by Becca Steele
He was so easy to love, though.
Tonight, he had on black trousers and a white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone and his sleeves rolled up, showing his tattooed, golden skin, and the sight of him practically made my mouth water. I allowed myself one look at him before I tore my gaze away, focusing on the long bar in front of me, spirits of every kind lined up along the mirrored wall. We were back at Sanctuary again, this time to meet with Creed and to potentially confront my brother, depending on what Creed said. It was also Kinslee’s birthday—Winter’s best friend—so the mood was fairly upbeat, despite the worry of Petr hanging over us.
Lena slipped in next to me. “What are you drinking? I’ll get these.”
I turned to smile at her. “It’s my brother’s club. Drinks are on the house.”
She grinned, scanning the shelves. “In that case, let’s make the most of it.”
Tequila it was.
Everyone partook of the shots, and my body relaxed as the alcohol fizzed through my bloodstream. I was aware of Cassius, but that was as far as it went. Tonight was about getting answers and celebrating Kinslee’s birthday. Being Winter’s best friend, she’d initially been wary of me being here. Winter must have explained something of my situation, though, because as soon as we’d all met up in the hotel lobby, she was nothing but genuine smiles.
Some of the group headed upstairs while Winter and Kinslee disappeared off to the loos, and Lena talked me into another shot, not that it took much persuading.
“Another?” she suggested when the tequila burn had faded from my throat, but I shook my head.
“Later. Let’s pace ourselves.” She nodded, and we made our way up to the VIP area, where my brother was going to be meeting us later in the evening. I followed Lena over to one of the huge booths, where the Four sprawled out alongside another guy. As we approached the booth, the guy stood, and I got my first good look at Credence Pope, aka Creed.
Intimidating was the first word that came to mind. The second was wow, because the man was absolutely gorgeous. Wrapped in a navy fitted suit, he studied me with eyes almost golden in colour, bright against his bronzed skin. His dark hair fell across his forehead, and the small scar on his left cheekbone and the air of danger surrounding him somehow added to his appeal.
“Creed. You must be Jessa.” Even his voice was sexy. “Austin’s sister, right?” A smile curved over his lips, and I shook myself out of my stupor. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Cassius’ eyes narrow as he focused on us. What was all that about?
“Yes. Austin speaks highly of you.”
He smiled again and took my hand, brushing a light kiss over the back of it. There was a soft noise behind me, and Creed’s gaze flicked away, his smile widening. “Winter. Kinslee. This is a pleasure.”
Spinning around, I watched with interest as after greeting Winter, he made a point of training his gaze on Kinslee, who wouldn’t even look at him. “What’s all that about?” I sidled up to Winter and spoke quietly in her ear.
She laughed. “Kinslee says he scares her, so I think he likes to take advantage of that fact. He’s the same with Lena’s friend, Raine, too. They both have this idea that he’s dangerous.”
“I guess I can see what they mean. Still, it seems like he enjoys it.” The amusement dancing in Creed’s eyes proved my point.
Winter smiled in agreement, then slid into the booth next to Caiden, followed by Kinslee. Lena was already sitting on Weston’s lap, and Zayde and Cassius were in conversation. As I hesitated at the end of the booth, the hostess appeared to take our drink orders.
Laura. The beautiful woman that Cassius had taken the number of last time we’d been here. His gaze darted to her, and he said something to Zayde, who slid out of the booth, letting him out. The second he trained that smile on Laura, his hand curling around her waist, I’d seen enough.
Fuck. Why did I have to develop feelings for him?
Biting my lip, I turned away. I felt a presence at my side, and I turned to look up into Creed’s golden eyes. His gaze was inscrutable, but his eyes flicked between me and Cassius, and I’d bet anything that he’d read the situation correctly. His lips came down to my ear. “Show him what he’s missing.”
I jerked back, staring up at him. “Are you suggesting…”
“No. Not me.” His lips kicked up at the corners. “Austin wouldn’t appreciate it.” A dark look flashed in his gaze. “And I have certain…tastes.”
“I see.” I didn’t see. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to see.
“But this club,” he continued. “There’s no shortage of willing participants, should you wish to show him what he’s missing.”
“He’s not interested,” I said in a low voice, glancing back to where Cassius was saying something that made Laura laugh, batting her lashes at him.
“Hmmm.” Stepping back from me, he moved to Cassius and Laura, and I took a step closer, then another, keeping my gaze focused on the people on the main dance floor below.
“… mate … anyone at the moment?”
I lost a few of Creed’s words but heard enough to get the gist of what he was asking Cassius. Cassius’ reply was much louder. “Single as always.” His wide, disarming grin as he glanced down at Laura was too much.
I’d heard enough.
Digging deep and gathering my composure, I flicked my hair from my shoulder, stood up straight, and turned on my heel, moving away from the booth and deeper into the VIP area. The whole section was dimly lit, and at the end, there was another bouncer standing in front of a black curtain. He straightened up as I approached.
Pausing, I turned to look behind me, seeing the back of Cassius’ head as he leaned down to speak in Laura’s ear. He hadn’t even noticed I’d gone. And why should he? I meant nothing to him, and the sooner I got over this stupid crush, the better.
Turning back to the bouncer, I indicated to the curtain. “Can I go in there?”
He nodded. “You’re free to go anywhere you wish, Miss De Witt.” Okay, so he knew I was Austin’s sister. His gaze scanned me in a purely professional way that had me relaxing. “Although, if I could offer a word of advice?”
I cocked my head, waiting for him to continue.
“Your brother might not enjoy seeing you in this part of the club. I’ll give you a heads-up when he’s on his way.”
Now I was really intrigued. What was behind the curtain?
As soon as the bouncer drew it back and I slipped inside, I had my answer. Beyond a short corridor lay a room, all black on black, with glittering floors and mirrors along one wall, above a small stage with a pole. More booths were clustered around the space, each with a heavy curtain that could be closed around them. Some of the curtains were closed and some open, allowing me to see the bodies inside.
“Hi.”
A tanned, muscular guy in the tightest shorts I’d ever seen bounded up to me.
“Uh. Hi?”
He grinned. “What’s your poison? Man? Woman? Want to dance yourself? Whatever you want, we can provide it.” He finished his speech with a flourish of his hands, his skin sparkling under the low lights.
“What is this room?” I returned his smile, more intrigued than ever.
“That, my darling, is a very good question.” Reaching out, he grabbed my arm and tucked it through his, then led me further into the room. “This is where our VIP guests come if you want some more…personal entertainment.” He indicated to the stage. “Dancers on the pole—the next one’ll be on in half an hour or so. Then the booths—you can request a private dance if you so desire. We have a menu.” A tablet suddenly appeared in his hand.
“Wait, where did that come from?” I glanced down at his ultra-tight silver shorts, confused.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Tapping on the screen to wake it up, he showed me a list of dancers with colour codes next to their pictures, which he told me indicated who they would dance for and what dances they were willing to do. “It’s all very safe. Classy,
too. Despite the glitter.”
“Oh. I had no idea this was here. Austin never mentioned anything—”
“You know Austin?” His eyes flew to mine.
“He’s my brother.”
Pursing his lips, he gave me an uncertain look. “Since you’re his sister, and I’m his employee, I can’t—”
“Please don’t tell me that I need to leave. I can’t go back out there.”
“Why not?”
“Because the man I’m interested in is out there flirting with someone else, and he doesn’t want me anyway, and I don’t even want to want him,” burst from my mouth in a rush.
“In that case…you need a distraction.” The doubt disappeared from his eyes. Flashing me a grin, he swiped across the tablet screen. “I’ll just book myself out…” His image on the screen darkened to show that he wasn’t currently available. “I’m JJ, by the way. And I’m very, very gay. In case you were concerned about me getting handsy with you.”
I laughed. “I’m Jessa.”
He slid his hand into mine, leading me towards one of the open booths. “What would you say to a dance masterclass from the master himself?”
The champagne flowed, and I lost track of time, grinding up against JJ, picking up the techniques he showed me. He proclaimed me a natural, and his praise warmed me through. This had been just what I needed.
Standing, he clasped my shoulders as one song ended, merging into the next. “I think you’re ready to be set free.”
“Set free?”
“Wait here.” He headed over to the side of the room, and a few moments later, the lights changed from a sweeping pattern to a slow pulse, in time with the sultry beat of the music. Strutting back over to me, he flung himself into the booth. “Dance for me.”
With a smile, I shook out my hair, threw him a wink, and began to move.
The music swept me away. I undulated my body over JJ’s, spurred on by his words of encouragement and his wide grin. Spinning around, I arched back, sliding down his body, almost to the floor, before popping back up.
That was when I saw Cassius.
He stood way too close, his jaw tense and his blue eyes dark and stormy, laser focused on me and JJ.
For a second, I froze, before remembering his words about being single. Tearing my gaze away from his, I dropped my body back against JJ’s, rolling my hips back.
“That’s the guy you were trying to escape?” His head was close to mine, his voice soft, and there was no way Cassius would be able to hear him.
“Yes.”
“He wants you.”
I shook my head, moving my body on autopilot, even as I felt Cassius’ gaze boring into me.
“Oh, he does.” The next second, he slid out from behind me and was standing in front of Cassius. I came to a halt, my heart pounding as Cassius stared at JJ with a dark look I’d never seen on his face before, baring his teeth as he took in JJ’s barely clad body.
JJ was completely unfazed, grabbing Cassius’ arm and manhandling him into the booth. I almost smiled at Cassius’ look of surprise as he found himself suddenly seated, but my heart was beating too fast, my mind whirling with confusion from the way he’d looked at me and JJ, and all I could do was stare at him.
JJ slid over to me, facing Cassius. He held a finger in the air as he addressed him. “Rule. No touching the dancers. Otherwise, enjoy.” Brushing my hair away from my ear, he leaned in, his voice dropping. “Dance for you, and make him work for it.”
The music changed to a slow remix of “Such a Whore” by JVLA, and I closed my eyes, spun to face away from Cassius, and began to move.
When I spun back to face him, his eyes were even darker, and the same tense expression was on his face. Placing my hands on the smooth leather of the booth on either side of him, I rolled my body down his, and a harsh breath escaped him, his nostrils flaring as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
The realisation that he was trying to hold himself back from touching me brought a smile to my face, and I lifted my body up, straddling him but keeping myself raised so we weren’t touching. I let my hair fall forwards and dragged my nails down his chest. He hissed through his teeth, his head falling back. The trousers he was wearing did nothing to hide the outline of his hard cock, and there was nothing I wanted more right then than to feel his hands on me.
“Jessa.” A tortured groan fell from his lips, his gaze hot and dark, tracking all over my body.
“I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, but Austin’s here.”
The spell was suddenly broken at the new voice, and I jerked away from Cassius to see Caiden staring at us with something that looked a lot like disapproval.
“Here?” I couldn’t disguise the panic in my voice, and that brought a smirk to Caiden’s face.
“In the VIP bit.”
My body sagged with relief. We were all adults here, but I highly doubted my brother would want to see his sister grinding all over someone, especially not in this particular room.
Cassius shot out of the booth in the direction of the exit, and I followed him and Caiden, stopping to wave goodbye to JJ, who was balancing a tray of drinks on one hand as he headed towards one of the booths. He gave me a smile and a wink, and I smiled in return before picking up my pace to catch up with Caiden and Cassius.
I wished I hadn’t. Their conversation was easy to hear.
“…you say that, but it didn’t look like nothing.”
Cassius made an irritated noise in his throat. “What do you want me to say? Yeah, so we fucked. Doesn’t mean anything. We both know the score, so stop trying to make a big issue out of it.”
I lost Caiden’s reply as they disappeared through the curtain, but what I had heard was enough for me. It strengthened my resolve to get over him as soon as possible. I shouldn’t have even danced like I just had, not for Cassius.
Straightening my short black dress, I paused to gather myself, and then I fixed a smile on my face and headed back into the VIP area with my head held high. It was time. Time to confront my brother, lay everything on the table, and get this Petr issue sorted once and for all so I could move back into my apartment and start picking up the pieces of my life. Alone.
THIRTEEN
Jessa’s brother was deep in conversation with Zayde and Creed when I flung myself into the booth. Thank fuck for Cade—my dick was well and truly deflated after that near miss. I didn’t want Austin’s first impression of me to be a bad one. I studied him out of the corner of my eye as I reached for one of the beers that had magically appeared on the table. Both he and Jessa were hot as fuck, objectively speaking, and I could see a sibling resemblance, mostly in the dark hair and green eyes. Austin had a harder look to him, though, the look of someone more ruthless and cutthroat than Jessa was.
Introductions were made, and I managed to charm a smile out of Austin, leaving me leaning back against the booth, satisfied. Or I was until Jessa stormed up to the booth and slammed her hands down on the table.
Everyone stared at her in shock. She kept her gaze focused on Austin, not sparing the rest of us a glance. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
He exchanged glances with Creed before nodding. “Yeah, of course.”
“Creed, too,” she said. Then she glanced around the table. “Actually…” Hesitation entered her tone, and she chewed on her lip.
I wanted to kiss her.
What the fuck? Where did that thought come from?
“Everyone who was there that night, I guess.” The way she emphasised “that night” needed no explanation.
It was decided that Lena would stay with Kinslee, since neither of them had been there that night, and Winter wanted to make sure Kinslee enjoyed her birthday. Some more of their uni friends were due to show up at any time, along with Raine, so they wouldn’t be alone for long. We left them with a bucket of champagne and headed through a door into the back offices of the club, past the security room, and into a large, empty space with boxes stacked in o
ne corner and a load of chairs piled on the other side.
“Storage,” Austin said when he caught us glancing around the room. “Probably. Still getting our bearings here, the club hasn’t been open long.” He began arranging chairs in a kind of semicircle, so I went to help him, and soon we were all seated with Jessa the centre of attention.
“Okay. I’m just going to come out and say it because we need full transparency here.” Jessa’s voice didn’t even waver for a second. This wasn’t the Jessa I knew, who’d always followed in her dad’s footsteps, never showing her hand unless she had no other choice. I guess she’d changed even more than I realised. She held her brother’s gaze as she gave a rundown of the situation, somehow finding the strength to get through the whole story, never faltering once. I was so fucking proud of her in that moment.
Austin didn’t outwardly react, casually reclined in his seat, and at first I thought it was because she’d downplayed the story, sticking to the basic facts, but when I took a closer look at him, I saw the hard set of his jaw and the way his knuckles were turning white as he gripped the armrests of his chair. He had one hell of a poker face.
Caiden and Winter both added to the story, filling in the gaps but also sticking to the facts, and when everyone was finally done, a heavy silence fell over the room.
The silence was eventually broken by Jessa. “Austin? Why did he have your number?”
Austin shook his head. “I honestly don’t know.”
“I might have an idea.” Creed tapped his phone against the armrest of his seat. “From my intel, it seemed like he was acting alone… But…the Volkovs—”
“Who are the Volkovs?” Jessa asked the inevitable question.
“Russian Bratva. We’re…negotiating quite an important vodka deal. Petr Ivanov was a known associate of the Strelichevos, who are…let’s say…a Belarusian crime syndicate. In the simplest words possible, the Strelichevos are associates of the Volkovs, and we already knew that there was a connection between them all.” His lips set in a flat line. “Having said that, we’d been assured that everything had been dealt with, but him showing up around this vodka deal—the timing seems suspect. It could be that Ivanov has managed to worm his way into the deal somehow.”
