Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (17 page)

So, when Stephen Crawford approached, Tag
fully expected more of the same questions.

“
Crawford,” Tag greeted
the man, offering his hand.

“
Seems you’re the man of
the hour.” Stephen shook Tag’s hand, and when their palms touched,
there was a disturbing tingle at the back of his neck that he
couldn’t seem to shake.

“
Not sure about that. I
think Travis Walker has drawn quite a bit of interest from folks
here.”

“
Oh, I won’t disagree with
you about that. I’m definitely interested in learning more about AI
and what it’ll cost me to get an invite.”

Tag knew that there wasn’t
any amount of money that would secure an invite to the exclusive
resort once it opened, but he wasn’t going to tell Stephen that.
Tag didn’t know the man all that well, but what he did know, he
wasn’t so sure he liked. Why Luke had decided to allow the man to
join the club was beyond him, but it wasn’t his place to question
Luke’s decisions.

“
What can I do for you,
Crawford?” Tag glanced over at McKenna noticing the way she was
laughing with Travis, the other man staying close to her at all
times.

As much as Tag wished it weren’t true, he
had come to acknowledge, although not fully accept, the lingering
jealousy that was glimmering in the dark recesses of his soul when
it came to McKenna. He was almost certain he had nothing to worry
about when it came to Travis, but he wasn’t thrilled to see them so
close together.

“
I heard you were bringing
a journalist, but I didn’t realize you were bringing
McKenna.”

Tag got the impression Stephen was hinting
that he knew McKenna personally. “And?”

“
You do realize who she is
and what she does, don’t you?”

Tag straightened, giving
himself about four inches on Stephen Crawford and he pierced him
with a look. “I know exactly who she is. McKenna Thorne is an award
winning journalist and a successful business owner who’s interested
in doing a series on Club Destiny, and I invited her to explore so
we could get a tasteful story about the club.”

“
Right.” Stephen’s snide
remark had Tag’s hands fisting at his sides. “I figured you brought
her here so you can share her with the rest of us. I’ve heard she’s
interested in that rough shit. You know, maybe a gang bang on
Tuesday.”

Tag was unable to control
himself, and before he knew it, he had Stephen Crawford pinned to
the wall, his forearm across the other man’s throat. He leaned in
close, “I’m not making a request here, let me make that abundantly
clear. One more word out of your mouth about McKenna, you won’t
like me. Understand?”

Tag instantly backed off,
doing his best not to draw attention, but still pinning Stephen
with a glare. He could tolerate a lot of things, but he realized
immediately that he couldn’t tolerate anything being said about
McKenna.

By anyone.

Much less, the snobby
little bastard standing before him.

“
Sorry, man. Didn’t
realize you got all possessive about your little fuck buddies. It’s
a little difficult to figure out exactly who you’re nailing these
days, what with all the action you’ve been seeing
lately.”

Tag had absolutely no idea
what Crawford was referring to, but rather than question him, he
bit his tongue. It took a tremendous amount of willpower not to
pummel the little shit until he was unrecognizable.

Taking a deep breath, he walked away.

Fuck.

He needed a drink.

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

McKenna didn’t have the
slightest idea what had gotten into Tag, but by the time the
meeting was officially adjourned, he was in a serious state of
pissed off.

Her own anger had
subsided, more so from Tag’s explanation than anything else, but
her conversation with Travis Walker hadn’t hurt her mood either.
There was something about that dark, brooding cowboy that got to
her. It was a different feeling than the one that she had when Tag
looked at her, but McKenna felt a spark of something hot and wild
in Travis’ intense blue-gray eyes. She just didn’t connect with
that spark the way she did with Tag.

She liked being in Travis’ company and as
long as she was talking business, the man seemed to open up more
than she expected. Especially when she prompted him to give her a
few details on the new resort they were all anxiously waiting
for.

Now she was sort of
wishing for Travis’ presence because she was certain Tag wasn’t
going to be the best dinner companion considering he hadn’t said
more than two words since they left the club. When he offered
dinner, she realized she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but when she
agreed, Tag’s reluctance was evident.

However, here they were
sitting at a quaint little Italian restaurant that smelled like
heaven. It wasn’t the kind of place she expected Tag to take her
to, but even the hostess had known his name, which meant he likely
frequented the place often.

“
Have you met Travis’ six
brothers?” McKenna asked by way of conversation after they had
received their wine and placed their orders with the cute waitress
who was giving Tag that lustful eye she had seen on so many women’s
faces.

Tag’s eyebrows drew
downward into a frown, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he wasn’t
particularly thrilled about talking about Travis. Considering he
wasn’t offering titillating conversation of his own, she couldn’t
think of anything better.

“
Yes,” he grumbled,
picking up his wine glass and downing half of it in one
swallow.

“
Are they all as involved
with the resort as Travis?”

“
Not all of them,” Tag
commented with less of a huff than before. “Sawyer and Kaleb
contribute the most, but I figure by the time the doors open, the
rest of them will be in it up to their elbows.”

She waited a heartbeat, to
see if he was going to continue, but when she realized he had said
all he intended to, McKenna asked the most obvious question. “Is
something wrong?”

“
No, why?”

Liar.

“
Because you’ve been quiet
since we left the club. I saw you talking to Stephen Crawford
earlier.” McKenna knew Stephen, and she didn’t care much for him.
She was surprised when she saw him at the meeting, wondering what
the hell the McCoy’s were thinking allowing him to join.

He was a little on the
creepy side, always calling Sensations and requesting that they do
an article on him. Apparently, being a wealthy playboy meant people
were interested in his jet setting lifestyle – or so he informed
her. Even if she were down to her last reader, McKenna wasn’t so
sure she’d subject them to anything about Crawford.

At first, McKenna declined
his offer, letting him know that their articles were already mapped
out for the foreseeable future. Not that it was true, but she
wasn’t about to tell him that she’d think about it. And ever since
that day, and every rejection she’d told him since, he still
continued to be just as persistent. To the point that he showed up
at her office insisting he be allowed to speak with her in person
just last week. According to him, he had some information that he
knew she would find appealing. Thankfully, Whisper had better sense
than that, and she told him that they’d get back to him.

Since then, they were
inundated with nasty comments posted on their blog ranging from
rude remarks about her magazine to downright disgusting accusations
about her personally. Luckily, Whisper always managed to take them
down before they did too much damage.

“
He’s a jackass,” Tag
mumbled before turning away from her, seemingly interested in what
others were doing in the restaurant.

“
I’m pretty sure he’s
harmless,” McKenna said while she stared at his profile, “he’s just
a pompous ass.”

Tag jerked his gaze back to hers, the muscle
in his jaw flexing violently. “I want you to stay away from him,”
he demanded.

Before McKenna could
comment, the waitress arrived with their food, setting the plates
in front of them. She graciously waited for her to leave before she
addressed Tag. “Why is that?”

“
He seems to think he
knows you, that’s all.”

“
Well, I assure you he
doesn’t. And you don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big girl; I
can take care of myself.”

“
I mean it, McKenna. Stay
away from him.” Tag sat forward in his chair, paying no mind to the
food in front of him.

His gaze was focused on
her, and McKenna fought the urge to react and tell him exactly what
she thought about his domineering attitude. Instead, she kept her
cool and settled for a soft, pleasing, “Understood”.

She could play the demure,
easily controlled woman when she needed to, but in no way did she
like it. It wasn’t like Tag was going to be around long enough to
worry about whether Crawford continued to harass her.

Focusing on her food, McKenna ate slowly
until her appetite quickly returned thanks to the delectable meal.
She was beginning to wonder whether Tag was some sort of food
connoisseur because each restaurant he took her to seemed to be
better than the last.

It didn’t take long before
the anger that had been bubbling in her stomach disappeared, and
she lost herself in the excellent cuisine which more than made up
for her grumpy dinner companion.

~*~*~

Tag fully expected McKenna
to bite his head off for that last comment, so he was completely
taken aback to see her fully engrossed in her meal. It hadn’t taken
long for her pleasant mood to turn to tolerant thanks to his shitty
attitude, but he couldn’t seem to shake it.

Yes, his insistence that she stay away from
Crawford may have seemed a tad over the top, but there was
something about the man Tag didn’t like. And that was aside from
his disrespect for McKenna.

As soon as he had a
chance, he fully intended to have a long conversation with Luke and
Logan about how the hell Crawford was approved for membership. They
didn’t have to tell him anything, but he had some serious concerns
about the man’s mental stability.

Forcing himself to eat,
Tag did his best to pretend he wasn’t strung as tight as a virgin’s
ass. Between his confrontation with Stephen, and the intense sexual
tension between him and McKenna that no amount of anger could
stifle, he wasn’t much in the mood to eat.

Along with Crawford’s
crude comments, Tag had also allowed the casual conversation he had
witnessed between McKenna and Travis to rub him the wrong way. He
knew he could save himself a lot of heartburn if he just didn’t
give a shit, but for some reason, it wasn’t that easy. Nor did he
know how to address it which only pissed him off more.

It wasn’t like he could
tell Walker to back off because McKenna didn’t belong to Tag, so
who was he to interfere in her life. Although for now, at least for
the next five days, he had the ability to control whom she did see.
If he didn’t think it would piss her off, he would insist she stay
away from the man. But that wouldn’t be very conducive to business
because she was interested in an exclusive on the resort as much as
she was on Club Destiny and truth be told, Tag only wanted her to
be successful.

An hour later, Tag was
leading McKenna back into his private room. Neither of them spoke
much ever since she deceitfully conceded to his insistence that she
stay away from Crawford. He didn’t know everything about her, but
Tag damn sure knew McKenna wasn’t one to take orders
well.

“
I’m going to take a
shower,” McKenna stated firmly as she walked into his bedroom,
leaving him standing in the small, open kitchen. Ever since they
left the restaurant, she hadn’t spoken more than a couple of words,
and when she did, it was generally just a polite response to
something he did, like opening the door for her.

He’d effectively pissed
her off.

Well, she was about to get over it.

Following her, Tag made no attempt to be
discreet about his intentions. He stood in the doorway of the
bathroom, leaning casually against the jam. With his arms crossed
over his chest, he stared back at the woman who ignited more than
heat and flames inside of him.

She didn’t look nervous, nor did she look
happy.

“
You gonna
watch?”

“
Yes.” Amongst other
things, but he didn’t say that out loud.

And watch he did.

McKenna slowly undressed,
every movement apparently choreographed for his viewing pleasure.
She took her time, removing each article of clothing, piece by
piece, until she was standing before him the same way she had been
the day before. Completely and beautifully naked.

Those curves should be
illegal. All of that red silk flowing down her back, teasing the
top of her creamy ass. Tag wanted to worship every inch of her. And
the look she gave him dared him to.

He tracked every move she
made as she entered the oversized shower, turning on the water and
standing back while she waited for it to heat. For the last two
days, his dick had been in a constant state of turmoil, needing to
be buried inside of her heat. Hell, for the last couple of months,
she’d tormented his thoughts with her simple existence. And here
they were.