Taking my attention away from Nina, I waved my hand in his direction. "Thank you, Rogers. That will be all for tonight."
He glared at me and bowed in a way that was undoubtedly meant to mock me. "Sir."
I stuffed down my anger at him and turned back to see Nina looking at me with reproach. "Are you always so short with your butler? He might smile more if you were nicer."
"I doubt it."
"Have you tried?" Her blue eyes looked like they were staring into my soul, like they were searching for the answer to her question.
Sheepishly, I answered, "No."
"Well, you can't know if you don't try. How long has he worked for you?"
"He's been with my family since I was a child. He's known me longer than anyone else in the world."
"Oh. Have you always been like this with him?"
I thought back to the countless times Rogers had picked up after me, first when I was an insolent child who cared nothing for his belongings and then when I became an adult and cared even less for the effect of my actions on others. How many times had he cleaned up some mess I'd made, making sure some female was driven home and sworn to silence or whisking me away from someone's apartment before I could get arrested for possession of enough coke for a small town?
"Are you hungry?" I asked, changing the subject.
She grimaced, marring that gorgeous face for just a moment. "Guess we're done talking about your cranky butler. That's okay. I am hungry, though."
"Good. We'll eat dinner and then head to the city."
Dinner was fantastic and by the time we left for the city hours later, Nina was laughing and full of smiles. It took every ounce of restraint on my part not to tell Jensen to forget the drive, sweep her into my arms, and take her back to my room to show her how much I loved her. I wanted to believe she'd worn the sexiest dress in her closet for me, but even if that was the case, we were still playing the game all first time lovers play—a light touch here, a sexy glance there, and no one truly sure of the other person's feelings, even though I'd told her I loved her more than once since coming home from the hospital.
I loathed the idea of going to a club, to be honest. After far too many nights spent in supposedly the best places in the city doing things anyone with a conscience should be ashamed of, I'd sworn off the city's nightlife, except for the functions required because of my position as the head of Stone Worldwide. I never even visited the clubs my company owned, but Nina wanted to go out to a club, so I had little choice.
If it made her happy, I'd go.
Jensen dropped us off behind a club called ETA just outside of the West Village, and we snuck in the back door unseen by any of those leeches with cameras. ETA was an enormous club that claimed to afford a person all the privacy he or she desired as they sat amongst hundreds of other like-minded individuals. Its name meant Estimated Time of Arrival, a not-so-clever ploy to get patrons thinking even more about sex. Years ago, I would have been happy to come all over every square inch of the place, but tonight I planned to find as secluded a spot as possible for Nina and me and hopefully she'd enjoy herself.
We were escorted into a semi-private room off the main club and seated in a dark corner in a booth covered in soft purple velvet. Dim lights flickered around the room and provided just enough light to see who you were with but not enough light to notice their imperfections.
It was the perfect place for people who craved privacy and those who didn't want to face the reality of their night's companions. For us, it hopefully would be secluded enough that no one would notice me and interrupt our time together. In any event, I'd prepared for the worst, but I really hoped we could avoid any unwanted attention and just enjoy being with each other.
The beat of the music thrummed inside my head, making it hard to hear anything else, so I pulled Nina close to me. "What do you want to drink?"
She looked around the room as the place began to fill up and turned to smile up at me. "What are you drinking?"
"Scotch."
"Do I like scotch?" she asked with an innocence that made me rethink that idea of not coming at ETA.
"No, I don't think you do," I answered after thinking about that first night we'd spent together. "Maybe something sweeter?"
"Okay," she said and then bit her lip nervously. "Any ideas?"
"I'll have the bartender make something you'll love. Wait here. I'll be right back."
The guy behind the bar seemed to know exactly what Nina would like although I said nothing more than 'make it something sweet', and I returned to the table with a glass of twelve year old scotch and a chocolate martini.
Nina looked down at the martini glass rimmed with sugar and then looked up at me. "What is it?"
Leaning over to whisper in her ear, I said, "Taste it. Lick the rim and then take a taste of the drink. It's sweet."
She tentatively slid her pink tongue over the frosted sugared rim of her glass and took a tiny sip. The liquor slid down her throat, and she turned to face me with a smile. "It's chocolate!"
A tiny sugar crystal hung off her bottom lip, so I slid the pad of my thumb across it to clean it off before I licked the sugar from my finger. "Definitely sweeter than I'm used to," I joked as I reached for my drink to wash the overwhelming sweetness down.
Nina touched where I'd slid my finger across her lip and smiled. "You prefer the harder stuff, don't you?"
"I guess I do."
She licked her lips and reached up with her fingertip to touch mine. When she tasted the drop of scotch from her finger, she made a face like she'd just sucked a lemon. "I think I'll stick with my sweet stuff and leave that to you. That's gross."
"It's an acquired taste, I guess."
"Maybe someday I'll acquire it," she said with a tiny smile.
I shook my head. "You're more the sweet kind."
Two hours later, we'd talked little more because the music had become so loud we could barely hear one another over it. Memories of my time at clubs just like this one washed over me, making me wish for somewhere far quieter. Nina seemed to enjoy watching the sea of humanity that flowed past us, but I didn't get the sense she was having fun.
My suspicions were proven correct when she turned to me and said in my ear, "I wish we could find a place just a little quieter. Can we go somewhere else?"
I was thankful to get away from ETA and had a place in mind that would be a bit quieter, although I wasn't sure I should take Nina there. It was definitely more secluded and out of the city, but was Top the right place to take someone like her, even if I was part owner of the place?