Ryder
The meeting ended earlier than we expected, and what a surprise we got when we went home and realized the girls were missing.
After watching the security footage and seeing them leave by Uber, I checked Kelsey’s location using the GPS chip I had Teegan install in her new phone.
Luxe. They fucking went to Luxe behind our backs.
My hands fist at my sides, riding up the elevator to the twentieth floor.
I recall specifically telling Kelsey not to come here without me.
I’ve been here many times over the course of my three-year membership, so I know what secrets lie behind the hidden closed doors.
This place is basically a high-dollar sex club.
They require members and guests to sign an NDA, and if you want to play, you are required to see the doctor here for testing first.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” The hostess greets.
We nod as we pass her, going straight to the entertainment room.
When I tracked her coming up the elevator, this is where it said she was.
Hayden walks beside me, or steps in sync.
The door is darker through the tinted visors, but I can still make out the velvet walls and golden accents.
We have our Bluetooth pieces in our ears, so we can hear each other crystal clear without having to talk loudly and be recognized.
“To the right,” Hayden speaks in my ear. I glance that way, finding Kelsey and Jessie sitting in the lower level in a recessed booth. There’s an empty table on the upper level that gives us a perfect view of them, so we take it, getting comfortable in the stools.
Kelsey has no idea what she’ll be returning home to. Jessie? She’s never listened to rules anyway, so telling her “no” does me no good. I will get creative and have extra work sent her way in the office, though. She’ll be too busy to do anything outside the office for a week.
Watching Kelsey squirm under our heated stares is probably torture enough. She has no idea it’s us and probably believes we’re still in the meeting. We’re completely covered, black everything. Jeans, leather jackets, boots, helmets, and gloves. Not a single inch of skin exposed.
There’s a dark-haired, heavily tatted dancer on the stage, but my attention is fully on the girl having a panic attack below us.
I tilt my head to the side when she looks back over her shoulder at us, letting her know we are, in fact, staring at her.
She wore everything I’ve gifted her recently.
The two-thousand-dollar two-piece dress, Christian Louboutin heels, and I see the sparkly diamonds of her Graff hoops dangling from her ears.
She curled her long brunette hair, so it drapes over her shoulders, shaping her heart-shaped face perfectly.
My eyes look around the room, daring any fucker in this room to touch her.
They will regret it the second they do. Luckily for them, they’re all mesmerized by the show on stage.
I don’t blame them. The girl’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as Kelsey.
That girl is my obsession. One day, my mark will be tattooed on her left hand. She will be mine till death do us part.
“What do you say we give them a little scare?” I ask.
Hayden chuckles darkly, “What’s your idea?”
“Follow my lead.”
While Kelsey and Jessie are transfixed on the stage, we walk down the burgundy carpeted steps to the booths.
We stop in front of their booths, and two sets of wide eyes gawk up at us.
I motion with my hands for Kelsey to scoot over.
It still hasn’t dawned on her that it’s us, which makes my blood boil when she submits and makes room for me to sit.
In this position, she would be vulnerable if I were out to get her.
There’s no way for her to escape. We’ll be talking about that later.
“Who the fuck are you?” Kelsey hisses through her teeth.
I shake my head at her, not answering and adding to the suspense. I love watching her heart rate pick up and how red her skin gets when flustered.
“What do you want?”
This time, I shrug and stretch my arm out around her shoulder. She flinches away from me and swats my arm. Good girl. But it does nothing to push me away. I pull her in close, and I can tell the very second she realizes it’s me. Her body goes rigid and still.
Hayden sits across from me, next to a surprisingly silent Jessie, though her eyes scream, “fuck you.” It’s written all over her face in the snarl she’s giving me. She’s already figured out it’s us, but she knows better than to argue.
“I thought you had a meeting,” Kelsey growls.
Keeping my eyes trained on Jessie, I say, “Ended early.” My answer is clipped.
I’m not in the mood for conversation. My patience is as thin as thread and ready to snap any second.
Surprisingly, I’m much more controlled with Kelsey.
No girl has ever been able to do what she’s done to me.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love her.
I came to terms with those emotions awhile ago, but I can’t tell her that.
Yet. I don’t think she feels the same, and I can’t blame her if she doesn’t.
She scoots away from me. Well, attempted anyway. I grip her shoulder and hold her closer. “We didn’t do anything wrong.” She argues.
I never said they did. I don’t care where they go or what they do as long as there’s security. My security. They snuck out, knowing we weren’t okay with them coming here alone. That’s where our problem is.
“Are you drunk?” I ask.
“What? No. I only had one,” Her face pinches in thought, “Maybe two drinks. I can’t remember, but I’m fine.”
“Good. Let’s go.” I grab her hand and pull her from the booth. Jessie follows behind us while Hayden trails behind. Kelsey struggles to keep up with my long strides. Her heels click on the shiny floor before being muted out by the carpet in the hall.
“Good evening, Mr. Langley,” The hostess starts to speak at the front desk.
“Charge it to my card,” I snap, then aggressively smash the elevator button as if that will open the doors any faster.
“Can you slow down?”
My teeth grit from clenching my jaw so tight.
“No.” The single word comes out rough. Maybe I’m being too hard on them, but Lilith has men everywhere.
There’s no telling who could have followed them here.
I know both girls could kick ass, but alcohol impairs your judgment and slows your reaction times.
They never should have come here without a bodyguard.
If I have to, I will hire one to follow her ass around twenty-four seven.
The elevator dings, and we exit onto the first floor.
We make our way out to the valet, where our cars are already ready for us.
I open the door for Kelsey to slide in, and I buckle her seatbelt, then round the car to take the driver’s seat.
Hayden revs his engine behind us, signaling he’s ready to go.
Kelsey huffs. “What?” I asked a bit harsher than I intended.
“Nothing. You don’t actually give a shit anyway.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Do you care about anything, Ryder? Aside from money and racing.”
I inhale deeply. I’ve learned that doing that a couple of times helps prevent me from spewing venom from my mouth without thinking first. “I care about you.” I love you. I want to say, but I can’t.
She’s silent for a while, but I feel her eyes on me. It’s late at night, and Charlotte is buzzing. Traffic isn’t as bad as it could be, so I take advantage of it and weave between cars to get the fuck home as quickly as possible. I glance in the rearview to see Hayden following steadily behind.
“Why? Why do you care now?”
That’s a loaded question, but an easy one. I bite my bottom lip and sigh loudly. “I’ve always cared. At first, I was a dick…”
She huffs, “Understatement of the year.”
I chuckle because she’s right. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt. I had no idea how deep all this shit went, but I promise it will never happen again.”
I see her nod her head slowly from the corner of my eye. The moonlight beaming off the side of her face is picture-worthy. She’s so fucking beautiful, my dick throbs in my jeans. I can’t wait to get her home and punish her ass.