Chapter 1 #2
“My best friend, Roxanne, over there”—I point to Brielle.
Seems smarter not to use real names—“she’s an influencer on TikTok.
I’m sure you’ve heard of her, Roxanne the Bloann,” I say quickly forgetting for a moment that that wasn’t the name on her ID.
“She has ten million followers, who are all waiting to see what Tropez Dali is like and if it’s worth the hype.
And Mona Hilton is waiting for us so she can go live with us. ”
Don’t ask to see my social media, please. The man would laugh us down the street if he saw my 135 followers.
The man shrugs, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“This shit is not worth it,” he mutters as he hands me back my ID and opens the door for us.
“The Mona Hilton party is on the third floor in the VIP section. Give the hostess outside the door your names. She’ll check you off the guest list and let you up. ”
“Perfect. Thank you.” I blow him a kiss. “You have a good evening, smexy.”
High on adrenaline, I stride into the bar and turn to see a gobsmacked Willow and Brielle following behind me. “Told you I had it in the bag,” I say to my friends as we stand there and take in our surroundings.
It’s like we’ve entered a foreign land of loud music, flickering lights, and smoky haze.
“Who the hell is Mona Hilton?” Brielle whispers loudly. “Does she really think I’m an influencer?” She sounds slightly panicked.
Brielle is the most nervous of the three of us.
She’s always worried she’s going to get into trouble, likely ’cause her dad is a security guard at a factory and super overprotective.
I was shocked when he allowed her to come on this “school trip,” though I’m sure if he knew where she was right now, he’d drive down and take her home right away.
“We don’t know Mona Hilton,” I say, giving her a look. “Keep your voice down.”
“You don’t? What’s going on?”
“Oh, don’t worry so much, Brielle. We’re not actually going to her party.
She was just somebody I figured was worth knowing to get us in.
” I grab my friends’ hands. “She just had a post that I saw on Instagram.” I grin at them.
“I figured if I said we were with her party and we were influencers, we’d have a better shot at getting entry.
Now, here we are; we’re in. Shall we do some shots? ”
“Should we?” Willow looks nervous, but I just laugh at her apprehension. “We’re underage and broke.”
“We’re in New York, and it’s not like we’re going to get drunk, girls. I mean, I only have enough money for one round. Come on. Let’s have some fun.”
I let go of their hands and gaze up and around the club.
It’s really cool in here. There’s a tall, spiral wrought iron staircase right in the middle of the room that goes all the way up to a glass ceiling.
The floor is packed with men and women who all seem to be enjoying themselves.
Several seem high, and I’m not sure if it’s on life or coke, but I don’t really care.
I don’t judge, though I have no interest in drugs myself.
There’s a DJ on a small floating stage to the right of us, with neon-pink lights bouncing back and forth in front of him.
He’s pumping out some popular hip-hop music, and I watch several girls dance in front of his booth.
To the left side of the room is a long concrete bar with thousands of bottles on display.
The room smells like sex, lust, money, power, and fun, and I’m ready to indulge in as many as I can.
I throw my hands up into the air and spin around in circles before ripping off my glasses. “I wanna make love in …” I sing loudly along to the song as I dance across to the bar.
There are three men in front of me, and I watch as one turns to look at me. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, with vibrant blue eyes, dark and silky hair, and an arm full of tattoos. I swallow hard as our eyes meet. He looks me up and down, and a lazy smile spreads across his handsome face.
Am I in heaven, and did an angel just smile at me?
This man is perfection. And his body is muscular and toned. Which I can tell from his well-fitted white shirt and black slacks. My entire body is on fire as we gaze at each other.
I feel seen. Really seen. For the very first time in my life. And I love it.
Then he ushers me toward him, and I feel like I’m living in a slow-motion dream.
At first, I’m not sure what to do, but then he tilts his head to the side and gives me a sexy smile, and I know that I’m not going to let the evening go without having some fun with this man.
I sashay right up to him, and he steps away from his friends.
“Hi there.” His voice is silky and smooth, and it makes me smile.
“Hi.” My voice is a squeak of nerves, and so I try again. “Come here often?” I want to groan at my cliché question.
I hear footsteps behind me, and I know that Brielle and Willow have followed.
“Second time. Nearly didn’t come again.” He pauses. “But I’m glad that I did.” He looks me over again, and I can feel him undressing me with his eyes. “Can I buy you a drink?”
“I’ll let you buy me a drink later—if you’re a good boy.”
“I hate to disappoint you, pretty lady,” he says in his deep, smooth, sexy voice, “but I’m far from good or a boy.
” He smirks and shifts his stance so that he’s looking down at me.
He leans in so that his eyes and lips are only a few inches from mine and whispers, “You’re really beautiful. Where have you been all my life?”
“I don’t tell strangers my entire life story right away,” I say, laughing softly.
“Touché.” He nods, his eyes deep, deadly blue
, and serious. “What if I don’t want to be a stranger?”
I can feel my heart racing. This man is sexy.
“What do you want to be?”
“What, or where?” He winks, and I can feel my skin burning up.
“By the way, just to reiterate it, but not only am I not a good boy,” he says, whispering in my ear, “but I’m one hundred percent man.
” He blows his warm breath against my ear.
“I’m also all bad. I’m the big bad wolf your mother warned you about. ”
He pulls back and looks into my eyes. There’s a glint there—a challenge—and I’m not about to back down.
“Good thing I don’t always listen to my mother,” I say, leaning back, trying not to faint. “And it’s a good thing that I like wolves.” I run my fingers down his chest and lick my lips again.
My heart races as I banter with him. He is so far from the high-school boys I normally deal with. He’s the sort of man who ruins women for other men. And as such, he is perfect for me. As such, he is the man I want to lose my virginity to—and preferably tonight.
“So, are you saying you like to be nibbled and eaten?” His eyes tease me, his breath warm against my lips.
“Only by big bad wolves.” I enunciate each word softly, and he growls under his breath.
“Well then, I think we need to get further acquainted.”
“I agree.” My hand moves up his chest to his neck, and I’m about to bring his face down to mine for a kiss when we hear someone coughing behind us.
I stiffen as he looks past me and turn back myself.
Suddenly, he frowns slightly, and I see that he’s staring at Brielle and Willow, who are standing there, looking shell-shocked by my brazenness.
I give them a look to let them know they look like innocent deer, but they don’t seem to understand what I’m trying to say with my eyes.
Why are my friends so transparent?
“Do you know them?” the Big Bad Wolf says, frowning as he takes a step away from me, the moment broken. No kiss is about to happen.
“Oh, yeah. Those are my best friends, Willow and Brielle.” I giggle lightly, attempting to move closer to him and press my hand against his shirt again. “They’re just shocked to see me flirting with you. It’s their first time at Tropez Dali.” I say it as if it wasn’t my first time as well.
I watch his eyes narrow, and my heart races as he looks them over, then looks back at me.
“Is this their first time to a nightclub—ever?” he asks in a skeptical tone as he takes them in.
I see what he sees. Two teenagers, dressed up with perfect makeup, but wide-eyed and innocent. Fuck!
“Are you guys twenty-one?” His eyes narrow as he presses his lips together.
The way he surveys me doesn’t feel as sexy now. I feel naked, like he’s seeing me for who I am—and who I am is not someone he likes and wants to be with.
“Of course.” I laugh nervously, running my fingers through my hair.
“Can I see your ID?” he says in a low tone, like it’s not a request.
I hand him my ID slowly and obediently and flutter my lashes. I wait for him to hand it back so we can resume our flirting. Instead, he bursts out laughing, and my heart sinks. I knew it was a long shot that he’d think my ID was real, but I hoped he wouldn’t look too carefully.
“Thirty-eight?” He shakes his head. “Really? Agnes?”
I grimace and snatch the ID back from him.
“How old are you, really?” His eyes narrow.
“Why?” I pout. “I might not be thirty-eight yet, but …”
“You mean you’re not thirty-eight, Agnes?” He stresses the name again, and I try not to roll my eyes.
“Does it matter how old I am if we’re both interested?”
“It matters,” he snaps.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t eat minors,” he says, and my face flushes.
“I’m not a minor! I’m … I’m eighteen-ish.” My voice trails off. I already know this isn’t going to go well.
“Ish?” He raises his eyebrows.
“In two months, I’ll be eighteen. Big deal.”
“Oh, hell no.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, Agnes, but this is a no-go.”
“But—” My lips tremble.
I don’t want to argue with him, but I cannot lose out on him. He’s the perfect man to be my first.
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m a twenty-seven-year-old man, and I like women, not little girls.
” He points over to the two guys he was standing with, who are a little farther away from us now.
“I have my younger brother here though, and he’s around your age.
” In fact, he nods to the side toward the guys who have at some point moved forward. “He’s right here.”
“But I—”
He takes a step back. “Sorry, Agnes. It’s a no.”
“My name’s Katherine,” I say, feeling strangely deflated and torn.
He shrugs like my real name means nothing. I can’t believe we’ve gone from one hundred to zero in less than ten minutes. His brother and friend step over and give me warm smiles.
“Katherine, this is my brother, Zac. He’s nineteen, much more age-appropriate for you. That’s his best friend, Tristan. Zac and Tristan, this is my new friend, Agnes, who sometimes goes by Katherine.”
“It’s Katherine,” I say, glaring at him. “Never Agnes.”
He laughs loudly then and takes another step back. Zac steps forward and grins. He’s cute, but not in that manly, sexy way his brother is.
“Hi,” he says, offering his hand. “How do you know Jack?”
“Who?” I look at him, and the wolf man laughs.
“Oh, you.” I stare at Jack regretfully.
He has already retreated away from me and is gazing down at his phone.
“Your brother and I just met,” I say to Zac.
“Oh, awesome. That’s pretty fortuitous for me,” Zac says, taking another step toward me. “You’re really hot.”
His eyes sweep up and down my legs, and I feel myself warming again. He then looks over to Brielle and Willow and lets out a low whistle.
“Wow. You’re all hot.”
He looks like the cat that just got the canary.
“That’s Willow, and that’s Brielle—my best friends. We’re actually just going to get some drinks.”
“Drinks?” he says. “Wait, how old are you?”
I stare at him. I don’t want to hear that question again in my life. “We were going to get Cokes.”
“Oh, I don’t care if you’re getting alcohol,” he says, laughing.
“Hey, I heard that.” Jack looks up. “You don’t drink alcohol, not when you’re with me. Not when you’re out.” Jack glares at Zac.
Zac shrugs. “But, hey, what if Tristan and I and our new friends—Katherine, Brielle, and Willow—want to have some fun?”
“Then I suggest you do it on lemonade. All of you.” Jack glares at me and the girls before he holds his phone up. “I’ve got to take this though. It’s Sebastian. He’s thinking about coming out with Santiago. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be back, okay?”
“Okay,” Zac says with a small smile. “So, Katherine,” he says, turning back to me, “you live in Manhattan?”
I shake my head. I watch as Jack walks away and let out a low sigh. He’s one hundred percent not interested.
I turn back to Zac. “I’m from Whispering Haven. Have you heard of it?”
“Never,” he says, grinning. “But I wouldn’t mind getting to know it.” He grabs my hand. “Just like I wouldn’t mind getting to know you.”