21. Cooper
21
COOPER
A S I SAT at the ten-person dining table in the penthouse alone eating the most exquisite chicken, plated like it’d come from a five-star restaurant, it occurred to me how out of the norm all of this was.
Obviously I knew that, but sitting here with nothing but my thoughts had me wondering who Lachlan really was. What this place he’d taken me to really was. Because after last night, I no longer believed he was just the head of a security company. He was too connected, too confident, too smooth, as was his friend Lucien.
All of this was on a different level. Cost seemed to be no issue, nor did the unlimited resources that seemed to fall from the sky for these guys. So what was his story?
This was where I’d been firmly keeping my thoughts, because the alternative was to remember deep-throating Lachlan’s cock, and I didn’t need a hard-on all damn day.
I speared the chicken a little too hard, and my fork scraped against the plate.
I’m not thinking about blow jobs today. Not when it’s clear he thinks I regretted it.
He’d been in one of the bedrooms near the front door when I got out of the shower, and I’d chosen one across the penthouse to give us both space.
Or maybe it was more like I was pouting that he hadn’t been down for a round two, but it was also so I wouldn’t be tempted to pop into his room in the middle of the night. After all, I wasn’t as bold as a certain masked man who snuck into mine.
But I wasn’t thinking about him either. Definitely not wondering if he’d been by my place only to see I wasn’t there.
The sound of the front door opening had me looking up mid-bite. Lachlan stepped inside, looking a lot less keyed up than he did last night. Self-assured. Cool. Insanely attractive…
“That’s one of my favorites.” He nodded at my plate as he slid out of his suit jacket, then hung it in the coat closet. He carried a tablet, and I was sure he somehow had the magical Wi-Fi that still wasn’t available to me.
“I would’ve taken you for more of a wagyu fan. Or maybe the poached lobster with truffle butter sauce.” I set my fork aside and wiped my mouth with the cloth napkin. “You know, when you mentioned room service, I was expecting more along the lines of burgers and sandwiches.”
“If that’s what you prefer, you can ask for a special request and they’ll accommodate you.”
“I don’t think a place that doesn’t list their prices on the menu would get a kick out of my turning down their fancy chicken.”
Lachlan’s lips twitched as he took a seat at the opposite end of the table. “Fancy chicken. I’ll let them know to change the name.”
“That,” I said, pointing a finger in his direction. “What the hell does that mean? You’ll ‘let them know,’ like you have any kind of pull there.”
“I do.”
“So, what, you own a restaurant too?”
“In a way.”
“ And you’re the head of Stone Security?”
He spread his hands wide, looking entirely too comfortable in this setting. “I’m a man of many talents, what can I say?”
“A lot, actually. Starting with: who are you, really ?”
Lachlan smirked. “Am I your story now?”
“No. I told you you’d be off the record. But you can’t expect me to continue to trust you if you aren’t who you say you are.”
For a long moment, he watched me like he could see right through me. I waited for him to tell me it was none of my business, that he didn’t owe me anything, not when he’d already done his part in helping me out of a bad situation.
Instead, Lachlan pushed his chair back and walked around to my end of the table. He tapped the tablet a few times and then set it down in front of me. “Since you want answers,” he said.
I pushed the tray of food aside and brought the tablet closer, and as I sped through the contents, I frowned.
“This is a nondisclosure agreement,” I said.
“It is.”
“So I sign this and I get to know what secrets you’re hiding, is that it?”
Lachlan sat on the edge of the table and crossed his arms. “You have a lead on your drug story, and yet you’re still focused on me. Why is that?”
A flush of heat spread through my entire body at that question, and I hoped like hell it didn’t show on my face.
He was right, though. I was far too fascinated with him when I should’ve had all my attention on Mick, the one who started all this shit, who made my skin crawl and my rage intensify. It was the motivation I needed to get justice for Alex and to do my part in making sure no one else got killed.
It was a mess of my own making that I couldn’t help my attraction. It was the last thing I needed, but it wasn’t a switch I could just turn off. Lachlan was right there , even now, hovering over me.
“If you don’t want my focus, you could back up a little,” I said, shrugging and trying to come off unaffected by his presence. I continued to scroll through the document that seemed to be more ironclad than others I’d researched, but I could see Lachlan’s mouth quirk up out of the corner of my eye.
“I’m bothering you?”
“Yes,” I lied.
“Would you like me to move?”
Pointing it out only made me notice how good he smelled, fresh out of the shower, his hair still damp.But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know just how badly my body still craved him even now.
“Do what you want,” I said, not even looking his way. As I reached the end of the document, I tapped the signature box, signed it, and handed Lachlan the tablet.
He reached for it, making sure his fingers brushed against mine before I let go.
“Thank you.”
His stare was so penetrating that I had to look away.
Jesus. And he wondered why I couldn’t help but focus on him.
I cleared my throat and sat as far back from him as my chair would allow. “Now what? We play twenty questions and you answer everything?”
“ Only twenty questions?”
“To start with.”
“Ah, I see.”
“First question, where am I?”
“In one of the penthouses reserved for members of our private organization.”
I blinked, surprised he’d answered so freely. “What private organization?”
“One that’s private unless you’re a member.”
“And you’re a member?”
He arched a brow.
“Oh. You’re not just a member, are you? You’re high up in this organization.”
“Listen, do you want to sit in here all day and ask me questions? Or would you rather get out of this room, stretch your legs, and take a look around?”
He couldn’t have offered a more enticing distraction. I was actually going to see what was on the other side of the locked door?
Granted, it was the most luxurious cage I could have been locked inside of, but still, to finally know what was on the other side? Without a blindfold?
“So you’re really going to let me out of here?”
“Well, I can’t keep you locked up in here for the week.”
“A week ?”
“Yes. That’s the time frame Mick gave for when we can expect the next shipment of drugs.”
“Yeah, but you don’t?—”
“Think it’s safe for you to return to your apartment before that time? No, I don’t.”
“I guess I didn’t think of it like that. But you’re right.”
“I know.”
I smirked, immediately reminded of the first time I met him in the coffee shop.
“What?” Lachlan asked as I got to my feet.
“Nothing.”
Lachlan moved off the table until we were practically standing toe to toe, and I had to angle my face up to meet his eyes.
“That smirk didn’t look like nothing.”
“You have your secrets and I have mine. Now, are you going to show me around, or did you want to get back to the twenty questions?”
Lachlan’s eyes narrowed as they roamed down over me, and a shiver raced down my spine. We needed to get out of this room now . Between last night’s frustration and Lachlan back to his usual sexy, controlled mode, I couldn’t be held responsible for what might happen if we remained around flat surfaces.
He walked to the door and pulled it open, then turned back. “Well, come on. Let’s show you around.”
I hurried over, but before I could make it through the open door, he moved in front of it.
“I’m going to give you a tour of where you can go while you stay here, but?—”
“Oh, here it comes.”
“What’s that?”
“The restrictions. I’m going to give you this, but… Let me guess, I get to go to the restaurant my food came from but that’s it. You’re not really giving me anything at all, right?”
Lachlan cocked his head. “You know, this conversation is eerily similar to one I had recently with my boss.”
“You have a boss? I thought you were the head of your security company?”
“And I thought you were going to stop asking questions.” Lachlan’s breath ghosted over my lips.
“We haven’t left the room yet,” I said quietly.
“You’re right. We probably should do that.”
It took everything I had not to lean forward and try to convince him what a bad idea that was with my mouth, but considering I hadn’t been making the most rational decisions lately, I decided to let the head on my shoulders prevail this time.
Lachlan led me to the elevators, and once we stepped inside he didn’t press any buttons.
It was the first time I’d gotten a look at what I’d felt was a claustrophobic space in a blindfold, but I should’ve known based on the penthouse that this wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill elevator, but one that belonged in the Gilded Age.
“Where to first?” I said, noticing that the floors went up to eighteen and we were currently on the level directly below.
“That’s up to you. Choose one.”
Now this was my idea of fun. So many floors, so many decisions. I randomly reached out to hit the number five, but Lachlan stilled my hand.
“Not that one,” he said.
“You said to choose one. What’s wrong with five?”
“I think you’ll enjoy the others more.”
Now my curiosity was piqued. I’d definitely be back to figure out what the deal was there, but for the time being, I hit ten.
As the elevator began its descent, I said, “I’m guessing that floor meets your approval?”
“I think you’ll find it useful.”
“You’re incredibly cryptic, anyone ever tell you that?”
“Not to my face.”
I snorted out a laugh as the doors opened and we entered what seemed to be an entire floor dedicated to?—
“Our business center,” Lachlan confirmed, as if he’d reached into my mind and plucked out the thought. “As you’ve noticed, we don’t permit the use of phones or computers for guests due to the sensitive nature of our business. However, during the rest of your stay, you’re welcome to come here and work.”
“Really?” I scanned over the many different workspace setups across the vast floor, some of which were currently occupied. “You’ll actually set me loose in here without supervision?”
“Surprised?”
“Uh, yeah. Does that mean I can wander any of these floors without you, or just this one?”
“I’m showing you the parameters. You’ll receive a key card that will prohibit you from reaching any floors that are off-limits.” When we entered the elevator and I hit another button, he added, “Plus, there’s always someone watching. Remember that.”
I heard the warning, but didn’t think twice about it, because I didn’t care to fuck up my stay here. Was I curious? Absolutely. Which was why I’d push Lachlan’s buttons to see how far I could go, but I didn’t actually plan to break any of his many rules.
The next few stops covered the restaurants and bars, the ballroom, and a fitness center that I had no doubt Lachlan spent hours in. More amenities on more floors than I could keep track of were available to the members of whatever this organization was. There was no way I’d remember what was where. I’d need a map.
There was, however, one stop we hadn’t made, and if he thought I’d forget about it, he was out of his mind.
I hit the button for the fifth floor before he could stop me, and he shook his head.
“What’s so bad you don’t want me to see it?” I asked.
“I never said bad .”
“Then why did you say not to go to this floor?”
Lachlan backed me up against the wall and forced my chin up with his finger. “Because I figured you’d gotten enough of sex clubs last night. Was I wrong?”
“So you really do have a sex club here?”
Lachlan nodded, and I swallowed against the sudden uptick of my pulse.
How sheltered had I been all these years that sex clubs seemed to be the norm for New York society? Was there one on every corner I didn’t know about?
I was entirely out of my element, and yet I was curious. Intrigued, even.
“I want to see,” I said.
“And participate?”
“I didn’t say that.” But I’m thinking it now…
The elevator doors opened, and Lachlan stepped back. He held my eyes as he gestured for me to step out first.
It wasn’t like stepping out into some big group orgy. There was a small entryway with two doors—one red and one black. No other signage existed.
“What do these mean?”
“What do you think they mean?”
“One’s for men, one’s for women?”
He shook his head.
“Uh…one leads to sex, one leads to eternal damnation?”
“Your mind is an interesting place to be, isn’t it?” Lachlan mused. He strolled forward and waited for me to make a choice. “Do you want it mild…or wild?”
My eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t know a sex club could be mild.”
“Comparatively.”
“Okay…why don’t we start there, then? So I can see what mild entails for you.”
Lachlan smirked and headed toward the red door, and once we were past that barrier, I understood what he meant by “comparatively.”
People were fucking… everywhere . Even through the red haze that permeated the space, I could see that, and it was so shocking, and so much hotter than anything at the club last night, that I couldn’t make my feet move. I just stood there, taking it all in, wondering how I’d ended up in a city where every desire you had was laid out at your feet.
Beside me, Lachlan chuckled. “All right, Bambi, let’s go.”
That shook me out of my stupor. “Bambi?”
“You look like a deer caught in headlights.”
“No, I’m just…taking it all in.” That was an understatement. My eyes caught on the two men closest to us who weren’t paying any mind to anyone as they fucked against a wall.“So, do you come here?” I finally said, dragging my eyes off all the naked bodies in different stages of sexual acts.
“Well, that is the point when you’re here—to come.”
That probably hadn’t been the smartest thing for me to ask, because now visions of last night, Lachlan’s cock, and my sucking him to an intense orgasm flashed through my mind. My dick started to throb, and suddenly all I could think about was his offer to repay the favor.
“That isn’t a no,” I said.
“No, it is not.”
Oh fuck , why was that so hot?
I shouldn’t be getting turned on by the idea of Lachlan in here fucking someone else. But what else was new? It seemed New York was bringing out a side of me I’d never known existed.
“Tell me, Cooper, what are you thinking about right now?”
Was I brave enough to really tell him?I could end this now, tell him nothing and be on my way.
But the intensity of his stare had me rewinding to when I’d been kneeling between his thighs.
“I was thinking about you…coming. Down my throat last night.”
Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I reached for the back of his neck and closed the couple of inches separating us.