Obsession (Forbidden #2)

by Michelle Betham

  He looks at me, raising an eyebrow, a slight smirk on his face. ‘Done?’

  ‘Shopping. Me and her are actually friends, you know. We’re not exclusively girl-on-girl fuck buddies.’

  ‘Jesus, Kira, don’t say that just as I’m about to head out the door. I have enough trouble keeping my cock under control as it is.’

  I walk over to him. I’m in the mood to tease him just a little bit more before he leaves. ‘However, we do have an act to finalise. If you really want me and Kandi to do opening night. So, maybe, a little extra rehearsal time is needed, huh? What do you think, Neal?’

  ‘I think you’re fucking killing me, darlin’.’

  He throws the papers down and slams me back against the wall, yanking down my sleep shorts.

  He’s going to fuck me.

  And I’m going to enjoy every, single, sordid thrust.

  Neal

  ‘You got something you want to say to me, bro?’

  I look up as Barry approaches. Maybe I’ve been slightly naïve to think he wouldn’t have noticed something’s been going on these past couple of weeks. I mean, I have kinda been disappearing a lot, creating meetings that don’t exist just so I can visit the club and keep an eye on what’s going on over there. I’ve got a project manager in charge to oversee things, of course I have. I can’t be there 24/7. But I want this to be right. So I’ve been there, a lot. Just to make sure.

  I get up from behind my desk and walk out front, leaning back against it and folding my arms.

  ‘I’m not gonna be around here as much as I used to be, Barry.’

  ‘I’m sorry?’ There’s a slight hint of laughter in his voice, and I’m guessing that’s because he has no clue what I’m talking about right now.

  ‘I’m cutting back on this side of things.’ Saying it out loud kinda makes it real now, for both him and me.

  ‘This side of things?’ He folds his own arms and narrows his eyes as he continues to stare at me. ‘What the hell’s going on, Neal?’

  ‘Kira and me, we’re going into business, together. We’re opening a club.’

  He bows his head for a second, and laughs again before he looks back up at me. ‘You’re opening a club.’ It’s not a question.

  ‘We’ve bought a building a couple of blocks from here. Not far from my apartment. You might know it, actually. It’s quite close to your own favourite haunt. Been empty for a few months now, but it’s perfect, for us.’

  ‘What the fuck are you talking about, Neal?’

  ‘This… don’t get me wrong, Barry. I love this business, and I love this world, I mean, it gave me an escape, something to focus on after Lisa died. But things have changed. And I think you know that as much as I do. Things have changed, and I need something else. Something more.’

  ‘You’re fucking crazy.’

  I don’t say anything to that. I don’t think I’m crazy. I think I’m perfectly sane.

  ‘Jesus, Neal, are you seriously gonna risk everything because you still can’t get her out of your fucking system?’

  ‘I’ll still be around. I’ll still be here just, not as much as I used to be, that’s all.’

  ‘Are you fucking serious?’

  I fix him with a look that tells him I’m deadly serious.

  ‘Really? Neal… come on…’

  He turns away from me, and I can hear the heavy sigh of frustration escape him.

  ‘I don’t believe this…’

  He swings back around to face me.

  ‘What kind of club?’

  I don’t say anything, and he frowns, and I know that whatever I tell him now he’s gonna think I’m out of my mind. But it’s something he’s just gonna have to get used to.

  ‘Remember I told you about Kira’s best friend. Joey.’

  He shrugs, his face a mask of total confusion. ‘The drag artist, yeah. What’s he got to do with any of this?’

  ‘He’s bought into the business, too, well, him and his partner. They’re gonna be running their own club, upstairs…’

  ‘Hang on. You’re fucking losing me here, bro. You telling me you bought a club for your girlfriend’s best friend? Why? Because she fucking misses him?’

  I throw him another look, and this one’s telling him to watch his mouth. ‘I bought the club for me and Kira. It’s ours. But Joey will be opening a New York branch of his own club upstairs from ours. Me and Kira, we’ll have our own place, downstairs. Our own club.’

  He narrows his eyes, and I can see the confusion still present on his face. ‘Your own club. What kind of club, Neal? What kind of club are you opening with your ex-hooker girlfriend…’

  I’ve grabbed his shirt and pushed him back against the wall before he has a chance to take another breath, and I am so fucking angry I can barely think straight.

  ‘You call her that one more time and I will fucking hurt you, d’you hear?’

  ‘She’s twisting your mind, Neal. She’s messing with your head and you’re so blinded by the fact she fucks like an angel that you can’t see that. You can’t see past her perfect tits and her open legs and you are throwing everything away because of that.’

  I let him go and step back from him. I need to calm down; I need to breathe.

  ‘You can’t see it, bro.’

  I sit down on the desk, pushing both hands through my hair as I take a deep breath. ‘I can see everything so fucking clearly, Barry. So fucking clearly, you wouldn’t believe.’

  He says nothing for a second, and the silence hangs heavy in the air, the atmosphere still an uneasy one.

  ‘What kind of club, Neal?’

  I slowly look up.

  He isn’t gonna like this.

  He isn’t gonna understand.

  And I don’t fucking care.

  Six

  Kira

  ‘Kandi not with you?’ Joey asks as I pull myself up on to the bar and cross my legs.

  ‘She’s exploring a bit more of what Manhattan has to offer.’

  ‘Hmm… as long as that’s all she’s exploring.’

  I throw Joey a look. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘You know what that’s supposed to mean.’

  I stare at him, and I let a beat or two go by before I say anything. ‘Don’t, Joey.’

  He busies himself unpacking glasses, but I know he isn’t going to let this go. ‘I’m just a little uncomfortable with secrets, Kira.’

  ‘You didn’t seem bothered before.’

  ‘Because I didn’t know then that you and Blue Eyes were going to get quite as hot and heavy as you are. There didn’t seem any need to mention it. Then. But now you’ve flown your ex-girlfriend over…’

  ‘She is not my ex-girlfriend, Joey. Jesus! I’ve not been here five minutes and you’ve started. And why now, huh? You’ve been in New York a fortnight. Why didn’t you say anything sooner? Why didn’t you mention something when you found out Kandi-Ann was coming to work with us?’

  ‘It may have escaped your notice, angel, but I’ve been a bit pre-occupied. And I’m only worried now because you’re spending a lot of time together…’

  ‘We’ve got work to do, organising the club’s opening night shows.’

  He looks at me, and raises an eyebrow. ‘Does Neal know?’

  ‘That we’re helping out with the club’s opening night? I should think so. He owns the place.’

  ‘Drop the flippancy, lady. Does Blue Eyes know about you and Kandi-Ann?’

  ‘There’s nothing to know. Come on, Joey…’

  ‘Really? So, you didn’t move her into our home for six months, then? That was just me imagining it, was it? And if that’s the case, then I must have imagined all that hot, lesbian action going on too, huh? The nights when all I could hear was you two going at it for hours… did I imagine all of that, Kira? You should tell him, angel.’

  ‘Tell him what, exactly? That I found a little bit of comfort in another woman for a few months? Because that’s all it was, Joey. You’re making way more
out of this than it needs to be.’

  ‘You and Kandi have been on and off for years, Kira.’

  ‘We work together.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’re standing here, in front of me, trying to deny that you ever had a relationship with her. That you two weren’t together. Because you were, angel. You were together.’

  ‘She was there at a time when I needed… You know what, I’m going to go out and come back in again because this is unnecessary, Joey. She’s still my friend, OK? And I love working with her because she makes me feel safe. Being with her, at that time in my life, I needed to feel safe. I needed the distraction. And she’s good at what she does. Together we are on fire…’

  ‘That’s what I’m worried about.’

  ‘We fucked in front of him, Joey. Me and Kandi, we fucked in front of Neal, and it was fine. It was OK. And he knows that wasn’t the first time we’d done that. He knows our history.’

  ‘He knows your professional history.’

  ‘She isn’t a fucking threat, Joey. I am crazy in love with Neal, have you got that?’

  ‘Oh, I know exactly how you feel about Blue Eyes, angel. I’m just worried that you may feel like straying from the path you’re back on over to the other side of the tracks again. All it’s going to take…’

  ‘I’m not gay, Joey.’

  ‘I never said you were. But you like it both ways, babe. And don’t pretend you don’t.’

  I slide down from the counter and kiss his cheek. ‘Kandi is my friend. OK? And the only time we’ll be touching each other is when we resurrect our show, or when we’re performing privately – for Neal.’

  He looks at me, and I have absolutely no idea why he’s bringing this up. Yes, me and Kandi-Ann had some kind of relationship, but it was years ago. Not long after everything had happened with Simon. I’d just needed someone to feel close to, someone who wouldn’t hurt me. Someone who wouldn’t confuse me. And she was there. But it was only ever a temporary thing. OK, so our girl-on-girl act was spawned from that relationship, but we’d stopped having sex, behind closed doors anyway, by that time. All of that, we knew it had been nothing more than a stop-gap. For both of us. Kandi isn’t gay, either. But we’ll always be close. Always.

  ‘He’s downstairs, by the way. If you want to see him.’

  I throw Joey a smile and lean back against the counter. ‘Why do you think I’m here? I didn’t come to see you.’

  ‘Bitch.’

  ‘Drama queen.’

  He leans back against the counter beside me and folds his arms. ‘Why The Playroom, angel? How did you arrive at that name, huh? For your impending den of iniquity.’

  Nobody else knows about mine and Neal’s secret room – our own private playroom. And even though Joey and I have few secrets, well – I still think there are some things he doesn’t need to know. ‘It kind of just came to us. And it has a certain edge, don’t you think?’

  Joey looks at me through slightly narrowed eyes. ‘Blue Eyes tells me it’s going to be a bit of an exclusive secret, this club of yours. A place for the discerning sex deviant. And they’re my words, by the way. Not his.’

  ‘Well, we’re not exactly going to be running a city-wide media marketing campaign, no. It’s a private club. Members only.’

  ‘And how are you finding these members, exactly, hmm?’

  I just smile again and quickly kiss his cheek. ‘I’m going to see Neal.’

  Joey purses his lips, but he doesn’t push it. ‘He’s looking particularly hot today, by the way.’

  I turn around, walking backwards as I throw him one last smile. ‘Yeah. I know.’ I wink and he laughs, and we’re OK again. He worries about so many unnecessary things, does Joey. Which is why I think there are some things he’s better off not knowing at all. But there really is nothing to worry about. I’m just happy he’s here, back with me, because I still need him. I’ll always need him. Just in case.

  I head downstairs to The Playroom, and once I’m inside I stop and take a few minutes to look around a club that’s all but finished now. There’s just a bit of tidying up left to do and then it’ll be ready to go. Ready to open its doors. And it still feels as though everything’s happening a little too quickly; that I’m on some kind of fast-turning carousel that’s constantly spinning and the dizziness won’t stop, but I can’t deny it’s exciting.

  I look over to the centre of the room and the small, rectangular stage that takes pride of place there, just waiting for whatever “shows” we decide to put on. And my stomach dips, because I want to have sex, with Neal, up on that stage. And I want everyone to watch, and I have to close my eyes for a second and inhale deeply to control my breathing because just the thought of that is too much.

  Four more smaller, circular stages are dotted around the rest of the space, two of which have been fitted with floor-to-ceiling steel poles. A long, wide bar lined with stools takes up one entire side of the room, the low red lighting that surrounds it giving it a warm, sexy glow, and on either side of the bar two corridors lead off to the private rooms. Each corridor houses three of these rooms, all of which have a pole, an oversized leather couch, a TV and sound system, and a variety of movies and music for people to use however they wish. These are rooms for those who want to indulge their own private fantasies. Out here is where they’ll get their inspiration.

  The walls of the club are, for the main part, dark red and a deep, dark grey, and the majority of them are decorated with images of couples and singles in various states of undress indulging in various stages of fucking, both together and alone. Interspersed between those images are a number of TV screens that, once this place is open, will be showing the kind of stuff you really wouldn’t want your mother to see, and my stomach contracts with another wave of nerves and excitement as I continue to look around me. This place is an extension of mine and Neal’s own secret playroom, and the things that are going to go on in here…

  I close my eyes for another couple of seconds, just to try and take in what’s really happening, how far things have come in such a short time; how I never want things to go back to how they were. Before Neal Cannon. I don’t want that. It can’t happen. I can’t let it.

  I open my eyes and watch as the few workmen who are still here put the final finishing touches to our club. It’s all but done. We’re almost ready to open this place and start our brand new adventure.

  I head over to the corridor at the back of the room, behind one of the smaller, circular stages. The one that leads to the dressing rooms and our private office, which is where Neal must be because he isn’t out here.

  I knock on the door and his voice beckons me in. He’s standing in front of a huge TV that’s fixed to the wall, and on the screen is an image of me and him, fucking. It was his birthday – the day Kandi and me had played for him; the day she’d filmed him, fucking me. And we’ve watched it back before, a few times now, because watching him fuck me is a turn-on I can’t get enough of. But it seems different, watching it here. In our not-so-private playroom.

  I walk up behind him and slide my arms around him, resting my chin on his shoulder as I watch him, on-screen, drop his head between my legs; watch as I arch my back and moan out loud as he licks me.

  ‘Checking out some daytime TV, huh?’ I kiss his neck and he reaches behind to touch my cheek, goose bumps appearing the second his fingers connect with my skin.

  ‘How’s it going out there?’

  ‘They’re almost done. Looks like opening night’s getting nearer, huh?’

  ‘Next week, baby.’ He turns to face me, and my stomach dips so low I forget to breathe. ‘The Playroom opens for business, next week. Friday night.’

  I smile and hook my arms loosely around his neck. ‘It looks good. Our club.’

  He smiles too, and then he kisses me slowly, and as usual I just fall against him. ‘Kandi’s on her way over,’ he murmurs, his mouth still touching mine.

  ‘Here?’

  ‘Yeah. I need her to do
something for me.’

  I pull back from him and frown slightly. ‘She didn’t say anything to me, and I only left her an hour or so ago.’

  ‘I just called her now.’ He turns back to face the TV where I’m riding him cowgirl, grinding my hips down onto him. ‘I want her to take a couple of photos. Of us.’ He flicks off the TV and turns to look at me. ‘For the walls outside.’

  ‘Us?’