“Oh, so back then I catch you two hugging each other, and now you’re working for her, and I’m supposed to believe that there’s nothing going on between you two, right?”
Keys crossed his arms over his chest. “We were all best friends back then. Or did you forget that?”
The sincerity in his eyes seemed to match the strong statements he’d made. Could she trust him again? Had she been wrong about him for so many years?
“I only had sex with you then. You had my heart.” Keys started to reach for her face with his large hands, but stopped himself. “Then you walked away.” He pointed to her. “You left.”
The aroma of her intimate juices wafted to her nose. The scent reminded her of what almost just happened. She would have fallen back into her old routine. Eminence would have let him fuck her. Now removed from that moment, she felt stupid and cold.
She backed away from him. “Tell you what. Why don’t we just chalk this little reunion up as a failure and move on with our lives?”
“I have an even better idea.” He held up his incredibly long index finger in front of her face. “One night. One shot. One last call.” He waved his hand in between the two of them. “We do this. Get it out of our systems and then walk away.” He crossed his arms over his massive chest. “No closets, no desks, no empty offices. We do this and do it right.”
Eminence shook her head although inside her body screamed a cheer. “You guys are all fueled by sex, huh? You just want to hit it and quit it?” Just like she wanted to just moments ago. Of course, she wouldn’t be admitting that now.
“And so did you. Don’t pretend that you didn’t like what was going on here. Let’s put a period on this thing between us. We do this. We don’t have to talk about the past anymore. And we go our separate ways.”
She stared at him for a moment. Although Keys looked like the kind and sweet young man she once knew, the man who stood before her had become cold and uncaring.
Fine. She didn’t come there that night for another complicated relationship or even friendship. She came there to thumb her nose a Jordyna. If fucking Keys did that, then she could do this.
“Deal.” Eminence held out her hand to shake on it. “But I’m warning you now. Once I have you, you will never forget it.”
Keys grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. “Lady, I haven’t been sitting at home by the window waiting for you to come back. You’re going to want to tattoo my name across your ass when I get through with you.”
Eminence couldn’t verbally respond. How could she? If she couldn’t resist him in an empty office, what made her think she could do better left alone with him? Then again, it was sex. Just sex. No commitment. No promises. No problem.
“I do have to share something with you.” Keys released her hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve changed a lot. I’m into a particular lifestyle now. I will be using a lot of those techniques tonight.”
Eminence felt her eyebrows furrowing together. “What do you mean? Are you into drugs or something?”
Keys shook his head. “Of course not. Not then and not now.”
“What then?” She chewed her lower lip while waiting for his answer.
Just before Keys could answer, a solid knock sounded on the door before it flew open. Damn, the door hadn’t been locked? Anyone could have walked inside? The thought of that had Eminence crossing her arms over her chest. Had Keys had a condom, they could have still been going at it right now.
The guard that stood at the door when Keys had ushered her back to the office now appeared in the room. He split his gaze between Keys and Eminence, who now found it hard to look this stranger in the eyes.
“Hey, dude.” He directed his full attention to Keys. “Jay is looking for you. Said she needs you.”
Eminence glanced back at Keys in time to see him take a deep breath as though gearing up for a fight.
Jordyna. The guard had to be talking about her, otherwise why would Keys look so torn?
“Just like old times. She snaps her fingers. You come running. I’m out of here. Forget the deal.” Eminence headed to the front door of the club when she caught an image of someone she didn’t want to see right now, especially after she just almost made a fool of herself with Keys.
Jordie stood close to the door. Eminence only saw her in a profile. Could this night get any worse? Just as she approached Jordie, she turned when she heard a door slam behind her. Keys and the other guard strolled out of the office and headed toward her.
Confronting the long-time lovers all at once didn’t top her list of things to do. She darted into the club.
Eminence wanted to have a good time tonight. Then she would check out of Keys and Jordie’s lives for good.
Chapter Eight
Tank spotted Jodyna by the stairs that led to the V.I.P. section. “You wanted to see me?”
He needed something to cool down his overheated demeanor. Doing work would do it.
So close. He’d had Eminence where he wanted her. No way did he think he would have gone that far with her. Tank wanted to talk to her about what her disappearing act did to him. As soon as he saw her, smelled her, touched her, he became lost. Tank wanted to bury himself deep in her molten hot channel. Then reality hit.
Jordyna gave instructions to one of the wait staff members before directing her attention to Tank. “Let’s go up to my office,” she shouted over the music and pointed upward.
Tank nodded and led her to her private elevator. After swiping his I.D. badge, pressing a series of numbers on a digital screen, and doing a thumbprint identification, the elevator doors opened.
“Security system working for you?” Tank asked as he ushered her inside the car.
“It’s great. Just perfect. But you know that.” Once to her office on the third floor, she spoke more freely. “So how’s it going so far?” She could have sat behind her desk in her expansive office. Instead, she plopped down on her long white leather couch as she spoke to Tank. Just like the old Jordie he knew, she kicked off her heels and crossed her legs on the chair. The woman never met a stranger, and treated every place she went to as her home.
“The lines are long. The music is hot. The people look happy.” Tank said all the things a budding nightclub owner would want to hear. In his head, he only thought about Eminence.
Had she left the club after their run-in or did she stay? If she stayed, did she jump into the arms of another man? The thought of that had him gritting his teeth. Tank had her body under his control. Just like back in high school, she responded so well when he squeezed her nipples.
Playing with her clit proved to be a harder reaction to ignore. She’d thrashed about until Tank could almost imagine what she would do had they had sex. Just thinking about it had his cock getting hard again. He clasped his hands together and stood with them in front of himself, looking stern and almost militant. Jordie didn’t have to know he covered a burgeoning hard-on.
Jordyna stared at him for a while. “You don’t look happy. What’s going on with you? Did something happen?”
Tank stared at the multiple TV screens that had cameras monitoring the action in the club. “More like someone.”
“Who?”
Tank continued scanning the screens until his gaze fell upon Eminence standing by the bar. Even in the throngs of people, he couldn’t mistake her.
“She’s here?” Jordyna sat up straighter. “She actually showed up?”
Tank turned to her. With the exception of the time he comforted her when Eminence caught them, he’d never seen Jordyna looking so distraught.
He answered her with a simple nod.
Jordyna stood and smoothed her hands down her black slacks. “I can’t believe Eminence Dutton is here.”
“Why wouldn’t she be? You invited her.” Tank split his attention between his friend and the image of Eminence on the screen.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think she would come. We haven’t spoken since, well, that day.”
&n
bsp; “Trust me. That day is not a distant memory for her either.” Tank had hoped it would be. Absence making the heart grow fonder and all.
“You talked to her?”
Tank gave his full attention to his client. “You didn’t see her? I had her in the back room.”
“Why?”
At her query, he cocked his eyebrow.
“Oh.” She nodded. “Without getting too graphic, are you two…?”
Tank walked away from the screens. “We’re nothing. She still thinks I’m a jerk and she thinks you’re a—”
Jordyna held up her hand. “Don’t say it. I know.”
He walked over to Jordyna and stood in front of her. “What I don’t understand is why you never told her the truth.”
She blinked. “You didn’t tell her what I came to see you about that day?”
“Like I told her, the reason you came to see me wasn’t my story to tell. I’m loyal to you.”
That bit of news got Jordyna to smile. “Thanks, Keys.”
“But to keep your secret, I lost Eminence. The least you could have done is told her why you really came to my house that day so I don’t come off as a cheating asshole.” Tank didn’t mean to curse at his friend. The more he thought about the time lost between him and Eminence, the angrier he became.
“I know. I know.” Jordyna paced around the office, stomping her bare foot on the carpeted floor. “I tried. Believe me. I tried. The day it happened, I tried calling her. She wouldn’t take my calls. Then I went to her house. She refused to see me. Once she went off to college, it was impossible to get her. I would write her letters that all came back stamped ‘Return to sender.’ I would even e-mail and send text messages to her until she closed her e-mail account and changed her phone number. She blocked me on Facebook. She closed her Twitter account. I drove cross country to California to see her at school. On that big campus, I couldn’t find her.”
“Or she didn’t want you to find her.” That idea never escaped his thoughts.
“Inviting her here was a last resort. I just can’t believe she showed.”
“Don’t think she’s here to patch things up. She’s angry and bitter, even if she doesn’t have the right to be. She still feels betrayed.”
“I know. You’re right.” Jordyna let out a long sigh. “I hope you two can—”
Tank cut her off. “Nothing more will happen between us.” He shrugged.
Jordie blinked. “Okay. You mean after all this time, you’re willing to just let her go.”
“Under the right circumstances, absolutely.” Those circumstances being one night of passion in exchange for all the years she doubted him. “I thought she cared about me, and she obviously didn’t. Without talking to me, she just left. If she’s still that type of person, I don’t need that in my life.”
Too bad his body begged to get Eminence back, even for one night. Tank could fuck her and walk. Hell, who was he kidding? He’d never been that type of man to have a one-night stand, and he wouldn’t start now, not with someone who had at one time captured his heart.
“Are you still leaving out in a couple of days?” Jordie stood next to Tank.
“Plans are set. The deal is done.” Tank had been excited about going home to grow his business. Seeing Eminence caused him to question himself, his purpose, especially when she accused him of being that same slacker he was in high school. Would she never get over that image of him? Hell, for that matter, did he think of himself still as the guy without a plan?
Jordyna smiled. “I appreciate everything you’ve done around here, setting up my security team and all.”
“Friends help each other out.” He hoped the meaning of his statement didn’t fall on deaf ears. He knew if he had any chance getting the truth told to Eminence, Jordyna would have to help.
“I’m going to miss you around here.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him hard enough that he felt her heart pounding.
“You’re really scared about confronting her, aren’t you?”
Jay backed away from him. “As hard as it was to get my dream club off the ground, I would much rather do this ten more times than to face Eminence.”
Tank held onto Jordyna’s shoulders to steady her, then stared into her eyes. “There’s strength in truth. Once she hears what really happened, everything will be fine.”
“And if she doesn’t want to listen?”
Tank had thought about that prospect as well. He’d experienced that first hand with Eminence just a few minutes ago. Then again, like he’d told her, after tonight, they could walk away and never see each other again. After Tank touched her after so many years, tasted her, he didn’t want to stop.
“Think positive. She can’t stay mad forever.”
That sounded good, but the fact that she managed to hold onto a grudge for more than a decade and a half didn’t scream out that she would listen to reason. For his sake, though, he hoped that her compassion would kick in sometime tonight. Kissing her ignited his slumbering need. Did this really have to be last call for them?
“By the way, does she know about your, um, other side?” Jordie flitted her eyebrows.
Tank had to blink. “How do you know about that? I’ve never talked to you about my lifestyle.”
“Reggie. He told me everything back in high school.” Jordie smiled.
“What a big mouth.” Tank scratched his head. “I didn’t even know back then what I was and what I wanted. How did he know?”
“He didn’t put a name on it. He said that you liked kinky stuff. He showed me some of the books you used to read.” Jordie nodded. “I would say kinky would be an understatement. I’m assuming you’re still into that.”
Jordie nailed her assumption, but Tank wouldn’t confirm or deny it. “What I like is just meant for me and who I’m with to know.”
Jordie held her hands up as if to surrender. “Fine, Mr. Secretive. You don’t have to say anything to me. I’m sure whoever you’re with, you’ll let them know up front, right?”
Tank had already hinted about his lifestyle to Eminence already. He had no plans on keeping her in his life. Maybe telling her all about himself would keep her running.
* * * * *
No he didn’t, Eminence thought as she stood seething by the bar. No Keys didn’t think that he could just kiss and fuck his way back into her life. Stupid her, she wanted to spread her legs open for him. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She should have known that Keys wouldn’t have been too far away from Jordie. Friends? Hah! Once a lover, always a lover…except with her apparently.
“What’re you drinking, lady?” the bartender screamed to her over the music.
As she was about to shout back her usual order of an apple martini, the bodyguard that had stood with Keys at the door giving her a hard time sidled up next to her.
“Whatever she wants is on me, dog!” He pointed to Eminence then pounded his barrel-sized chest.
“You don’t have to do that.” Eminence shook her head, then placed her order with the bartender.
When her drink showed, the big man pressed money into the bartender’s hand before she could.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” The bodyguard winked at her. “The name’s Dru.” He jutted out his hand.
She stared at him and his hand before accepting it. “Eminence.”
“That’s a mouthful. Mind if I call you Emmy?”
“Actually, yes, I—”
Dru cut her off. “Want to dance?”
“I just got my drink.”
He took it from her hand and sat it on the bar. That never happened back in the day when she and Jordyna got guys to buy their drinks for them. With the night’s events, Eminence really wanted the liquid courage.
Dru pulled her out to the dance floor and began simulating what best could be described as chapter twelve from The Joy of Sex. He positioned her so that her backside pressed against his crotch, then started grinding against her and twirling them both around.
Eminence held onto his arm and rode out this carnival attraction for dear life.
The large man wrapped his arm around her waist. When she felt his lips on the back of her neck, she started to turn around and give him a piece of her mind and the rest of her hand that she didn’t leave on Keys’s face, then she peered up and saw Keys standing across from her on the dance floor.
He stared at them, jealousy and anger and confusion masking his face. Keys hadn’t changed all that much in years. The man always showed his emotions. It made him a terrible poker player…but a wonderful lover.
She turned away and managed to rotate herself around in Dru’s arm. She had to make this show good. Eminence swayed her hips back and forth as she made a slow descent. Once down to eye level with Dru’s crotch, she peered up at him seductively, or as wanton as she could look with bile rising in her throat.
She stood up and wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders. She should be holding Keys right now. As soon as the thought entered her mind, she shook her head and kept her body moving, slithering her way around Dru and hoping beyond hope that she got the reaction she sought out of Keys.
Without warning, Dru released his hold on Eminence and took a step back. Her plan must have worked. She just didn’t think Dru would be this intimidated to see Keys come to the floor and claim her.
Eminence turned around, ready to taunt Keys even more when she got face-to-face with the person she didn’t want to see.
“Hi, Eminence,” Jordie said. “We need to talk.”
Chapter Nine
Eminence knew her mouth hung open as she stared at her former friend before she finally answered her. “I’m just here to have a good time.”
Jordie stared at her employee. “I need you to get back to work. Will you escort our guest to my office, please?” Then she walked ahead.
Eminence felt the clamp of hands on her shoulders, then a not-so-gentle push off the dance floor.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 129
