“Who?” he asked with a vicious grin.
“You know who.”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to look it up. I should be able to locate that information by tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday.”
Leaning over his station, I leveled my gaze at him. “Is this your Stefan impersonation? Just tell me.”
Kane let out a deep laugh. “Sorry, Cash. It was just too easy. Yeah, she reserved a room for this Friday.”
I waited for him to tell me anything else I should know, but he wasn’t going to make this easy for me. “Did she request anything…or anyone?” He stood silently, giving me a look that told me he was enjoying himself. “Jesus, Kane. Don’t be such a dick.”
“Old habits die hard, big brother. I didn’t realize we were best buddies now.”
He had every right to be an asshole with me. Never recognized by our father until right before he died, Kane had grown up without the comforts the March name offered. Not that Stefan and I were to blame for that, but I understood why he had a chip on his shoulder. Right now, though, that chip was causing me grief I could do without.
“So?”
“She requested the same room and the same guy. Same tame fantasy too.”
That’s all I needed to hear. A rush of happiness raced through me. “Thanks, Kane.”
“You like this one, don’t you, Cash?”
With a smile, I said, “So now we’re best buddies?” Two could play this game.
Unlike Stefan, Kane had a great sense of humor, even if he rarely displayed it. He chuckled and said, “No. I was just curious. I don’t think I’ve seen you react to anyone like this for a long time.”
“It’s not a big deal. Just keeping an eye out for her.”
“If that’s what you want to call it, that’s fine. I’ll go along with it. For what it’s worth, though, she had a good time and seems like a new woman.”
“Been spying on the rooms again, Kane?”
Sitting down, he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t have to. I saw her earlier, and it’s written all over her face. That woman is primed.”
“Again acting like Stefan. Don’t make this something it’s not.”
Kane shrugged and gave me an unconvinced smirk. “Whatever works for you. I just know what I see.”
I turned and walked away before he goaded me into saying something I didn’t want to. Playing games wasn’t on my agenda. I much rathered thinking about Olivia wanting another night like I’d given her. And that’s exactly what she’d get.
* * *
Seated behind her desk in a pale pink cotton dress, she looked more like she was ready for a picnic than working at organizing a birthday party with a Roman orgy theme one of the platinum members had reserved for the next weekend. Standing in the doorway to her office, I asked, “Olivia, are you planning to work late on another Friday night? It’s already nine o’clock.”
She flashed me a smile and nodded. “Yes. I have plans later, so I thought I’d work until then.”
“Have something special to do tonight?”
Biting her bottom lip, she looked away for a second and then back at me. “Just something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. What about you? Do you have big plans this weekend?”
I shook my head and worked to keep my happiness at her answer hidden. “Nope. I’ll be here all weekend. I’m thinking I’ll work late tonight too, so if you need anything, just stop over.”
“Okay, thanks! I already had dinner, but if I need anything, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Her tone not so subtly told me she had something better on her mind. As I made my way back to my office, I had to admit knowing the something better was me made her dismissal easier to take.
I busied myself with work, all the while distracted by the plans I had for her when we were together in that room again. While the silent act may have been entertaining for a night, I wanted her to know who was seducing her. Tonight I’d let her hear my voice, and if we had any future together, I’d know by her reaction when I said those first words.
The sound of the club outside my door made hearing much of anything difficult, but I felt the vibration of her door close just before midnight and knew the time had come. Opening my office door, I watched her head into the crowd and gave her a few minutes to climb the stairs and find the room. By quarter after, I figured she was ready and ascended the stairs to join her.
Like the week before, groups of people filled the hallway leading to the room she waited in, platinum members I recognized immediately as what I liked to call the fringe of that level. Clients since our early days at the club, they saw Club X as a refuge for their wildest fantasies and we graciously accommodated each and every one of them. Glad-handing as I made my way toward where Olivia sat waiting for me, I finally reached our room at the end of the hall, the same as last Friday.
I entered and quickly closed the door, wanting to push away the noisy remnants of the club’s patrons who milled about outside. Whatever they planned to be that night, I didn’t want them intruding on my time with her.
She sat silently on the couch, her back straight and chin high, looking confident but alert. Vulnerable in the same black silk blindfold as the first time, she turned to face me as the door clicked closed.
I saw by the way her lips parted slightly that she wanted to speak, but my admonition to her during our previous time together forced her to be silent. Not ready to give my true identity away quite yet, I reached out and ran my fingertip over the seam of her mouth, letting my touch linger on the corner. Her lips were soft and as I pulled away, she whispered in a voice I could barely hear, “I’ve waited all week for this.”
Her words, tinged with shyness, nevertheless told me she was ready to feel more than she’d ever let herself feel before. I wanted to bring that out in her. I wanted to be the man who made her scream in pleasure like she’d never experienced before in her life.
That might have been a little premature. No matter how much I wanted her, I wasn’t going to make love to Olivia for the first time in one of my club’s fantasy rooms. She was better than that.
Taking her hand, I led her over to the bar stool on the opposite side of the room. She sat down, and I watched as she fidgeted with her dress, nervously tugging on it to cover her gorgeous thighs. Reaching out, I covered her hands to still them and placed them at her side, returning to slide one finger over the inside of her right thigh.