Gavin pushed his other shoulder. “That’s so wrong. What next? You going to be sniffing his underwear?”
He knew that he broke a sacred rule and he even felt a tad guilty. Not a lot, but some. Too many things depended on getting Travis back to his music. “You don’t have to sing them, dude.”
Gavin glared at him. “I hope you’re happy.”
“What are the songs like?” Malcolm asked.
Was Malcolm worried that Travis would write all the songs for the album? Declan knew it was worrying Malcolm that he hadn’t been able to write, but Declan knew he’d find his way again. Of all of them, Malcolm was the least competitive. Maybe because he not only wrote, but also produced their albums creating the Scorned sound. “Fuckin’ “In Your Eyes” good.”
“This changes everything.” Gavin looked like someone just kicked him in the nuts.
“Why does it have to change anything?”
“Because love makes a man stupid. Look what it did to Shane! It’s been, like, years since Olivia walked out. He climbed in a bottle for two years, and if Andy hadn’t put him back together, you were going to kick him out of the band. He seems fine, but he ain’t moved on yet.”
He wouldn’t know. He figured he wasn’t capable of love like that. “You don’t love Gwyn?”
“I love fucking Gwyn. I love hanging out with her, but no I’m not in love with her. She’d ditch me in a second if she even thought that I might be in love with her.”
So he got Travis back on the path. Now Gavin was falling apart. He couldn’t win this shit no matter how hard he tried. “There are other songs too. He just hasn’t shown us yet. Damn, this is like some of his best work. She’s inspired him.”
Malcolm rubbed his chin, a sure sign he was disturbed. “What are the other songs like?”
Declan shook his head. “Dark and brooding, but damn I want to sing them.”
Gavin stood up. “Shit, you can be all happy to sing those new songs, but I tell you this is going to change the band.”
Declan stared at Gavin. Had he lost his mind? “What the hell are you babbling about?
Gavin rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hand. “First, he falls in love. Then, he’s going to want to marry her. Then she is going to pop out some puppies, and everything will be ruined. I hope you’re happy.” He got up and stormed out of the room.
“What the fuck?”
Malcolm turned his head to watch Gavin stomp out of the living room. “He’s not handling this well.”
“What’s his problem?”
Malcolm shrugged. “He’s not the romantic, you are.”
Declan scoffed. “There hasn’t been a woman invented that could make me fall in love.”
“You know now that you’ve put that out into the universe, it’s going happen to you, right?”
Declan raised his hand and looked at the ceiling. That would blow. “Forgive me, Karma goddess.”
Malcolm snickered.
“What are you going to do about Gavin?”
Malcolm took out his cell phone. “Call Gwyn, beg her to come out here, bring him some cookies, and fuck his brains out.”
Not a bad plan, Declan thought. Gwyn gave good cookie. “I wish all my problems could be fixed with cookies and pussy.”
“Me too.” Malcolm stood, turned, and walked out of the room.
Left alone, Declan wondered if he’d done the right thing in pushing Charlotte and Travis together. He sat down and played the video again. He noticed how their eyes never left each other and the way they touched. They trusted each other. They were dancing for each other. It was almost religious. They were in perfect step with each other. One thing Gavin didn’t notice was that Charlotte was right there with Travis. She loved him. She loved Travis the man, not Travis the rock star. Declan’s chest constricted. He’d never been loved by a woman for himself, never let himself be. But there was a part of him that wondered what it would be like to be loved the way Charlotte loved Travis. Fear gripped him. What if it didn’t happen? How could he handle it? But scarier than it not happening –– what if it did?
Charlotte pressed her face against the limo window as the car stopped, but she couldn’t see out of the tinted windows. “Where are we?”
“Someplace you can let your fantasies run amuck.”
A shiver of anticipation ran up her spine. “I’ve been running amuck a lot lately.”
He laughed. “Is it bad?”
“Since you’ve been my companion, not at all.” She turned to face him.
In the dim light of the limo she could barely see Travis smile. “I have something for you.” He reached for the box lying on the seat next to him and handed it to her.
She’d been eyeing that box since she got into the limo. She thought it was something for Henry, because they had exchanged cars, until she remembered that she’d whipped up this little surprise for her and Travis. Henry was an incredible plotter. Charlotte took off the lid and pushed the tissue paper aside. Lying inside was silky black material. She lifted up the dress, barely able to make out the design except that it was very short. Shorter than she liked.
He put his hands up to cover his eyes. “Do you want me to close my eyes while you change?”
“I have to put this on now?”
“Henry said the dress you wore to the wedding would be easily recognizable.”
She lowered the dress to her lap. “Are there going to be people here I know?”
Travis shrugged. “I have no idea.”
What a big help he was. He was supposed to tell her no and be comforting. “What are we going to do here exactly?”
“I’m going to fuck you in a room full of people.”
He said that as if he were making plans to go to the gas station. “My face won’t be recognizable?”
He leaned back in the seat and began to undo his tie. “Henry gave us masks to wear.”
Her vagina clenched. That sounded as exciting as it did terrifying. “Oh.”
“Your sister-in-law prepares.” Slowly he pulled his tie off.
Just watching him got her juices stirred. “As if she is going to war at any minute.”
“Not a bad skill.”
She pointed to the window. “Are they going to be here? Because I’m not certain I can find the right mindset … to … well, you know, if my brother is here...”
He shook his head as if he were saying silly girl. “They gave me their pass. So they won’t be here tonight.”
Thank God, she thought. “Well, let me change.”
“Can I watch?”
Charlotte blew out a breath. “You’ve seen me undress before.”
“It’s pretty exciting every time.”
She forced herself not to smile. She was about to get naked in front of strangers –– or at least she hoped they were all strangers. “Don’t you have a change of clothes?”
“Nah. Who’s going to care who I am when I’m with a beauty like you.”
She pouted. “Every woman in the place.”
“Men all look the same in a suit.”
Charlotte made quick work of getting into the dress. Once on, she discovered she couldn’t wear her bra and since she hadn’t worn panties with the form fitting dress, she felt very exposed in the black halter baby doll dress. “I hope it’s not windy outside.”
“I like Henry’s taste in dresses.” He reached over and ran a finger down one of the thin straps until he cupped her breast.
Charlotte squeezed her thighs together. If he didn’t stop, they weren’t going to make it to the house before she jumped him. “You know everyone is going to see me in there.”
“Hey, it’s your list, I’m just here to make it come true.”
Was that a look of excitement on his face? He wanted to do this. “Have you done this sort of thing before?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it like?” She asked before she could stop herself. She didn’t want to know about him with other women.
“Eg
o boosting.”
Her heart was racing. He didn’t say pleasurable. That was something. “You weren’t embarrassed?”
“Not to brag, but for a man, as long as your dick is a respectable size and you make the woman come, that’s all you have to worry about. And once you’re in the groove, you really stop thinking about the people watching you, or you just want to give them a good show.”
“And Henry and Everett come here?”
“That’s how I was able to get us in.”
Charlotte blew out a long breath. “I am surprised I’m not as traumatized as I should be.”
“Does it bother you that you’re not more shocked?”
Hmm, this was interesting. Usually she was the one to ask the probing questions. Now she felt on the spot. She wasn’t sure if she liked it. “Six months ago I would have been mortified to even know this place existed, much less that my brother and sister-in-law have a membership.”
“They seem happy. If this keeps the marriage alive, who are we to judge?”
“Since you’ve been to a place like this before, not you.” That came out harsher than she’d intended. This was playing havoc with her emotions.
He slid over next to her and took her hand. “We don’t have to stay.”
“I know, but I’m …”
Rubbing his thumb on her skin, he asked. “What?”
Charlotte bit her bottom lip. “I guess I’m curious.”
“We could go in, look around, and if you don’t like it or feel like you can’t be here, we can leave.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m a total prude.”
“Charlotte--”
She did worry about it. “I mean, I’m on this journey and isn’t the point of a journey to go some places you’re not sure of?”
“Charlotte, if--”
“All of these people are here for the same reason I am. It’s not as if they could really judge me, right?” They were here to have sex in public, too.
“Charlotte--”
“This is my own personal version of ‘Eat Pray Love.’ Or would that be eat, pray, fuck? Except I really haven’t been doing a lot of eating or praying. I’ll save all my praying for after I’m done.”
Travis mumbled something.
“What did you say?”
He looked like he wanted to laugh. “You dropped the f-bomb.”
She huffed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. You say it all the time. Except it just sounds sexy and from me it sounds like I’m trying to shock people. Why is that?”
“Because you’re a lady.” He squeezed her hand.
She put him on the spot. “Do you suppose if you’re lady you can’t swear?”
“Charlotte, I have no idea what you’re talking about and it’s confusing me.”
Her bottom lip poked out. “I really am going to be Charlotte the Harlot.”
“Like the song by Iron Maiden?”
She didn’t believe him. “There is a song about a woman named Charlotte who’s a harlot?”
He held up a hand. “Swear to God.”
Charlotte clamped her lips together to keep from laughing. A giggle escaped, then the damn burst and she couldn’t stop herself. Her side started to hurt. A tear slipped out of her eyes and she quickly wiped it away and got herself under control. “I’m sorry, I lost my head.”
Travis leaned back in the car. “I like when you lose your head.”
“Had I not lost my mind, I would have never attempted Viv’s list.”
“And I would have never found you.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Has anything been bad?”
She leaned over and pressed her forehead on his. His warmth seeped into her giving her courage. My God, what had she done to get this beautiful man? “Not a single thing.”
“So are we going to do this?”
“Give me that mask.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. She wanted to do this with him. “I’m sure. I’m with you.”
“Okay.”
“One question.”
“Only one?”
She slipped the mask over her face. “How exactly does this work? Do we just walk through the door and you lift up my skirt and do what you do?”
He put on his mask. “Why don’t we play it by ear? We just walk in and get the lay of land and then we’ll see about the actual sex part. They have some rules we need to navigate this place.”
“There are rules?”
“Charlotte, there are always rules.”
That surprised her. “I just assumed it was a free-for-all.”
“No one is just going to whip out their dick and nail you on a coffee table.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did.” Maybe she should start her own list. ‘Things to do with Travis.’
“We’ll save that for later.”
She patted his knee. “Let’s do this.”
“Are we storming the beach?”
“My version of Normandy. Or maybe I’m just a little excited.” She was excited.
Travis leaned forward and knocked on the window. A few seconds later the driver opened the car door and held his hand out for Charlotte. She sneaked a peek at him and noticed he discreetly looked away from her. A part of her was grateful, because she really would have lost her nerve if she thought he was judging her. Travis followed her, took her hand, and they climbed the marble staircase hand in hand. Her heart began to race as she neared the door where a tall, tuxedoed man stood.
He greeted them and took their pass. He quickly explained the rules which Charlotte thought was stupid in a place like this, but she listened and set them to memory. Apparently here it was bad form to just bend your date over the love seat and go at it. Who knew?
“Charlotte, where would you like to go?”
“I don’t think I’m ready to go to one of the playrooms just yet.”
“Anytime you want to pull the plug on this I’m okay with it.”
She turned to Travis and took a breath. “I would like to play a game.”
He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m down for some checkers in the spanking room.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “I’ve never been seduced.”
“What do you want to do about that?”
She smiled at him and ran her finger down his lapel. “I’m going to go to the bar and find a seat. I think you should pick me up.”
“Did we do that already?”
“You just had to smile at me and I was yours. I want to be wooed.”
Travis smiled. “I have some game.”
She laughed at him. “But have you had to use it lately?”
He shook his head. “Fair enough.”
Charlotte turned and walked away from him. Dear God, when had she become so bold? There were times she didn’t even recognize herself. Not that that was a bad thing. Was this what being in love was like? She felt scared, giddy, and brazen all at the same time. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do about being in love, but she did like it. With Travis it felt right. With Preston she always felt like something was missing and hoped she’d figure out what it was. Looking back, it was almost a relief when he broke off their engagement.
She spotted an empty table in a darkened corner and headed for it. She took a seat that faced the door. Observing the room, this was like a normal bar, except everyone, even the waitstaff, wore masks. A minute or two passed and she forced herself not to fidget, because that wasn’t really sexy. She noticed something she never really paid attention to before. Men were looking at her. Some women too. Because of the masks and the darkness, she really couldn’t tell what their expressions were, but she imagined they were desire. Charlotte straightened her back and sat a bit taller. Hmmm, this was interesting.
“The gentleman at the bar sent you a drink.”
Charlotte looked up and the waiter held a martini in his hand.
She smiled and looked over to see Travis sitting at the bar holding his bottle of beer up to her. She couldn’t help herself, she
smiled. The waiter set the glass down and Travis got up and made his way over to her.
“May I?”
“Please do.”
“My name is Herman.”
She wanted to laugh. “Herman?”
“Old family name.”
She wanted to say sorry, but she smiled instead. “Gladys.”
He took a sip of his beer. “I would have never pegged you as a Gladys.”
“Too old-fashioned?”
“Nah, way too boring.”
She cupped her cheek with her palm and placed her elbow on the table. “What do I look like?”
“Something classy, elegant, but sexy. Maybe Ava or Isabel. You would be a great Charlotte.”
“I like those.”
“Do I look like a Herman?”
She could play this game. “Heaven’s no. Maybe Declan or Travis.”
He stared laughing. “I know a Declan, but I’m nothing like him.”
This game was fun. “What is your friend like?”
He took another drink. “I’ve heard women call him a golden god.”
Now that moniker fit Declan. “What do women call you?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “All-American Midwest boy, but I’m not sure what it means. One woman called me beefcake.”
Charlotte smiled at that. No wonder she wanted to eat him all up. “I do like my steak.”
He leaned back in his chair and his eyes were barely visible in the candlelight. “Gladys, are you flirting with me?”
“I am.”
“I like it.” His full lips curved into a salacious smile. “What brought you here tonight?”
Charlotte felt a tingle of heat in the pit of her stomach. “Maybe I wanted something uncomplicated. Why did you send me a drink?”
“You are the most beautiful woman here.”
She laughed. Seduction was fun. “How can you tell with this mask on?”
“I have good instincts and your mouth is sublime.”
“Really?”
“There isn’t a man here that doesn’t want to kiss your mouth.”
“What’s so special about it?”
“Beside the plump lips and the smile? Your mouth looks so soft and tempting.”
“Why are you here?”
“I am here for you.”
You Shook Me All Night Long (Scorned Lovers Book 1) Page 19
