I narrowed my eyes to take him in, from the short, perfectly styled chocolate brown hair, navy-blue eyes, and the dusting of scruff on his jawline, right down to the thick-soled boots on his feet. He was casual tonight, wearing a black cashmere V-neck sweater, a black shirt beneath, and a pair of distressed jeans, an outfit that he managed to make look sexier than should be allowed.
He held out a hand to me, and for a moment, I was confused. Thankfully my lack of social grace seemed to amuse him, because he didn’t falter, waiting patiently until I returned the gesture.
Another giggle at my side had me glancing over, noticing my friends were waiting for an introduction. A second later, I learned it wasn’t necessary because Mr. O’Rourke greeted them both by name, earning him wide-eyed stares from Priya and Siobhan as well as from me. How did he know them?
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like a few minutes with the birthday girl,” he said kindly, glancing at me as though waiting for my approval.
Talk about customer service.
I nodded, unable to look away. His grip on my hand firmed slightly as he helped me descend the final step. When I was on the same level as he was, I realized he was taller than I’d initially thought. Even in my heels, I had to look up at him, but it wasn’t merely his height but the breadth of his shoulders that had me inhaling sharply. There was something about him that reminded me of my stepbrother. Probably the overwhelming size, or maybe that crooked smile he shot at me. Or perhaps the sinful good looks that set him apart from the rest of the universe.
Not that I was thinking about Knox. Nope. I’d left that bastard in my former life right after he’d pulled the rug out from under my family and stolen everything we had. I refused to let myself think about him, except nights when I crawled into bed, finding it difficult to fall asleep. Those endless minutes when I was dreading the coming day and welcomed anything that would rekindle those strong desires I’d felt that one too-brief night. Only then did I think of him andonlybecause I couldn’t help myself.
“Everything all right, Miss Campbell?” Kieran asked, peering down at me as he stepped closer to my side.
I exhaled heavily, shoving thoughts of Knox away.
“Perfect,” I lied. “And please, call me Emily.”
“And you may call me Kieran,” he said warmly, his blue eyes glittering with mischief.
Yep. Even his name was sexy.
After tucking my hand into the crook of his arm, Kieran leaned down, his mouth close to my ear when he said, “I hope you’re ready for this.”
I didn’t have time to ask what he meant because we were on the move. Kieran led me toward the bar set up in the center of the main floor. It was in the shape of an octagon, which mimicked the disco ball that hung directly overhead. Four bartenders worked diligently behind it, pouring drinks, taking money, chatting, and laughing with customers.
I was so focused on one bartender doing an improv dance move that I nearly ran right into the woman who stopped to offer drinks from a tray she was carrying. I immediately smiled at her, but only for a second as my brain registered what she was wearing.
Or rather, what shewasn’twearing.
While she would’ve been considered covered in the technical sense, she was far from decent with the black-sequined pasties that barely covered her nipples and the tiny strip of rainbow satin that concealed her lower parts. The rainbow-feathered headdress that rose from her head and cascaded down her back was a nice touch, but it didn’t keep my cheeks from heating with embarrassment.
“Is this…” I swallowed past the lump in my throat and leaned closer to Kieran, keeping my voice low. “Is this a sex club?”
“I think you’re referring to a topless club. And no, love, it’s not,” he stated with a boyish grin.
Perhaps these people didn’t get the memo then, because she sure looked topless to me. So did another woman, clad in the same pasties and G-string ensemble and a couple of men donning black leather chest harnesses and leather underwear who were carrying trays and darting from one table to another.
“Sex club, topless, whatever. There are naked people,” I argued, doing my best not to stare at the wealth of nearly naked bodies on display.
“They’re not naked,” he corrected.
Fine, they weren’t naked. The majority of the women and men in hereweredressed similarly to the way Kieran and I were, in casual evening wear, but there was a handful who were as close to it as they could get while still being … covered.
“Is this outside of your comfort zone, Emily?”
Comfort zone? Until recently, I’d never so much as seen an R-rated movie, much less an X-rated one, so yeah, I would have to say this was way,wayoutside of it. But I didn’t tell Kieran that. The man would likely laugh if he knew the truth.
“I’m just a little taken aback, that’s all,” I muttered, ducking my eyes and gripping Kieran’s arm firmly when the bare-breasted-but-for-the-pasties woman repeated her offer of glasses of sparkling gold liquid.
“Something to drink?” he asked, smiling down at me.
“I don’t drink alcohol, but thank you.” Basically, it was the truth. Although my friends had made repeated attempts to help me find an alcoholic beverage that I could tolerate, I’d never found anything I liked enough to drink again, so it was simply easier to stick to my claim that I didn’t drink.
“By choice?”
I offered a small smile. “By preference. I haven’t found anything that appeases my palate.”
