Fixed on You (3 page)

Then I met Hudson’s stare and two
things happened simultaneously. First, my arousal went full boil. Second, my
brain finally made the connection it had missed before. Hudson Pierce was the
suit.

Without meaning to, I scanned his
body. The full view of him was even hotter, especially in the better lighting.
Again he wore a suit, two-piece this time, a light gray that I’d almost call
silver. It fit his lean body in such a sexual way that it felt obscene to look
at him.

When my eyes made it to his face—his
strong jaw, even more pronounced than I’d remembered, begging to be licked and
kissed and nibbled—I found he was checking me out as well. The knowledge of
this made my already warm face flush deeper. Though his gaze wasn’t as intense
as it had been when I’d first met him, his pull was just as strong, and I knew—absolutely
unequivocally
knew
—that he desired me as much as I desired him.

David spoke first, his words coming
at me through a haze, barely registering. “This is Laynie.” I suspected his
eyes hadn’t left my bosom. “Um, Alayna Withers, I mean.” Normally I’d be
ecstatic that I had him so mixed-up and that his pants were visibly straining,
but I was thrown by the new owner. More precisely, by how insanely he affected
me.

“Hudson Pierce.” Hudson’s smooth,
low murmur had me clenching my thighs together, my panties pooling with
moisture. And if I thought he’d claimed me with his eyes the night we’d met,
the surge that ran through me as he shook my hand deepened his possession.
Almost like an invisible handcuff reaching out to bind me to him permanently. “Good
to meet you properly, Ms. Withers.”

“Alayna,” I corrected, surprised
at the low ache in my voice. “Or Laynie.”

He dropped my hand, but his touch
lingered on my skin, in my veins.

Pieces began to fit together. That
was how he’d known my name. He’d probably come that night to check out his
would-be staff. But that didn’t explain his possessive staring. Maybe he was
the type to think of women as objects. Maybe he took the definition of
owner
to a whole other level. The thought made my skin pebble in goose bumps.

And underneath that, panic crept
into my gut.

I could not be this twisted up
over my boss, the head honcho, the guy who would determine my fate at the club.
Freaking out over him would end in serious consequences.

I placed a hand loosely over my
belly, encouraging a deep diaphragmatic breath to calm my growing anxiety.

Hudson tilted his head and
studied me. “I’ve heard many things about you. And witnessed your work.” He
paused, moving his gaze up and down my body once more, scorching my skin as he
did. “But none of what I heard or saw prepared me to find you wearing this
ensemble.”

The color drained from my face. I
wasn’t sure where he was going with his statement, but from his tone, I felt
chided. “Excuse me?”

 “I would think a graduate of
Stern looking for a career in management would be more appropriately dressed.”

As quickly as I paled before, now
I flushed, equal parts embarrassed and enraged. Sure my top was revealing, but
he hadn’t seemed to mind when he ogled me only a moment before.

Or maybe his ogling had merely
been wishful thinking.

Shit. I’d imagined it all, hadn’t
I? That whole knowing he desired me—god, how had I so completely misread him?

Even in my error, I couldn’t take
his criticism without responding. Whether Hudson owned other nightclubs or not,
I had no clue, but he was certainly wrong about what acceptable attire was. Eye
candy was expected at a club. Hot girls drove in customers. “What I’m wearing
is quite appropriate for a club staff.”

“Not for someone working toward
manager.”

“Yes, even managers. Sex sells,
Mr. Pierce.”

 “Not at an elite club. Not at
the kind of club I intend to run.” His authoritative tone resonated through my
head, but then he lowered his volume and the words resonated through my bones.
“You must know that women have a difficult time in the business world. You need
to work to be taken seriously, Alayna. Dress sexy, not like a floozy.”

I clenched my jaw shut. Normally I’m
the type to argue well past the point of winning or losing—I’d had several
heated debates in more than one of my graduate classes—but now I found myself flustered
and at a loss for words. Hudson was right. I had ideas for the club—ideas that
required people to trust my business savvy. I’d learned at Stern what it took
to impress people and, to my credit, I’d hesitated when I’d purchased the
corset, wondering if the open middle that revealed my midriff from the insides
of my breasts to my belly button was
too
revealing. His words validated
that fear.

Worse, I realized that what I’d
thought was desire was something so much different. He wasn’t claiming me, he
was judging me.

My stomach dropped. There went
any chance at promotion. How could I have been so stupid? Dressing for a guy
instead of my career?
Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I looked to David and discovered
he was equally petrified at the transaction. “Um, yeah, Laynie,” he said,
attempting to recover. “Is that new?”

It didn’t matter what David said.
The glimmer in his eyes told me he appreciated my outfit. But he was with his
new boss. He had to keep it professional.

And truthfully, I cared more
about Hudson’s opinion at the moment than David’s. David was a category one
attraction, after all. The kind of guy I didn’t emotionally invest in. Hudson,
on the other hand, was…

No, I wouldn’t think about him
like that.

I ran my tongue across my dry
lips. “It is new.” I hoped I didn’t sound as ashamed as I felt. “I apologize. I
misjudged.” I also sort of hated Hudson Pierce. Even though he was in the
right. He was an asshole with wandering eyes, just like all the other suits I’d
ever met.

“I’ve got that lace pullover in
my locker,” Liesl offered. “It should tame you.”

“Thanks. I’ll take it.”

Liesl whispered in my ear as she
brushed past me toward the staff break room. “Though, if you ask me, you look
damn fine!”

“Now that that’s taken care of...”
Hudson turned his attention to David. “I’ve changed my mind about returning
this weekend.” David visibly relaxed. But Hudson’s next statement had him
stiffening again. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I can’t be here until nine. Could you
spare time for me then?”

I fiddled with the napkin
holders, even though I’d already stocked them, not sure if I was supposed to be
part of the conversation or if I should get back to my duties.

 “Of course,” David said, even
though nine was when the club opened and wasn’t really a convenient time to
have a meeting. 

“Good.” Hudson turned to me and I
froze mid-napkin shuffle. “Alayna, you’ll be here as well.”

Still ruffled from my disastrous
mistake, I was uneager to accept the invitation—the demand, rather. But I’d
have to get over my rough start if I expected to continue working with him. Not
even sure he expected a response, I gave one anyway. “Yes, sir.”

Hudson narrowed his eyes, so I
couldn’t be certain, but they seemed to have dilated. He scrutinized me as if
deciding something—whether to fire me, maybe, or give me another shot. After several
painful seconds, he simply nodded. “Tomorrow.” Then he turned to leave.

 David and I watched in silence
as Hudson walked toward the club doors. At least, I watched, too distracted by
the hint of tight rear end under the bottom of his suit jacket to notice what
David was doing. Damn, Hudson looked just as good from the rear as from the
front. If he was going to be in the club a lot I was going to have to start
wearing panty liners.

The minute Hudson’s gorgeous
backside disappeared into the entrance area, David let out a sigh, reminding me
of his presence.

I stared at him, wide eyed. “What
the fuck?”

David chuckled. “I have no idea.
I’ve only met with Pierce once before today and we haven’t gotten much into
anything besides me explaining our current business operations. He’s certainly
odd, though.”

“Well, what do you expect,
growing up with all that wealth and pressure to succeed?” Why the hell was I
defending him? The man made me feel anxious and intimidated and humiliated. And
maybe a little bit excited. Oh, and horny as all get out. I wasn’t even going
to acknowledge the fixation I knew I would have on him if I didn’t get myself
under control.

I took a deep breath, hoping to
release the strange knot in my stomach that thinking about Hudson created. “I don’t
know what I’m saying. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Don’t worry, Laynie.”

Remembering he was the one I was
almost sort of dating, I met David’s blue eyes, straining to recapture the
certainty that he was perfect for me.

Misinterpreting my anxiety to be
about my job, he continued. “Pierce has too many high profile assets. He won’t
want to spend too much of his time on the club. I’m sure he’ll let things run
pretty much as is with maybe some minor finessing. And as long as I have a say
in it, you’ll have a more significant role.”

David grinned, more at my chest
than at my face. “Want to stay and help close tonight?”

His playful change of attitude
provided the assurance I needed. “I was counting on it.”

***

At four a.m. the club shut down for
the night, and David and I worked quickly and efficiently, splitting the
managerial duties between us. When all the drawers had been counted and the
money dropped in the safe, he dismissed the rest of the staff and sat behind
his desk to finish up the reports. I perched on the desktop and swung my feet
as I watched him work.

David glanced over at me and
smiled before returning to his monitor. “Thank god you were behind the counter
earlier. Who knows what else Hudson would have said about your outfit if he’d
seen those pants?”

I glanced down at the black
slinky pants that were so tight they gave me camel toe. They made me feel sexy,
and for some reason that made me think of Hudson’s dark expression when he’d
first laid eyes on me. The expression I’d since convinced myself was imagined.

“Great. Now you’re telling me I
have to throw these out too?”

“Well, just don’t wear them while
you’re working.” He stood so he could reach the printer on the corner of the
desk behind me. “For the record,” he said as his arm brushed my waist. “I don’t
disapprove of this outfit in the slightest.”

I, on the other hand, wanted to
burn the whole ensemble. It had caused me nothing but trouble all night—drunk
patrons thinking they could touch me and say things to me that they otherwise
wouldn’t.

But I’d worn it for David—for the
moment when we’d be alone. This was it.

I put on a fake pout. “Too bad
your opinion isn’t the one that matters.”

David leaned in close. “My
opinion doesn’t matter?”

“Actually,” I said, grabbing his
jacket by the lapels, “your opinion matters very much.”

His voice lowered. “Then I think
you look sexy as hell.”

He covered his mouth with mine,
plunging his tongue deep inside. I wrapped my arms around his neck and darted
my own tongue between his lips. The arousal that had been ignited by the heated
stare of Hudson Pierce hours earlier had remained just at bay throughout the
night. Now it returned full force with David’s kiss.

I moved my hands along his torso
and downward to his pants. But when I began to fumble with his buckle, he
pulled away.

I opened my eyes and startled.
For a moment I’d expected to see the gray eyes of Hudson staring back at me
instead of David’s dull blue. What was wrong with me? Man, that Hudson could
mess with a girl’s mojo.

David caressed my shoulder. “We
need to stop this, Laynie.”

I blinked. “What do you mean?
Why?”

“Look, I like you. I really like
you. But…” He appeared to be struggling with himself. He dropped his arm from
my shoulder. “If you’re serious about getting the management position, do you
really think we should be messing around? How would that look? I’m sure that
Pierce wouldn’t approve.”

I hadn’t thought about it quite
like that. In my fantasies, David Lindt and Alayna Withers-Lindt ran The Sky
Launch as a couple, driving the club to new and unbelievable success. The
fantasy had never included a part where the rest of the staff and the club
owner accused me of sleeping my way to the top.

“We could keep it secret,” I said
softly, not willing to let go of a vital part of my dream. Not willing to lose
my safety net.

“It doesn’t have to be forever.
But for now, especially when I’m not sure what Pierce’s plans are for me or for
the club. I think we need to take a break.”

“Sure.” I forced a smile. I
didn’t want him to realize the extent of my disappointment. We hadn’t even been
dating. We’d barely been fooling around. Why did I feel so crushed?

I thought about what had drawn me
to David in the first place. He wasn’t the smartest guy I knew and not the
hottest. I didn’t even really know him all that well. And it wasn’t as if I
didn’t have other options. I was an attractive girl working at an elite nightclub—I’d
had plenty of opportunities for sex in the city. Yummy opportunities. Not
anyone as yummy as Hudson Pierce, but yummy nonetheless.

I shook my head as I hopped off
David’s desk. Why did my thoughts keep leading back to Hudson? Even in the
middle of a sorta-not-at-all break-up, I was thinking of him. And Hudson was
exactly the kind of guy I shouldn’t be thinking about. At all. Ever. Not if I
wanted to maintain the modicum of control I’d managed to acquire in the past
few years.

“Are you okay, Laynie?” David’s
voice brought me back to the present awkwardness.

Damn it. I’d been so sure of a
relationship with David that I’d pictured us sending Christmas cards together.
Okay, maybe I’d fixated on him more than I wanted to admit, but not so intently
that I was going to wig out about ending it. The biggest bitch of the whole
situation was that now I didn’t have a safe guy to hide behind. Now I was
vulnerable to notice other not-so-safe men. Men like Hudson.