Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (11 page)

Taking her hand, Tag led
her into the building and then through the back stairwell that
would take them to the second floor. After two coded security
locks, they were entering the vast hallway that would lead to his
private room.

He didn’t rush her along,
and he wondered whether she truly thought this was what everyone
sought when joining the club. It was entertaining to meet new
members and see their excitement about being led down the
luxuriously decorated hallway with its light brown faux leather
walls and the random sconce dotting the otherwise bare walls. The
floor was tiled with dark gray and brown slate, and in Tag’s
opinion, it wasn’t much different than a five star hotel. Yet to
watch the intrigue on a new members face would’ve led him to
believe they were peering into the rooms themselves, seeing
whatever went on behind closed doors.

That wasn’t the case in
this section of the club. However, Luke had found a way to play it
up as though this were the most exciting feature available for a
new member. And quite frankly, for a short time period while they
were being evaluated, it really was.

He also knew that on the
other side of the doors were simple, relatively small, nothing
fancy apartments that members had the option of renting. Originally
when Tag joined the club, he had taken one of the only vacant
rooms, and it worked for him for the times that he used it.
However, once one of the larger suites became available, he’d
immediately requested to move and Luke had been generous in
obliging him.

Another coded security
lock had to be disarmed before they made their way into his private
domain and once inside, Tag gave McKenna a brief tour while James
brought her luggage up.

Once her bags were
delivered, Tag gave James a generous tip and then locked the door
when he left. Turning to McKenna, he found her standing at the
floor to ceiling windows staring out at the glimpse of the Dallas
skyline that the view offered. Downtown Dallas was definitely not
an attractive area to look at during the day, but at night, with
the dirt and grime of the city swallowed by the cover of night, Tag
would admit it was a sight to see.

Luke and Logan had taken over the club at a
time when the only thing that the building offered was a minimal
amount of security. Throughout the renovations to the building,
they had also worked with the city to revitalize the area
surrounding the club, which in the long run seemed to work in their
favor. Club Destiny was interestingly enough one of the most sought
after night clubs in the area.

After watching her for a
few minutes, Tag couldn’t resist the urge to move behind McKenna,
placing his arms around her and glancing through the crystal clear
glass as he worked to see the city from her perspective. He had a
hard time focusing on anything other than the way she fit against
him, nestled up to his chest while her head rested beneath his
chin. There was an odd comfort that holding her afforded him; one
he wasn’t expecting, but oddly didn’t shy away from.

“
What do you
think?”

“
I was expecting red
velvet and black lights.” McKenna laughed, and the light, sultry
sound soothed the beast pacing back and forth inside of
him.

“
Sorry to disappoint.” He
laughed with her.

“
This is nice,” McKenna
stated a few minutes later. Tag wasn’t sure whether she was talking
about the view, or his apartment, or even his arms being wrapped
around her, but either way, he had to agree. This was
nice.

“
Do all of the rooms look
like this?” McKenna asked, pulling away from him as she wandered
through the living room.

“
They’re very similar,
some are just smaller,” he answered, his eyes tracking her
movements.

The woman was feminine
grace in its classiest form. With her long, glossy fiery red hair
hanging down her back in waves, and the smoothness of her pale
skin, Tag couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

“
It’s not as big as I
expected it to be,” she commented as she fingered the intricate
glass pieces sitting on the wood beam mantle.

“
The club or the
apartment?”

Another provocative laugh
had Tag’s entire body going rigid. He wanted to see her naked. He
wanted to explore every inch of the beautiful woman with his
tongue.

*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

McKenna made her way along
the ornate wooden mantel, admiring the little pieces of Tag she
glimpsed in the small intricate glass figurines and wooden
sculptures that decorated the top. Although she knew this wasn’t
where he lived, she was impressed by the aesthetic detail that had
been put into decorating the space. It was warm and inviting,
almost the complete opposite of what she originally
expected.

“
Both, actually,” McKenna
clarified her statement. “I envisioned something bigger. With
more... toys.” Now she was just teasing him, and his answering
laugh told her that he knew it.

“
I’ve got toys, darlin.
I’ll show them to you as soon as you’re ready.”

McKenna didn’t doubt that for a second.

For a few minutes, she had
allowed herself to see the man for who he really was, not for who
Tag allowed the world to see. She was enjoying being able to
glimpse this aspect of him, though she was pretty sure most people
didn’t take the time to notice. Either that or he didn’t allow them
the chance.

She was intrigued.

It wasn’t the apartment
that captivated her because quite frankly, it was just an
apartment. Sure, the floors were a dark cherry mahogany wood, the
walls were a faux leather buttercream that must’ve taken some
serious time to finish and the furniture was obviously expensive.
But it was the little things that made up the man standing just a
few short feet away from her that captured her interest.

She continued to walk through the open
living space, glancing throughout, simply trying to pass the time
and rein in some of the anxiety that had infused her from the
moment Tag put his arms around her. For a few minutes, while they
had stood staring out at the dingy city, McKenna almost forgot why
she was there.

It was easy to pretend
that this wasn’t what it actually was. A business arrangement. In
her world, business was sex, although she wasn’t normally engaged
in it, but rather writing or talking about it. This was undeniably
different from that, but she could feel the sexual tension pulling
at her, beckoning her. That’s exactly what she expected when she
was near Tag. It was his appeal.

Pure, carnal sex.

And here she was, day one
of seven, about to go on a journey into the infamous world of Club
Destiny to see what made it, and the man who had bravely offered to
show her, tick.

She turned to see Tag still standing by the
window, backlit by the morning sun, looking so damn delicious, she
wanted to jump right into the sex part because quite frankly, it
had been a damn long time for her.

Not that she was going to
tell him that.

Her hormones were in
influx, her nerves rioting, and she was ready to get on with
whatever it was he had in store for her for the next few days,
although she figured they probably needed to talk about it
first.

“
About the contract,” she
said as she made her way to the large, leather sofa.

“
What about it?” Tag
asked, moving around to the overstuffed chair sitting off to the
side.

“
I want to share my
journey with my readers.” She’d given it some thought, and the
contract hadn’t stated how she handled the article, only that Luke
had to approve prior to publishing. McKenna was fine with that, but
she wasn’t about to lose a solid week without giving her readers
some juicy details.

“
I’m good with that.” He
grinned. “Luke has to approve, but then you can post whatever you
want.”

Whatever she wanted? It was her turn to
grin.

“
And since this is day
one, let’s make sure to give your readers something to talk about.”
Tag lowered himself carefully into the chair, resting one ankle on
the opposite knee and looking so damn sexy, again McKenna nearly
forgot why she was there.

She wondered what he had
in mind. Truthfully, she was ready to jump into her twenty four
hours of being in charge, but she knew Tag wasn’t going to go for
that just yet. She was still surprised he’d accepted it as an
amendment to the contract. He was a prime alpha male, used to being
in control, not being controlled, which meant McKenna would have to
bide her time.

“
And just what did you
have in mind?”

“
Naked.” The single word
jarred McKenna, her eyes flying to Tag’s, waiting to hear what he
would say next. She hadn’t misunderstood, but she wasn’t about to
jump at the first word out of his mouth. Although she wanted
to.

Her heart was pounding
like a bass drum against her ribs, her pulse beating furiously in
her neck, but she fought to control her excitement.

“
You heard me, McKenna.”
Tag’s rich, dark voice washed over her, making her legs tremble,
and her tummy quiver.

Yep, he was saying what she thought he was
saying.

“
Here?” Wow, and that was
a stupid question.

“
Have another preference?”
he asked with a smoldering look on his ruggedly handsome
face.

She wasn’t about to tell
him all of the images that had been playing through her mind for
the last couple of days. But in her fantasies, Tag was the one
naked and she was the one in control. The thought made her
smile.

“
Start with the shoes,”
Tag told her, looking as laid back and relaxed as she’d ever seen
him.

Shoes were the easy part.
And yes, McKenna knew what to expect and being naked was likely
going to be the easiest part of the next week with Tag. Not that it
was going to be easy at all, but she was sure it was just the tip
of the iceberg.

According to the contract,
which McKenna still thought was a fictitious load of bullshit, Tag
had promised a number of wickedly delightful ways of making her
come. The terms did not state that she had to be willing or
participate in any way, but he had offered her the full experience
of Club Destiny, with him as her personal guide. There was no way
she could’ve refused.

With smooth, controlled
movements, McKenna fought back the nerves jangling in her tummy and
reached down, unbuckling one sandal and sliding it off. It didn’t
take long for the other one to follow. The gentle thud as the
second shoe hit the floor had her heart rate
accelerating.

“
Now the shirt,” Tag
insisted, his eyes never moving from hers.

McKenna could feel the
warmth in that hot green gaze, and she decided she’d push him a
little. Standing, she slowly slid each tiny button from its loop,
allowing the material to gape open as she went along. No, she
wasn’t wearing anything beneath it because that had been his
instruction and although she’d laughed when she read it, there
hadn’t been a trace of humor in the sound.

Just simple, hardcore lust.

Her nipples pebbled
beneath the heat of Tag’s stare, along with the cool air that
caressed her now exposed skin as she allowed the blouse to slide
down her arms and pool on the cushion of the sofa just behind
her.

Tag simply nodded his
head, evidently directing her to remove the skirt and, thankfully,
that didn’t require much effort because McKenna’s hands were
shaking. With trembling fingers, she managed to unhook the clasp,
allowing her skirt to fall to the floor and land at her
feet.

Standing before this man
she knew so much and so little about, McKenna expected to be
nervous. And she was. But there was something that had transpired
between the two of them in recent days, which made it easier than
she expected. Granted, being naked didn’t bother her in the least.
It never had, which explained some of her past decisions, but this
wasn’t like that. This was just between the two of them, and
although she knew what the intent of this was, McKenna couldn’t
help but hope for more.

“
Beautiful.”

Despite his attempt to hide his reaction,
McKenna heard the gruffness in the single word, and caught the
small smile that tipped his lips, revealing one sexy as hell dimple
in his right cheek.

“
Happy?” she asked,
feeling entirely too exposed, but not at all
uncomfortable.

“
Very.”

Holding her breath, McKenna waited patiently
for his instruction, wondering exactly what his intentions were. If
she had her say, he’d be touching her, but she wasn’t getting the
impression he was looking to go that direction.

“
I read something about
you.” Tag didn’t move from his chair, looking totally at ease, but
the fire burning in the magnetic green depths of his eyes told a
different story.

“
What did you read?”
McKenna wanted to know what he had discovered about her, but just
knowing he had been researching made her body warm another
degree.

“
I read that you like to
be in control.”

Well, that wasn’t all that surprising. She
owned a magazine geared toward libidinous carnality and erotic
lifestyles. There were a lot of things she enjoyed, and yes,
dominating an uber sexy male was part of the package. In fact,
McKenna had never been on the receiving end, so not only was this
an opportunity for her to find the true story behind one of Dallas’
most salacious swinger’s clubs, but this was her chance to take a
step back. To relinquish that hard won control.