Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (16 page)

Everything about him
seemed to catch her eye – from his hard body encased in that
expensive charcoal gray suit, to that sheepish grin of his. And
especially the way his eyes met hers across the room and that
subtle nod of acknowledgement followed by that heart stopping smile
he seemed to have only for her.

They were now nearly two
days into the seven day exclusive, yet McKenna was more interested
in seeing Tag naked and making him lose control than she was in
learning more about the club that she was supposed to be
scouting.

One playroom.
Really?

McKenna had been an
invited guest to several of the swinger’s clubs in the area. She
didn’t turn down the opportunities from a research only
perspective, and compared to those, a number of them made this one
look like a child’s clubhouse. There had to be something about Club
Destiny that had these people forking over big bucks just to be
exclusive members. She knew damn well they didn’t spend exorbitant
amounts of money for a public space to congregate and have sex.
Hell, they could find that in their own living rooms.

Nope, she was missing something.

She had yet to see the
rest of the club, and she wondered when Tag was going to take her
on the grand tour. From what she’d seen already, McKenna knew the
front area was reserved for the general public club and bar that
saw a vast number of people on any given night. Then there was the
second floor which housed the handful of private rooms, one large
playroom, a couple of meeting rooms that she was just privy to
today, as well as what appeared to be the club’s private office.
But, she wasn’t naive enough to believe that she’d seen all of it
yet. For one, McKenna happened to know that there was something
downstairs, beneath the private wing reserved for members
only.

There weren’t any doors
leading to the area from the main club that she knew of, nor did
she think it was the kitchen area because it would’ve been too
large for what they catered to.

No, there was undoubtedly
something beneath the floor they were currently on, and heaven help
her, McKenna wanted to know what it was. But when her eyes met
Tag’s, once again her mind went blank, and the only thought that
flittered through was one that involved smoking hot sex and two
naked bodies.

McKenna managed a subtle
smile, but her attention was suddenly diverted to the three women
approaching her. Several others in the room were paying careful
attention to them as well, but to her dismay, the three beauties
that attracted so much male attention looked intent on something
and McKenna realized they were clearly moving in her
direction.

“
McKenna, meet Samantha
McCoy and Ashleigh Thomas,” Sierra said by way of introduction.
“Sam, Ashleigh, this is McKenna Thorne.”

Ashleigh was the first to
hold out her hand, her grip gentle as they shook. “I know
you.”

McKenna forced a smile,
wondering exactly what would come out of Ashleigh’s mouth next.
This was how it always was whenever she met or was introduced to
someone new. They knew her, but they didn’t know from where. Most
of the time, to her relief, they knew her because they were a fan
of her magazine, but sometimes, it was because of the other
magazine her image had been imbedded in.

“
You’re the owner of
Sensations, Inc.” Ashleigh smiled brightly. “I am absolutely
addicted to your magazine.”

“
Thank you.” McKenna
managed to speak, though she felt the intense interest coming from
Samantha and it made her just a tad uncomfortable.

“
I meant to congratulate
you earlier today, Sierra.” Hoping to deflect the three women,
McKenna focused on Sierra and the baby news. “The three of you must
be ecstatic.”

“
Well, I am, I can tell
you that much.” Sierra laughed. “I’m not sure Luke and Cole are
going to survive the pregnancy though. They’ve become so
overprotective; I barely get a chance to take a shower by
myself.”

Samantha laughed, and
McKenna felt the tension ease between them. “Honey, you being
pregnant has nothing to do with the three of you being in the
shower, unless you consider that’s probably where the baby was
conceived.”

Sierra blushed prettily.

Samantha directed her
attention once again, and McKenna smiled, meeting her head on.
There was no time like the present to get this out of the way. She
could tell by the look in her eyes, the woman knew who she was and
how she recognized her.

“
I have to agree with
Ashleigh,” Sam grinned, “I’m definitely a fan of your work. Your
blog is the first thing I review each morning, especially since you
began pursuing Tag.”

“
He’s definitely catching
the attention of my readers,” McKenna offered. “After that first
post, my website blew up with interest. Just want to give the
readers what they want.”

“
So how is the exclusive
coming along?” Samantha asked, her gaze still firmly planted. “Is
Tag showing you anything you didn’t already know?”

McKenna felt as though
there was a double entendre in Samantha’s comment, and she suddenly
felt like she was in an interrogation room, the heat of the
overhead lamps making her sweat. If she wasn’t mistaken, Samantha
harbored a little resentment toward her. She just didn’t know what
could be the cause.

“
It’s been
interesting.”

Samantha briefly glanced
across the room, and McKenna followed her gaze. When she noticed
Tag was the intended recipient of Samantha’s attention, she
realized instantly what was upsetting the other woman.

Being that McKenna’s job
entailed knowing the dirty little secrets of the city’s most
prominent residents, she was well aware of Logan McCoy’s intense
fascination with threesomes and sharing his wife with other men.
Though Logan was entirely too discreet for her to find out exactly
which man was his current third, his wife didn’t have quite the
same level of conservative control as he did. The way Samantha was
looking at Tag now told McKenna everything she didn’t want to
know.

It also explained why Tag was hell bent on
taking things so slow.

Heat suffused her as she
thought back to that morning and their early dawn foreplay – the
only time Tag had actually put his hands on her since she’d been
there.

“
Are you and Tag...?”
McKenna fought the urge to slam her hand over her mouth as the
words spewed forth, unable to be stopped.

“
We were.” Sam nodded, a
sad smile on her face. “I think his interest has been successfully
diverted.”

McKenna didn’t know what
to say to that. A flurry of emotions coursed through her, one being
a powerful, black rage that pounded through her veins followed by
overwhelming nausea that threatened to erupt violently. If Tag was
currently in a relationship with Logan and Sam, what the fuck was
he...?

Shaking off the thought, McKenna realized
both Sierra and Ashleigh were staring at her like she had grown
three heads and they were currently snapping their teeth. “I’m
sorry. Had I known...”

What the hell was
she
apologizing for? Tag
was the one who should be pleading his case, not her.

“
No, no.” Samantha locked
those glowing green eyes on her. “It’s not like that, McKenna, and
I apologize if that’s what you thought.” Although Samantha seemed
sincere, McKenna’s heart didn’t quite believe the words coming out
of her mouth. “What Tag does is his own business, and I assure you,
I was well aware of his interest before he even talked to Logan
about this exclusive. He’s not that type of guy.”

Sam’s assurance didn’t do anything to ease
the anger pulsing like a bad tooth.

“
Is it safe to assume
we’re going to get some more juicy stories about Tag?” Sierra
asked, looking a tad uncomfortable as she glanced back and forth
between Samantha and McKenna.

“
Oh, yes. You’ll get all
you can handle.” McKenna bit the words out. “I’m sorry, I need to
go. It was great to meet you all.” She met Samantha’s eyes once
again before she abruptly turned and found the closest exit, never
once looking back as she hastily made her way out of the room and
down the hall.

Despite the anger that
made her ears ring, McKenna was totally consumed by a mortifying
sense of loss which made positively no sense.

What the hell had she been thinking?

~*~*~

Tag had been watching the
four women from the moment Samantha made her way over to McKenna.
Since he never took his eyes off of them, he was also privy to the
look Samantha sent his way, followed by McKenna’s knowing
stare.

As soon as McKenna separated herself from
the other three women, Tag didn’t need to guess what had transpired
between them, although he had no idea what Sam could’ve said to
piss McKenna off to the point she was fleeing like an injured
animal. Or why Sam would’ve said anything in the first place.

Excusing himself from the conversation he
was having with Travis Walker, Tag calmly followed her out of the
room although she was walking at a much faster clip than he
was.

Just when she would have swung the door
leading down to the main club open, Tag planted his hand firmly
against the steel, effectively stopping her. She might be pissed,
but Tag’s own ire was increasing as rapidly as she’d been trying to
get away, especially after she had ignored him when he called her
name.

Crowding her between the
door and him, Tag waited for her to turn around. She was eerily
still for two beats of his heart before she turned and leveled him
with those exotic eyes. What he saw reflecting back at him was so
unexpected, he took a step back.

“
What the fuck is wrong
with you?” she questioned. “How the fuck could you do that to
me?”

Ok. McKenna was obviously
pissed. If he hadn’t known by the way she stormed out, he would’ve
figured it out because he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard her say the F
word so many times in one breath.

“
What did I do, McKenna?”
Tag had never been one to play games, and he wasn’t about to start
now. If she was pissed, he was sure she had a reason, but he wasn’t
going to play the guessing game and try to figure out what had made
her that way.

“
You’re fucking Samantha
McCoy and you had the balls to...?”

Tag stopped McKenna short,
pushing her up against the wall. Her sharp intake of breath told
him that he’d startled her, but the anger in her eyes didn’t let
up.

“
First of all,” he moved
in close, their mouths nearly touching, “my personal life is my
business. Not to be shared with anyone. Got that?”

She didn’t nod her
understanding, but Tag knew she heard the underlying message loud
and clear.

“
Second of all, I don’t
play games, McKenna. If I was fucking anyone, I wouldn’t have had
my dick in your mouth a few hours ago.”

Tag might not have
permanent relationships, but he didn’t play around with multiple
partners at one time. Not outside of any multiple partner
situations anyway.

“
Sam told me that you and
she were...”

The words died on her
lips, and Tag saw the understanding in her eyes, followed by a
raging inferno of heat. She certainly understood.

Tag had ended his
relationship with Logan and Samantha after the last interlude
because of McKenna Thorne. And no, he didn’t know what the hell was
going on between the two of them, nor did he expect it would be
anything lasting, but Tag wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass
him by.

“
Past tense,” he assured
her in case there was any question.

“
Oh.”

Tag wouldn’t have heard
her whispered response had he not been pressed against her, his
mouth hovering a breath away hers. The heat of the moment had
passion igniting instantaneously between them. He wanted to taste
her sweetness, to inhale her into his lungs, but he couldn’t. Not
right now because right now he was supposed to be back in that
meeting room, not out in the hall fucking around.

“
Now, let’s go back into
that room,” he said sternly. “There are some people I need to talk
to. Not to mention, you’re looking for an invite from Travis
Walker, aren’t you?”

He knew what she was
looking to gain from this little adventure they were on, and as
much as he knew the attraction between them was mutual, neither of
them could afford to lose sight of what they were actually there
for. “He’s in there and now’s your chance.”

McKenna nodded as he backed away, taking her
hand. She seemed slightly reluctant to go with him, but he couldn’t
do anything about that. Not right now.

Once they were back in his
room, he would certainly show her what it meant to let her anger
get the best of her. Tag had learned years ago not to be led around
by either his dick or his emotions, and that lesson had come in
handy more times than he could count.

Tag was just about to excuse himself so he
could meet up with McKenna and Travis who had been talking for the
better part of the last hour when he was approached by one of Club
Destiny’s newest members.

Ever since Tag and McKenna
returned to the meeting room, he’d been involved in a multitude of
discussions with the attending members. Most of them wanted his
personal assurance that their identities would not be revealed in
any one of McKenna’s stories. They were all well aware of whom she
was and what she did, and though they all praised her magazine, not
one of them actually wanted to be in it.