Leather & Lies

Chapter 1

“What are you staring at?”I asked.

“The hottest guy I’ve ever seen.” My best friend brought a flute of Prosecco to her bright red lips, her eyes locked on a man across the club floor.

I grinned. “Are you going to talk to him?”

“And leave you sitting here all by yourself? What kind of a friend do you think I am?”

“The horny kind.”

She winked at me. “The night is young and so are we. He might be hot, but I’m not willing to forgo all my other options just yet.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You haven’t even asked who I’m talking about. Aren’t you at all curious?”

“Not really.” I grabbed my rocks glass and took a sip of my clear, bubbly drink.

“You’re no fun.”

“I came out with you tonight, didn’t I?”

“I had to beg…”

I pointed to her. “Extrovert.” And then I pointed to myself. “Introvert.”

She pointed to herself. “Embraces life.” She pointed to me. “Reclusive shut-in.”

“Okay, fine. If I check out the hot guy you’re talking about, will you leave me alone?” I demanded lightly.

“Sure.” Charlie gestured with her chin. “Ten o’clock. Leather vest.”

“A leather vest? Seriously?”

“Not that kind of leather vest,” she assured me.

My curiosity was piqued. I swiveled on the bar stool, my eyes sifting through the people in the direction Charlie had motioned.

The lights of the club were low and the music was soft enough that I didn’t have to yell at Charlie to be heard. The hum of conversations faded away when I finally saw exactly who Charlie was talking about.

He was tall, towering over nearly everyone around him. His height wasn’t what made me pause, though. Those who moved in his sphere gave him a wide berth, like there was an invisible forcefield around him that people bounced off. His presence alone was commanding.

“Told ya,” Charlie said with a knowing laugh.

“He doesn’t even look like he belongs here.”

Chaos was an upscale club—more like a wine bar atmosphere, but with a dance floor. The bar was made of marble and the floor was polished oak. Everyone was perfectly coiffed and presented, each of them hoping to find the perfect stranger to fill the void we all lived with but pretended we didn’t have.

“Here.” Charlie handed me a bar napkin.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“Your drool.”

“Oh, shut up.” I laughed and threw the napkin back at her.

“You should go talk to him,” she suggested, taking another sip of her Prosecco.

“What? No. You were the one who saw him first. And he looks like he’s just your type.”

“The kind of man my parents would hate if I brought home? Hmm. Yeah. Normally, I’d be all about that, but that’s what they expect of me. I have to keep them on their toes. If I bring home a clean-cut suit, they’ll be so confused.”

“You’ve got issues.”

“Definitely,” she agreed. “I bequeath him to you. Go talk to him.”

“I’m not gonna talk to him. What would I even say?”

“Say nothing, just pet his leather vest.”

“Pass.”

She sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”

“What?”

“If you go talk to him, I promise I’ll show up at the gala your mother is organizing.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You never go to those things.”

“Well, I will. For you. But only if you go up and talk to him.”

“All I have to do is talk to him?” I asked.

“That’s all.”

I peered at her for a moment and then suddenly smiled. “Okay.”

Charlie blinked. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I repeated. “I’ll go talk to him.”

“You have to say more than hi to him. Otherwise, no deal. If you spend five minutes over there, I’ll even wear the backless dress I’ve been saving for a special occasion. The dress will make my mother blow a gasket.”

“Why do you want to torture your mother so badly?” I asked.

“Don’t take her side,” Charlie said. “Now go.”

I set my drink down and slid off the stool. I grabbed my phone, shot Charlie a wink, and then with feigned confidence, approached tall, dark, and Bad Decision.

Capital B. Capital D.

Bad Decision was standing by himself and the closer I got to him, the more I realized I hadn’t seen him clearly at all.

He was taller than I originally thought, at least ten inches over my five four. His jaw was covered in stubble and his gaze surveyed the floor.

Electric blue eyes glanced in my direction before drifting away. “I’m not interested, Jailbait.”

His deep voice washed over me and despite his words, goosebumps arose along my arms.

“I’m not jailbait,” I blurted out.

He turned his attention back to me and raised a dark brow. “Yeah? Prove it.”

“Prove it?”

“Show me your ID.”

“I’m not showing you my ID. I got into the club, that’s proof enough I’m legal.”

“IDs can be faked. You must have a fake ID. Now, if you don’t show me your ID, I’ll have to escort you out.”

“You can’t escort me out.”

“I’m security,” he said lightly. “So either show me your ID or I take you outside and put your underage ass in a cab home.”

I glared at him, but his body was alert, ready to move.

It wasn’t fair that I found him attractive.

“I’m waiting.”

With a sigh, I pulled my license out from the slit in my phone case and handed it to him. Our fingers brushed when he took it from me.

I inhaled sharply, but otherwise made no sound.

He studied my ID and then lifted his eyes to mine. “Hayden Spencer. Twenty-five years old. I stand corrected. You’re not jailbait. You’re not jailbait at all.”

Suddenly he smiled.

Danger, abort mission, fall back.

With a frown, I focused on the man in front of me and filched my license from his fingers and shoved it back into my phone case slit.

“You know what? Winning the bet isn’t worth it,” I said.

“Bet? What bet?” he asked.

“My best friend bet me I wouldn’t talk to you for five minutes. But no amount of winning is worth this. You’re insufferable, arrogant?—”

“Your eyes are gorgeous.”

The way he was looking at me made my stomach flutter and my long dormant libido crackle to life.

He held up two fingers and I turned around to see who he was gesturing to. The bartender inclined his head and began making drinks.

“I don’t need a drink,” I told him.

He flashed another libertine grin. “You’re right. You need a few. Relax, Duchess, let me take care of you. You’ll like it, I promise.”

My brows snapped together. “Duchess?”

“You’ve got that expensive look about you.”

Before I was able to stutter a reply, the music cut off and so did the lights. Darkness swamped the club. A murmur of collective confusion swelled throughout the room.

Panic swirled in my belly, a breath of terror escaping from between my lips.

A large hand settled on my hip and pulled me forward until my chest was flush against Bad Decision’s leather vest. Another hand came out of nowhere and gently clasped the back of my neck and before I knew it, his lips covered mine.

My alarm immediately receded as I was consumed by the man kissing me. He wasn’t forceful, nor was he tender. He was an expert kisser. He sipped at my lips, a connoisseur of pleasure. The flutters in my stomach quickly turned into a swarm of excitement.

My free hand had a mind of its own and pressed against the solid warm chest of the man whose real name I didn’t know.

The overhead lights flared to life—not the dim, sensual glow of club lights, but the garish, everyday fluorescent bulbs.

With the illumination of the club, my senses returned.

I yanked my hand away from his chest—his firm, muscular chest—and slid it up between our mouths.

My vision swam and I stumbled on my heels.

Bad Decision’s hands quickly grasped my upper arms to steady me. “I had no idea my kiss was going to make you faint.”

I inhaled a deep breath and met his eyes in the light.

Dear Lord, he’s even better looking than I thought.

“I’m not the fainting type,” I sassed.

“Glad to hear you’re made of stronger stuff. So,” he continued, “you want to go somewhere and pick up where we left off?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “I want no part of this. You’re trouble, and I don’t go home with men I’ve just met.”

“Sex in the bathroom, then?”

I glared. “Good night, Bad Decision.”

He flashed a sexy grin. “My name is Bones, but close enough.”

“I didn’t tell you to kiss him,” Charlie said as she climbed into the Uber after me.

“Will you hurry up?” I demanded. “I want to get out of here.”

“Worried about your leather snack coming out and finishing what he started?” She closed the door and the car pulled away from the curb outside of Chaos.

I let out an internal sign of relief. “No.”

“Yeah, right. Color me surprised. The moment the lights came on, I saw you pressed up against him and I was kicking my feet, squealing and giggling like a teenage girl.”

“I was just supposed to talk to him, not kiss him.” I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, all that did was make me relive the kissing scene.

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” she teased. “That was such a me move. You’re my hero.”

I looked at her. “I won, you know. You have to go to the gala.”

She smirked. “I was gonna go anyway.”

I gasped. “You were? You beast! So, what was with the bet?”

“Just wanted to see if I could get you to do something outside your comfort zone. I didn’t think you’d actually do him.”

“I didn’t do him,” I negated. “Though he was amenable about continuing down the path of carnal sin—in the club bathroom, no less.”

“Classy.”

“Very.” I wrinkled my nose.

“So, tell me about him.”

“Nothing to tell.” I shrugged. “He said he was security for the club.”

“Ah, no wonder he didn’t look like he belonged.”

“Yep. His name is Bones.”

“Bones? That’s not a name.”

“Doesn’t really matter what his name is. He’s trouble. And it’s done now. I’ll never see him again.”

Charlie didn’t say anything for a moment and then she said, “I’m proud of you.”

“For kissing a stranger? You already said that.”

“Not that. I mean for actually coming out. Thank you. I needed the distraction.” Charlie fell silent and looked out the window.

“You want to talk?”

“When have I ever wanted to talk?”

“It’s why you chose a club versus a coffee shop,” I said. “If you wanted to talk, you would’ve insisted on going to a coffee shop.”

She didn’t reply.

“You want to sleep over at my house?” I asked.

“Will you promise not to try and talk to me about what I don’t want to talk about?”

“Uh, I think I followed that. Sure.”

“Will you make me waffles in the morning?”

The Uber turned into the gated community of Vernon Estates and wound down the curvy road toward my house.

“I’ll make you waffles,” I said as the Uber pulled into my driveway. “But you have to learn how to operate the waffle maker. One of these days, I’m not gonna to be around to make you waffles, and you’re gonna have to learn how to do it for yourself.”

“But that’s such an adult thing to do. Adulting: zero out of ten, do not recommend.”

Chuckling, I waited for Charlie to get out first. She was already punching in the key code to the front door by the time I climbed out of the car.

“You know what I love about your house?” Charlie asked as she stood in the foyer and kicked off her heels.

“What?” I closed the front door and locked it.

“That it’s your house.” She grinned.

“I told you that you could move in,” I said. “It’s kind of lonely living by myself.”

“Liar.” She chuckled. “You love it.”

“I do love it,” I admitted. “But it’s too big for one person. Almost.”

“Arnold still giving you grief about moving out?” She followed me toward the wooden stairs.

“Not nearly as much as my mother. Which is weird, considering she spends most of her time traveling with my stepfather. They’re always at some resort spa, or at a charity luncheon or something. She’s rarely home, so I don’t understand why she’s so upset that I live on my own.”

Six months ago, I’d bought a house. It was modest, but only in relation to the house I’d grown up in. There was no marble fountain in my front yard and I lived in a gated community instead of on private property surrounded by wrought iron fences and a guard post worth more than most people’s homes.

I flipped on my bedroom light and immediately went to the walk-in closet with custom-built cherry wood shelves and a matching dresser. I opened the middle drawer and pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt to hand to Charlie.

“I won’t move in. But maybe I should finally bring over some clothes to keep in the guest room,” she said with a smile.

“That makes sense for as often as you’re over here.”

Charlie lived in her parents’ pool house. For all her acts of rebellion, she hadn’t yet cut ties and moved out. She loved her parents, even if she wanted to drive them to insanity.

“I’m gonna shower real quick,” I said. “And then I’m going to bed.”

“You mind if I watch a movie?”

I shook my head. “Tear it up. Stella restocked the popcorn before she left town.”

Charlie flashed a wobbly grin. “You take such good care of me.”

“We take good care of each other.” I reached out and took her hand to give it a little squeeze.

She headed for the door of my bedroom, but then she stopped. “I’d never try and change you, you know.”

I frowned. “I know.”

“I think you’re perfect as you are. I know you don’t like going out. I appreciate that you did it anyway. For me.”

“I’d do anything for you, Charlie. You get that, right?”

“I get that,” she murmured. Her eyes were glassy, but I knew it wasn’t from the Prosecco.

“I’ll see you in the morning. For waffles.”