Zane heard Travis’ voice loud and clear. He stuck his head just inside the doorway to the small office his parents rarely used. Travis had Gage pressed up against the wall. It appeared that they were arguing. Based on what he heard, Travis was probably angry at how the whole Jake Sanders ordeal went down. Not that Zane could blame him. If he’d had a say in the matter, Jake would’ve been arrested long before he had a chance to pull a gun on anyone.
What happened next told Zane that these two men weren’t in any way talking about Zane or anyone else. As quietly as he could, Zane pivoted on his boot heel and took off down the hall.
Absolutely none of his fucking business.
♂♂
Travis couldn’t help himself. Gage had cornered him unexpectedly, more than a little pissed off that he’d completely blown the cop’s cover in order to save his brother’s life. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Whether Gage was trying to push his buttons or not, Travis couldn’t resist what he was about to do. He’d pushed him up against the wall and was gripping his chin in one hand, making sure Gage was well aware of his intent. The night of that damn party in Vegas, Travis sat back, silently watching as Gage got all touchy feely with Zoey, undoubtedly with Kaleb’s permission. It was as though he was taunting him. Travis had promised himself the next time he got Gage alone, he wasn’t going to hold back.
They may not have as much privacy as he’d hoped for, but this would have to do. For now.
“It will happen again, I told you that,” Travis told the cop, but he wasn’t referring to Jake Sanders or the clusterfuck that happened a few days ago.
No, he was talking about this.
Travis slammed his mouth down on Gage’s. Hard. No holds barred. He thrust his tongue into the other man’s mouth, his body surging to life as soon as Gage returned the kiss. He’d been waiting for this ever since that first time in his office. He was counting down the minutes until what happened the next time he got Gage alone. By themselves or with a woman between them, Travis didn’t give a shit. He wanted this man. Fiercely.
Sliding one hand between them, Travis palmed Gage’s dick through his jeans, making the other man moan into his mouth.
When they broke apart, primarily for air, but partly due to the fact that Travis wasn’t interested in an audience, he stared down into those dark, swirling brown eyes. “Will. Happen. Again.”
With that, he pressed his own iron hard length against Gage’s before taking a step back. He’d have blue balls before the night was out, especially if he had the pleasure of watching Gage for long. It was something he was just going to have to deal with.
At least for now.
♀♂
V stood on the edge of the makeshift dance floor, watching Kaleb and Zoey maneuver so effortlessly to the music. Regina was also out there, this time dancing with Sawyer, who’d somehow convinced her mother to dance with him. She’d been reluctant, but finally gave in. Most women were helpless against the Walker charm.
V was so happy her mother came, and she was almost beside herself when she saw that Regina did not bring a date. According to her mother, there were no dates in her near future. She was quite content with Buttercup. Not that she wanted her mother to be alone, but she knew time was the only thing that could alleviate some of the emotional pain she’d been dealing with over the years. V made sure her mother knew she was there if she ever wanted to talk.
V turned her attention to Lorrie and Curtis who were smiling at one another like teenagers in love. She could only hope that one day, she’d have what those two had. With seven sons, they were brimming with love for every one of their boys, as well as each other. It was hard not to watch them and hope that she’d find that one day.
“Care to dance?”
Zane’s beautiful baritone broke into her thoughts, and V turned to smile at him. Taking the proffered hand, V let him lead her out to the middle of the floor and settled into his arms like she was born to fit there.
“One of these days, you’re going to have a party like this, you know?” Zane spoke close to her ear, and V let the warmth of his breath wash over her.
“Maybe one day,” she replied, smiling into his shirt. She was through running from this man.
“Maybe?” Zane pulled away from her, effectively separating their bodies.
V looked up at him. He looked serious. Was he hurt? She hadn’t meant anything by it.
That’s when she noticed that people around them had stopped dancing. Oh, no. She did not want to be the one to ruin this party.
“I didn’t mean –”
Zane cut her off with a press of his fingers against her lips, only seconds before he dropped to one knee on the plywood floor beneath him.
“Vanessa Carmichael, as long as the day will come, I’m willing to be patient. As long as there aren’t any maybes in our future, I’m not going to rush you. However, until that day comes, I’m not willing to wait one more second without that promise.”
V looked at him, confused. Promise?
“Will you marry me? I don’t care if it’s tomorrow, or a year from now. I just need you to promise me that you’ll be with me for the rest of my life. It’s the only thing I want in this world. I love you.”
V’s vision blurred as the tears formed in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes.
“Marry me.”
Zane’s final demand made her smile. He knew her so well. Those submissive tendencies were hard to deny. Even now.
“Yes,” she whispered, and the cool metal that slid over the third finger on her left hand stole her breath.
Clapping ensued, and before Zane could even get to his feet, V found herself wrapped in Zoey’s arms. Her best friend was smiling, and there might’ve even been a tear or two.
“I’m so happy for you!” Zoey exclaimed.
V noticed all of the people standing around them, clapping and smiling. “This was supposed to be your day,” V whispered to Zoey.
“Oh, honey. It is my day. It couldn’t have gotten any better if it’d been planned.”
Before the tears could leak from her eyes any more, Kaleb swept Zoey up in his arms, making her laugh as he began two stepping around the dance floor with her once again, leaving V to be pulled into Zane’s arms.
“And just so you know, I did ask permission. From your mother and Kaleb and Zoey. I wasn’t going to ruin this day for anyone, baby, but it was time. Way past time, actually.”
When Zane pressed his lips to hers, V felt her heart heal just a little more. It’d been doing that.
With each minute that passed, the fissures he’d made in those invisible walls she’d erected so long ago continued to get bigger while the little cracks in her heart continued to get smaller.
Epilogue
♂♀
Three months later...
Zane was pretty sure the weather had been handpicked for this very day. There was absolutely no way they’d have been able to come up with a good enough reason to duck out on Kaleb’s important day. As if the penguin suits they’d donned just a few weeks ago hadn’t been punishment enough, Zane and his brothers had been summoned to help Kaleb and Zoey move into their new house. The man was racking up a shitload of IOU’s, and when those get multiplied by six, Zane was pretty sure Kaleb was going to be in their debt for quite some time.
“What the hell are you doing?” Travis’ irritated growl erupted from just outside of the moving truck. Zane didn’t bother to turn around.
“Lift,” Zane instructed Beau who had also been wrangled to help out – by Zane directly. There was no way he was going this alone. As it was, V was already inside helping Zoey unpack boxes just as quickly as they were being delivered.
Zane backed down the ramp, one end of the heavy sectional couch hoisted up to his chest in order to keep Beau from having to lean down. Once they were on the ground, Zane continued toward the house, Travis following close behind.
It wasn’t that he was purposely ignoring his oldest
brother, but quite frankly, the man was beginning to get on his nerves. Ever since Gage disappeared about two and a half months ago, apparently off on one of his super-secret jobs, Travis hadn’t been himself. It spoke volumes about the man, although after witnessing what he had that one day, Zane wasn’t about to say a word. None of his business. He still wasn’t sure why Travis was in such a lousy mood. It wasn’t like he and Gage got along on the best of terms when the man was in town anyway.
Ever since they actually started breaking ground on the resort, Travis had been directly involved with the resort and almost completely stepped out of the Walker Demo business altogether. That’s where their cousin Jaxson came in. He’d stepped up to manage the business side of the demolition company since Kaleb and Sawyer were both splitting their time between the two.
Once Zane and Beau made it up the front steps, Braydon was directly behind them holding open the screen door so they could maneuver the oversized furniture inside. Two minutes later, they had it situated where Zoey instructed and were heading back out to the truck.
“He’s on his way back,” Zoey was saying to Kaleb, but Zane tried his best to ignore their conversation. Truthfully, he just wanted to get this truck load emptied so he could sit back on the rest of his day off with a beer and maybe a little relaxing time with V.
“When?” The voice that interrupted Zoey’s conversation belonged to none other than Travis, and that made Zane smile.
The man had a serious hang up with Gage Matthews. It was comical actually. Considering Travis had been visiting Dallas more and more frequently these days, Zane was beginning to wonder whether the man actually was involved with someone up there. Based on his reaction to Gage’s whereabouts, that might not be the case.
“Ready to finish this off?” Zane glanced over at Beau as they headed back down the front steps toward the moving truck that was thankfully about three quarters emptied at this point. That didn’t seem like nearly enough since they’d been going at this moving thing for the better part of four hours now. Even with Braydon, Brendon, Ethan and Blake helping out, they didn’t seem to be going as fast as Zane had hoped.
“You up for a beer when we’re done?” Zane asked Beau as he walked up the sturdy metal ramp that ended on the wooden floor of the twenty six foot moving truck. He still had no idea where the hell Kaleb had kept all the shit he’d managed to fill inside the truck. There were only two of them, yet Zane had moved enough furniture to fill a four bedroom house.
“Can’t,” Beau answered, lifting one end of a hulking wooden dresser that Zane had never seen before.
Hefting the other end, Zane glanced over at Beau. “Why the hell not?”
Thankfully, their relationship hadn’t changed at all, even after that one night of experimentation. It hadn’t happened again, not so much as a hand job during their threesomes, but Zane could feel Beau starting to pull away. He hated that it was like that, but he just didn’t have the same feelings for Beau that his best friend seemed to have for him.
“Date,” Beau smiled, and Zane almost stumbled right out of the truck.
“With who?” He didn’t mean for so much disbelief to lace his words, but as far as he knew, Beau hadn’t dated anyone in quite some time.
“Not saying.” Beau smiled.
“What the fuck? You’re going on a date, and you’re not even going to tell me who you’re going out with?”
“Not yet. I’ll see how it goes, then I’ll let you know.”
Zane wasn’t going to push him. Right now, he didn’t have the energy to do much of anything except make it up the steps into the house for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He was dripping with sweat even though the brisk breeze and sixty degree temperature should have been keeping him cool.
After lugging the damn dresser up to the second floor, Zane was once again descending the stairs, his thighs and back screaming in agony from all the moving. The sight of his beautiful fiancé took his mind off of his worries almost as quickly as they’d come on.
Damn, the woman just got more beautiful by the day. Today she was sporting a pair of short jean shorts and one of his sweatshirts, her hair piled into a haphazard mess on top of her head, and she looked so fucking gorgeous, he wanted to sneak her up to that extra bedroom the twins had been working to set up.
Before he had the chance to make the suggestion, the front door opened and in walked Gage Matthews. The room suddenly went quiet, all of the movement silenced immediately as everyone turned to look at the man standing in the doorway. It wasn’t like they were all that surprised to see him.
No, that wasn’t it at all.
Zane was pretty sure everyone was more interested to learn exactly who the stunning blonde on his arm was. He noticed that her facial expression went from surprise to murderous in three seconds flat. Now she looked like she was ready to take his head off with her bare hands.
“Sonuvabitch.” That one word growl pierced the eerie silence and had everyone turning to look directly at the man who spoke. The one who looked more pissed off than any of them had probably ever seen him. And that was saying something. Travis looked like his head might just explode right off of his powerful shoulders.
Zane just wanted to make sure he was nowhere in the near vicinity when that happened.
“Travis?”
Zane’s head shot back over to the doorway, along with several others in the room. Why did it sound like that blonde woman not only knew who Travis was, but there was something else in her tone. Something way too familiar.
“Fuck.” That was Travis’ only response.
Well, that probably said it all.
♂♀
Gage stared blankly at Travis, ensuring his face remained expressionless. The recognition in the man’s eyes was exactly the response Gage was going for when he made the decision that morning to come back home to Coyote Ridge.
One thing he prided himself on was his ability to do his job. Not only could he protect those he cared about, he also had an uncanny ability to uncover dirt that other people tried desperately to hide. Travis’ dirt was hidden better than most. In fact, it had taken Gage almost a month, but he’d finally accomplished what he set out to. Gage had finally found what Travis apparently didn’t want anyone else to know about.
Gage only had one question...
If Travis was looking to bury his past, why hadn’t the man ever gotten a divorce?
Acknowledgements
With all of the support that I receive through the various social media sites that I probably spend way too much time on, it’s still difficult to sit down and list out the amazing people who inspire me and keep me sane most of the time, but I’m going to try.
Many of you are familiar with my amazing husband, the man who supports me no matter how many times he finds me talking to myself, trying to hash out a scene or figure out what a character is actually trying to say. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today. He is my best friend and my soul mate and he deserves more credit than I can ever relay.
For the bloggers who have become such an important part of my life because of their support and their kindness, I just want to say, thank you. There are so many and I’m afraid to leave anyone out, but you know who you are.
Denise, throughout the last few books I have written, you have been there to inspire me *wink* and I will never be able to thank you enough for your time and your support. Thank you.
And my fans, above all else, you make this all worth it. Each and every email brings a smile to my face and I thank you for taking the time out of your day to send kind words my way.
Thank you!!!!
Check out more from Nicole Edwards:
www.nicedwardsauthor.com
The Club Destiny Series:
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
And coming later in 2013 –
A secret project (Hint: Luke
, Sierra, and Cole)
The Alluring Indulgence Series:
Kaleb
Zane
And coming in 2013 –
Travis (Fall 2013)
Continue reading for an excerpt from
Infatuation, Club Destiny, #4
Infatuation
A Club Destiny Novel
Copyright © 2013 by Nicole Edwards
All rights reserved.
Infatuation – A Club Destiny Novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book may not be resold or redistributed without the express consent of the author.
Erotic Romance – intended for mature audiences
McKenna Thorne, owner of Sensations, Inc. – an online magazine geared toward libidinous carnality and erotic lifestyles - is intimately familiar with the lifestyle that the Club Destiny club is famous for. As a journalist, she’s interested in understanding just what makes the swinger’s club so popular. When she comes face to face with Tag Murphy, the sophisticated, sexy attorney representing the club and its owners, she finds a new reason to be curious. It only takes one encounter for McKenna to realize the heat the two of them generate together is hot enough to melt her internal thermostat. That doesn’t stop her from requesting an exclusive on the club that might just turn into more than she bargained for.
Tag Murphy, a highly successful corporate attorney who represents some of Dallas’ wealthiest companies is not only Club Destiny’s legal counsel, he’s also a member. It’s during his time in the public spotlight, representing the club in a volatile lawsuit against one of its former members, that Tag gets his first glimpse of a fiery red headed journalist bent on exploiting his personal life for the benefit of her readers. In order to protect his own personal interest, and that of the club he represents, Tag decides to take McKenna up on her offer, only he adds his own stipulations. If she wants to learn more about the club, she’s going to get the guided tour – from him.
Zane (Alluring Indulgence) Page 31
