Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (4 page)

If she was willing, and
he’d bet money she was, Tag would be more than happy to show her
where he kept them.

“
Give me an exclusive,”
McKenna said, standing suddenly from her chair and damn near making
his head spin from the abrupt change of topic.

“
An exclusive
what?”

“
I want to do an exclusive
story on Club Destiny. You can give me the tour. It’ll satisfy my
readers, and it will get the crazy lady off your back at the same
time?”

“
Who? You?” Tag pretended
not to know McKenna was referring to Susan. At the moment, he
wasn’t sure which of them was crazier – Susan for confusing lust
for love, or McKenna for daring to make this personal.

Either way, he had to
admit, it wasn’t a terrible idea.

Those inquisitive eyes of
hers raked him up and down, and Tag fought the urge to press her
against the wall one more time. Only this time, he was going to
take what she was offering.

Tag was hypnotized as he
watched McKenna pace back and forth, speaking out loud, but
obviously not to him. He was mesmerized by the long lines of her
graceful body, the gentle flare of her hips and the perfection of
her ass encased in those expensive jeans. As she moved, her hips
swayed seductively, her long, lustrous red hair hanging board
straight down her back, grazing the waistband of those low slung
jeans.

He wanted to run his
fingers through her hair, wrap the thick, silk around his fist
before pulling her head back and exploring her mouth with his
tongue.

“
It’ll work. You’ll give
me a tour of the club, we’ll print – with Luke’s approval, of
course – and my readers will go nuts. Susan won’t have any more
ammunition for the press. We’ll be able to tell people what goes on
behind those doors without revealing a single member.”

Tag met her eyes when she
stopped abruptly, standing much closer than he expected. For a
brief moment, there was silence in the room; the only sound was
each breath they took, growing more and more labored as they
remained motionless, brought on by whatever chemical reaction that
occurred between them when they were in the same room. A response
so potent, should they give in to it, Tag feared it could very well
rock him to his core.

Turning away, he stood
once again, and it was now his turn to pace. He certainly liked
where she was going with this, but that didn’t matter.

It wasn’t his call.

~*~*~

How was it possible to be so infatuated with
a man like Tag Murphy? Even with all of the things she knew about
him, and more importantly, knew about herself, McKenna didn’t
understand the attraction she felt.

A few weeks ago, she’d
have blamed it on simple lust. The kind inspired from the sight of
a hot, sexy man by a woman who hadn’t had sex in longer than she
cared to admit. This... this... whatever you wanted to call it was
beginning to border on obsession. So much so, McKenna was
stuttering her thoughts.

There was just something
about this particular man, with his compelling good looks and
sophisticated, dominating presence that caught her attention. Maybe
it was those eyes that changed from the color of cool crystalline
to that of deep, glistening emeralds. Or perhaps it was that he was
so tall, although she couldn’t pinpoint a measurement, but he was
quite a bit taller than her own five feet seven inches. Not so tall
that she wouldn’t be able to slide her hands up his neck and
explore his beautiful bald head with her fingertips.

Oh, God, it could very
well be his shaved head because Tag pulled it off so effortlessly.
The man was the epitome of male perfection.

Even more impressive than
his height or his inquisitive eyes or that sexy head was the thick,
ropey muscle that she sensed beneath those fancy suits he wore.
She’d felt his solid, well-muscled thigh between her legs just
minutes ago, and she’d had to quell the urge to grind against him
because he was just that damn hot. She wondered, albeit briefly,
how thick other parts of him were.

McKenna knew as much as
she admired his physical perfection, that generally wasn’t what
drew her to a man, and as much as she tried to pretend that was the
case now, she knew she was drawn to him by something more than his
eye pleasing appearance. Tag Murphy was also successful and
intelligent, two highly appealing qualities when she considered her
history.

Remembering where she was and what she was
trying to do, McKenna unglued her eyes from his shapely ass and
waited until he turned around. “You know it’ll work.”

“
It’s not a bad idea,” he
paused, glancing around the room before a smile tipped his lips,
“but you know it’s not my call. I’ll have to talk to the McCoy’s
and get back to you.”

McKenna watched as he turned to go, suddenly
wishing she could keep him there for just a little while longer.
There were so many things that intrigued her about this man, so
many things that she wanted...

A sigh threatened to
escape, but she held it in, waiting for him to say
something.

“
In the meantime, don’t
write any more fucking articles.”

Well, that’s not what she wanted to
hear.

“
I’ll try.” She returned
his smile. “You’ve got twenty four hours to get back to me. If I
don’t hear from you by then, one way or the other, I’m launching my
next one. And this one is guaranteed to raise some
eyebrows.”

*****

For the rest of the day,
McKenna and Whisper, along with two other part time employees,
worked to try and keep up with the staggering response to the
article on Tag.

Pictures of him were
flying all over cyberspace, women intent on knowing more about the
hunky attorney that seemed to have a dark side; a side that
apparently more women than just McKenna wanted to
explore.

She found it both amusing
and a little irritating. Jealousy wasn’t a good color for her, but
McKenna was learning that she had developed some sort of possessive
gene when it came to Tag. She’d be smart to figuratively pull that
little emotion straight out of her brain, wad it up and throw it in
the trash. Then set the can on fire. Twice.

She didn’t have time to
play games with Tag, or anyone else for that matter. Even if she
was enjoying it to some degree, she knew better. McKenna was in no
way the type of woman Tag would want on his arm. Or even in his
bed. She wasn’t the typical submissive he seemed to be interested
in, nor did she play in threes.

No, McKenna had her own
dominating personality that she knew would conflict directly with
Tag’s. She might fantasize about what it would be like in Tag’s
arms, but McKenna knew it would never work. And she wasn’t in the
market for a temporary sex partner.

“
Well, I’m outta here,
Mac,” Whisper called from the doorway of McKenna’s office
successfully breaking her from her thoughts.

“
You got a hot date
tonight?” she asked, glancing up from the image of Tag still laid
out before her. She was preparing tomorrow’s article, although she
had a sneaking suspicion she would hear from him.

That was why she was
preparing
two
articles.

Her readers would get
something they’ve all been waiting a long time to hear about, only
she hoped she’d get the quick tour from him, and she could share
some of the much anticipated details about the infamous Club
Destiny.

“
Of course,” Whisper
laughed, although from where she sat, McKenna couldn’t detect a
trace of humor reflected in Whisper’s warm brown eyes.

“
Why’re you laughing?”
McKenna asked, suddenly a little concerned for her
friend.

“
Seriously? Honey, when
you’ve been together as long as we have, you’re lucky to get fast
food for a date.”

“
What do you do for fun?”
McKenna knew that Whisper and Anna had been together for at least
four years now, so maybe their hot dates had dwindled to the
occasional date night, but still. There had to be some spontaneity
in their relationship.

“
We start by eating
dinner, followed by dishes, chased by several hours of whatever is
the hot show on television. The most excitement might be a quick
laugh over something one of us saw on Facebook.”

“
Well, if you want my
advice...” McKenna grinned – like her advice had worked for her in
the past – “you need to take that woman out sometime.”

“
I hear ya.”

The look that passed over
Whisper’s pretty, round face had McKenna wanting to ask more
questions, but she knew her friend and she knew now was not the
time to press. Instead, she just smiled. “Have a good night. I’ll
see you in the morning.”

“
Back atcha, boss lady.
See you tomorrow.”

With that Whisper was out
the door, and she was once again alone in the office.

Two hours later, McKenna was sitting back
admiring her handy work. Two articles about Tag finished and ready
to go to the editors. Once they approved them, hopefully before
morning, she’d be ready to share something with her readers.

Stretching her tight back muscles, McKenna
damn near fell out of her chair when her cell phone rang, startling
her. Fumbling, she managed to grip it before hitting the green
button to connect the call.

“
McKenna Thorne,” she
greeted the caller. Not many people knew her cell phone number, so
she didn’t bother checking to see who it was.

“
Dinner. Tonight.” The
gruff Texas drawl belonged to none other than the man she’d been
thinking about for the last few hours.

Because of work, of
course.

Her heart beat double time
against her ribs, and McKenna kept her butt in her chair, not
trusting her legs to hold her upright. “Where were you
thinking?”

Ok, so yes, she was seriously considering
this.

“
Does it
matter?”

The cockiness in his
response actually sent a chill down her spine. The good kind. Did
she care where they went? No, not really. Would she let him know
that? Ummm... no.

“
I don’t go out to dinner
with strange men.”

“
Well, darlin’, I assure
you, I’m not all that strange.”

McKenna couldn’t help
herself. She giggled.
Fucking
giggled.
Good grief, what the hell was
wrong with her?

“
When?”

“
Right now. I’m
downstairs.”

Holy shit.

McKenna launched herself
up from her chair and moved over to the window, pulling the curtain
back and peering down into the parking lot. Sure enough, there was
Tag’s undeniable black Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S parked near
the entrance. No, she didn’t even actually know what that was, but
she’d been researching the man... it came up.

“
Five minutes,” she told
him and hung up the phone without listening for a response. She
rushed into the private bathroom in her office, praying five
minutes would be enough time to at least feel
presentable.

“
You weren’t wearing that
when I was here earlier today,” Tag commented as she slid into the
sleek, sexy car.

No, she had been wearing
jeans, which she rarely wore, and the instant Tag had stormed into
her office, she’d felt entirely underdressed to be in his presence.
The man didn’t do casual. He was the epitome of the business
professional, always wearing an expensive suit that was obviously
tailored for his massive body.

“
You don’t like it?” she
taunted him, buckling her seat belt and trying to pretend he didn’t
affect her as much as he did.

“
I didn’t say that,” he
growled as he put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking
lot.

McKenna had a closet full
of power outfits. She preferred skirts and dresses of all types,
from floor length to micro mini, she wasn’t picky. If it was soft
and flowing, she usually snatched it up.

Tonight, she didn’t go for
demure. No, when she rapidly flipped through her closet in her
office where she kept a couple of emergency outfits, she’d been
searching for something to strengthen her resolve. The knee length
A-line skirt paired with a white silk blouse, and her favorite
Louboutin’s – the black ones with the red leather open toe – had
been the perfect combination.

Apparently Tag appreciated
her choice.

McKenna relaxed into the
luxury seat, keeping her eyes focused on the passing scenery as she
inhaled the delectable scent of Tag. Likely expensive cologne, if
she had to guess. Whatever it was, it worked for him. And
her.

She didn’t ask where they
were going because she figured at this point it honestly didn’t
matter. Allowing herself a couple of minutes to acclimate to being
in such close proximity to the man who made her breath choppy and
her palms sweat, McKenna let the soft music playing through the
car’s interior calm her. As much as anything was going to calm her
at this point anyway.

By the time they reached
the restaurant she was feeling almost in control of her disobedient
hormones.