Sometimes she forgot about that meeting because it had been so normal. She wasn’t sure why he showed up that day, but he had. If she thought about it now, she figured he was just trying to get an idea of what he might be able to expect from her as far as the media were concerned. Up until that point, she hadn’t written anything over the top about him or the McCoy’s, but she had made a few references on her blog.
That meeting had been normal in comparison to the meetings that followed for sure. Especially every time they came in contact with one another after that first very brief kiss in his car. Ok, so maybe she was dreaming or perhaps even delusional. She honestly didn’t know how Tag felt about her, aside from the heat she saw in his eyes when they were together. But, she did feel something in his touch, in his kiss, that she was pretty sure she had never felt before.
As her thoughts continued to drift, McKenna was vaguely aware of both Tag and Travis approaching the table where she sat.
“I hope it’s me you’re thinking about.” Tag’s resonant, southern drawl invaded the sexual haze she was encroached in.
McKenna realized she was smiling which was probably what he was referring to. “Maybe. How did your meeting go?” She immediately changed the subject.
“Very well,” Travis answered. “And now I’ve got to get back to Austin to take care of a few things.” Extending his hand out to Tag, McKenna watched the two shake hands. “Thanks. And you’ll be hearing from me soon.”
When Travis turned and extended his hand to her, McKenna gently gripped it in return and smiled. “If you don’t mind, one of these days when you have a few extra minutes, I’d really like to interview you.”
“Yes ma’am.” Travis’ thick Texas drawl made McKenna realize one of the many reasons women must flock to this man.
With that Travis headed for the main doors, stopping to talk to Luke on his way out.
“Are you hungry?” Tag asked as he watched her.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but he seemed oddly intense at the moment, but she let it go.
“I could eat.”
Chapter Twenty Two
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
Article number five, as approved by Logan McCoy:
The Sinful in Seven Series:
Day Five: Interviewer or Interviewee
Who’s asking the questions here?
Did I say that Luke McCoy put the “sex” in sexy? Well, I meant Logan McCoy. No, wait. I meant Luke. Hell, they both did – with a capital SEX.
Today I was honored with the opportunity to interview Logan McCoy and his beautiful wife, Samantha. Let me just say, I’m not sure who was really asking the questions. The one thing I know for sure, if there were ever any doubts, there definitely aren’t anymore. These two are very much in love.
Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Logan McCoy are two very passionate, practical, and exceptionally powerful people. I assure you, I will definitely think twice before deciding to cross either one of them.
I promise a glimpse into their interview in the future, so hold tight!
-McKenna Thorne
Chapter Twenty Three
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
Article number six, as approved by Tag Murphy (and yes, he got a kick out of this one):
The Sinful in Seven Series:
Day Six: Hanging in
Is it hot in here to you?
Well, if not, then I think I’m having a hot flash.
-McKenna Thorne
Chapter Twenty Four
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
Tag could’ve sworn it was Thursday and not Monday.
At the rate the day was going, he’d be hard pressed not to drink himself into a blind stupor by sundown, and the sad part about it... it was only ten o’clock in the morning.
He admired McKenna for how she managed to juggle so many things at one time and still remain the cool professional that she was. In fact, things had gotten so out of hand, they both opted to go to the Sensations, Inc. offices so she could handle a few issues that arose during the few days she was absent. Although, based on what he saw, Whisper Durant was doing a fine job of handling them, but she was the one who had requested McKenna’s presence.
The articles on Luke and Logan had lit up the phone lines at Sensations, Inc., and although they had called in every additional person they had, it still seemed the influx of interest was too much. Not for McKenna though. She was amazingly cool under pressure and Tag found himself just watching her.
She was currently sitting at her desk, her fingers flying over her keyboard as she did whatever it was that she did. Answering a ton of questions, he was sure.
“Mac?” Whisper’s voice came from down the hall long before she approached, and she wasn’t any quieter when she walked through the door.
Tag fought the urge to laugh. Whisper. The woman was so incredibly loud, he wondered whether her parents knew what they were getting themselves into.
He sat on the sofa in McKenna’s office, his laptop in front of him and watched the exchange between the two women. They couldn’t have been any more different than two people could be. McKenna was tall, slender, with porcelain skin and vibrant red hair while Whisper was cute, short, with bronze skin and a short, white-blond bob. They were an interesting pair the two of them were. Tag couldn’t help but notice how well they worked together, or how much they knew what the other was about to say.
He was still entranced by watching McKenna when his phone rang, startling him and causing the two women to look his way. Glancing down at it, he saw that it was Logan, and as he quickly hit the talk button, he snuck out into the hall.
“What’s up?”
“Where the hell are you?”
Damn. Why was it that Logan seemed to be the McCoy twin losing his cool these days? For all the time Tag had known him, he was never rattled, but something about this entire situation was definitely making the man nervous.
“Sensations offices. Why?”
“I need you to meet me. At XTX.”
XTX? Tag had just been by there that morning for a meeting with Xavier Thomas. To his surprise, the meeting had gone exceptionally well, but that was probably because there wasn’t a lot of drama there.
Unlike Club Destiny.
“When?” Tag conceded, pacing back and forth down the hall.
“Now would be perfect.”
Of course it would.
“Give me a few minutes,” Tag told Logan before hanging up.
As he turned to enter McKenna’s office again, he passed Whisper who smiled up at him. Tag smiled back although he got the feeling she was up to something.
“I need to head over to XTX. Logan’s ass is on fire, and he wants me to come by.”
McKenna laughed, and the pleasant, sultry sound made Tag wish he could lock the door and strip her naked. It was like his dick had radar set to acknowledge her every sound.
“I can have Whisper take me to the club when I’m finished here,” she said, barely sparing him a glance.
“No. I’ll come back by. It shouldn’t take too long.” Tag had no idea how long it would actually take, but he couldn’t imagine Logan McCoy going off on a tangent for too long.
But shit, what did he know.
Half an hour later, Tag was walking into the luxurious front entrance of XTX, a place he frequented at least once a day. Being that he was now their lead attorney, thanks to some apparently stellar references, he found that he thoroughly enjoyed representing the company.
Maybe that was because there weren’t too many issues at the moment. Not to mention, he had a team of four additional lawyers who managed everything from trademarks to the infrequent lawsuit against the company for whatever reason. Most of his time was spent ensuring the cases were being handled appropriately, and they were pushing back when necessary.
And then there were days like today when he felt as though everything was mission critical for one person or another and today was obviously Logan’s day.
Tak
ing the stairs, Tag kept his pace casual. He wasn’t in a rush because from the sound of Logan on the phone, the man wasn’t in any mood to just shoot the shit. He was in rare form today, and likely Tag was going to get the brunt of it.
He was beginning to wonder if he truly was that disconnected to what was going on. He couldn’t imagine that he was, because seriously, even though he and McKenna were spending twenty four hours a day together, they were still living life as normal as they could. Which was funny because to Tag, it felt a little too normal. Something he definitely wasn’t familiar with and found himself starting to question repeatedly.
Granted, they weren’t at his house, they were at the club, but still... waking up to McKenna each morning was strangely nice. Especially considering he wasn’t usually the type to spend the night with a woman, and he definitely wasn’t the type to play house with one. Even to this degree.
When he approached Logan’s door, he greeted Deanna, Logan’s assistant and the woman responsible for keeping the man on track. At least at work. Sam was ultimately responsible for keeping him on his toes though.
“Afternoon,” Tag greeted as he glanced down at his watch realizing it was already after twelve.
“Sit,” Logan barked and Tag couldn’t help but to cock his eyebrow. He was all for dropping everything he had going on to take the time to meet with Logan, but he damn sure wasn’t up to being commanded.
“Shit. Sorry,” Logan said, actually appearing somewhat apologetic.
Tag closed the door behind him and then took the chair opposite Logan’s huge desk.
“What’s up?”
“This is what’s up.” Logan thrust a newspaper at him from across the desk and Tag reached forward, retrieving it and skimming the headline.
Shit.
“Why the fuck did you let that little bastard into the club?” Tag asked directly.
Staring back at him in black and white was the image of Stephen Crawford and Susan Toulmin. Apparently – according to the first paragraph in the news article – Stephen and Susan were teaming up to share some very intimate details of what they knew about the club.
“We didn’t let him in,” Logan sighed. “He’s blackmailing Luke.”
What the fuck?
“What the hell does he have on Luke?” And why the fuck didn’t he already know about this? Tag might not be a joint owner in the club, but he was expected to represent them and to ensure that the club and its members were legally safeguarded from shit like this.
“It’s complicated.”
Tag peered back at Logan waiting to hear the complicated version. Shit, he didn’t care which version he received, but damnit, he deserved one of them. And fast.
“What do you mean ‘it’s complicated’? How fucking complicated could it be?”
“It’s about Sam.”
What the hell? Tag was thoroughly confused at this point, but he waited as patiently as he could for the rest.
“Luke is taking the brunt of it all, but actually, this bastard has pictures of Sam.” Logan sighed in defeat. “From one of our visits to the playroom at the club.”
“How the hell did that happen?” Was he in the fucking Twilight Zone? Tag was so damned confused that his head was beginning to hurt. “I thought the club was secure. How the hell did someone get a camera in there?”
Logan leaned back in his chair as he ran his hand through his thick, dark hair. The man definitely didn’t look like he had been sleeping lately. Tag could imagine why. If pictures of Sam were to get out, that could be a huge hit to a lot of people. Including XTX where Sam currently contracted, as well as CISS and definitely Club Destiny.
“We don’t know who is responsible, but we do know that Stephen Crawford paid the person off. Apparently money goes a long way these days.”
“And he’s not blackmailing Luke for money?”
“No. The little fucker is insisting that he be allowed to join the club. After several repeat denials of his application, apparently Crawford wasn’t willing to give up.”
Tag wasn’t happy about the situation in general, but at least there was a method to the McCoy’s madness. For the life of him, he never could understand how Crawford was allowed in.
“Does he know about...?” Tag didn’t finish his statement, but he knew he didn’t need to.
“No. And thankfully neither does Susan Toulmin. Neither of them were ever trusted enough to be invited to The Club.”
Well, at least they had that going for them.
“According to that article, they’re going to start sharing names. The good thing – not that any of this is good – is they only have the names of the few people they might’ve met along the way. Unfortunately, some of those are very influential.”
Which meant Club Destiny was in a world of hurt at the moment.
Neither man spoke for several long minutes as Tag scanned the article in front of him. The only thing he knew for a fact was that Susan and Stephen together was a recipe for disaster.
“Does Travis know about this?” Tag had no idea why he would, but with their newest venture also on the line, he wondered whether they had shared it with him.
Logan nodded but didn’t say a word.
“And why the fuck did I not know about this before now?” Tag was furious, and he was more than a little offended that the brothers’ wouldn’t have sought his help in the matter.
“Shit. I don’t know,” Logan exhaled. “This is Sam’s reputation we’re talking about. And you know I’ll go to any lengths to protect her.”
Tag understood the message. Logan meant that he would go to lengths outside of the law in order to protect the woman he loved.
He didn’t like it, but somehow, Tag understood.
~*~*~
By the time Tag returned to the office, McKenna was just finishing up. He’d been gone longer than she thought he would, but he had been thoughtful enough to send a text message telling her that he would be delayed.
Five hours were one hell of a delay.
Since she hadn’t talked to him, she didn’t know what had called him away for so long, nor was she sure she wanted to ask. Not after the way he was looking at her now.
Her day had been a long, very stressful one, and at the moment, she wanted nothing more than to sit in a dark room and sip a glass of wine. It was that bad of a day. It hadn’t started out that way, but ever since she received that nasty email from Stephen Crawford, things had gone downhill rapidly.
To pass the last few minutes, McKenna had been glancing at today’s newspaper articles online and ran across one in the Dallas Morning News that caught her attention and was probably the reason Tag ran out on her earlier in the day.
“You ready?” he grumbled as he stood in the doorway.
McKenna contemplated his mood for a moment, trying to determine whether he was mellow or angry. Those seemed to be the only two settings he had these days, and quite frankly, she didn’t know which to expect most of the time.
Either way, as she looked him over, taking in his overall appearance, she couldn’t help but find him sexy, regardless of how he was acting. He was impeccably dressed, and even at the end of the day, his brilliant white button down shirt was wrinkle free, and the shiny forest green tie he had selected that morning still hung perfectly straight, accentuating his beautiful, dark eyes. His suit jacket was open, his hands thrust into his pockets, and he looked like a damn model posing for a camera.
She felt his dark, brooding eyes on her now as he seemed to wait for her answer. “Ready,” she replied, undocking her laptop and sliding it into her bag.
When they reached the car, Tag opened the passenger door for her and waited patiently while she got situated before shutting it. McKenna could feel the tension in his rigid body, see the strain on his normally relaxed face.
Questioning him to share would have been her usual way of handling a situation like this, but McKenna managed to choke down the litany of questions that hung on the tip of her tongue. If Tag w
anted to share, she figured he would. And if he didn’t, well, that would sting just a little, but what could she do?
They were halfway to the club when Tag suddenly veered off the highway onto the feeder road. McKenna didn’t ask him where he was going, and holding back damn near killed her. She was inquisitive by nature, but she was also smart. Tag didn’t want to talk, that was abundantly clear.
When they pulled into a small clearing, one that looked out over the beautiful display of downtown Dallas’ finest, all lit up against the inky backdrop of night, McKenna suddenly didn’t feel like talking either. As she took in the white lights flashing on the Reunion Tower sphere that sat high above the other buildings and the clean green lines outlining the Bank of America Plaza building, she managed to relax, letting all of the other stresses from the day go.
The gentle hum of the seat motor in Tag’s seat as he moved the chair backward broke the tranquil silence and McKenna glanced over to see him looking at her.
“Come here.”
The thick, southern drawl and the dark rich tenor of his voice sent a chill racing down her spine. McKenna didn’t delay before releasing the seat belt buckle and maneuvering over the center console until she was straddling Tag’s thighs. He eased the steering wheel up, putting more space between him and it, allowing McKenna to ease down onto him more comfortably.
When he cupped her face, the gentle way he touched her wasn’t lost on her. His dark eyelashes framed his all-seeing, all knowing eyes and McKenna nearly drown in the passion that took up residence there. When they traced her face, landing on her mouth, she had the urge to kiss him, to lock their mouths together and feed off of his hunger. Only she wasn’t sure she needed more because she was consumed by it already.
Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel Page 16
