Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (40 page)

Until I spoke to this
independent, tenacious woman who uses brute force to go after what
she wants, I didn’t realize that I had been going about this the
wrong way.

Same as she had.

It was then that I
acknowledged that I am still strong, I am still tenacious, and I am
still independent. And now, because I have given my heart to
someone who will not lift me up, but rather hold me up when I am
not strong enough to do so, I’ve simply made myself stronger. In
turn, I have made him stronger too because I am now strong enough
to return the favor when he needs to be held.

During this conversation, she and I both
realized that we are strong enough... to let go.

By doing this, I assure
you, we will not lose touch with who we really are. However, we
will forget everything we thought we knew, ignore all of the things
we imagined perfection to be, and let go of all of the things we
held fast to for so long thinking we weren’t quite strong
enough.

So, I’ll tell you the same
thing I told this woman:

Whether you are fortunate
enough to have met them already, or whether you are blessed enough
to know you will have them one day... there is someone who is
strong enough to be your equal, and you will know them when you
meet them because you will finally be strong enough to love
yourself and them...

At the same
time.

-McKenna Thorne

Tag couldn’t move. He couldn’t think, he
couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t... he was stunned into complete and
total silence. As he let his arms drop to his sides, McKenna’s
beautiful face came into view and the look of worry and concern
that he saw there completely broke his heart.

“
I love you,” he
whispered, not caring who was in the room, or who was there to
witness every emotion he had ever known.

“
Susan said she was –”
McKenna began, but he quickly cut her off as he reached for
her.

“
I don’t
give a damn about Susan. I. Love. You.” Taking her hand in his, Tag
found himself going down on one knee, realizing that this moment
may never present itself again. “Marry me, McKenna. Make
me
stronger.”

When her eyes filled with
tears, Tag held his breath, unsure what that meant. The house was
eerily silent, which was strange, considering the number of people
standing around them, but Tag didn’t exhale as he waited for
McKenna to respond.

“
Yes,” she whispered,
dropping to her knees in front of him. “Yes. I’ll marry
you.”

Tag crushed his mouth to
hers, holding her as close as he could get her and ignoring the
whistles and applause that erupted around them.

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

McKenna sat quietly in the back of the room,
grateful that she didn’t have to speak to this group of people
today. As each person passed her, she felt their inquisitive eyes
on her, probably wondering why she was there. She wanted to save
them the question because she didn’t know why she was there
either.

Luke and Logan called an
impromptu meeting, insisting that all members be present, and Tag
had insisted that she come. At first McKenna attempted to persuade
him otherwise, but in the end, she had lost. Well, in actuality,
she had won – big time – but she wasn’t going to think about that
now. This wasn’t the time or place for her to daydream about that
man’s sexy, wicked mouth and all the things he did to her with
it.

She sipped from the bottle of water Tag had
gotten for her as she waited for everyone else to show up. She
recalled all of the faces as each person came in, realizing these
were the full-fledged members. She was a little surprised when
Samantha, Sierra and Ashleigh filed in, their eyes scanning the
room until they landed on her. She smiled.

McKenna didn’t know what
to think of this group of women. She’d had the pleasure of their
company for the last few days, unable to say no when they invited
her to lunch, or the one night they insisted she meet them at the
bar for drinks. They were an interesting bunch and as different as
three women could be.

Despite the uproar that
the images of Sam had caused, she still seemed to be trying to be
the woman she wanted to be. McKenna didn’t know her all that well,
but she sensed Sam was battling some internal demons of her own
these days. At one point, McKenna had heard that Samantha’s usual
method of coping with stress to this degree was to run. She hadn’t
though, and she wondered whether that was due to her deep, profound
love for the man she married.

They were an interesting
pair, Logan and Sam. Not that McKenna liked to think about it, but
she did hear about the couple’s recent decision to avoid
threesomes. At least for the near future. Apparently, Sam didn’t
think she was cut out for it. According to her, she enjoyed the
thrill, but she didn’t like knowing that one day, for whatever
reason, it would come to an end. Since she had Logan for the
duration, she felt her time and energy was better spent on loving
him. McKenna admired her for that. For a woman many people called
selfish, she seemed anything but when it came to her
husband.

Then, of course, there was
Ashleigh and Alex and those two needed to get a room. McKenna
couldn’t stop the smile as she thought about them. It made sense
that they hadn’t been together all that long, but according to what
she heard, they’d been fighting an attraction for many years. Well,
in case they didn’t know it, their attraction was still burning
bright and hot. Sometimes, their reaction to one another was hot
enough for even McKenna to feel it when they were close.

As for Luke, Sierra and Cole, well, there
wasn’t much McKenna knew about those three, aside from the fact
that they were totally in love with one another. Sierra’s pregnancy
was driving both men absolutely crazy, making them even more
protective of her than they already were. As Sierra would tell it,
she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. McKenna couldn’t blame
her.

The one thing that still
shocked the hell out of McKenna was the way Luke and Cole were
toward each other. Being on the outside looking in, she originally
thought that both men were in this for Sierra, but that clearly
wasn’t the case. There was a passion between the two men that was
as rugged and unrestrained as the two of them were. They might not
show it often, but McKenna had seen it a time or two and, well, she
had to admit, it was hotter than hell to witness.

As for her and Tag... they
were making headway. He was trying to dominate her, and she was
learning to be dominated. There were a few things they still
disagreed on, but that was something she knew would take some time
getting used to. For two people who were determined to move through
life solo, they were learning what it meant to have someone to lean
on. McKenna loved him with everything she was, and she felt every
bit of it in return.

As for the wedding, well,
they were still arguing about that one. McKenna’s parents were
hoping for the whole nine yards, and for some reason, Tag wanted to
appease them. She, on the other hand, would prefer to go to Vegas.
Originally, Tag liked the idea, but after her father spoke with
him, he changed his tune. She was working diligently to change it
back. She smiled at the thought. She liked changing his
mind.

“
What’s going on?” McKenna
asked as Sam took a seat on her left, Sierra lowering herself
slowly to the chair on her right while Ashleigh sat on the other
side of Sierra.

“
I guess we’re about to
find out,” Sam stated in a very noncommittal tone that set
McKenna’s sensors off.

On the drive over, she had
questioned Tag relentlessly, but to no avail. The man wasn’t saying
a word. And now she wondered whether she was the only one who
didn’t know. Considering the crowd that was still filing in,
McKenna figured it had to be big. There were more people than last
time that was for sure.

All eyes were drawn to the front of the room
when Logan and Luke walked to the center before turning to address
them all. McKenna was riveted to the two men because no matter how
many times she saw them, she still couldn’t get over how exactly
alike they looked, but how completely different they really were.
She thought back to her interviews with both men and nearly laughed
out loud. They were definitely interesting.

“
Thanks for coming on such
short notice. Luke and I wanted to address everyone at once. As you
can see, we’ve only invited our full-fledged members, and after the
last time, I hope we were able to answer your questions as to the
status of our memberships,” Logan said in the calm, firm tone
everyone was used to.

“
In recent months, we’ve
found ourselves going through some rough spots as many of you are
aware. As of today, I’m happy to say that we’ve overcome some major
obstacles thanks to the help of some really incredible people.
Without them, I’m not sure we would’ve been as lucky.”

McKenna noticed Travis Walker when he walked
into the room, moving along the back wall and stopping just short
of where she and the other three women were sitting.

“
I personally want to
thank McKenna Thorne,” Luke spoke up, slowly pacing back and forth
with that animalistic grace he had. “The day Tag told me what
McKenna was hoping to do I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled with the
idea. However, considering I trust Tag with my life, and that of my
family, I didn’t have any doubts that in the end, we would come out
ahead. And we did. I’m not sure if any of you know what McKenna put
on the line to protect my club, but I can tell you with the utmost
assurance, not a single one of you would’ve done the
same.”

The hard edge to Luke’s tone had a few
people sitting up straight. McKenna even flinched at the statement.
She knew the man was rough around the edges, and he was showing
every single jagged ridge at the moment.

When Logan took a step forward, placing his
hand on Luke’s arm, he was shrugged away.

“
Most of you know me
fairly well,” Luke continued, “and for those of you who do, you
understand what loyalty means to me –”

“
Luke,” Cole moved to the
front of the room, coming to stand beside him. “Don’t do
this.”

Luke didn’t say anything to Cole, nor did he
shrug him off when Cole placed his hand on his arm in a similar
manner as Logan had. He went completely still for a moment, his
eyes roaming the crowd until they landed just to McKenna’s
right.

Sierra wasn’t moving a muscle as she watched
what was playing out in front of her, Ashleigh’s hand being
squeezed in the process. McKenna instinctively put her hand on
Sierra’s arm and the other woman grabbed it and held on.

“
We’re behind you, baby,”
she said loud enough for the entire room to hear. “No matter what
you decide, Cole and I love you no matter what.”

McKenna swallowed a lump in her throat,
fighting the urge to cry at the sentiment. The pure love in
Sierra’s voice could be felt by everyone in the room.

As the group began to turn around and face
Luke again, silence once again descended. McKenna saw Cole squeeze
Luke’s arm slightly, but he didn’t back away.

“
It has come to my
attention that there are some shady things going on with various
people within this room. While I’ve been protecting and defending
my family and the life I have built, I’ve also put my ass on the
line for each and every one of you in this room. While we,” Luke
motioned to Cole and Logan behind him, “stood up here, doing our
best to protect your identity, every one of you turned your back on
us. And all the while, I’m fighting a battle I knew I couldn’t win
because of the unethical, immoral behavior of the members of my
club.”

Luke paused for a moment, but no one moved a
muscle as they waited for what came next. McKenna had no idea where
Luke was going with this, but she knew, without a doubt, she would
never look at Luke McCoy the same again.

~*~*~

Tag kept his hands in his
pockets, and his face expressionless as he listened to Luke. In all
the time he had known the man, he had never seen him nearly as
emotional as he was right then. He felt the fury in his words as
they rumbled through the room. He knew exactly what Luke was
feeling.

These people, the ones who
depended on Luke and Logan to safeguard them so they could indulge
in behavior frowned upon by many, although not in any way illegal,
had turned their back on him at a time when he needed support.
Neither, Luke or Logan had expected it, but nonetheless, Luke
seemed to be having a difficult time dealing with the
knowledge.

“
I’ve asked Travis Walker
to attend today because I want him to understand up front exactly
what it is he is risking. Alluring Indulgence is going to change
the industry as we know it and everyone in this room had the
opportunity to get in on the ground floor.”

Tag stood up straight as
he moved around to the back of the room, needing to be closer to
McKenna. He wasn’t sure what it was, but when she was around, she
managed to settle him in ways he hadn’t thought possible. Although,
he wasn’t sure he was the one who needed settling at the
moment.

“
What are you saying
Luke?” someone in the crowd asked.

Luke glanced over at Cole, then back at
Logan before once again returning his gaze to the crowd in front of
him. “I’m saying that as of today, I’m closing the doors of Club
Destiny.”