Masters Forever (Masters #3)

by Ginger Voight

  I gulped back any reply. He wasn’t completely wrong about that. I had been happier in the weeks following New Year’s Eve than I had the miserable months leading up to it.

  “Take it from me, baby. True happiness comes from being true to yourself, and anyone else who really had your back when you were down.” He let that hang there till I looked back up at him. “You know that includes me, right?”

  I sighed. “What do you want from me, Caz?”

  “You,” he answered like I should have known.

  “Caz,” I started with a shake of my head but he just held me tighter.

  “We don’t have to solve the world’s problems tonight. We just have to do what we want to do and feel what we want to feel. Let all the rest of the bullshit go. Look at me,” he commanded and I found myself obeying. “Fuck her party and her spotlight. This is your night, baby. Show ‘em all.”

  With that he lowered his mouth on mine to kiss me in front of the entire joint. I was so stunned I didn’t even pull away when he deepened the kiss. He wore a shit-eating smile as he lifted away, and I immediately turned to spot Devlin, who watched us carefully from his side of the dance floor–as did Suzanne.

  It was (mostly) because of her that I wound my hand around Caz’s neck and brought him back down for another blazing kiss as the music segued into another song.

  “That’s my girl,” Caz praised as he guided me through yet another sexy dance so hot that Devlin decided we needed to switch partners. He traded off Suzanne to Caz before sweeping me into this powerful arms and pressing every soft curve of my body into every hard inch of his.

  “Convincing show,” he murmured as he stared down at me.

  I arched an eyebrow. “You too.”

  He smiled. “And the pussycat roars.” He ground those hips against me, which wore down my defenses even more. I turned my attention back to Caz and Suzanne.

  “What do you think they’re saying?” I asked.

  “She’s probably threatening him, to remind him of who’s boss so he won’t take her dirty little secrets to the press. Odds are she thinks she has one more ace up her sleeve, otherwise she probably would have run him out of the country already. She obviously still thinks she can control him.”

  “Like she controls you?” I asked and his eyes met mine.

  “Yes.”

  I sighed. How the fuck did I get myself mixed up with all of this?

  Caz’s voice whispered in my ear. “Admit it. You’re happier here with us than you ever would have been living at Daddy’s house, taking care of everyone else like some self-sacrificing martyr.”

  Was he right?

  From the way my body responded to Dev, I suspected he might be. Every nerve ending fired to life under the pulsating beat of the music and the flash of the strobe lights from above. I let myself go because I could, because that was part of the plan… and because I wanted to.

  I wanted to be there with Dev, in his arms, my body flush against his, my heart thumping in time to the music as his warm hand blazed over every square inch of bare skin, sliding up my back and then tangling into my hair. He didn’t kiss me, but he didn’t have to. Those seductive eyes reminded me of every kiss, of every touch, of every conquest, as if they were happening all over again.

  In my mind, they were.

  I could barely catch my breath as his other hand slid down over the swell of my ass, which, whether Suzanne was done with Caz or not, she ended their dance so she could reclaim Dev.

  “Dev, darling,” she said as she leaned into him. “When do I get the birthday present you’ve been teasing me with, you naughty boy?”

  Dev wrapped an arm around her. “Later,” he grinned. My eyes met his, where he proved, once again, that as much control as he had relented, he retained even more. He would never submit, not even to me.

  After the DJ had introduced the birthday girl, her VIP crowd properly showered her with adoration. I jumped on this opportunity to get him to myself, so that I could drill him on what his future plans with Suzanne involved. I already knew what my job was. My mic-drop moment included walking her two favorite toys up to my personal, private suite in her very own hotel. What happened after that, who knew? It was up to me to find out.

  “What’s going on, Dev?”

  “Don’t you trust me?” he countered.

  I glared at him. “Should I?”

  He shrugged. “You’re the one who insists that we’re not married, that we’re both free. If you plan to use that to the best of your advantage tonight, why can’t I?”

  “So… what? You’re pushing me on Caz so you can feel better about fucking Suzanne?”

  He glanced around to make sure no one else heard my sharp accusation, before pulling me away from the crowd. “I haven’t felt good about fucking Suzanne in more years than I can count.”

  “Didn’t look that way to me,” I mumbled as the damnable vision popped up in my head yet again, of how he looked, riding her with that self-satisfied grin.

  “That’s an act and you know it,” he reminded in an angry whisper.

  “That’s the problem, isn’t it, Dev? I can’t tell when you’re acting and when you’re not. You’re much better at this game than I could ever be.”

  He glanced at Caz, who refilled our drinks at the bar. “Don’t sell yourself short, ‘pussycat.’ You’re better at playing a part than you know.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Who’s playing?” On that fitting exit line, I turned to leave. He curled his hand around my forearm to pull me back.

  “We’ll find out tonight, won’t we?”

  “Maybe,” I offered before I tugged my arm free. “Just depends on busy you are with Suzanne.”

  He let me have that as the last word, so I joined Caz at the bar where he chatted with Rhys. Caz draped an arm possessively around my shoulders. “There you are, pussycat. I missed you.” He bent for another kiss that he could steal mostly because of our ruse at the party.

  “Pussycat?” Rhys repeated as he began mixing another drink, a shooter this time.

  “Just a term of endearment,” Caz dismissed. “She knows how to roar, don’t let her fool you.”

  Rhys chuckled. “I don’t doubt that.”

  “Maybe you can join us later. She can show you for herself.”

  I glared at Caz, who kept adding things onto my confusing pile of complications. Fortunately Rhys chuckled, dismissing the invitation as a joke.

  “Sorry, mate. I prefer to fly solo, particularly in the company of a beautiful woman.”

  “Smart man,” Caz toasted.

  Rhys put the shot glass filled with a light colored mixed drink in front of me. “What’s this?” I asked.

  “A Screaming Orgasm,” he grinned. “First one is on the house,” he added, and I understood exactly what he meant.

  If I wanted any more time with him, I’d have to pay.

  He truly was being groomed to take over the place held by both Devlin and Caz. Defiantly I took the shot, which tasted of coffee, amaretto and Irish cream.

  Caz withdrew some money from his wallet. “Keep ‘em coming,” he instructed Rhys. “My pussycat loves men who can give her multiples.” He ignored my pointed look to grin at the handsome bartender. “I’ll drink what she doesn’t. You don’t mind giving screaming orgasms to men, do you, Rhys?” He added another bill to the pile.

  Rhys studied him for a moment before mixing two more drinks and setting them right in front of us. “Good man,” Caz said in the same seductive tone he’d used on me plenty of time.

  Just like Devlin, he had his own plan.

  Caz slammed the drink before letting out a satisfied whoop when he was done. He grinned at both of us. “It’s not a screaming O unless someone screams, right?”

  Both men turned to me, so I, likewise, slammed the drink and let out a holler, if only to sweeten the pot a little more.

  From the look in Rhys’s eyes, I sensed it worked.

  Oddly, it made me feel even more powerful. I wasn’t
just as the mercy of Caz and Dev anymore. I was a soldier of seduction every bit as much as they were.

  I scooted the money towards Rhys before I pulled Caz to the dance floor. “What are you doing?” he wanted to know as we stepped right into the beat of the song that was playing.

  “He can’t chase us if we don’t run away,” I pointed out. He grinned as he pulled me closer.

  “Ah, my tiny grasshopper. You’ve learned much.”

  I made a face. “Are you ever going to call me anything other than animals and insects?”

  “That depends,” he said as he ground against me.

  “On what?”

  “On if I can ever call you my girl,” he answered.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. He knew I loved Dev. And he wasn’t a white picket fences kind of guy anyway. What he meant, I didn’t know. And I didn’t need it clarified on a night where I would be facing my greatest test yet.

  He was right. I wasn’t a good girl. Every time I thought about being pinned in between Dev and Caz, my whole body went up in flames. This sent me running back to the bottle to chase away the titillating thoughts, but the alcohol only made my inhibitions sink like a stone.

  I suspected I’d need a twelve-step program the second I stepped off the plane in Los Angeles. Honestly I needed more than one. I needed a program to rid me of my addiction to booze, to pot, and to men of all sorts–but particularly tall, handsome, cocky professionals like the two of them.

  The later the party raged, the more irresistible the temptation, particularly when both Dev and Caz joined me on the dance floor, to recreate, in the most modest way possible, our dance from New Year’s Eve. Suzanne only allowed it for a moment before she finally took the stage, interrupted the song and announced, “All right, y’all. It’s time to move these festivities upstairs. To the Crescendo suite!” she declared, and everyone roared their enthusiasm.

  The Crescendo suite was one of The Harvey’s penthouses, which virtually took over half of the top two floors of the hotel. Concerto, the other penthouse, took up the other half. Both suites were two stories, each featuring five bedrooms and a den on the second floor. The sitting room dominated the first floor, featuring all the opulence people might desire for large private parties, including a full bar. The various seating was made out of red velvet, just like her dress. The floors were black marble, as was the tall fireplace against the far wall of the room, which was already roaring when the first wave of revelers exited the private elevator and spilled into the suite.

  The outer wall of the suite was made entirely of glass, stretching all the way up to the vaulted ceiling, as well as the breadth of the room itself, giving everyone a 180-degree view of Vegas on the Strip.

  The suite was separated in the middle by an indoor pool, where flowers and candles floated to set the mood. Cascading crystal chandeliers fell like waterfalls from the ceiling, setting everything aglow while keeping it just dark enough to keep the party going.

  Next to the fireplace was a black grand piano, and I knew exactly what Devlin’s surprise gift was for the birthday girl, especially since that was where she headed the minute she got off the elevator.

  “This weekend, a very dear friend of mine released his very first single. This means a lot to us here at the Harvey, since this is where he got his start so many years ago, working as a dealer downstairs. Now he sits on top of the world. I’d like to think we helped get him there,” she said as she toasted Devlin. I felt him bristle beside me. “Devlin has offered to play this single for us here tonight. For me,” she grinned, her eyes lighting upon me victoriously. “Everyone, please welcome Devlin Masters!”

  Both Caz and I clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Devlin wound his way through towards the piano. He took the microphone and addressed the crowd. “Thank you, Suzanne. Everyone give our beautiful hostess another hand for her birthday.” We all obeyed his request. He turned back to face her with that potent gaze that always said what he couldn’t. I could tell from twenty feet away the message was riddled with their complicated history. “You did give me that push I so desperately needed to make my dreams come true. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”

  Satisfied with his answer, Suzanne curled over the piano as he began to play the song he once sang for me a long, long time ago, the one destined to make him a superstar. She preened as he sang it to her instead, likely feeling like she had scored some kind of victory.

  It angered me that she thought she could get away with that, so much so that I didn’t argue or fuss one bit when Caz pulled me onto his lap where he sat just in front, watching the performance. Dev caught this out of the corner of his eye, as evidenced by his brief frown. It only made him sing more earnestly to Suzanne, who lapped it up like a self-satisfied cat.

  She clapped after he was done, wearing a happy smile as she begged for another one. He stole one glance in our direction before he launched into Schumann’s “Fantasie in C,” the song written by a composer forbidden to be with the girl he loved, so he had written the song as a covert message to his lover.

  I got the message, though I wasn’t sure if Suzanne did.

  But then again, maybe the message wasn’t for her at all.

  Everyone in the room was transfixed by Devlin’s performance. He commanded their rapt attention as he played the complicated piece that stretched on for more than ten minutes.

  At least that was true of everyone except Harvey Everhart, who found his way to the bar for a refill of Scotch about three minutes in, where he joined another man who was drinking at the bar. I slipped from Caz’s lap to join them.

  “Mr. Everhart,” I greeted. “Congrats on a wonderful party.”

  He snorted a bit derisively as he drank. “Thank Suzanne. It’s her baby.”

  “Modesty doesn’t suit you, Harvey,” I smiled. “You’re America’s darling right now. That isn’t all because of Suzanne.”

  He appraised me thoughtfully, particularly the way my neckline plunged so daringly between my breasts. “You’re very kind to say so,” he murmured as he turned to face me, waiting for me to fill in my name.

  “Coralie,” I said as I reached for his hand. “We’ve met before. My father is Charles Cabot.”

  “Of course,” he said as he held my hand for a beat longer than necessary. He turned to the other man at the bar. “This is Everett Pertree. Owner of Pertree Tech & Innovations.”

  I reached for his hand, and the older man gave me a nod in greeting. “Nice to meet you,” I said, and he echoed the sentiment.

  Harvey turned to me to appraise me more fully. “You’ve definitely blossomed into your own, haven’t you?”

  I shrugged. “I had a little help.”

  “Don’t we all?” he murmured again before he slid Everett a slick smile. The man toasted us before he made himself scarce at Harvey’s unspoken command. Harvey waited until he was out of earshot before he stood just a little closer, just enough to look down my exposed cleavage. “I hope I can count on your help to take me all the way to the White House in November.”

  “The whole Cabot family supports you, Harvey. You know that. In fact,” I said as I stood a little closer. “Maybe the next time you’re in Los Angeles, we can meet for dinner. I’d love to hear about your ideas to make this country great again.”

  He smiled. “I can think of nothing I’d like more.” Behind us, Dev had reached the most passionate, angry part of the song, and each note he hammered with extra emphasis, but with enough control to pull it back into softer notes for the added nuance of the song. “If your husband allows that, anyway.”

  “I’m no longer married,” I clarified.

  “Is that so?” He motioned to the bartender, which just so happened to be Rhys. Apparently Suzanne liked to keep her boy toys close. I had to wonder if Harvey even knew. Or cared.

  I just shrugged. “What can I say? That happily ever after is a lot harder to come by these days. I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. I
t took you a few tries to get to Suzanne, right?”

  His face hardened a tad. “Indeed.” Again his eyes swept over my breasts. “I guess it’s just a damned shame I didn’t meet you ten years ago.”

  I laughed. “Ten years ago, I was fourteen,” I said. I could see that information didn’t necessarily turn him off like it should have. So I leaned closer. “You wouldn’t have really wanted a child bride, now would you?”

  “Depends on the child,” he said as he stepped closer to me, to run a finger across my bare arm. I shivered, more from disgust than anything else. That didn’t appear to matter much to the older man who leered down at me.

  Though sickened, I laughed at his joke before I took the drink that Rhys set in front of me. It was yet another Screaming Orgasm. I could tell he was trying to figure out exactly what my game was. I offered a sweet smile before I threw back the shot like an expert.

  My best friend was Lucy Lyon Dunleavy. I knew some tricks. And for once I wasn’t watching her from the sidelines as she controlled the world with her pinky. I was doing it myself.

  Devlin finished his song to rousing applause. Harvey bent closer. “Perhaps we could go upstairs to one of the bedrooms, for a more private conversation.”

  I knew I had to make him chase me, too. A man like Harvey would easily forget every two-bit floozy who used her body to win him over, who would end up used and discarded before he could call her a cab. I knew there was only one way to increase my value. I had to toy with him, the ultimate tease.

  This was totally fine by me, because if he touched me again I’d probably vomit my coffee-flavored shooter all over him. Instead I braced myself on his arm before I said, “Perhaps another time. Whenever your wife isn’t stealing your spotlight.”

  Apparently flattery was the way into this man’s bed. His eyes drifted to my mouth. “I’ll look forward to my next trip to Los Angeles, then,” he said before he withdrew a pen from his pocket and scribbled a number on a blood-red napkin. He handed it to me and I placed it in my clutch.

  “As will I, Harvey,” I said before I leaned in for a lingering kiss on his cheek, just like Suzanne had done to my dates.