Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel (10 page)

“
Please, follow me,” he
instructed, hefting one bag under each arm.

She felt a little silly
not assisting him with her things because they could’ve easily
accomplished it in one trip if she had, but she wasn’t about to
argue with him either.

Once they reached the car, the driver opened
the rear door and allowed her to climb in, quickly shutting it
behind her as soon as she was situated.

“
Hello, McKenna,” Tag’s
deep voice rumbled through the car’s interior, and McKenna’s heart
nearly pounded out of her chest.

He wasn’t supposed to be there, yet he
was.

Sitting comfortably on one
side with his ankle resting on the opposite knee, one arm reaching
across the back of the seat, he looked as calm as ever. She wasn’t
faring nearly as well. Her palms were suddenly clammy, and she had
to ignore the urge to fidget as she stared back into those
glistening emerald eyes.

“
Good morning,” she
managed to say with more confidence than she felt. It was one thing
to feel off center around him, it was an entirely different thing
to let him know she felt that way. “I wasn’t expecting to see you
so soon.”

“
I wanted to greet you
personally.”

Was it just her or was his
voice extra smooth today? The rich cadence of his tone was like a
physical caress, her tummy immediately tumbling as though she were
on the downward curve on a roller coaster.

She managed to nod as though she understood
his reasoning, not breaking eye contact. She wasn’t sure what she
was supposed to say, but she knew no matter what, she couldn’t let
him see how much he affected her.

“
Champagne?”

Her eyes wavered from his
briefly as she glanced over at the bottle sitting in a built in ice
bucket. A small dose of liquid courage might be just what the
doctor ordered. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”

“
I can mix it with orange
juice if that makes you feel better.” That sinfully sexy grin
tipped his very tantalizing mouth, and McKenna couldn’t resist
smiling back.

“
Deal. Then we can call it
breakfast.”

“
I was thinking about
something else entirely for breakfast,” Tag mumbled, and McKenna
bit her lip.

It was then that she realized all bets were
off when it came to Tag Murphy.

~*~*~

Tag retrieved one of the
glasses from the overhead rack and poured the champagne and orange
juice before handing the glass over to McKenna. When their fingers
brushed as the glass changed hands, he felt the residual spark from
yesterday’s breath stealing encounter. The one that had him tossing
and turning half the night.

Unfortunately, he’d
resisted the urge to waylay the throb between his legs because he
was anticipating a much more impressive interaction soon. He was
tempted to see just how far McKenna was willing to go and whether
or not she had actually read the contract in its entirety the night
before.

He knew she had, the woman was nothing if
not thorough he had learned, but he was still anxious to test
her.

“
I see you’re dressed for
comfort,” he commented, allowing his eyes to rake her long, smooth
legs as he spoke.

“
If I remember correctly,
that was the instruction.” She smirked, sipping the
mimosa.

He knew what she was
referring to, and he realized he never should’ve doubted McKenna or
her desire to push him as much as he was pushing her. “What are you
wearing beneath that skirt?”

“
I read every single word
of the fine print,” she assured him, and Tag’s body immediately
took notice of what she was revealing.

Now if only she would actually reveal
more.

“
Show me.” Pinning his
eyes on hers, Tag watched every nuance of her response to his
demand.

“
Do you always get right
to the point?” she asked, setting the now empty glass in one of the
wooden cup holders.

“
Only when it benefits
me.”

“
How does this benefit
you?” McKenna asked.

Tag noticed she wasn’t
making any effort to do as he told her. The little vixen was going
to learn soon enough that he expected full and total compliance
because he wasn’t much for asking a second time. Instead of
responding, he narrowed his gaze on her.

When she squirmed, albeit it very slightly,
he knew he had won this round.

“
Show me, McKenna.” He
lowered his voice just a notch. “I won’t tell you
again.”

Those exotic eyes widened,
but there wasn’t a hint of fear in her penetrating gaze. No, what
he saw there was more of a dare than anything else. But then she
took the hem of her skirt and slowly inched it up over her creamy
thighs, then higher. Until Tag got a glimpse of the bare, smooth
skin of her mound.

“
All the way,” he ordered.
“Either lift it up completely or take it off. Your
choice.”

The limo finally began to
move, and Tag knew it was only a matter of time before they would
be pulling up to the club. Although James was instructed not to
open the back doors for any reason, McKenna didn’t know that. So,
technically, Tag had all the time in the world.

McKenna’s breath hitched
audibly, but she did as he instructed, lifting her skirt up over
her hips and baring her beautiful pussy to his gaze. She appeared
unfazed by his request for her not to wear anything underneath her
clothes, but the slight tremor in her hands was a telltale sign
that she was just as affected by her little peepshow as he
was.

He was prepared for her though. While
tossing and turning for half the night, Tag had come up with a few
ideas on how to break down some of her resistance and little did
she know, although a major turn on, her dominant nature was going
to be put to the test.

She didn’t have to worry,
Tag made a vow not to touch the enticing little vixen which was
going to be a test of his own willpower because the woman tempted
him in ways he didn’t understand. As he watched her teeth chewing
on her bottom lip while her hands shook slightly, he wondered why
the hell he was torturing himself that way. The thought of touching
her, tasting her, had all but consumed him ever since he’d kissed
her the day before and felt how responsive she was to his
touch.

“
So fucking pretty,” he
growled, his hunger undisguised. Not that he could’ve hidden how
much he wanted her because as each day passed Tag found he wanted
her that much more.

It was still a little
surreal to know that, for the next seven days, Tag was going to get
to know her in ways he hadn’t honestly expected, but wouldn’t deny
wanting. He figured that turnabout was fair play. If she was going
to get an insight into what it meant to be a member of the club, he
was going to know everything there was to know about this woman.
Not only how explosive her kisses were, or how damned sexy she
looked without clothes on, but Tag wanted to know the real
woman.

During the night, while he
had been laying in his bed thinking about McKenna and all of the
naughty things he wanted to do to her, he had also committed
himself to learning every nuance, every little smirk, every tiny
detail of this fascinating woman who seemed to have no
inhibitions.

And in order to do that,
he would make damn sure she understood how hot she made him burn.
If he was going to bring her onboard, show her the ropes, – pun
intended – then he fully expected her to get a feel for what it was
like to reap the full benefits of the lifestyle. And he was going
to give himself over to the experience completely. For at least the
next seven days, Tag refused to hold back because he knew for a
fact, this opportunity wasn’t going to come around more than once
in his lifetime. This woman was unique; he knew that much about her
already.

“
Are you sure you’re ready
for this?” he asked, returning his gaze to her eyes. “You can put
your skirt down now.”

McKenna adjusted the
flimsy material, allowing it to cover her thoroughly before meeting
his eyes once again. “I can handle anything you can dish
out.”

Tag was beginning to
believe that was true. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, she
was intelligent and witty and... fun. And not in the way he was
used to finding women entertaining. As much as he ached to bury
himself inside of her, Tag had an unfamiliar desire to figure her
out, to get inside of her head and see how she thinks because he
was just so damned intrigued by her.

So, for the next seven days, Tag was giving
himself over to this woman and he only hoped when it was over, he
would walk away unscathed.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to
the club, both of them barely noticing that they had arrived.

Surprisingly, McKenna had
prompted a casual conversation and Tag found himself laughing and
enjoying her company for more than just the sheer pleasure of
looking at her. She was so easy to talk to, and her interest in
life made him yearn to see it through her eyes. That idea was
outside of his comfort zone on so many levels.

Tag would admit to being successful, but by
no means had it come easy. It wasn’t due to a bad childhood because
his childhood couldn’t be classified as either good or bad. He was
just there. His parents loved each other immensely and considering
he was a side effect of that love, they cared about him, but they
never doted on him or encouraged him. They simply subsisted with
him. And what he told McKenna about why he became a lawyer was the
sad truth. His father worked his ass off in order to ensure that he
and his mother were provided for, but Jackson Murphy had existed
solely for his wife and no one else. And when Tag’s mother passed
away when he was barely a teenager, he wasn’t sure his father would
survive there for a while.

Over time, his father
managed to pull himself up by his bootstraps and go through the
motions of life until one day, by some strange coincidence, Jackson
met Cole’s mother and fell head over heels for her.

Tag didn’t begrudge his
father having met Victoria, but he soon learned that he was once
again a byproduct of his father’s first love, and he was pushed by
the wayside yet again. So, call him a hard ass, call him selfish,
call him anything, but Tag never wanted to experience the type of
relationship that would allow him to push all of the people who
were supposed to be important to him away. Never.

And he had never feared that would happen
because Tag kept himself at a distance from those he interacted
with. He made his life about his job, and the few mutually
exclusive relationships that he ventured into – most of them where
he was the third because it was what he knew, what he was
comfortable with. No one expected anything from him because he
wasn’t the glue that held it together which was more than fine by
him.

Until McKenna.

For some reason, Tag
wanted to experience this through her eyes, to know what it was
like to be the focus of someone else’s attention and this was his
chance. For the next seven days, McKenna belonged to him and him to
her. Now, he just had to keep reminding himself that just like
every other relationship, this one was temporary.

It wasn’t like he had any
crazy notions running through his head, but he would admit to
experiencing a little anticipation a time or two. Did it make him
crazy to think that McKenna could possibly be what he needs as Sam
suggested?

He’d never had thoughts
like that running through his mind, until recently. Granted, he
wouldn’t deny the underlying need was related to the intensity of
the attraction between them. If only that attraction was based on
pure and simple lust, he’d be much more confident in his own
judgment.

McKenna challenged him.
She was smart and so damn beautiful he wondered at times just what
she was doing with him. She was also confident and poised under
pressure, and he admired that about her. He had no idea whether he
was truly looking for something more than sex, but he had to
consider it, because, before McKenna, he’d never had a concern. If
Tag was lucky, temporary would be all she had to offer him. At
least then he wouldn’t have to worry about anything more.
Especially anything that his lust filled brain might be
overanalyzing.

McKenna wasn’t like the
usual women he involved himself with. First of all, he got the
impression that she was more familiar with his lifestyle than she
was letting on. Based on the straightforward demand she included in
their contract, he had proof that she wasn’t just writing her
articles based on secondhand experience. This woman had ventured
down some of the same paths he had. Another reason why he was
looking forward to the next few days with her.

As he helped her out of
the car, watching while she glanced around as though seeing the
club for the very first time, he remembered the single line she
insisted was added to the contract.

Tag Murphy, for a twenty
four hour time period to be determined by him, will belong to
McKenna Thorne, and during this time he will relinquish all rights
to making any decisions whatsoever and follow, without
interruption, all instructions laid forth by her.

He still smiled at the
wording because it was in no way written in the same legal jargon
that he was familiar with, but he easily understood her point.
Admittedly, Tag had never been on the receiving end of a dominating
woman, but looking at McKenna now, seeing the natural confidence in
her every step, he was interested in learning something from her in
return.