any kind of guilt then I might have been able to use it to my advantage, play it off like I forgave him for the unforgivable, get the information I wanted from him, and then go on to plaster his face and story all over the pages of Expose.

  It hadn’t played out that way though and now I sat watching him, barely holding in my temper and keeping the bile and disgust from rising in my throat. He was a flaming shitbag of a person and I wanted to be out of his office as soon as I could conceivably get away without it looking like I had cut the interview short. It infuriated me to simply be in his presence and I was glad that at the end of all of this I would be able to give him his due. He wouldn’t forget my name, not ever again.

  What the fuck was this feeling though? As he talked and I feigned interest and pretended to listen and take notes, all as a distraction from whatever was going on in my body, I couldn’t deny that he was doing something to me. As much as I hated him deep down in the core of my soul, there was a sort of animal attraction that drew me to it. I knew that was some fucked up shit, something I should probably mention to my therapist in our next session, but goddamn, I knew what it was building inside me.

  How long had it been since I’d been properly fucked? If I was honest…never. I mean, sure, there had been guys in my life. Guys who had attempted to do what they could to please me, but it had never really worked for me. As much as Pete Wilson was all talk—I knew he was more than that and I knew that if I gave him the chance, this could be the fuck of a lifetime. And who the hell cared what my reasons were for it anyway? I’d never had a hate fuck. Everyone talked about it and said it was some of the best sex ever. Maybe I could try it out with this guy, get it all out of my system and get some pleasure out of the thing.

  And now, just thinking about it…I was wet. For fuck’s sake, this was going to be way too difficult if he was already turning me on this much. I tried to tell myself that it was because it had been so long for me and, after all, I was probably in need of some attention in that arena. I squirmed slightly in my chair, trying not to let him see the sort of effect he was having on me, but knowing men like him he could probably smell it from a mile away. Yeah, dude, my pussy is wet. So what are you going to do about it? I hated that I was having this sort of biological response to someone who had proven to me that, above all else, he was an unrepentant asshole.

  I tried not to roll my eyes at his suggestion that we were going be great friends. And then that we were going to get to know each other very well. Who was he kidding? I took a moment to respond, wondering what kind of game he was playing and if I should play along.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? If I was obliged to get to know you very well. I bet that line works on all the women who walk into your office.”

  He cleared his throat and gave me a cocky grin. I wanted to fuck it right off his face.

  “To
be completely honest with you, Penny, most of the women who walk through this door are already naked or halfway there and ready for me to bend them over this desk and take them.”

  There was a knock at the door and as soon as Pete called for the person to enter, I felt the presence of someone behind me, moving in closer. As soon as the woman made it in to my periphery I did what I could to keep from being shocked or having any reaction, but I could hardly believe what I was seeing, even though I knew what Club V was all about.

  “Mr. Wilson, is there anything I can get you? Something to drink?” She stood beside Pete with her hand resting on his shoulder, leaning in close against his body. The woman had a bubbly and infectiously cheerful voice. And she was stark naked other than the diamond collar around her neck.

  “No, thank you, Asia. I’m doing just fine. Perhaps Penny would like something though?” He looked at me and Asia turned, her large, perky breasts swaying as she did so. It was impossible not to look at them. They were mesmerizing. And once I had taken in the two gorgeous globes my eyes drifted further down to the waxed bare v between her legs.

  “Umm, no, no thank you. I’m fine.”

  Asia smiled. “Okay then.” She looked back to Pete and spoke in a softer, more seductive tone. “Would you like to see me later?”

  He grinned at her and cupped her butt, giving it a squeeze. “Come back in a while.”

  She giggled, gave him a peck on the cheek, and left the office.

  “What did I tell you?” He asked as soon as the door was shut behind her. “That’s Asia and she is a peach.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. So he was going to jump in, take the talk all the way there when I hadn’t even been in his office for half an hour.

  “How much do you have to pay them for that kind of service?” I asked, tapping my pen against my notepad.

  He chuckled and then gave me a wry smile. “I think you know that I don’t have to pay a woman for anything…ever. Every woman who walks through my office door, ready and willing for me take her, is there because she wants to be. Because she’s heard how I am, how I’m capable of making a woman feel. She’s there because she has chosen to be. Like you…you knew a little something about my reputation, I’m sure. You’re a good little journalist and I bet you did all your research before you walked in here today. So you must know something about who I am, what I’m about…and what potential there was when you walked through that door.” He gestured behind me and then rested his hand on his desk, clenching his fingers into a fist briefly before releasing them.

  I cocked my head sideways a bit. “I know more about you than you realize.”

  That seemed to catch him a little off guard and I felt good about the prospect of finally having the upper hand with him. It didn’t last long though as he nodded his head and gave me a sparkling smile that spread all the way up to his eyes.

  “Probably know one of my exes or something, right? Well, if that’s the case, all I have to ask is that you give me a chance to prove that…well, depending on what she might have told you, that she’s absolutely right about me—or that the sex was even better than she described.”

  I clicked my tongue against my teeth, deciding I was taking back the conversation for the moment. “You’re an awfully confident guy. Let’s talk about that. Where it comes from, how it impacts your life. Why, if you’re so confident in your abilities in bed, that you are still single and have been for some time.”

  Pete was quiet for a moment, apparently taking the time to give the question the thought it deserved. What was the thing that kept this guy going, that inspired so much confidence in him, the thing that he used to propel Club V forward and make it into the billion dollar behemoth it was today?

  “If I can be serious for a moment, and you’ll pardon the sentimentality, I’ve always believed that I was a little better than I appear on the outside.” He said the words clearly, precisely. It was evident that he was sincere in what he was saying.

  “Better than you appear?” Now it was time to play to his ego. “But Pete—you’re ridiculously handsome, very eligible, and so many women want you. You said it yourself. How can you be better than you appear?”

  “Perhaps I’m not making myself clear,” he was back in his chair, behind his desk now, and I was grateful that we had more distance between us again.

  “You see, there aren’t many people who get to see all of me. I’m not talking about when I’m naked. Plenty of people have seen me naked.” He winked conspiratorially. “But in spite of what people may say about me or think they see in me, there’s more on the inside.”

  He was right about the sentimentality. I was just waiting for him to tell me how his mother had told him how special he was and that he deserved all the happiness in the world, and that somehow that had shaped his entire worldview. But he didn’t, he stopped there and I was grateful. Pete Wilson could say whatever he wanted about how deep and multi-faceted he was. I knew the truth and the truth was that he was cruel, careless, and got off on seeing other people humiliated and in pain. There was no amount of depth that could make up for that kind of behavior against another human being, no matter what he had tricked himself into believing about who he was and his worth as a human. God’s gift to women, sure, like all alphas of his sort thought about themselves. How on earth could the rest of the world get by without them there to project their toxic masculinity onto the rest of us, building up the patriarchy and maintaining a status quo that kept everyone else in bondage to their base desires?

  “Fair enough,” I said simply. “Now about your relationship status. You’re single. Everyone knows it. Is it for business—because you like to keep up the face of the club, prove that it’s for men who like to live wild and carefree lives? Or is it because of your behavior that you can’t manage to get into a lasting relationship?”

  I regretted it almost immediately. It was imperative that I keep it in the forefront of my mind that I was here for an interview, not to contest him at every turn or attempt to insult him wherever I could. I knew the guy could take some ribbing, but I didn’t know him very well after all, and it was always possible that I might be going too far. And too far could mean that I lost the rest of the interviews and whatever chance I might have had at taking him down.

  “Why am I single? Well, the why is more complicated than you might think. But stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find out.”

  Chapter 5

  Pete

  Jesus Christ, this was one ballsy woman, but she wasn’t fooling me. I could tell that some of my words were getting to her. She was thinking about it now, how it might be for us together. I wondered how long it had been since she was properly fucked by a man who knew what he was doing. Looking her up and down from where I sat, I indulged in a fantasy of what it would be like to command her to stand and strip. I knew that body was hot as hell and that pussy…god, I had a feeling it was tight and wet.

  Yeah, I knew she was wet. I could tell by the way she was squirming there in the chair. Women often try to hide this kind of reaction and I had seen it before, but there was no fooling me. I could see it now—her nipples were starting to harden and I could detect the outline of her tightening areolas against the white of her button down blouse. Her bra must have been thin because it wasn’t doing anything to conceal the hardness of her taught little buds. What I wouldn’t give to peel her clothes off her right there and suck on those things until she cried out.

  Fuck, I was getting hard again. Now it was my turn to squirm in my chair, but at least I had my desk to conceal me as I readjusted myself.

  “Stick around and find out why you are single? I’m not sure that’s pertinent to the interview or the story I’m trying to write here,” she said with a hint of disdain in her voice.

  “How about this…” I began, trying to think of a proposition on the spot. “How about you come out to dinner with me. See if you can figure it out. You’re a journalist, you must enjoy a bit of a mystery, right?”

>   She raised her eyebrow at me again. Shit, that was turning me on. And something about the gesture looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I usually wasn’t into women who were so blatantly and boldly attempting to turn me down. On to the next person in line, that was my usual way of handling things like this. But all it did was make me want her more. I was going to prove to this woman what she was missing out on and she could find out why I was single and decide for herself whether or not to include it in the article. Maybe putting a human face on the club would ring true with some people.

  Penny shook her head. “Maybe some other time. How about we just schedule our next interview for now. We’ll cover things like the details about how the club membership works, the vetting process, and all those little details. You can be more prepared for our talk next time.”

  I was slightly taken aback by her tone. “Okay then.” I grabbed my phone and opened up my calendar, scrolling through the rest of the week and the next one. “Looks like Friday at 5:00 is the next free appointment I have. Does that work for you?”

  Penny checked her phone and nodded. “I’ll plan on that time then.”

  I stood, indicating to her that it was time for her to leave and she promptly gathered her things, reading my body language.

  “Dress for it next time. I’m going to take you on the floor.”

  She narrowed her eyes slightly and then turned to go without another word. I heard the double meaning in my words. Yeah, I sure as hell planned to take her on the floor and against every other surface I could press her to. I watched her go and then sat back down as the door closed behind her.

  “Fuck me,” I muttered under my breath. Penny Saxs had no idea what she was in for. That woman was ripe for the picking and I was going to have her, eventually. She might not think she wanted me right now, but I could read the body language and the tide was turning in my favor. She would enjoy it, that much I knew. While I loved having power over someone and used that for my own pleasure, I never left a woman to leave an encounter with me without some kind of pleasure of her own. The thought of Penny Saxs with her head thrown back, her body trembling undermine as she climaxed on my cock was enough to make me almost lose control, right there at my desk. I reached down and felt the hard length of my dick against my thigh and rubbed it slightly. It would be really easy to rub one out right now, but part of me wanted to wait. Penny’s little angel mouth and puffy, soft lips looked like they were made for cock-sucking and I would soon find out just how adept I imagined she was at the practice.