Savage (Park Avenue Kings #1)

24. Cooper

24

COOPER

W HITE TRUFFLE PIZZA…

Bluefin tuna sushi…

Wagyu or Kobe beef…

Gold flake tacos…

The items on the menu were out of a foodie’s dream. There were no prices listed, and Lachlan had sent me in here with the instruction to order anything I like. That was wild.

I’d watched enough cooking shows to know that everything cost more than most people made in a month—maybe six months depending on what else they put into the meal.

Yet I was supposed to just order like this wasn’t going to be one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my life. This might be an everyday occurrence for Lachlan, but for me it was completely overwhelming.

In fact, everything in the last twenty-four hours had been that way, from gaining the freedom of access to this place, to winding up in bed with one of the sexiest men I’d ever met.

It was difficult to believe this was my life right now, that I’d not only spent the night with Lachlan Stone but woken up in his arms. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I’d imagined that exact scenario after our coffee meeting. But when I didn’t call and time passed, that fantasy I’d allowed myself to indulge in had slipped away and been replaced by a darker one. One that seemed incredibly reckless, given the events that had followed.

Lachlan had offered a safe, secure option, and yet I’d opened my window to a mystery man instead.

Something about that stranger on that night had seemed easier than the rejection I might’ve gotten from the confident man I’d sat across from sipping a cappuccino. Lachlan was real, offered the possibility of an actual connection, whereas my vigilante had been a mere fantasy.

So imagine my surprise when reality actually turned out to be better than the dream.

Last night had been incredible. Finally getting my hands on Lachlan had been nothing short of spectacular. His body was a work of art. We’d been in sync, as if we’d done this all before, our bodies knowing exactly what the other wanted without a word said.

So knowing he had no regrets just made everything even more perfect.

“Hi there.”

I shook myself out of my thoughts and glanced up to see a woman with sweeping black bangs, a high ponytail, and a wide smile.

“Are you ready to place your order?”

“I…” I looked back to the menu and frowned. “I’m not sure.”

“I understand. There’s a lot of good choices on there.” She tapped the screen of her small tablet.

“You’re telling me. I, um, I was wondering if you could maybe bring me a price list? I know they’re not listed because most people that come here probably have unlimited credit cards or whatever, but I’m, uh, not that person, so…”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” She chuckled. “There’s no payment taken here.”

I blinked at her, sure I’d misheard. “Excuse me?”

“There are no prices on the menu because we don’t take payment. Your meals are part of your membership whenever you’re here. You must be new.”

What kind of membership fees covered meals like this whenever someone wanted them? Extraordinarily expensive ones, I assumed.

“Sir?”

“Sorry. I’m not new, I’m a guest.”

“My apologies. If you’re a guest here, the same rules apply. The meals are taken care of by your host’s account.”

So Lachlan would be picking up this tab?

Order anything you like. They were his exact words, and didn’t he mention having some kind of clout in the restaurant? Maybe that was why he’d given me carte blanche.

Who in the hell was he that he could afford meals like this?

“Let’s go with the white truffle pizza.”

“That’s an excellent choice. Will your host be joining you?”

“Yes, so if you could wait until he arrives to start?”

“Of course. Would you like anything to drink?”

Almost afraid to know what was on that menu, I stuck with water and watched as she headed off to put in my order.

I relaxed back into the leather cushion of the booth and took a moment to look at my surroundings now that I’d done the impossible and picked something to eat. Men of varying ages sat at tables and booths much like the one I was in, chatting amongst themselves.

It was interesting to note that while all the men were impeccably dressed, they weren’t all decked out in suits like Lachlan preferred. Not that I was complaining. I’d recently discovered that watching him take a suit off was a brand-new fetish of mine. One I planned to indulge in as long as he would allow.

A couple of men were laughing at something as they sipped on what was, no doubt, the most expensive coffee in New York. A table of four to their left were sharing what looked like a steaming pan of paella.

Anything you wanted, at any time of the day, was at your fingertips. This place was slightly intimidating.

It wasn’t until I looked across the bar that I spotted two young men—early twenties, maybe—engaged in a very public and intense make-out session. The one sitting had dark hair and glasses, and the one standing between his legs was in a suit and an…ascot?

I lowered my eyes, not wanting to be caught staring, because while that was probably acceptable on level five, I doubted these two wanted an audience while they were sitting down for a meal. If they managed not to eat each other first.

Not that I could talk. If Lachlan had been here I’d probably be doing my best to crawl into his lap, but he was more careful than that. He had been reluctant to publicly do anything with me because—what did he say? Someone was always watching.

Didn’t seem to bother these two, though, and I wondered if that had something to do with their age. They had to be a good few years younger than I was, and yet they were here, at one of the most prestigious places in Manhattan?

Not that I knew what that place was, exactly.

It wasn’t until the one standing glanced over at me that I realized I’d been caught staring.

Shit.

I looked down at the table, wishing like hell that phones or laptops were allowed in this place, because it would give me something to do other than avoid a full-on stare-down. But I was stuck memorizing the intricate gold swirls embossed on the wooden table.

It wasn’t until I felt the seat dip beside me that I realized someone had slid into the booth.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A new face in the crowd?”

The smooth voice asking the question was full of arrogance as I looked up to find the ascot guy seated beside me. I was about to answer when the man with the dark hair and glasses took the seat opposite and shook his head.

“East, cut it out.”

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

“Aren’t you?” Glasses smiled at me and held his hand out. “Hi, I’m Zac, and this is?—”

“James Easton,” East said as though his full name should mean something to me. “Everyone around here calls me East, and I know what to call everyone but you. So who are you…?”

“ East, ” Zac said, but East didn’t seem at all bothered by it. “He’s obviously here because he’s allowed to be, so why don’t you back off for a second and pretend you have some manners?”

“Because we both know that I don’t.” East aimed a saccharine smile at his partner, who scoffed.

“You’ll have to ignore him for a second. East thinks he knows everyone in the city?—”

“I do know everyone in the city, Zacharius . Everyone who’s important, anyway.” East ran his judgmental gaze over me. “But we’re not just talking the city now, are we? Libertine welcomes members from all places, national and international. So again, who are you?”

Libertine? So now I had a name for whatever this place was. But since I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be talking to other people while I was staying here, I didn’t know what I could and couldn’t say.

Did Lachlan want me to keep quiet? Keep my identity a secret?

He hadn’t said anything like that when he left to take his call, though maybe he’d forgotten. But that wasn’t like him. He was too careful to have left without giving me strict instructions.

When I didn’t answer, East turned in my direction and rested an arm along the back of the booth. “You’re obviously new.”

“Am I?”

As my best bet was to be as evasive as possible, I decided to give this East a taste of his own medicine. I had permission to be here. Hell, I’d signed an NDA to be here. Lachlan had cleared this with his boss. So what did I care what this guy thought?It wasn’t like he ran the place.

“Yes. Otherwise I’d know you,” East said.

“You sure about that?”

Zac chuckled as he flagged down the waitress.

“Yes, Mr. Fletcher?

“Could you bring us a couple martinis? Make sure to put an olive in East’s—he hasn’t eaten today, and it’s making him grumpy. And for you?” Zac glanced at me.

“I’ll just stick to my water, thanks.”

So martinis for lunch. Was this how the other half lived?

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten you didn’t answer me,” East said, tapping the table.

“Oh, I haven’t.”

“And you’re not going to, are you?”

“What was the question again?”

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Cooper.” I held my hand out to him, and he arched a brow.

“Cooper…?”

“Patterson.”

“I don’t know that name.”

“And up until a few minutes ago, I didn’t know yours.”

He scoffed as though that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “You don’t know my name?”

“No. Sorry. Am I supposed to?”

East narrowed his eyes on me as if trying to decide if I was lying. “You’re not from New York.”

“No.”

“And you’re definitely not a new member, because we would know.”

What did this place do? Send out an email whenever someone signed up? That seemed a little pedestrian for a place that was so private and well funded.

Maybe I could weasel some information out of these two. Ask a couple of questions I had.

“How would you know?”

East smirked. “We have…connections.”

“You mean money.”

“Well, yes, everyone that sets foot in this place has money.” He looked me over and angled his head to the side. “Except maybe you, which makes me think you’re someone’s guest.”

This guy was good, and I wondered if this was how Lachlan felt when I questioned him, like I was talking in circles until I got to the actual information I wanted.

I was about to give another evasive answer when Lachlan stepped inside the restaurant, and my heart skipped several beats.

All put together in his suit and tie with his hair pushed back off his face, and those silver bracelets at his wrists, it was difficult not to stare as he stopped and scanned the restaurant, searching me out.

I swallowed around the lump in the back of my throat.

“Ah, now the pieces are starting to fall into place,” East said.

I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I care. I was too busy drinking in the sight of Lachlan as he started forward. It wasn’t until he stopped by the edge of our booth that I even noticed the other man behind him, which was a testament to how distracting Lachlan was, because this new guy was all kinds of intense.

East grinned at the two men, seemingly unbothered by either.

“Move,” Lachlan barked, and East’s smile grew even wider.

“Well, that’s rude.”

“Ask me if I care.”

Something about the way Lachlan was telling this pompous little shit to get out of his way made the ache in my dick even more intense.

“Zac and I were just having a chat with Cooper here. Your guest, I presume?”

The serious man beside Lachlan looked to East and crooked two fingers at him—and wouldn’t you know it, East obeyed.He and Zac got to their feet to stand beside the man dressed in all black. The pristine suit with his dark skin and stern expression only made him more forbidding.

“I trust you were polite in welcoming Cooper to Libertine?” he said as Lachlan slid in to take East’s spot.

“Of course,” East said as though he hadn’t just grilled me like I was an interloper—which I kind of was.

“We just ordered some drinks and were going to keep him company,” Zac explained. “But it seems there’s no need now.”

The man inclined his head, and as he stepped up to the booth, Lachlan’s shoulders straightened as though he had a pole jammed up his spine.

“Hello, Cooper, I’m Tyrone Kingston. Welcome to Libertine. Have you been enjoying your stay?”

“Yes, sir,” I said automatically.

“I’m glad to hear it, and I’ve taken up enough of Lachlan’s time this morning, so I’ll leave you both to your lunch.” He turned to the two men waiting beside him. “I have a free moment or…two. Have any idea on how I could spend them?”

The flush that hit Zac’s cheeks matched the sensual gleam in East’s eyes as they forgot the newcomer at the table and happily followed this Tyrone guy out of the restaurant.

It wasn’t until they were out of sight that Lachlan visibly relaxed. He slid his arm across the booth behind my shoulders and turned his attention on me.

“Hi.”

One word, that was all it took and heat flooded my entire body. “Hi.”

“I don’t see any food in front of you—did East interrupt you before you could order?”

“No, I ordered the truffle pizza but had them hold it until you got here.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. But I wanted to.” Not sure if I was allowed to touch him here but needing to more than my next breath, I bumped my leg up against his and smiled. “That man, Tyrone? That’s your boss, isn’t it?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Everyone’s response to him. The second he came in, the air changed. Like someone important had walked into the room.”

Lachlan chuckled and nodded. “That’s an accurate assessment, and yes, he’s the most important person in this building. We call him King.”

“Huh.” I sat back in my seat, thinking back to when I saw Zac and East making out at the bar, and how they had responded to King. East said they had a “connection.” What bigger connection was the owner, or manager, of this place?

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Lachlan asked.

I shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s definitely not nothing. Your cheeks are pink.”

“What? No they’re not.” I touched my face. “It’s just… King is with those two?”

“If you’re asking if they just left here to go and fuck somewhere, then yes, that’s exactly what they just did.”

“But…they were making out with each other earlier.”

“That’s right.” Lachlan leaned in by my ear. “The three of them are together.”

“Oh.”

Lachlan winked as the waitress arrived at our table carrying our pizza and two plates.

Once she left, I whispered, “He’s kind of scary.”

“King?”

“Yeah.”

“I hope that’s something you can get over.”

Get over? It wasn’t like I was going to see him again. “Why?”

“Because the reason he called me away today was to tell me that our guys are meeting this week, and he wants you to be there.”