The Darkest Corners (The Club Book 4) (6 page)

SIX

Tally looked at herself in the mirror for the tenth time in five minutes. Adjusting the necklace she always wore, she realized she really had not been this nervous in years. Tally Fremanis was going on a vanilla date with a guy she could not fully explain her attraction to.

Usually, when she came across someone who had a lifestyle vibe as strong as Liam’s, she asked them to lunch. If they were curious to the right degree, she’d offer a tour. If they were
still
interested, she would invite them back to the Voyeurism Magnifique for what she liked to call “open mattress.” And if they were still interested, she would start to work on matching them up with one of the doms for a lesson, either as sub or a dom.

But with Liam…she had felt a magnetic draw to him. He didn’t just let out the ‘curious’ vibe. He let out a ‘please help me’ vibe—the kind of vibe that was displayed in his nomadic lifestyle, his willing deference to authority—that Tally had seen in very few. He was incredibly handsome, and, as she’d found out several times during the week, a very good kisser. He’d starred in most of her fantasies since she’d first met him.

Finding those who wanted or needed to be in the lifestyle was a talent she had discovered very early into her exploration of it. She had developed it and honed it.  She knew when to push and went to back off. She knew fairly quickly who was truly interested in learning more and becoming a respectful part of the community, and when someone was just being an alpha jackass who wanted control without the true understanding.

There had been a spate of those recently. She had attributed that to several recent popular books and movies that had been interpreted incorrectly. Preston and his crew were on high alert for the creepers. How the one who had beaten poor Emerald had gotten through, she didn’t know. But she wasn’t taking a chance. The lifestyle had enough stigma to overcome.

Looking in the mirror—again!—she decided everything was as good as it was going to get and she had to get away from the mirror. After a very deep, long and thorough make-out session in her office at four, he’d promised to pick her up at seven. Tally looked at the clock, hoping that Liam wouldn’t be late. But then again, being late might merit a little punishment.

The doorbell rang exactly on time, and taking her time, Tally opened to door to find Liam standing there. She lost all interest in dinner and conversation, and just wanted to take him by the tie into the bedroom.

He was wearing smartly pressed pants, with dress shoes. His narrow hips were delightfully highlighted by the tuck of the blue shirt he was wearing. The tie was a simple darker blue and he was holding out a small bouquet of flowers in yellow and red. His hair was freshly cut—it hadn’t been that neat when they had left the building earlier, and he was wearing the barest hint of cologne. And his eyes…deep chocolate that popped from the cool blue of his shirt and tie.

“Good evening.” He held out the flowers.

Tally accepted them. “Thank you.” Stepping out of the door, she motioned him in. “Please.”

He walked in and started looking around. “Are you all ready to go?”

“I am,” she answered. “Let me just put these flowers in some water.” Tally quickly found a crystal vase for the little bouquet and tucked the flowers into it.

Liam was studying the walls and décor when she walked back into the hallway. As soon as he saw her, he held out his arm for her. “Your chariot awaits.”

Tally let out a full laugh as she wrapped her arms around his. “My chariot?”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind.” He guided her out the door, pausing to let her lock it and then walked down the front steps to the street. Just outside the gate was a shiny, well-cared for Harley Davidson, with bright red detailing.

“You ride?” she asked.

“I do.” He smiled. “This was in the local section of Craig’s list, and I couldn’t resist. I don’t usually indulge in transportation, but I see that if I want to get around in Karim, I’m going to need something other than public transportation.”

“Good point.” Tally eyed the machine. “Well, this should be interesting.”

Liam unstrapped two helmets. To her relief they weren’t full face masks. He pulled his over his head and tightened the buckle under his chin. Tally followed suit, as Liam straddled the bike and revved the engine. He held out his hand for her to balance as she swung onto the bike.

Wrapping her arms around him, she could feel all the massive, bunching muscles that his shirt was hiding. She pulled herself close to him and held on tight. It had been a while since she had been on the back of a bike, and the roar of the engine made her laugh in exhilaration as they pulled away from the curb.

The restaurant he’d picked was on the far side of town near the old mansions. It was one of the few she had never been in, and was delighted that he had chosen it. Jet had spoken about it a few times, usually with the words ‘excellent,’ ‘amazing,’ and ‘got me some serious bed action from my wife.’

She wouldn’t argue with the last of those. Feeling Liam’s body as he guided them through the streets on the bike was sheer delight. Every muscle rippled, tensed, relaxed, and softened as he made use of them.

“You are an expert rider, Liam,” she complimented. “Where did you learn?”

“I had a bike in Seattle.” He held out the chair for her to sit. “Stupidest place on earth to have one. I can’t tell you how many times I wiped in the rain. The streets here are so dry and appealing and the bike was so gorgeous, I went for it.” Sitting across from her, he placed the napkin on his lap. “I’m glad you weren’t put off by it.”

“You’ll find I’m a bit of daredevil,” Tally answered with a smirk. “Why did you insist on this dinner, Liam? I would have gone with you no matter what…”

“Because I’m old-fashioned,” he said. “I believe that women need to be treated well. Shown there is something there besides two tits and a…” He paused and coughed. “Well. You know. It just feels wrong to me to not go out on a date and treat a woman like a lady. I’ve never dated anyone like you before.”

“Like me?” Tally was truly intrigued by how he was going to play this.

“Like you,” he repeated. “Someone so…aggressively sexual. You just…
are
sex. Everything about you just radiates lust and desire. And I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t like it.”

Tally let a small smile slip. “Really?” Perhaps he would like what she had planned.

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” he said. “Neither would you.”

“Oh, there’s no hiding what I think about you.” Tally took a sip of the wine the waiter had brought for them. “Our mutual attraction for each other makes the air thick.”

“Not the only thing that gets thick,” he mumbled.

She grabbed his hand across the table as he tried to hide behind the menu. She looked at him through her eyelashes. “Are you hard right now?” The words were just above a whisper.

He slid his gaze to hers. “Around you? Constantly. But I want to know who you are, Tally. I know I want to f—” He coughed again. “Take you to bed. But there is more to this, and I want to get to know
you.
”

She sat back in the chair, considering him. Liam was the sort of man who, seven years ago, she would have given anything to meet and fall in love with. A Gerald. A man who would do everything right and care for her. But unlike Gerald, he was missing something. Something in his soul didn’t let him find a place, a reason to settle. And someone with a heart like his, manners like his, respect like his…and talented tongue like his, deserved to be settled.

Maybe, she could give him that missing piece.

She wanted to.

*  *  *

Tally’s incredibly lithe body fitted snuggly against him as she kicked over the bike and settled in. He looked back at her as she wrapped her arms around him again. Liam had never been so glad for the distance of a table as he had been tonight—being any closer to her would have been a disaster. He had been rock hard just sitting there.

“Where to?” he asked.

Her voice was in his ear. “The Club.”

Liam turned, looking at her. “The Club?”

“You got to take me out. Wine me, dine me. Now I fully expect that you’ll sixty-nine me.” She smiled at him. “Maybe a little more than that.”

Shit
. The hard-on he’d managed to keep down through dessert was back. “You don’t pull punches, do you, Tally?”

“No,” she answered with a wicked little grin. “Just paddlings.”

“Oh, God, woman. Stop, please. I won’t be able to drive.”

Her hand snaked down his front to where his cock was pressed against the material. “Oh, now I wouldn’t want that.”

“You’re not helping.”

“I will when you get us to that building.”

He revved the engine with gusto and heard Tally laughing. It was a wonderful sound, and while there were a few misgivings tickling his brain about what she was planning, he couldn’t deny that he wanted to find out. Soon.

She directed him to the back of the building and to the garage, the entire ride hanging on with one arm tightly around his waist and the other hand resting on his dick. She made it hard to think, and as soon as the engine was off and the bike on its kickstand, he turned and crashed his mouth onto hers.

Tally was instantly with him in the kiss. Her raspberry flavor—from the cheesecake—swirled through him, heating him even more. He didn’t know it was possible to feel this much lust and desire in his blood, but there was no way about it. Her blatant desire, her hand on his cock, the fevered kiss all served to render them both breathless.

“Liam,” she managed as he pulled her helmet off and followed the column of her pale creamy throat down with kisses. “Liam.”

“Yes, ma belle?” he asked, risking a play on her middle name despite her directives.

“I want you to promise me something.”

He nipped at her shoulder. “What is it?”

“I want you to do what I tell you to,” she whispered, pulling his helmet off to run her fingers through his hair. “Everything I tell you to. I can make this amazing, I want this amazing, but only if you listen to me.”

Liam looked up into her eyes and saw them filled with as much lust as he felt. She was also very serious about her request for his obedience. He nodded ever so slightly. “Yes.”

“If anything makes you uncomfortable, tell me to stop.” Her hand ran through his hair, her motions filled with desire and want. And utterly sensual. He could not even begin to fathom that anything she did would make him want to tell her to stop. She delved into the kiss again, wringing more lust from him. “Say it,” she whispered.

“Say what?” he asked, distracted by his straining cock.

“That you understand I will stop if you ask.”

“I understand,” he managed to stutter out between consuming kisses, “that you will stop if I ask.”

“Good.” Tally stole one more hard, deep kiss. “Come. Upstairs.”

She kicked over the bike and stood with her hand out. She looked like sex: her hair slightly messed, her clothes perfect and tempting, asking to be removed. Liam slid off the bike and grabbed her hand, almost afraid the offer wouldn’t stand.

She led him through the thrumming of The Club beyond the doors, up the stairs, stopping at every landing to either pull him against her or push him into the wall, and take hard, torturous kisses from his mouth—demanding, longing, commanding, and overwhelming. She pulled him with her against the door to the third floor, and after another demanding kiss, Tally and Liam tumbled through the door into the Premiere Bar.

Tally tossed a look at the bartender, and with no words exchanged he nodded. She yanked Liam to the door there and through to the hall. Seemlessly, she opened the door to the room—Private Room 7—flicked on the soft light, pulled him in with her, and locked it behind them.

“You blocked the room off,” Liam said.

“I was hopeful,” Tally answered and backed him against the wall. “Very hopeful.”

Her mouth was on his again, plundering and stealing his thoughts. She was soft and delicious at the same she felt demanding. Liam adored her aggressiveness and allowed her to press him back. She moved her hands to his pants and in what seemed to be a single move, had them unfastened, off and down his legs to the floor.

Tally’s hand wrapped around his throbbing erection as she lightly scraped her nails up the shaft. Liam felt pure lust roll up his spine and send his mind into a spiral of nearly uncontrolled desire. He deftly plucked open Tally’s blouse and wrapped his hand around her satin-clad breast, running his thumb over her beaded nipples.

“Mm, Liam, that’s good.” She laid her forehead against his shoulder, her body moving against his. “Finish undressing me.” Tally moved her hand over him as encouragement. Not that he needed it.

Liam dropped the blouse down her arms, and she allowed him to move her hands away from him for a moment to discard it completely. Her hands moved back to his cock, and he unfastened her pants, moving them off her hips. They hissed to the floor and Tally stepped out of them. Liam ran his hand over the scrap of cloth that covered her sex, but only for a moment—only long enough to feel how wet she was and realize the panties were crotchless.