Prologue
Declan
Pacing the corridors of my club, Dazzler, I can’t disguise my nervousness that everything needs to go off without a hitch tonight. My brother, Mason, is coming over. Not that he knows it yet, and his girlfriend, Olivia, is going to propose.
Mase has no clue what Liv has planned for him, but he will accept her proposal. He is totally smitten, a much happier person now, fulfilled. I don’t go in for one true love and all that shit, but if I did, I’d say that’s what they have. He has been married before, to Arianna, but honestly, it was never like it is with Liv. Mase has had countless girlfriends but from the second he set eyes on Olivia, he changed. His sole purpose in life appeared to be capturing the very beautiful brunette, but if I am honest, I have no clue who caught who really.
There will be a full-on party here tonight and we’ll have the run of the place as I don’t open the club on Tuesdays. An adolescent titter escapes me as I recall almost catching Mase and Liv mid shag on a previous Tuesday when they had used it for someprivate dancing. Yeah, that is what my brother assured me they were doing. Although, having seen Olivia dance I can vouch for the fact that it’s akin to shagging to music.
Olivia has had a shit life all in all. Her parents split up when her and her brother were kids, the father disappeared and then the mother moved into some religious commune where the head of the ‘church’ systematically abused, beat, and raped Olivia, amongst others. When his crimes began to catch up, he, Raymond Daniels, went on the run, but only as far as Olivia who he beat and assaulted. She lost the baby none of us knew she was expecting that night. Yes, they definitely deserve to be happy. And Raymond? He is being sentenced today for his crimes and that is where Mase and Olivia are now, along with her long-lost brother and father and his new family. I suppose some good has come from it, although I know Mase still has reservations about the brother and the father, but Liv wants to be one big happy family so he will play ball unless they cross him.
With a frown, I wonder how a parent does that to their kid; abuses, facilitates the abuse, or simply moves on to build a new life without their child. Mase and I have had four stepdads and numerous stepsiblings over the years, but not once have we felt anything other than loved and safe. As if by maternal magic, my phone rings and it’s my mother.
“Hi Mum, are you okay?”
“Yes, darling, fine. Have you heard from Mase?”
I can tell from her voice that she has or has at least heard something about him.
“I haven’t,” I confirm.
“Your dad called. That awful man has been sentenced to more than eighty years.”
“Wow…how’s Liv, and Mase?” I ask, unsure what else to say.
“Your dad said Olivia is remarkably holding things together, Mase not so much so…he’s quiet and brooding,” my mother reveals and is clearly concerned.
“Mum, he’ll be fine. We’ll all keep an eye on him and after tonight he will have everything he wants,” I say in an attempt to settle her nerves and worries.
“He won’t have the baby Olivia lost, neither of them will,” she whispers, sadly.
“No, but they will have other babies and I think that will be sooner rather than later.”
“Of course. Are you okay, Declan?” she asks, and I smile at how fortunate we are to have her as our mother. She is unconditionally loving, has always put her children’s needs first and there is no element of doubt in my mind that she would move heaven and earth to ensure our happiness and safety. Who could ask for more in a parent?
“I am great, Mum.” It’s not a lie. I am happy. I have my business and an endless supply of pretty girls, speaking of which a very hot little brunette has just entered the building. “Mum, I have to go, but I will see you later. Don’t worry about Mase, he’s got Liv, so he’ll be fine.”
I immediately go in search of the pretty dark-haired girl dressed in shorts and a very tight vest. I find her in my kitchen, with her back to me, chatting to Kelly who usually works behind the bar but is helping me out with decorations today. I stand in the doorway and take in the scene before me. Clearly the girl I saw is from the catering company which is owned by Olivia’s father who is at court with her. I have no idea what Kelly is talking about with the other woman as my brain refuses to think, see or hear anything that isn’t her sexy as fuck arse that is hanging out of her tiny shorts. This woman is a serious contradiction with her dark hair and fair skin, her short height and fuller, voluptuous curves that seem to be screaming to be touched and caressed.
The noise of her laughter startles me, mainly because the sound that resonates from her is the most divine thing I have ever heard. I cough in some kind of shocked and nervous reaction, alerting them both to my presence.
“Hi, Dec. This is Anita, she’s the caterer.” Kelly reveals the beautiful lady’s identity.
She has the darkest brown eyes I have ever seen and a face that could and probably does stop traffic. I lower my glance to her chest which is tightly ensconced in a vest that only emphasises her boobs. They really are magnificent and equally as curvaceous and inviting as her behind, both of which are in total contrast to her tiny waist and frame. She is like an adult doll maker’s blueprint for immoral thoughts and as I prepare to delve into immoral and quite possibly depraved thoughts, she, Anita, smiles a sweet and seriously hot smile that has me hard in an instant.
“Kelly, could you go and collect the balloons and tea lights?”
She grins, confirming she knows exactly why I want the place to myself. More importantly, why I want Anita to myself.
I am a man whore and have no issue with that. I like sex, a lot; hot, frequent, all variations on sex, but most of all I am looking for uncomplicated sex. The idea of sex with one person for the rest of my life brings me out in a cold sweat. The monotonous, formulated sexual encounters that so many couples are grateful for is not my thing at all. I want excitement, unpredictability, and no emotions.
Kelly leaves us alone and then I speak to Anita, a simple introduction. “Dec,” I say with an outstretched hand, and only then do I notice that she is in no position to accept it.
With her hands full of a piping bag, I see her grin. Then with a glimmer in her eye she licks her lips until they are glistening with her own saliva, and it takes all my powers of restraint not to go and add my own. This woman is a strange one with her innocent expression and knowing eyes. She’s teasing me.
“Like she said, Anita.” She proceeds to pipe what looks like lemon butter icing onto a huge tray of cupcakes.
I am rooted to the spot watching her navigate the piping bag, the off-white creamy mixture oozing from the nozzle under her control. God, I need to stop watching porn I decide as I consider my narration of what she is doing. With the last cupcake completed and another tray being started, she stops to point the bag at me and allows a little icing to dribble from the end. Yes, I really need to reduce my porn viewing.
