One Condition (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #1) (4 page)

“How could you
not
know? You got in his car.”

“I was at my lawyer’s. The paps were all over me. He… he saved me, pulled me into his car to get them away from me… or away from him.”

“Wow. Chivalrous. Maybe he recognized you.”

“Actually… I thought he did. But now I don’t know.”

“Well, what was he like?”

I get a bitter taste in my mouth. He’s probably annoyed about these pictures. “He was… nice.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing really. Anyway, it sounds like this Peyton actress—”

“Ugh. I know her,” Char says. “She was a grade above me in high school. She’s a huge bitch… not talented at all. Her dad’s just a freaking tech start-up guy. They lost
all
their money the year we graduated.” She lowers her voice and makes a face. “They should have kicked her out of our school, but they let her finish. I heard she sucked a lot of dick to get cast on Werewolf Chronicles. And I believe it.”

I let out a breath and hand back the tablet. I’m about to be as poor as this Peyton chick apparently was. What would Char think if I told her about the
One Condition
? About the drug dealers? I love Char, but money is everything to her and her small circle of friends. They all have it, and none of them hang out with anyone who doesn’t. I sink deeper into my couch.

“I want all the Kaidan deets. How long were you two—”

“Char? I don’t care,” I say. “He gave me a ride. That was it.” And I
don’t
care. Kaidan was a weird one-off meeting. I have bigger problems, and they’re sitting outside in a black SUV.

Char’s expression softens. “Okay. Okay, hon, but how long have you been holed up here? Let’s get ya showered. Let’s
go
somewhere tonight.”

“My
dad
just died. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“But—you and your dad…”

“I know. He never talked to me. Barely knew the guy,” I say. Char knows better than anyone how
not
close I was with my dad.

“There’s a club that just opened up,” she says. “LUSH. It’ll get your mind off everything. I was supposed to meet up with Levi there later tonight. You can come with.”

Levi is Charlotte’s best friend, but I don’t know him that well. I glance around my house, at the dishes piled in the sink, at my blankets tangled at the other end of the couch. Do I really want to spend another night with the Goblin King? I sniff. “Can we take your car?”

“Yes! Go get a shower. Then we’ll go back to my house and get my driver to take us.”

Getting drunk won’t solve my problems, but at least it’ll help me forget them.

Char’s driver drops us off on a side street next to the club, and we walk to the
very
long line that’s formed on the other side of the velvet ropes. I pull my compact out and give my face a once over. Char got me to layer on the makeup, and with her help, it’s flawless. I’m wearing the only club-worthy outfit I brought with me from Boston—heels and a tight, low-backed, light yellow dress.

Levi’s waving at us maniacally from near the front of the line, and we risk ducking under the rope, but no one freaks on us. All we get are pissed off glares from the people behind Levi.

Levi’s dad is an out-of-work director who made his fortune by investing his earnings in a series of blockbuster movies. The last time I saw Levi, he was determined to be famous, no matter what he had to do to get there. He’s got on tight jeans and a form-fitting tee, and his tan skin and impeccably gelled hair make him look perfectly at home in this line. Char hugs him, and they kiss each other’s cheeks.

“Look at you two,” he says. “We’re gonna be the three hottest bitches in there tonight.” He turns his attention to me, and he’s got a hunger in his eyes. “Tell me. What is up with you and Stone?”

“She claims nothing,” says Char.

“It
is
nothing,” I say. “And I don’t care about any of it.” I sound super grumpy, but I can’t help it. “The tabloids need to just forget about me.”

A look of sheer green passes over Levi’s face, but the jealousy fades into a conspiratorial grin as he wraps one arm around me. I can smell the alcohol on his breath. He’s apparently started the party without us. “They aren’t just gonna leave you two alone. You are Hayley Wade. And he’s Kaidan Stone.”

“Well they won’t be seeing us together again.”

“You gonna let him get away? I hear the Stone brothers both have… V.I.P. status.”

Char snorts, and I glance at the people behind us. They are staring at us, no longer pissed, but clearly trying to figure out if we’re
somebody
.

Char leans over to me and whispers in my ear. “V.I.P. Very. Impressive. Penis.”

My mouth drops open. “Guys, seriously. I don’t care. I have a lot on my mind right now, and—”

“There’s a cure for that.” Levi hugs me closer. “You need a deep dickin’. A deep, deep Stone dickin’.”

He says it way too loud, and now I’m happy it’s dark out, because I know my face is bright red. Char giggles and high fives Levi. I want to kill them both. The two of them and the word ‘tact’ have never, and will never, be in the same room together.

“And if you don’t want it,” Char says, smoothing lip gloss on, “I’ll take it.”

I shrug off Levi’s arm as a limo pulls up to the club.

“Hey, look.” Char elbows me hard, knocking me off balance. She points to the guys getting out of the limo.

“Whoa. The guys from Cylon Smash,” Levi says.

“Oh yeah,” I say, relieved the conversation has moved past Kaidan and his
V.I.P
. “Weird indie rock band. I’ve heard of their song. What’s it called? ‘Frak All Night’ or something?”

Their lead singer, a tattooed, dark-haired, pierced guy, gets out of the limo after his bandmates, and the line all around me erupts as people start chattering.

Then another man gets out and shuts the door behind him. As his face turns toward the lights outside the club, adrenaline rushes through me, and my legs suddenly feel like they can’t possibly hold me up.

It’s Kaidan. He’s got on a tailored shirt and tight jeans. The lights outside the club reflect off his perfect nose, his strong jaw, his deep brown eyes. I remember them, how they looked into mine, the musky scent of him while we stood inches apart. He runs a hand through his hair, and something starts dancing in my stomach.

But I do
not
care about Kaidan Stone, because he does
not
care about me.

Everyone around us is buzzing now, talking about the new arrivals. Kaidan’s gaze runs over the crowd as he and Cylon Smash stop to talk to the bouncers. When you’re on the A-List, you don’t have to wait in line. Char, me, and Levi? We’re not A-List. My dad was. But not me.

“Oh My God. That’s
Kaidan
,” Levi says, finally seeing what I see.

Char’s eyes widen, and she waves. A big, giant, look-at-us, all-out
wave
.

I’m gonna die of embarrassment now. Kaidan cocks his head to the side, and then his eyes briefly meet mine, with no sign of recognition. My stomach twists. But why do I care if he remembers me?

Then the band moves into the club, and Kaidan says something to one of the bouncers and follows them in.

I whack Char with my clutch, and she gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry. Had to try.”

“
So
embarrassing.”

“You,” says a deep voice.

I whirl to find the bouncer Kaidan talked to standing on the other side of the rope.

I look around to see who the guy is talking to, but the bouncer’s looking right at me. “Me?”

“Yes,” he says gruffly. “You and your friends. You’re in.”

Did Kaidan just get us in? My heart races as we duck under the velvet rope and go in the front door. Everyone’s staring at us. It’s intoxicating. I could get addicted to this—the jealous looks, bypassing the line.

But…
No
. I don’t want to be here. I want to start a new life, somewhere else, where no one knows me. Don’t I?

Once we’re through the door and strobe lights are flashing over us, the pulsing sound of the bass is reverberating through our bones, Char and Levi edge close to me.

“Kaidan wants you,” Char says, her eyes bright.

Levi squeezes my arm. “You gotta find him. He definitely just got us in.”

“No, guys. Drop it,” I say, shaking off Levi’s tight grasp. “If he wants to talk, he can find
me
. I’m… I’m getting a drink.”

I pull away from them both and head straight for the bar, hoping my friends will let me lose them in a crowd. My mind’s racing now, along with my heart, and I just want a minute alone so I can try to think clearly without worrying they’ll embarrass me some more.

What just happened? Kaidan’s a “notorious playboy”, according to Char, and he has ties to a famous actress. Did he really just get me in? Why?

Maybe he didn’t let me in. Maybe he did, because he’s just being nice, like he was nice the other day.

I thought those paparazzi were for me at the law firm, but they weren’t. They were for
Lust List
Bachelor #1. I’m total B-List in LA. Maybe even D-List, now that my dad’s dead.

Ugh. That reminds me of Luis, of the black SUV that will be back tomorrow morning. I’m in too deep, and I need a drink.

I weave around crowds of barely-clothed women and well-dressed men, but Levi catches up to me and grabs my arm again. I try to shake him off, but he twists me around to face him.

It’s not Levi. It’s Kaidan.

I look up at him, tongue-tied. His hand is warm on my arm, and when he lets me go, I wilt a little inside.

“Hey.” He gives me that little smirk he gave me outside my car the other day, and like that, all the dancing creatures in my stomach start up again.

His eyes are intense, full of thoughts unspoken. I want to know his secrets—why he invited me in, what it’s like to be him, what it’s like being #1 on
The Lust List
, desired by everyone. He could have
anyone
right now. My gaze travels to his full lips. I want them on me. Everywhere.

“Hey.” I finally say, pulling myself out of it. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but this close, I inhale the heady woodsy scent of him, and that sends me over the edge. I’m hot all over. I want someone to bump into me, force me to cross the crackling space between us. I want to touch him. I’m sure he can see it on my face. I blush and look away, pretending to look for my friends.

He leans close. “How ‘bout a drink?”

Gah.
He smells delicious.

“Sure.” I try to act cool, like I really don’t care. Why
should
I care? He’s just a guy.

Just a guy.
Women all over the country aren’t drooling over his pictures right now. Nope.

Just. A. Guy. Why am I even fazed? I grew up around celebrities. Maybe I’ve been away too long.

He grabs me by the hand and leads me through the crowd. People part before us, and sidelong looks and whispers follow us as some of them recognize Kaidan.

“What are you drinking?”

“Um… Something fruity.”

Kaidan lifts a brow and orders our drinks from the bartender.

I stand behind him, awkward, and smooth my dress. He hands me my drink and pulls me toward the edge of the dance floor. There are rooms back here with different colored velvet curtains across each door. He guides me into one with a deep blue curtain. There are a lot of people in here, but far fewer than the main room.

Dark blue velvet couches line the walls, strewn with thick silk and velvet pillows. Strobe lights dance across the tile floors and low metal tables, but the music isn’t as loud as it is on the dance floor. He leads me to one of the couches.

“Sit.” His voice is deep, commanding, like when he ordered me to get into his car. A little shiver travels down my back and settles at the base of my spine. I sip my drink as I sink into the soft couch. The drink is strong. I abandon the straw so it’ll get me buzzed faster.

Kaidan sinks down a few inches from me, and his leg’s brushing my bare one. My leg tingles, and I swear I can feel every last charged atom of him through his jeans.

He sips his drink and considers me. “You didn’t tell me who you were.”

“Neither did you.”

“I told you my name. I didn’t
lie
.”

I swig my drink now and edge away from him. “Did you just buy me a drink so you could call me a liar?”

He moves closer, erasing the distance I’d created. “You
did
lie,” he says, his face serious, all traces of teasing gone, “about why you were here.”

“You stalking me? You could have just asked me.” I try to act smooth, but fail. Oh, no. What if he talks to my lawyer? I don’t want him knowing how crazy my dad was, how I got screwed over. “Besides,” I say, hoping I can shift his focus, “you left out, oh, everything about yourself.”

He raises his brows, and the hint of a smile appears on his face. It’s like he’s waiting for me to continue, so I don’t.

Dammit. I’m not feeding Mr.
Lust List
#1’s ego. Let him wonder what I know about him. I glance around the room, trying to play like I’m annoyed, or bored, and not all warm and fuzzy like I actually am. His strong hand wraps around the exposed part of my thigh, and my heart rate’s up again.