Chapter 1 #3
I continued on, peeking into a lounge with comfortable seating areas and a few stages that included a catwalk and stripper poles, where people were performing burlesque and kink demonstrations.
On the opposite side of the house was a room that was all beds, and quite a lot of them were occupied with naked, writhing bodies—a perfect outlet for anyone with a kink for exhibitionism or voyeurism.
Still not finding what I wanted, I strolled to the back of the mansion and out the French terrace doors, completely blown away by the sight that greeted me.
The backyard had been transformed into a private paradise—lush, extravagant, and so beautiful it almost didn’t feel real.
At the center stretched a glittering expanse of water, the kind of luxurious pool you saw in glossy magazines.
A waterfall tumbled down sculpted rock formations, the sound soft and hypnotic.
People sat on submerged stools at the swim-up bar built into the pool—some in swim wear, and others completely naked—enjoying cocktails and the fact that the blazing desert sun had finally set.
There was even a grotto, the waterfall veiling its entrance and all the secrets that might lay inside.
Considering the one hundred degree heat, the blue shimmering water looked cool and inviting and for a moment I was tempted to jump in just to see if the pool felt as refreshing as it looked.
Before I could follow through on the appealing thought, the sound of male voices drew my attention to the right, where four men stood talking and laughing.
They were all wearing swim trunks and nothing else.
A couple of them had drinks in their hand, hanging out by the pool like this was a family party and not a sex club. It was all so…ordinary.
Surprisingly, I recognized some of them as Chase’s coworkers, the same group of tall, well-built bodyguards and security experts I’d met when I’d gone indoor skydiving with Andrea a few months ago.
They were all ridiculously attractive men, but there was one in particular who stood out to me.
The one man who’d pushed my buttons that day and hadn’t been at all deterred by my brash personality.
His playful arrogance had driven me up the wall, annoying as hell.
Tonight though, with him standing only a few feet away, that same confidence hit me differently.
It had been infuriating back then, but now all that swagger made me wonder if maybe he’d be good at pushing my buttons in exactly the way I wanted.
Tonight, Ford Perish—tall, gorgeous, dark-haired—looked exactly like the kind of bad decisions I might be in the mood for.
I slipped off my heels, letting them dangle from two fingers as I walked along the edge of the pool, until I was just close enough that a few of the men glanced my way. Including Ford, who looked surprised to see me.
Our gazes locked. A rush of adrenaline surged through me, hot and reckless, like my traitorous body already knew what it wanted from him long before my mind caught up.
“Violet?” His voice sounded startled, but the way his gaze raked over me felt anything but casual.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” I said, resorting to my normal flippant tone. “Or are you just following me around now?”
Ford smirked and took a slow sip of his drink, his gaze unapologetically skimming up my bare legs, then taking in the way the fabric of my dress outlined the curves of my breasts before he met my eyes again. “If I’d known you’d show up looking like that, I would’ve followed sooner,” he drawled.
“Flattery from you?” I arched a brow, letting a small, disbelieving smile tug at my lips. “Did hell freeze over?”
“Nah, I just don’t mind giving credit where credit is due.” His voice dropped to a husky pitch, as though he liked the push-pull game we were playing far too much. Admittedly, it did feel like a form of foreplay between us. “You clean up nice, Trouble.”
My brows rose. “Trouble?”
He shrugged, drawing my gaze to his bare, tanned chest, and a little lower, an impressive six pack cut into his abs. “After our run in at the skydiving place, it seems like an apt nickname for you.”
I snorted, cocking a hand on my hip. “You were being an insufferable asshole that day.”
Mirth flickered in Ford’s dark brown eyes, as if he enjoyed the memory of riling me up. “And yet here you are, dressed like sin, flirting with me by the pool at The Players Club. Maybe I made an impression.”
“Oh, you did,” I replied with mock sweetness. “The kind that makes a girl fantasize about duct tape. Over your mouth.”
That made a few of his co-workers snicker in amusement, but Ford merely tilted his head, his stare so intentional my skin prickled with heat. “You keep talking like that, and I’m going to assume you want to be gagged and put on your knees,” he murmured seductively.
My pulse skittered like crazy at the image that popped into my head, but I refused to let him see how much he affected me.
Instead, I narrowed my eyes and did what I did best. I scoffed at him.
“Cute threat, Perish. But let’s be real—” I dragged my gaze down his chest and lower, lingering at the impressive bulge in his swimming trunks before meeting his eyes again. “You couldn’t handle me if you tried.”
Ford’s eyes darkened, as if he was seconds away from accepting that challenge. He boldly stepped into my personal space, close enough that I caught the spice of his cologne and it was all I could do to keep from reaching out to run my fingers along those tight abs.
“Sweetheart, the only thing I’m not sure of is whether you’d beg me to stop, or beg me for more.”
I had a feeling it would be the latter. “You’re such a cocky bastard. You honestly think you’re that good?”
He merely smiled. “I know I am.”
His voice was infused with confidence, and something else.
Something deliberate. He was trying to bait me.
I could see it in the way his gaze held mine, steady and unflinching, daring me to react.
He wanted to know how far he could push before I either gave in to him or rose to meet the challenge.
My body was already betraying me, but I wasn’t about to let him see me fold first.
“You talk a big game, but I doubt your stamina matches your enormous ego.”
“Maybe it’s time for you to find out.”
“Tempting,” I said, as I tossed my heels onto a lounge chair, then pulled the few pins from my upswept hair, letting it fall in soft waves around my shoulders while Ford’s gaze tracked every movement. “But I’m not sure you’d survive trying to fuck me into submission.”
He dared to smirk at me. “If you think I’m the one who wouldn’t survive, you’ve got it backwards. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to let you come, and I’ll still be nowhere close to finished with you.”
I gave him a taunting smile and dared to reach out and skim my index finger beneath his chin in a very insolent manner. “Careful, Perish. Overpromising is the fastest way to disappoint a girl.”
I didn’t miss the dangerous glint in his eyes before I dove into the pool with a splash that drenched him, and the other men still standing nearby.
Cool water rushed over me, a shock against the heat still simmering in my veins.
When I surfaced, Ford was staring at me, mouth slightly open in shock that I’d actually jumped in with my dress on.
Good. I loved surprising men who thought they’d already figured me out, and Ford Perish was about to find out I didn’t just tease. I ruined men who thought they could tame me.