Power and Possession(100)
“Damn right you will.” This from a man who’d never asked a woman’s name before he fucked her. “Maybe you should wear a jacket. It’s cool at night.”
She looked up from checking the contents of her purse: lipstick, phone, ID, credit card, cash, enough for cab fare home—her mother’s mantra. “I’m not wearing a jacket inside.”
“You will if I say you will.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Hey.”
He took a deep breath, exhaled. “Sorry.” He drained the rest of his whiskey in a single swallow. She could say Hey all she wanted; no way, she was leaving his side. He’d amused himself in enough of these fuck clubs to understand the rules. There weren’t any. “So,” he said, setting his glass aside, coming to his feet, and holding out his hand. “Ready?”
She took his hand and even in heels, looked up a long way to his faint scowl. “I’m looking forward to seeing one of these clubs. And don’t worry, I’ll stick to you like glue. If you must know, I’m a little intimidated.” She made a little face. “Naked people. Eeek.”
“These high-end clubs only let in the beautiful people. So don’t worry, you won’t be seeing any fat German tourists.” He smiled. “In fact, this club requires that entrants speak French, Russian, or Arabic—in addition to being young, good-looking, and rich. So the naked people are at least physically attractive. No guarantees on personality. Rich people can be massive douches.”
She tapped his chest. “Even rich, young, handsome ones.”
“Hey, babe, just do what you’re told and everyone’s happy.”
“You better be smiling when you say that.” Then she reached up and pulled his face down for a kiss. “Although during August,” she said, the hum of her words warm on his lips, “I’m not entirely averse to a certain number of orders.”
He chuckled. “True. You like orders with sex. Definitely a match made in heaven.” And he kissed her back, lightly, in order not to ruin her lipstick. He knew about makeup and could be polite when required.
Dropping down on her heels, she made a little grumbly sound. “We don’t have to stay long do we?”
“Or we could fuck there. That’s kind of what these clubs are for. Don’t panic,” he quickly said as her eyes opened wide, “I’ll get us a private room.”
“Whew. You had me worried there for a minute.”
He felt a sudden warm, protective zeal, a feeling so alien he mentally scrutinized it for a moment before fully embracing it. “No one sees you but me. You’re my girl.”
Maybe that warm protective wave was operating on a duplicate plane because Nicole felt it envelope her in tender, lambent affection. “I like being your girl.”
“Good,” he said gruffly.
When Nicole and Rafe exited the cloister house, Simon slid off the front fender and moved to open the back door of the car.
“Picking up Ganz?”
“That’s the plan. Then do you mind sticking around in case we want to leave early?”
“No problem. Probably not a bad idea anyway,” he said, holding Rafe’s gaze for a moment as Nicole slid into the backseat.
“Right.” Rafe smiled. “How soon we forget.”
“Best not do that,” Simon said cryptically. “Carlos wouldn’t approve.”
“Agreed.” Rafe arched one brow. “We have company I hear.”
“She won’t notice.”
“Excellent.”
Rafe stepped into the car and Simon shut the door.
Simon took a roundabout route to Madeline’s apartment, making certain they didn’t have a tail. It was still early days since the two men had been spirited out of Macao, but no one was taking any chances.
They picked up Ganz and Madeline and once everyone was seated, the two women were introduced.
“Nice to meet you,” Nicole said, smiling across Ganz at the lovely blond woman who almost matched him in height. “I hear you’re as good as Ganz on the computer.”
“Sometimes. We met online a few years ago. Are you enjoying Paris?”
“Rafe has been making it enjoyable.” Nicole smiled up at Rafe, who had his arm around her.
“She’s easy to please.” Dipping his head, he kissed Nicole’s cheek. “We might not stay all night. Can you get home on your own or do you want Simon to send for another car?”
“Some friends of mine are going to be there,” Madeline said. “We can ride with them or catch a cab.”
Rafe leaned forward enough to see Ganz. “Why don’t we have a car there for you?”