Playing With Pleasure (2 page)

He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his slacks, obviously in no hurry to move on as he studied her face. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

The flush on her cheeks escalated to a slow heat, that he’d so easily pegged her for a newbie. “Is it that obvious?”

He laughed, the sound warm and engaging. “Actually, I have a thing for redheads,” he said and lifted a hand to follow the end of a soft, wavy strand that curled against the upper swell of her breast. “You caught my eye the moment you walked into the lounge. If you’d been here before, I would have remembered you.”

The desire in his eyes as he glanced from her cleavage to her mouth and back to her gaze should have elicited some kind of physical reaction from her but, unfortunately, didn’t. “I’m a first timer,” she admitted.

He dropped his hand back down to his side, displaying all signs of a true gentleman, which she appreciated. “Then I insist on giving you a personal tour of the place,” he said amicably. “Just as soon as I get myself a drink. Would you like a refill on your wine?”

She shook her head, wanting to be sure she kept a clear head. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Then I’ll be right back.”

Paige watched him walk toward the bar. Unfortunately, she felt no spark between them, and she sighed. She really wished otherwise, because not only was the man good-looking but he was a genuinely nice guy. But she’d told herself before arriving that if she was going to be with anyone tonight, there had to be some kind of chemistry and a mutual attraction. Straight-out lust would even be better. Regardless, she planned to leave the club afterward without any kind of personal attachments to complicate matters.

Maybe, while she and Dane were perusing the club, things would change, and she’d find him more sexually attractive, she thought as she took another sip of her wine.

While she waited for him to return, she glanced around the lounge. New men and women had arrived and were talking and mingling, while others had paired up and were sitting together in one of the intimate, den-like areas across the room, which Paige had just noticed. Her curious gaze swept along each of the secluded spots and the couples within, some of which had opted to release the sheer drapes tied off on either side of the alcove for more privacy.

And that’s when she saw him—
Sawyer
—casually sitting on one of those velvet couches while a gorgeous and perfectly built woman was draped across his lap with her arms around his neck. One of his hands was on her hip, the other rested on her thigh, and the long-haired brunette was smiling at Sawyer in a way that was familiar and seductive as she leaned in close and said something in his ear.

Shock riveted Paige’s feet to the floor as she watched his full lips move as he issued some kind of response. Paige’s mind screamed at her to
look away
before he caught her, but instead, her traitorous gaze lifted from his mouth to his eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath as her gaze collided with his, and even from across the room, she could feel his intense, heated stare, focused on
her
like a laser.

An unexpected—and definitely unwanted—surge of desire poured through her, and a traitorous ache settled between her thighs. She desperately tried to ignore both, reminding herself despite the fact that Sawyer still had the ability to make her body come alive with just a look, there was no forgiving him for what he’d done to her. Pretending as though seeing him there at the club had absolutely no effect on her at all was one of the most difficult things she’d ever had to do, but she forced herself to remain indifferent and glanced away just as Dane arrived back by her side with his drink in hand.

“Ready for your tour?” he asked and offered her his arm in a charming fashion.

Grateful for something to hold on to so her weak knees wouldn’t buckle, she slipped her hand through the crook of his arm and gave Dane a smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

For the next half hour, he escorted her through the mansion, which kept her mind distracted with all the various activities the club had to offer—themed fantasy boudoirs, viewing rooms, open playrooms, and the dark and intense dungeon. In the lower level, a Mardi Gras-themed party was in full swing, complete with beads being awarded for naked breasts while other couples openly kissed and groped and fucked.

They ended up back at the lobby area, standing in front of the split staircase that led to two separate wings of the house where the public and private rooms were located. Another stairway led down to the dungeon with all its Medieval-like furniture and contraptions that were way out of her first-timer league.

Dane turned to face her, his gaze clearly expressing his interest in her. “I’m heading down to the dungeon, which is my personal preference here at the club,” he said, holding her hand in his. “Care to join me?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for all that.” Paige wouldn’t have pegged him for a man who enjoyed those mock torture devices, but hey, she wasn’t one to judge. And considering there was still no chemistry or any kind of sexual tension on her end, she decided it was time to part ways.

“I’m going to walk through the viewing rooms upstairs and get a better feel for what interests me,” she told him.

“Good girl,” he said, clearly respecting her decision, despite the flicker of disappointment in his gaze. “Never do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or that’s out of your comfort zone. That said, if you change your mind and want to play in the dungeon, I’d enjoy being your partner for the night.”

She didn’t see that happening. “It was nice meeting you, Dane.”

He strolled downstairs, and Paige climbed the winding staircase to the second level, wondering if she was going to be able to find a man tonight worth ending her year-and-a-half sexual drought.

*     *     *

What the fuck
was
she
doing here?

It was the first thought that leapt into Sawyer’s mind the moment he caught sight of Paige in The Players Club lounge. There was no mistaking the rich shade of her wavy auburn hair he used to love wrapping around his hands or the voluptuous curves of her body she tried to conceal beneath the corset she wore. Both had been embedded in his brain for the past year and a half, slipping into his dreams at night and taunting him with the way her soft skin felt beneath his hands and how sweet her breasts tasted in his mouth.

Shock didn’t even come close to describing the emotion that tightened his chest or the way every muscle in his body tensed when her vivid green eyes met and held his from across the room.

He’d seen her briefly a few weeks ago at Raina Beck’s shop—their very first encounter since he’d left for his fifteen-month, and final, tour in Iraq. It had also been the first time he’d seen Paige since that awful morning after waking up in her stepsister’s bed, naked, disoriented, and his head pounding like a motherfucker.

Yeah, that was another less pleasant memory firmly seated in his brain, as was the absolute horror of realizing that he’d slept with Ashley—the evidence of fucking her indisputable. There was no forgetting how she’d cuddled up to him, her hand on his dick to try and persuade him into a morning quickie, but he hadn’t been able to get out of her bed fast enough. She’d pouted unhappily, like the spoiled rich girl she was, while he’d pulled on his pants, shoved his feet into his shoes, and grabbed his shirt before racing out of her room and down the grand spiral staircase in the opulent mansion where Paige lived with her stepsister and stepmother.

He had no fucking idea how he’d ended up in Ashley’s room. His only thought at the time was that he’d had too much to drink the night before at Paige’s birthday party and had done the unthinkable—and how the fuck was he going to explain this to Paige? Just as he’d reached the entryway, his stomach roiling, Paige had walked out of the adjoining living room. She’d frozen in place when she’d seen him, her gaze traveling from his disheveled, half-naked state to her stepsister, Ashley, who had chased after him in nothing but a robe that was sheer enough to see that she had nothing on beneath.

He’d been caught in the act, and the devastation that had played across Paige’s features in that moment had destroyed him, as well. He’d crossed the marbled foyer to talk to her, very aware of Ashley watching the whole scenario play out from where she was standing at the top of the stairs.

He’d stopped in front of Paige, the bright pain in her eyes equivalent to a knife twisting in his heart. He wanted so badly to touch her, to reassure her, but how could he explain something that he didn’t even understand himself?

“Paige …” His voice had been like gravel, and he’d whispered the only thing he could. “I’m so sorry.”

She’d slapped him hard across the cheek, trying so valiantly to keep the tears shimmering in her eyes in check. “You’re a fucking asshole.” Lifting her chin in an attempt to salvage her pride, she’d turned around and walked away.

Utterly defeated and racked with guilt, he’d headed back toward the front door, not sure how he was going to repair the damage he’d done. When he’d glanced up at Ashley, the smug smile on her face had made his gut churn. The goddamn bitch was actually
pleased
that she’d just shattered her sister’s happiness, and he’d had the sickening feeling that he’d fallen into some kind of trap of Ashley’s making.

Even after leaving the house that morning, he’d tried to text and call Paige, until she’d blocked his phone number, making it very clear that they were over. And because he had no excuse for what he’d done, he’d respected her decision. Five days after that, he’d been deployed to Iraq, and he’d spent the next fifteen months immersed in guilt as he replayed that morning over and over in his mind.

He’d probably never know the real truth of how he’d ended up in Ashley’s bed, but he definitely had his suspicions.

“You seem distracted tonight,” the woman sitting on his lap said into Sawyer’s ear, bringing his thoughts back to the present. “What’s going on with you?”

Jenny was someone he occasionally hooked up with at The Players Club. Neither of them was looking for a commitment, so their arrangement worked well. She liked being tied up and restrained and enjoyed a bit of pain with her pleasure, which matched perfectly with Sawyer’s own need to dominate and be in control. That was a part of himself he’d hidden from Paige when they’d dated, because he’d wanted to be sure they had a solid relationship, as well as trust between them, before he introduced her to his penchant for ropes and showed her how a twinge of pain could heighten her own desires.

It had taken him weeks to coax Paige into being confident about her body and sensuality, to make her believe that she was sexy and desirable exactly the way she was. In fact, that night on her birthday, he’d planned to show her just how good it felt to let him be completely in control of her pleasure…only to have her sister obliterate everything between them.

Still ensnared by Paige’s gaze, he absently replied to Jenny’s question without looking away. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

She trailed her fingers from around his neck and down the front of his shirt. “Maybe I can give you something else to think about,” she murmured huskily, her insinuation clear.

Paige was the first to break eye contact with him, appearing completely unaffected by his presence, which only served to irritate the shit out of him since his insides were tangled up in a knot when he thought about the reasons
she
was here at the club. Dane, a regular at the mansion who enjoyed his encounters with women more on the hard-core side of things, walked up to Paige, offered his arm, and escorted her out of the lounge.

Jealousy shot through Sawyer like a hot spear, along with something darker and more possessive he couldn’t subdue, no matter how hard he tried. He still wanted Paige, in every way imaginable, and the thought of another man touching her brought out the beast in him, as well as triggered the need to be the one to master her body and mind.

And that’s when he decided that if any man was going to introduce Paige to any sort of forbidden limits, it was going to be
him
.

Jenny nuzzled her lips against his neck, reminding Sawyer that he still had a very willing female sitting on his lap. One he suddenly had no interest in at all.

He tipped her face up to his and gently said, “I’m really sorry, Jenny, but there’s something personal I have to take care of tonight.”

Her smile was tinged with disappointment, but he knew she understood. They weren’t exclusive in any way, and there were plenty of other men in the room who’d enjoy what Jenny had to offer.

She slid off his lap and looked into his eyes. “I hope she’s worth it,” she said softly.

Paige was. Always had been, and always would be.

P
aige stood against
the decorative wrought iron railing that wrapped around the second-floor balcony of the club and overlooked the public playrooms below. The unobstructed view from above was enlightening, highly arousing, and she was riveted by all the various scenarios and debauchery playing out for anyone to see.