Lila focused on enjoying her delicious over-priced meal, making conversation with her family. Dessert came and went quickly. By eight, Salome announced that she had to leave. Lila rose first after the bill was paid, then stiffened as her eyes collided directly with Killean’s. Her heart jolted, and she managed a quick smile in his direction. He stared at her openly for a few seconds and then there was a deep frown etched between his brows.
“I’ve got to use the ladies’ room,” she heard Katherine saying.
She averted her gaze from him and smiled at her mother. “Have a safe trip back home, Mom,” Lila told her, kissing her cheek.
“I’ll drive her myself,” India offered. “Will you be okay by yourself? I just need to get some more of our stuff from the house and I’ll be back by tomorrow.”
“Sure, go.”
Lila bid them both goodbye.
The cool February air whooshed past her as she waved to her sister’s fading BMW. She was about to walk off when she heard his raspy voice. “Hello, Lila. Running off again, love?”
Killean was looming over her. Instinctively, she stepped back. Being this close to him did sinful things to her body. As she stared up at him, she remembered what her mother used to say about good-looking men.
If they can dance like hell, they’re dangerous. If they’re pretty, they’re trouble.
Lila knew by just looking at this one that he was past trouble. He was a bomb about to explode. She was fascinated by him too much to care at this point because he was regarding her with the same interest, that wild hunger, as if he wanted to devour her. His eyes narrowed to slits.
He dressed simple tonight but still managed to make a body wearing regular white dress shirt with black slacks look like God’s greatest gift to women. His eyes ran down her body painfully slow, and he licked his lips lasciviously.
“Why did you run out like that?”
She cleared her throat and tilted her chin up.
“Run out? Were you expecting me to walk by and say hello? You were pretty pre-occupied with your famous friend,” she reminded him. She wrapped her coat around her, a sort of defense against his nearness.
“Infamous would be more like it,” he said, his green eyes lighting up dangerously.
She tried not to notice the devilish way his lips curled over into a secretive smirk. She imagined how much torture and pleasure that mouth could give.
“Do you watch her movies?” Curiosity had been killing her.
He didn’t answer right away. “I’ve had glimpses.”
“Hmm.”
“I try to avoid seeing the women I associate with on a social level naked,” he said.
Oh, you mean your Female Fan Club? She pursed her lips. Why was she wasting her time with him when she knew his type so well? Playboy was written all over him.
She looked up the street to see if any empty cabs were coming.
“Do you need a ride home?”
She looked up into his hypnotic green eyes. “You’ve got your hands pretty full.”
Her voice came out a little too high. She told herself what she was feeling was no jealousy; she had no reason to be.
“I can still drop you—” Killean began.
Lila held out a hand to a cab. It stopped right at her feet. Aiden poked his beautiful head out the window.
“Hey, sweet cheeks,” he greeted with a big irresistible grin. “Let me take you home, baby.”
Lila laughed at his antics. She didn’t miss the animosity in Knight’s eyes. The tiny muscles in his jaw ticked furiously, and she wondered what it would be like to press her lips to it, stubble and all, to feel the tiny nerve jump. His green eyes shot daggers at Aiden. That dark growth of beard that covered his jaws and his newfound anger made him look dangerous and unpredictable. He lifted a big hand and ran his fingers through his hair. She imagined those hands on her naked body. How about around your neck? She turned her gaze away to Aiden as she was starting to get turned on.
“Goodnight, Mr. Knight.”
“I take it that was your billionaire?” Aiden grinned widely as the cab rejoined the traffic.
Lila blew out a ragged breath, and he laughed loud.
“He wanted to give me a ride home while he was on a date with Katherine Hunt.”
“The sex bomb from those—”
“Yep, they’re friends.”
“Friends,” Aiden snorted. His gaze lingered on her. “He wants you. Couldn’t miss that angry spark in his eyes. I thought he was going to pounce on me. He’s a macho man. He wants something but can’t get it, so when he sees someone else with it, he gets upset.”
Aiden swung his arm over her shoulder and leaned back with a big, contented smile on his face. Lila leaned into him, and he moved his arm closer, cocooning her.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “He’s dangerous for a woman’s health. He’s a player too.”
Lila felt him shrug. “Ah, come on. It’s no surprise. You’re beauty and brains. What guy wouldn’t want you?”
Lila chuckled. “You.”
“Oh, yeah, I must be an idiot.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Hey, sweet cheeks.”
Lila glanced up from the computer and grinned at Aiden. He stood in the doorway, arms folded across his bulging chest, his body filling up the entire space.
She glanced at her watch and saw that it was four o’clock.
“Heading out?” he asked. “I can give you a lift.”
Her car was at the auto shop, so now and again she would hitch rides with Aiden.
“Yeah.” She shut down the computer. “I just have to go see if Langman’s through.”
“I’ll wait here.”
She picked up the pile of manila envelopes from the table and stood.
“Just give me a sec,” she said, rising on tip toes to kiss his jaw.
She hurried down the hallway. Upon turning the corner, she slammed into something hard and sweet. She smelled the Ferragamo scent her dad adored. Her purse and envelopes scattered onto the floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Without bothering to look up, she bent to pick up her belongings. He went down too, crouching gracefully on his heels. Killean gathered her belongings. She looked up into his green eyes, and her pulse quickened. Lila hadn’t run into him since two nights ago outside the restaurant.
“Miss Montgomery.” Her name came out of his mouth stringently.
“Mr. Knight,” she said, equally pissed.
They were stooping down in the hallway staring at each other. Passersby were looking at them with knowing smiles.
“Here you go.”
He handed over her purse and envelopes and then helped her to her feet.
“Thank you.”
“I hadn’t had the fortune of seeing you yesterday while I visited.”
Even as he said it, his eyes were void of all emotion, which made Lila decide that either she was permanently blind or he was lying and thought she was stupid. Had she done something wrong? She thought back two nights ago. Surely Aiden hadn’t ticked him off that much or even at all. And why should she care? She didn’t belong to him.
“I heard the monster was out so I stayed inside the office,” she joked, but his face was schooled into impassivity.
“Are you heading out?” he asked.
“Yes, but I have someone waiting for me. He’s going to drive me home.”
“I see. Well, I hope I see you again.”
“I hope so too.” It was out of her mouth in a blink. A faint smile touched the corner of his lips, but it was gone too fast. She wasn’t one to nurse a man’s ego back to health, but the last thing she wanted was to be on Killean Knight’s shit list. The idea frightened her, and she didn’t know why she cared. The least he could do was tell her why he was upset with her. Then they could shake hands and go on their separate ways.
He stepped around her, and she spun too, deliberately pivoting on him so that they were face to face. “Um, are—are you by any ch
ance free this evening?” It took every ounce of courage she had to say that out loud.
He stared at her as though she had asked him to marry her and jump from a plane screaming, “I do.” Lila knew he was going to say no. “Actually,” he said with an edge to his voice she couldn’t decipher, “I have a prior engagement I must attend to this evening, Miss Montgomery.”
She felt an ache in her chest at his swift rejection. She didn’t understand this man. She quickly nursed her bruised pride. “Until next time then, Mr. Knight.”
She turned, her chin held high, and walked away. One of them had to come out victorious.
***
Lila had made up her mind once she got home. She was going back to the Fantasy Hub. She knew she was breaking a rule trying to find the pleasure god who had made her feel so good last week. She knew she wouldn’t see him again, at least she wouldn’t recognize him if she saw him, but he would her.
She knew she wasn’t special. He’d done this to hundreds of women. So why was she going back? She told herself it was a need to know more of the unknown. She still had her temporary membership, and Terrence had seemed skillfully keen to get her to return.
Her gut was telling her to go back.
As she added the finishing touches to her hair with the flat iron, Killean flashed through her mind. Something about him reminded her of her pleasure god, though she knew that was impossible. She bit her lip thinking about the possibilities.
She had been blindfolded the entire time, but the way the air had charged around them when they met, when he touched her…
Anyway, she couldn’t see Killean whipping women into an orgasmic frenzy. She giggled as she thought about it. Sure, he exuded dominance and absolute control, but it was too much to imagine him doing that.
She looked at her reflection one last time in the mirror. Her previously curly hair was now sleek and straight down her back. She had chosen less suggestive attire, a black mini cocktail dress and blood red pumps. She had to admit she looked hot. Though the dress was extremely short, it fit the occasion. Grabbing her metallic clutch, she breezed out the door, running into India as her cab arrived.
“Going to a club!” she called over her shoulder as India gave her a questioning look.
***
Killean Knight took a swig of his drink as he recalled his run-in with Lila Montgomery. That woman had gotten under his skin in such a short span of time. The animal in him had brought his possessive streak to the surface. He knew he affected her, and he had wanted to see the look on her face when he turned her down.
The sadistic part of him had been thrilled with the knowledge that he could verbally hurt her by turning down her invitation. But then he had seen a flicker of defiance in her eyes as she held her chin high and sauntered away from him. He felt she had won that round.
And all because of his petty jealousy. He knew his feelings toward the man he’d seen the other night held no ground. The woman didn’t belong to him; he knew nothing about her other than the simple background check he’d done. That was all public records. It didn’t give him insight on the person’s character. His schedule was clear. That’s why he was inside the lounge of Fantasy Hub.
Someone took a seat in the sofa opposite his. Jeena regarded him with a solemn expression. Once upon a time, Jeena had bent to his will, but he’d already made her understand he could offer nothing more than a sexual relationship in which she jumped to his beck and call. In the end, she had left him, fallen in love with another man. She had married him, a French business mogul who shared the same erotic taste as her. It was a match made in heaven.
The truth was sometimes even the large rock around her finger was like a knife to his gut. He could have had her, given her everything if he weren’t so fucked up and dark. It was no secret he had a palate for exotic women.
“What are you moping about?” she asked in her sexy French accent.
“Nothing you can help me with,” he growled.
Jeena tilted her head to the side, and he muttered a quick apology.
“Who is this woman who has you by the balls, Killean?” she mocked.
He groaned. She could read him so well. He chuckled and took the down the rest of his liquor.
“You’d be surprised if I told you.”
Realization flashed in Jeena’s eyes.
“Ah, it’s the pretty little bird that I prepared for you to entertain the other night,” Jeena uttered with a knowing smirk, looking at him pointedly. “She was very beautiful, wasn’t she, Killean? To your taste, much like I was.”
He glared at her playfully. “You’re toying with me, Jeena. You know I won’t hesitate to take you across my knee.”
He could’ve sworn he saw her shiver. She chuckled. “I’d like to know how Henri would feel about that.”
“Your husband would laugh.”
Jeena’s eyes lost the playful gleam. “Tell me you aren’t planning on looking for her, Knight. It’s against the rules. Your rules, to be precise.”
A smile touched his lips. “Don’t you know I love to break rules, Jeena?”
***
Lila was greeted with a flute as she entered the lounge. This time, however, she was sure it was wine. At least it tasted like wine but had a zing to it. Nothing inside this place was as it seemed. She took a seat in the common area. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was looking for; she just couldn’t stay away.
“Lila?”
She glanced up and saw Terrence Logan. He took a seat opposite her.
“How is the research going?” he asked.
“Surprisingly good,” she lied.
It would have been if she had been able to get the pleasure god out of her head.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said politely, raising his hand to a passing waitress, who handed him a flute.
“That wine?” she asked.
“Yes.” He smiled, his dark eyes glinting otherwise.
She smiled knowingly.
“So what brings you back here?”
“The mystery,” she said, taking a sip.
Terrence’s gaze pierced through her, and she felt exposed.
“Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it, what I did. What he did.” Her eyes fell to her drink. “I mean, I never thought you could honestly get so high on non-penetrative sex.”
“Ah,” Terrence chuckled.
“I know sex isn’t just about penetration, of course I do, but…”
“I understand completely, Lila. That is why I offered you a temporary membership because I knew you would return, seeking answers. Most of the time, my clients are unsure of what they really want, so I let them explore the possibilities. There are people who like the narrow approach, meaning just the basics, and others who favor a more hardcore type, extreme sadism and masochism. Looking at your expression, I know you wouldn’t want that.” He laughed.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to be choked, whipped to pieces, and fucked out cold.”
She shuddered as she thought about the possibilities. Was the pleasure god into all the flavors and levels of erotica, or was he just a normal guy with kinky tastes?
“Ah, look who I have here,” Terrence said, his eyes landing on someone over her head.
Lila could hear the soft sound of the approaching footsteps, but she was too engrossed in her thoughts to even look.
“Meet a friend of mine and my partner in crime,” Terrence said.
A low dark chuckle resonated, and the familiar shiver slid along the length of her spine. She knew that sound.
“Ah, meet my partner, Lila.”
The moment she spun around, Lila wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, because Killean Knight was standing before her with an expression that threatened to melt the flesh from her face.
Lila wasn’t sure who was more humiliated, but she was sure that it wasn’t Killean. His green eyes seem to darken dangerously, and his full lips thinned as his displeasure became even more evident. Instinctively, s
he stepped back against Terrence. Her limbs had grown weak and her heart was hammering against her chest.
“Lila?” he rasped, his voice low.
He looked from Terrence, then to me, for some explanation.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“You two know each other?” Terrence asked.
“We’ve met,” Lila said.
Without another word, Killean’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, and she was being pulled from the room.
“Mr. Knight, what is your problem?” she yelled. “Have you lost your mind? I’m wearing heels, for god’s sake. I can’t walk fast!”
He suddenly stopped, glared down at her with evil glinting in his eyes, then bent and hoisted her body over his shoulder.
“The fuck!” she yelled.
She’d never felt so humiliated in her life. No amount of punching his back deterred him. She was upside down, so she had no idea where he was taking her until she heard the sound of a door opening and closing.
Soon the cool night air hit her exposed thigh and she gasped as her clit tingled from his hand hovering so close. The sounds of car horns blaring and the noises of laughter made it even worse. They were out on the street, and the suggestive cat calls and whistles made her blood boil with rage. How fucking dare he?
“Put me the fuck down!” she screamed.
He lowered her to her feet, and she staggered a bit. His fingers curled around her shoulders, applying enough force to tear a whimper from her, his face a mere inch away from hers.
“Take your hands off me, Knight!”
He shook her and threw her against his body. Lila gasped when she found out he was erect and pressing against her stomach.
“What the fuck are you doing in a place like this?” he growled.
His green eyes were blazing with fury, and at that point, she knew she had to give a satisfactory answer.
“It’s for my research,” she breathed. “And what do you mean a place like this when you co-own it?”
“That’s beside the point, Lila. You shouldn’t be here!”
Wicked Dirty Games (Dirty Billionaire Series Book 1) Page 5