by K. M. Scott
“Hey, Kane. I need to talk to you,” I finally said, interrupting them.
He turned to look at me, still wearing a silly grin that seemed to have been charming Shay just a moment earlier. “Look who it is! Stefan, what’s up, baby brother?”
“I love that you call him baby brother,” Shay cooed in a voice that I never heard when she spoke to me. “That’s too cute.”
Kane made some joke about me as a baby, ridiculous since he didn’t meet me until I was nearly twenty, before he flashed Shay another smile and finally tore himself away to follow me. We got to my office, and I barely closed the door before I barked, “What the fuck was that all about?”
“What?”
“Don’t give me what. What are you doing with Shay?”
“Nothing, Stefan. I just saw her standing there and stopped to talk.”
“Why didn’t you talk to Lola then?”
He chuckled. “I did. It’s just that Shay seemed more interested in talking back to me.”
My blood pressure steadily rose until my temples throbbed. “I know what you’re doing. You think I’m going to win our bet, so you’re throwing up roadblocks to make sure I don’t. This is bullshit, Kane. Step back out of my way.”
“Or what? Planning on taking a shot at me, Stef?” he asked, intentionally egging me on.
I stepped closer to him. “You may be bigger than me, but you’ve been asking for a beatdown for a while, big brother.”
He looked down at me with amusement in his eyes that only pissed me off more. “So you’re going to fight me over her now? What happened to this just being about winning?”
“It is about winning, Kane, and you’re fucking with me because you don’t want to give up what you bet. This is bullshit!”
“Don’t get excited, Stefan. I don’t plan on doing anything with Shay. Now if she likes me, there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Before I could answer, he walked out leaving me standing there feeling like a jackass. Fucking Kane! If he wanted to play hardball, I could do the same. And I had an ace up my sleeve he didn’t—I’d already slept with her. That was important. He could smile and flirt all he wanted. I’d gotten there first and that counted for something.
I headed back out to the floor for the bartenders’ meeting with what to do about Lola and Kane roiling around in my mind. There was only one other place in the club that she could make anywhere close to the money she made at the front bar. The fourth floor station stayed pretty low key, but the tips the bartender got up there sometimes bested what the front bartenders earned. I never sent her there because I’d always considered her too good for that, but if it made getting closer to Shay possible, it had to be done.
What I’d do with Kane was a different story. As I caught a glimpse of him walking back up toward his floor, I wished my father hadn’t liked women as much as he did. At least with Cash I knew I could trust him.
“Okay, listen up!” I called out to my bartenders for the night. “I know last night was incredible, but we’re done with that Seventies shit and back to modern day. Shay is at the front bar tonight with Kat, and Gabe and Mika are at the back bar. Everyone else is where they usually are, either waiting tables down here or on the upper floors. Lola, I want you to take the fourth floor bar.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shay give me a look of disapproval. Everyone broke up and went to their assigned places for the night, including her, and I headed to the front bar to make sure she knew I didn’t break my word.
Shay crouched down behind the bar, so I leaned over and quietly said, “I saw that look you gave me. It’s not even Lo’s scheduled night.”
She looked up and gave me a little smile. “It’s not a problem for me. As long as Lola is happy, Stefan, I’m happy.”
“Well, you seemed pretty hot about it when I was at your house that day.”
“I didn’t think it was right to choose Mika over her. You didn’t do that tonight. She says the fourth floor is a pretty plum assignment.”
Shay stood up and began to rummage around with the glasses beneath the bar. She smelled like she had the night before, minus the alcohol, and I inhaled deeply as my mind replayed how she’d tasted when I’d kissed her. “I had a good time last night.”
Her green eyes flashed a scolding look as her face remained placid. “Shhh. I don’t need everyone in the club knowing we were together, Stefan.”
“I’m the boss, Shay. I can be with whoever I want.”
“Whomever, and that’s fine but I can’t. I don’t need everyone talking about me and making my life miserable.”
She may have been saying that, but I saw in her eyes she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Quietly, I said, “First slow part of the night, come see me in my office. Kat can handle the bar for a little while.”
“Your office?” she asked with her eyebrows raised, like she was surprised.
I winked and leaned back away from her. “Yeah. First slow time you get.”
As if the gods were smiling down on me, the crowds at Club X were thin so by one I shot Shay a knowing look to let her know she could follow me. Kat could handle the few members still left milling around the front bar, so I headed to my office.
By ten after one, I was still sitting alone wondering if there’d be some massive influx of members suddenly, but when I opened my office door, there were still just those few men standing at the bar with Kat but Shay was nowhere to be found. I scanned the room for her and then I saw her coming down the stairs.
Why the fuck did she go up there?
* * *
I SAW Stefan glaring at me as I stepped off the last stair onto the club floor and knew he’d grown inpatient. Not that I wanted to hang out in his office and play doctor with him. The night before had been off the charts phenomenal. All those months with Elliot and I’d thought he was great in bed, but one night with Stefan March and every inch of my body craved him already.
My head needed to be my ruler, not the area between my legs. That would only get me into places I couldn’t afford to be in. Stefan was like a rich, decadent dessert—incredibly desirable yet very bad for you. Once, maybe twice, you could indulge, but any more than that and nothing good could come from it.
But I couldn’t avoid him. He was my boss, first and foremost, and if I was honest, I’d grown to like him, despite myself. From the look on his face, though, he likely believed I was playing games with him by going up to see Lola instead of running to his office the first chance I got.
He turned away and closed the door even as I walked toward him. Not good.
I grabbed for the doorknob but stopped myself from walking in uninvited, knocking instead since it felt like that eagerness he’d shown me earlier had changed to something else. He barked for me to come in, and I opened the door to see Stefan sitting behind his desk wearing a tight-lipped smile.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked tentatively as I leaned back against the door to close it, sensing an iciness in his dark eyes.
“Not much. What did you go upstairs for?”
Definitely chilly, but why did my going upstairs to see Lola bother him?
“I wanted to see how Lola was doing. The fourth floor isn’t too bad. She’s making a killing up there tonight since we’ve got next to no one down here.”
“Yeah, not too bad,” he repeated quietly, his mood improving as he said the words.
“Lola’s got a fan up there too. Some guy who’s got deep pockets, if her tips are any indication,” I added, hoping as I talked that he’d go back to his old, playful self.
“Yeah? Good. That would be good for her,” he said with a smile.
Slowly, I moved toward his desk, glad to see his mood change for the better. “So what did you want to see me about, bossman?”
That old sparkle reappeared in his eyes, and a very Stefan grin lit up his face. “Bossman? Are we back to where we were that first day we met?”
I stopped a few feet away from him and shrugged. “I don’t
know. You tell me.”
He opened his legs slightly and crooked his finger to beckon me. “Come here.”
Stepping in between his thighs, I looked down at him and felt my body come alive, betraying all my intentions to keep aloof. The man had that effect on me.
Stefan leaned forward and slid his hands down the backs of my legs, making them go weak from his touch. Against my ever-lessening will, they buckled slightly and I pitched forward toward him, crashing into his muscular chest.
“Oh, sorry,” I said as I half-heartedly tried to push myself off him. The truth was I liked how he felt against me and didn’t want to have to pretend to be disinterested, but I knew who he was and who I was. Stefan was a player, and I was a woman who was chasing a dream that didn’t include any man right now.
His arms snaked around my waist and held me to him. “No need to be sorry. I like a woman who goes after what she wants.”
I rolled my eyes at his ego. “I wasn’t trying to jump your bones, Stefan. I fell into you.”
Winking, he smiled. “Sure. I’d think after last night we’d be past this kind of thing.”
“What are you talking about? What kind of thing?”
He licked his lips so seductively I almost forgot what I’d just asked him. But then he opened his mouth and that cocky Stefan I’d met that first day I’d come to Club X came out. “This shy girl thing you’re doing. No need for that, Shay. Not after what we did last night.”
Something inside my brain exploded and I pushed against him with all my might to get back on my feet. His expression registered his surprise, and I said, “So you think that because I had one night with the spectacular Stefan March that I’m ready to be the flavor of the week?”
Even though I’d shocked him by not falling at his feet and worshipping him, he reached out to pull me back to him. “Still got that fire, huh? Good. I like that.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He thought he had me all figured out. One night with him and I’d be putty in his hands. Typical man. I’d all but reconsidered my plan to play this player, but now as I watched him stare up at me with a look full of expectation, I decided it was game on.
Leaning down, I brushed my lips against his and whispered, “Oh, you like my fire, baby?” My hand slid down the front of his jeans that covered his quickly hardening cock. “How hot would it be if I dropped to my knees and sucked your cock right here, Stefan? Would you like that?”
He moaned something about wanting that more than I could imagine and a surge of power raced through me. There he sat, his head back and his fingers fumbling with his fly, thinking that I’d be like every other female who’d passed through this office. It was time for this man whore to learn a lesson.
I lowered myself to the floor and kneeled in front of him. Slowly, I ran my palms up his thighs until my thumbs could stroke the base of his cock through his jeans. I applied pressure to where I knew would excite him most and moaned, “Close your eyes and imagine my lips wrapped around your thick cock, taking all that I can handle. You want that, don’t you?”
“Fuck, yes…enough talk, Shay,” he said in a low voice full of need.
I ran my hand up the front of his pants and stood. Looking down at him, I couldn’t help like how this made me feel. For a moment, I wondered how many woman had actually said no to him, and I doubted the number would take more than one hand.
But he’d met his match this time.
“Time for me to get back to work. See you when you get out there, bossman,” I chirped playfully as I spun on my heels and headed toward the door.
From behind me, I heard Stefan say, “What? Where are you going?”
I stopped as I reached the door and turned around to see him, his face the picture of confusion and his deep brown eyes wide in frustration. A twinge of regret pinched at me when I looked into those eyes, but I couldn’t forget who he was simply in a moment of weakness.
“I need to get back to work. Kat can’t be expected to man the front bar all by herself.”
“Don’t worry about Kat. You have time. Come here.”
“Not tonight, Stefan. Another night, maybe.”
And with that, I turned around and walked out of his office, leaving him hard as a rock. As I walked back to the front bar, the thought crossed my mind that he’d just find someone else to relieve the frustration I’d caused in him. That the idea of him with someone else made my stomach knot up irritated me. Why should I care who he slept with?
A knock at my front door jarred me out of an incredibly sexy dream about Stefan, and I shuffled my still sleepy self to answer it. I opened the door and saw Carrie looking at me the way she always did when she disapproved of my look.
“Going with the homeless look these days? Sweatpants, Shay? Who the hell wears sweatpants to bed?”
“People who want to be comfortable. What are you doing here at the crack of dawn waking me up?” I asked as she pushed past me and sat down on the couch.
“The crack of dawn isn’t eleven o’clock in the morning, Shay. Even people who work in bars are up before eleven. And we had a breakfast date this morning, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” I lied. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll get ready.”
I slouched away to my room to try to bring myself back to life, but Carrie followed me and threw herself onto my bed. Folding her arms behind her head, she studied me as I peeled off my sweatpants and shirt. “So how’s the Club X gig going?”
“Good. Making lots of money, which is good.”
“Well, at least it’s all good. Now tell me all the details, Miss I-Seem-To-Have-Forgotten-Who-My-Best-Friend-Is. I know you have something to tell me. It’s written all over your face.”
I snuck a look at my expression in the mirror and instantly saw what she saw. I was wearing the self-satisfied look of the victorious. Turning toward her, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me as I moved toward the bathroom. “Let’s just say you’re looking at the first woman to ever serve up the just desserts to Stefan March.”
“Shay! You get back here right now! I want details!” she yelled after me as I stepped into the shower.
She could wait. It would make the telling of the story all the better. I turned on the water and closed my eyes, not even trying to stop the smile that spread across my face. As I lathered up the shampoo in my hair, I heard on the other side of the shower curtain, “Spill your guts, girl. What happened with your boss?”
With suds rolling down the sides of my head, I peeked out and saw her standing there in my steamy bathroom. “Privacy mean anything to you?”
“Not when it comes to hot talk. Now spill it,” she ordered.
“Let me rinse, for God’s sake!” I said as I dipped my head under the water.
“Fine, but I’m not leaving this bathroom, so you might as well just get on with it.”
I rinsed the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair and gave myself a quick soapdown before I turned off the water and prepared to tell Carrie all the sexy details of my time with Stefan. Pulling back the shower curtain, I stuck my hand out for a towel. “I don’t kiss and tell without drying off first.”
She threw a bath towel at my head and sat down on the lid of the toilet. “Let’s go. I’m dying here. Did you sleep with him or what?”
“You know, when you diminish all my hard work down to just sex, you really hurt me, Carrie.”
Raising her eyebrows in faux disbelief, she grinned. “Just sex? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was an achievement like climbing Everest.”
I finished drying myself off and headed back into the bedroom. “You have no appreciation for my hard work. None at all.”
Carrie followed me and sat back down on the bed. “You know, Shay, as much as I love acting like some puppy dog and following you around, could you please begin this story before you start blow drying your hair or giving yourself a full facial?”
I stopped and took a deep breath, trying to stifle a laugh at Carrie’s impatience. Finally, when I knew
I’d pushed her far enough, I slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank top, sat down with her on the bed, and began to towel dry my hair. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”
“Finally!”
“So, let me start at the beginning. Do you remember that first day when I told you that Stefan March was a player and nothing else?”
Carrie rolled her eyes. “I think we can skip the details from way back when and get to the meat of this story. Did you sleep with him or not?”
“Yes.”
“And?” I didn’t answer immediately as I considered how I’d want to report Stefan’s sexual prowess, and Carrie continued, “Players are always good, so I don’t know why I even asked for more details. Let’s cut to the chase. What happened after you slept together?”
“He wants to sleep with me again.”
“Of course. But other than that, what’s going on between you and the master player?”
“He’s getting played.”
Carrie’s jaw dropped. When she finally could speak again, she asked, “You really went through with that?”
Her surprise bothered me. “You didn’t think I would?”
“Well, to be honest, no. You may be a player in your own right, but you’re no match for a man whose whole existence is based on playing women.”
“I can’t believe your lack of faith in my abilities. Some friend you are.”
Her dark eyes stared into mine, telling me she was serious. “Shay, this has disaster written all over it. I’m warning you now, girlfriend. Stop this or you’re going to get hurt. Stefan March isn’t Elliot, and this isn’t going to end up with you barely missing him like you did with that boy-toy.”
The mention of Elliot made me feel like a real shit. I hadn’t even missed him that much, and I hadn’t really mourned the loss of the relationship before sleeping with Stefan.
“Still being a harpy about poor Elliot, huh?” I asked, intentionally deflecting, but Carrie saw right through my attempt.
