Zane (Alluring Indulgence) (30 page)

Thankfully,
Travis, Sawyer, and much to Zane’s surprise, Ethan, Brendon and Braydon came
walking up to the table, all dressed similarly to Zane. It was damn hard to take
the cowboy out of the man, that was for damn sure. At least he’d insisted on
wearing his cowboy hat, even after V had tried to talk him out of it.

Once
his other brothers took seats around the table, Zane choked back the urge to
laugh. It was kind of funny, really. Between the seven Stetson wearing cowboys,
himself included, the other men looked a little... uptight. At least as far as
their appearance. Not that he had anything against suits and ties and all that,
but pigs would probably be flying through the frozen depths of hell before Zane
would be caught in one.

Zoey
and V were chatting quietly between them, as were the other women at the other
end of the table, but Zane couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. A
minute later, he had a good idea because Zoey and V stood, changing seats with
Kaleb and Sawyer so that they could move closer to the other women.

Well,
fuck. Who the hell was he supposed to talk to now?

♀♂

Nervous
might just be the understatement of the century, V thought to herself as she
sipped a glass of red wine, listening to the laughter and various conversations
going on around her. She chimed in when expected, smiled like her lips were
being pulled upward by invisible strings, and tried to have a good time. She
would be too if she weren’t so damn nervous.

Why?
Hell if she knew. Samantha, Sierra, Ashleigh, and a knock out red head named
McKenna seemed pleasant enough. They included her in the conversation, but she
couldn’t find much to say. Unlike Zoey, who acted as though she had known these
women all of her life.

Jealous?
Ok, maybe a little.

V
watched Samantha as she told a story about something that happened last week,
noticing how eloquent the woman was when she spoke. Very confident, not to
mention, very beautiful. Her long blonde hair hung board straight, flowing over
her shoulders and swaying like silk with every head turn. She was Logan’s wife,
although, for the life of her, V couldn’t determine which one of the two men
was Logan and which one was Luke. She’d been introduced to each of them
separately, knew they were wearing different colored ties, but hadn’t taken
enough mental notes to distinguish the difference.

There
was Sierra, glowing like a damn lamp post, her hands resting on her round
belly, her eyes dancing with humor while her jet black hair shone with hints of
cobalt highlights beneath the overhead lights. The woman sitting next to Sierra
– Ashleigh – wasn’t nearly as vocal as the others, but she never stopped
smiling either. V was pretty sure hers wasn’t forced though.

And
then there was the red haired goddess who had somehow captivated V. Never once
had she ever been attracted to a woman, but holy hell, she was pretty sure
McKenna could be the exception. She was stunning. From what V could tell, she
was a journalist, and she was dating, or engaged to, or hell, she might even be
married to, the attractive, bald man sitting at the far end of the table.

“How
far along are you?” Zoey asked Sierra when Samantha finished her story.

“Thirty
four weeks,” Sierra blushed beautifully.

“Not
long now,” McKenna added from the seat across from V.

“Not
long at all. In fact, if Sam doesn’t get her butt in gear, we might have a baby
before we have a baby shower,” Ashleigh added before sipping her wine.

When
the salads were brought out, V managed to eat and talk, without feeling too
incredibly awkward. The longer she sat there, the more comfortable she became
until she was acting just like Zoey. Like she had known these women all of her
life. It was true, V didn’t normally make many friends, but there was something
about this group of women that she just couldn’t explain.

Well,
that was until Sam changed the subject and V damn near choked on her tomato.

“So,
Vanessa,” Sam began, “do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

V
glanced around at the other women, noticing the way Sierra tried to stifle a
smile and the quick eye roll that Ashleigh thought she was hiding.

“Ok,”
she answered, unsure whether she honestly wanted to be asked any questions.
Something told her this one might sting a little.

“Have
you ever had a threesome?”

Cue
choking on tomato.

Zoey
slapped V on the back while all of the women laughed. Oh, they weren’t laughing
at her, she could tell. Something told her that Samantha was a wild one and
that question probably wasn’t the worst of it. V knew she was as red as the
tomato lodged in her esophagus, and she prayed they all thought it was because
she had trouble breathing.

“Oh,
just ignore her,” Ashleigh laughed, signaling the waiter to bring them more
wine.

“I
guess I should’ve warned you,” Zoey grinned, looking remarkably pleased with
herself.

That
would’ve been nice, V thought to herself. From that moment on, even though V
hadn’t shared her most intimate secret, the six of them became even closer and
the conversation took a very quick and even spicier turn. At one point, V
looked up to see the men staring over at them, probably hanging onto every word
Sam spoke. The woman wasn’t shy about anything, much less her need to talk
about sex.

By
the time dessert was served, V was feeling no pain. After three glasses of
wine, a steak she had been able to cut with her fork and more laughter than she
was sure she had ever heard, she was definitely enjoying herself.

When
the topic turned to the club they would all be visiting in the next hour, V’s
ears tuned in.

“I
haven’t been to the club,” Sam explained. “I’m still shocked that Logan kept it
a secret from me for this long. Here I was thinking that the private rooms and
the play room were what all the hype was about.”

“I
knew the second Tag walked me through those doors that they were hiding
something,” McKenna laughed. “I won’t deny that going to the play room has its
benefits, but holy shit, it is child’s play compared to The Club.”

“What’s
it like?” Sierra seemed just as in the dark as Sam when it came to this uber
secret sex club their husbands owned.

“That,
my friends, is not for me to tell,” McKenna went on to explain the
confidentiality agreement, although she inserted a lot of “blah, blah, blah’s”
when she felt the details were boring. V appreciated her for it. As it was, she
didn’t understand what they were talking about.

“So,
how did Club Destiny come about?” V heard herself asking, seriously relaxed
from the wine. She didn’t normally engage in conversations, preferring rather
to sit back and listen.

“Luke
purchased the club about six years ago,” Sierra began, “and at the time, it was
called The Destined Hearts Club. I know, I know. Horrible name. Once Luke took
over, he changed the name, then restructured, giving the nightclub a face lift
and creating a secure area on the second floor of the building he now owns.”

“That’s
the sex club part?” V inquired, trying to visualize this place.

“Well,
if you mean do they have sex there? Yes, they do. But not like you think. Club
Destiny is restricted to members only, and it’s pretty upscale if you ask me.
Totally not what I expected when I first went on the tour. There are a handful
of apartments that they rent out to members, several conference rooms that they
use for business, as well as a play room.”

“Yes,
play is exactly what happens in this room,” Sam added when it was obvious V
didn’t understand. “Taboo, if you will.”

“But
nothing compared to what you’ll see tonight,” McKenna added. “I think you’ll be
pleasantly surprised by what you find. If you’ve ever researched sex clubs,
this is not what you would expect, although it very much is a sex club.”

V
hadn’t researched sex clubs. Glancing over at Zoey, she wondered whether her
friend had. By the way her eyes were glazed over as she hung on every word, it
was quite possible. In order to avoid sounding any more prude than she already
did, V didn’t ask any more questions. That wasn’t a problem because Sam began
firing them off left and right like she were a prosecutor and McKenna was on
the witness stand.

McKenna
didn’t answer a single one, which made Sam pout, although not for long. The
next thing V knew, everyone was getting up from the table, shaking hands, and
agreeing to see each other at the club.

Feeling
the minimal effects of the alcohol, and according to the conversation she just
had, V began to wonder whether she should’ve ordered another glass of wine. Or
ten.

Yep,
her nerves were back, and the second her eyes met Zane’s, she was
instantaneously overridden by an even more poignant emotion.

Lust.

♂♀

When
Zane pulled Sawyer’s Corvette into the underground parking garage of Club
Destiny he was still reeling from dinner, and it had nothing to do with the
food. Although fabulous, Zane had barely tasted a damn thing. Instead, he’d
been hanging on every word that the McCoy’s spoke as it related to Club
Destiny. To hear how the club came about, what it was before and what they
managed to turn it into, he’d been impressed. More so, when Travis spoke as
though he knew more about the sex club industry than even Luke and Logan McCoy.

His
brother had undoubtedly done his research. The same could be said for Sawyer
and Kaleb who held their own, asking questions that seemed to stump Luke a time
or two. It all made Zane realize just how out of the loop he actually was. He’d
made a commitment to himself that he would rectify that once they were back
home. Seeing how intensely serious Travis, Sawyer, and Kaleb were about making
AI a success made Zane need to prove his worth to his brothers. He had absolutely
no doubts that he could do this, but he was no longer willing to sit in the
shadows and wait for guidance.

“Are
you all right?” V asked when he helped her out of the car.

“Fine,
why?” Zane knew he hadn’t been talkative on the drive from the restaurant, but
it had only taken five minutes, so he didn’t feel the need to talk. Since V
hadn’t chosen to say anything either, he’d been content to enjoy the
companionable silence with her.

“You’ve
been quiet,” she answered, taking his hand and walking with him to the club
entrance.

Zane
put his hand on the small of her back, walking behind her as they entered
through a door one of the bouncers – make that security guard - held open for
them. Bouncers didn’t carry guns and this man was packing. Once they made it inside,
he realized they were in the nightclub, although it seemed oddly empty for a
Monday night.

“He
closed the bar for the night,” Kaleb answered once Zane approached the rest of
the group, answering Zane’s unspoken question. That made sense. If not, Luke
McCoy needed to do some serious advertising because there were only a handful
of people, not all of them within their group, but most of them were.

“Who
are those people?” V asked, talking to Kaleb.

“He
handed out some special invitations. If I heard correctly, they’re interested
members that Luke has known for a while.”

Zane
liked the control Luke had over his club. He also liked that the man didn’t bat
an eyelash at closing the doors on what was undoubtedly one of their busiest
nights. As he stood beside Kaleb, listening to his brothers talk, waiting for
Logan and Sam who had yet to join them, Zane admired his surroundings. Namely
V.

She
seemed a little relaxed, probably from the wine she’d had with dinner, but she
also seemed different somehow. She was laughing with the other women, talking very
animatedly which was something Zane didn’t see her do very often. He decided instantly
that he liked it. He liked seeing her with her hair down per se, enjoying
herself as though nothing else was going on in her life. If he knew a way to put
that smile on her face all the time, and eliminate those memories that somehow
managed to mentally cripple her from time to time, Zane would do it.

“You
ready for this?” Sawyer asked, pulling Zane apart from the rest of the group.

“Ready
for what?” Zane had no idea what Sawyer was talking about.

“This
is going to be our first taste of what Travis’ expectations are,” Sawyer
explained.

Zane
glanced over at his brother, noticing he was standing really close to the red
haired woman and the bald man she was with. He had no idea what the connection
was with those two, but Travis seemed fairly intimate with them. More so than
he had seen his oldest brother with anyone else.

“Do
you know anything about this place?” Zane continued talking to Sawyer while he
watched Travis.

“Not
a clue. I’ve tried researching it, but the McCoy’s have somehow managed to keep
it out of the media. Completely.”

Zane
had no idea how they could’ve accomplished that, but he was interested in
finding out. He didn’t think Travis had the same intentions for AI, but Zane
wasn’t positive on that either. After tonight, he fully intended to sit down
with Sawyer and Travis and define what the expectations were for these clubs.
Zane had some ideas, yet he was certain he’d have more before the night was
out.