Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (3 page)

According to Susan, the
club Luke owned was one that dealt in raunchy, indecent acts of
debauchery that were often orgiastic in nature. She continued to
taunt the media by threatening to mention names of supposedly
prominent members of society who frequented the club. However,
whenever asked about her own membership, Susan often backtracked,
hinting that she hadn’t realized what she was signing up for at the
time she applied, was accepted and then paid the outrageously
expensive membership fee.

McKenna knew she should be
interested because, at some point, Susan was going to slip up. She
just had an issue with taking her at her word because no one had
the lowdown on the legendary Club Destiny, which meant there wasn’t
enough proof for her even to hint at a story and feel good about
it. She was curious though.

Figuring the day was
already shot, McKenna switched off her microphone and turned to go.
She didn’t need to hear any more, and if she was honest, she didn’t
come to hear Ms. Toulmin speak in the first place.

Her real reason for coming
had just walked away.

Grabbing her cell phone
from her pocket, McKenna dialed her assistant’s number, wondering
whether she was any more successful in getting information from
Sierra or Luke.

“
Whisper?” McKenna greeted
when her assistant answered the phone.

Yes, her assistant’s name
was Whisper, and no one knew whether that was her birth name, or if
she’d changed it along the way. No matter what, the name didn’t
suit her at all. McKenna was pretty sure the term “quiet” wasn’t
even in the woman’s vocabulary.

“
Hey, Mac? You have any
luck?” McKenna barely heard her assistant over the sound of a
hundred voices speaking at one time, so she waited until she
emerged on the other side of the group huddled closer and closer to
the mouth at the microphone.

“
No luck on my end,”
McKenna said, thinking back on that smoldering hot look Tag had
gifted her with seconds before he turned his back on her. “How
about you?”

Any good reporter knew
that Sierra Sellers was going to escape through the back doors of
the courthouse while a diversion had been set up out front. McKenna
had known, but she had also opted to take her chances on that
diversion being Tag.

“
No, Sierra wouldn’t talk
and the glares I received from those muscles on her arm had me
backing off. I’m not an idiot, you know.”

McKenna laughed. Whisper
might’ve been the loudest, most obnoxious woman she’d ever met –
and she meant that in the most endearing way possible – but at
least she knew when to back off.

Most of the
time.

“
I’ll meet you back at the
office. I’ve got something I want to write up for tomorrow’s blog,”
McKenna told Whisper as she headed to her car. “Don’t worry, it’s
nothing juicy, but I figure it’s not a bad idea to dangle the
carrot every now and again.”

“
McKenna.” Whisper managed
to drawl her name into way more than three syllables, which she
recognized as a warning.

“
Oh, hush. I’ve got this
one covered,” McKenna told Whisper.

“
You’re going to push that
man too far, honey. I can feel it.”

McKenna’s sole objective
these days seemed to be finding more and more ways to push him. The
man was too self-controlled for his own good. She wanted to rough
him up a little bit, and this little stunt just might get her what
she wanted.

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

Was she out of her fucking mind?

Tag paced back and forth
in front of his desk, certain he was going to wear a hole in the
damn carpet if he kept this up. Hell, he hadn’t even had his
morning coffee, and he was subjected to this... crap.

Staring at the tablet computer sitting on
his desk, he still couldn’t believe his eyes.

Secrets or Lies?

Tag Murphy, the attorney
currently representing the infamous Club Destiny and its owners -
hot, sexy twins Logan and Luke McCoy - might just have a few
skeletons – or shall we say whips and chains – in his
closet.

Is this mysterious man who
has captured the hearts of so many women as we swoon in front of
the television waiting for him to lavish us with his seductively
dark, rich voice truly whom he says he is? Or does he have a
secret?

Considering Mr. Murphy is
currently representing the very private, very exclusive Club
Destiny in a lawsuit against former member, Susan Toulmin,
inquiring minds would like to know.

Stay tuned as we expose
some delicious details about the uber sexy Tag Murphy and the rumor
that he’s got a few toys still hanging in his dungeon... er ...
closet.

He hadn’t thought it
possible, but McKenna Thorne was beginning to be an even bigger
pain in his ass than she already was. Didn’t the woman know when to
leave well enough alone? There was no doubt in his mind that she
was playing a game and that damn blog of hers was going to get her
in some serious trouble if she wasn’t careful.

Grabbing his cell phone, he went to the
kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. There was no way he could face
McKenna first thing without at least a little caffeine.

Toys?

Dungeon?

Seriously?

Tag didn’t need any damn
toys. He would gladly use his hand when he pulled McKenna’s sweet
little ass over his knee and showed her just what it meant to tempt
him.

When his cell phone rang,
Tag snatched it up from the counter and hit the talk button without
even looking at the screen. He already knew who it was.

“
So, Sam wants to know why
you haven’t introduced her to this dungeon of yours.” Logan’s deep
baritone reverberated through the phone.

“
Fuck off.” Tag wasn’t in
any mood to play games right now, not even with Logan or
Sam.

“
Touchy, are you?” Logan
laughed. “I think you might’ve just captured the attention of
McKenna Thorne, my friend.”

It appeared that
way.

“
That
woman’s beginning to piss me off.”
And
make my fucking dick hard.
Tag thought the
last part, not willing to share even that much with
Logan.

“
Well, according to what I
read, you might just be well equipped to teach her a
lesson.”

Tag grunted, not
dignifying Logan’s sarcastic comment with a response.

“
Seriously, man.” All
humor was gone from Logan’s tone. “You need to figure out exactly
what she knows. We can’t have information leaking out about the
club. Susan’s already sharing more than we bargained
for.”

“
There’s no such thing as
bad publicity,” Tag stated, thinking back on the last conversation
he’d had with Luke, Logan’s twin brother, and the face of Club
Destiny.

Their membership
applications had doubled in the last few weeks, and although they
weren’t currently looking to add new members, it was quite amusing
the types of people interested in joining. Not that any of them had
the kind of money required even to be considered.

However, since the press
release had gone out on the new resort that Travis Walker and his
brothers were in the process of building, they’d been inundated
with interest. Tag attributed it to a purposely planted leak that
Logan and Luke were interested in investing.

“
That’s what you think.”
Logan’s tone was still firm. “Find out what she knows.”

Tag nodded, knowing Logan couldn’t see him.
He fully intended to pay Ms. Thorne a visit soon.

Very soon.

Half an hour later, Tag
was walking into the posh offices of Sensations, Inc. He hadn’t
bothered to call and make an appointment because he knew damn well
McKenna wouldn’t have made time to see him anyway. So, he decided
to surprise her.

“
Mr. Murphy,” Whisper,
McKenna’s extremely attentive assistant didn’t sound all that
excited as she greeted him, but she also didn’t seem
surprised.

“
Whisper.” He still had a hard time calling her that, even if
it was her name.
Who the hell named their
child Whisper?

Then again, he wasn’t one
to talk. Tag wasn’t a particularly common name either, and since it
wasn’t short for anything else, people were often interested in how
it came about.

The story his mother and
father had told him wasn’t one he cared to share with anyone. He
was appalled enough when they informed him that, at the time of his
conception, they were particularly fond of chasing one another.
Around the bedroom.

“
She
available?”

“
Actually...”

“
Thanks. I know where her
office is.” Tag smiled, half expecting Whisper to try and stop him,
but she didn’t. However, he did hear her as she gave McKenna the
heads up via telephone that he was coming down the hall.

“
Mr. –” McKenna was
standing at the door waiting for him.

Tag cut her off before she
could greet him fully, grabbing her arm as she shrieked, then
slamming her door and pressing her against it before she could
catch her next breath. Lowering his mouth to her ear, Tag crushed
his body against hers, careful to make sure he didn’t hurt her, but
ensuring she felt his presence in every cell in her
body.

He damn sure felt
her
presence. For weeks
now she had invaded his thoughts at the most inopportune times,
making his dick hard as all of the things he wanted to do to her
replayed over and over in his head.

“
No need for pleasantries,
McKenna.” Tag breathed in her sweet, addictive scent, and was
immediately reminded of the last time he was there in her
office.

It had been an innocent
visit. At Logan’s request, Tag met with McKenna to get a feel for
what her intentions were, in regards to any stories related to Club
Destiny. For about a week, she had been hinting at future details,
but to this day, she still hadn’t written anything about the club.
Based on this morning’s article, it appeared she’d taken a more
personal interest. On one hand, that was a good thing for his
client, but for him personally, it was proving to be a bit of a
problem.

A physical one.

“
Why –” The catch in her
breath was evident and he knew he’d taken her by surprise, but this
was something else.

“
Don’t play dumb with me,
darlin’. You want to find out what toys I keep in my dungeon? I’ll
be more than happy to show you, under one condition,” he growled
low in her ear, allowing his lips to brush lightly against the soft
flesh of her lobe, using his teeth to nip lightly until he felt her
shiver.

Son of a
bitch
.

This woman was bound and
determined to push him, and he knew it. So why was he letting
her?

“
What’s the condition?”
she asked, still breathless.

“
I get to tie you up and
use them on you.” He slid his knee between her thighs, wishing like
hell she’d worn one of those short skirts she favored. Instead,
she’d opted for jeans, but even through the denim, he could feel
the heat of her pussy against his thigh.

When she put her palms on
his chest and pushed, Tag conceded, backing away from her, but not
turning away.

“
Who the fuck do you think
you are?” McKenna bit out, glaring at him with those exotic
eyes.

“
Me?
Honey, I’m not the one posting
lies about you all over the fucking internet.”

“
Lies?”
The incredulity in her voice rang loud and clear. “I happen to have
a very reliable source,
honey
,” she
retorted.

He didn’t doubt there was someone out there
who was willing to talk, but whether they were reliable was
debatable.

“
What’s your fucking
problem, McKenna?” Tag asked, feeling the anger roil in his gut. It
didn’t matter that his dick was like an iron fucking rod thanks to
her, or that he was turned on more than he had been in years by one
single woman, he was still pissed.

“
Problem?” That sweet,
innocent tone of hers wasn’t fooling him in the least. He watched
as she walked over to her chair and then took a seat behind her
desk.

He didn’t blame her for
wanting to put some distance between them. Whatever spark had
ignited when Tag touched her was roaring into an uncontrollable,
scorching sea of flames that neither of them could get away from,
let alone deny.

“
Yes. Problem. Can’t you
just leave well enough alone?” he asked, perching on the edge of
the long, leather sofa at the far end of her office.

“
I happen to know my
readers are very curious about what it is you keep in your closet,”
she laughed, but Tag felt her tension.

Sexual
tension
.

“
Darlin’, you don’t have
to pretend it’s your readers who want to know. If you’re so
interested, I’ll be more than happy to give you a tour of my
closet.”

Tag knew her source hadn’t
revealed any such thing, but he wasn’t going to deny that he did
have a few toys on hand. Granted, they weren’t in his closet, or
even at his house. They were at his private room at the club, which
in no way resembled a dungeon.