“You could be.”

“Why did you come to my room, Greyson?”

“Where were you if you didn’t go in the shower?”

“You better leave before my roommate comes back.” I licked my lower lip, and Greyson and I stared at each other for about a minute without saying a word.

“What is it about you, Meg?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “Don’t leave.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“You don’t even know me.” I frowned, and for one brief moment I thought that he was going to say something romantic and sweet. I could fully admit that I was a hopeless romantic, and I waited with bated breath for him to tell me something along the lines of “I’ve known you all my life, Meg.”

“I want to make love to you.” His words were rough, and I swallowed hard as he grabbed my hand and brought it to his erection. “You did this to me.”

“You’re crude.” I pulled my hand away from his hardness and looked up at him in distaste. “This is why I’m leaving.”

“Because you turn me on?”

“No, because you think it’s acceptable to grab my hand and put it there.”

“Put it where?” He smiled evilly.

“You know where.”

“Say it.”

“Against you.”

“Against me?”

“Against your hardness!” I muttered, irritated.

“Against my rigid, tormented, hard cock, you mean.” He grinned at me. Then his hands grabbed my waist and pulled me against him. “Don’t be scared to say the words.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Can I kiss you?” He looked down at me and I shook my head. “Please?” His hands grabbed my ass and squeezed. I swallowed hard and shook my head again.

My brain was buzzing with lust and confusion. I could barely form a coherent thought as he held me against him. This is what sexual tension feels like, I thought to myself. I’d never felt this way about a man before. Never. Not even the men I had dated for months. Let alone for a man I’d barely known twenty-four hours.

“Will you kiss me then?” His tongue traced the lines of my lips as he whispered against them.

“No,” I squeaked out. I gasped as I felt his tongue touch mine for one quick second before he pulled back. “You should leave.”

“If that’s what you want.” His lips pulled back slightly, and I felt disappointed.

“That’s what I want.” I nodded and my body stood still as his fingers continued massaging my butt cheeks.

“Then I’ll go.” He nodded down at me, but he didn’t move. His fingers slipped between my legs and I felt them brush against my private spot lightly before he stepped back. “Have a good morning, Meg.” He gave me a quick smile and walked to the door.

I listened to the door open and close, and I stood there with my eyes closed, replaying the scene in my mind. My panties felt wet and my whole body was throbbing in anticipation. He’d barely touched me. I could have blinked and missed the light touch of his fingertips against me, but it was all I could think about. My nerve endings were on high alert and my mouth was screaming at me for not allowing his sweet tongue to explore its depths.

I sank back against the wall and all I wanted to do was scream. I had no idea what to do. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to leave this place, this club. But there was a voice that was whispering in my head, telling me to stay. My body was alive and on fire in a way that it had never been before. But not only that, my brain was on high alert. There was something going on here. Something big. Something that didn’t make sense. Something that could get someone hurt. Something that could get me hurt. But I ignored the warning bells in my head.

I’d been a doormat for too long. I wanted an adventure. I wanted to find out what this private club was all about. I wanted to find out Greyson’s story. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. This was about more than helping Nancy and figuring out what was up with Brandon. I wanted Greyson Twining. Even if it meant I was going to get burned. Maybe it was time for me to play with the fire. Staying back from the flames hadn’t helped me in my love life. I was ready to feel the heat.

Chapter 3

Nancy and I silently walked to the courtyard. I was still out of breath from running to the bathroom to shower and then back to the room. Nancy had been waiting for me in the room when I got back, but we hadn't had time to talk since we were running behind.

"Glad you could join us, girls." Patsy's face was somber, and I knew whatever bonding we had experienced this morning was long gone. I stared at the other girls and frowned to myself. Aside from Patsy, I seemed to be the oldest one there—and by a long shot. I'd never thought I was old at twenty-five, but standing with all these girls in their late teens made me feel like I was positively ancient. I could tell that I wasn't the only one who had realized that I was the odd one out. There was another blond girl staring at me and whispering to her two sidekicks. One of them laughed as they looked me up and down, and I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Welcome to the club, ladies." Patsy gestured for everyone to follow her. "This is day one of your three-day orientation."

The blonde who had been staring at me spoke up. "When do we meet the men?"

"If you're talking about the heads of security, you'll be meeting them today." Patsy's voice was dry, and I wondered if this was some sort of strip club. It would make sense. Maybe it was a strip club for the rich, famous, and powerful. Maybe this was the sort of club that had no rules. I shuddered at the thought of being expected to have sex with men for money.

“Are they paying customers?” the blonde said and Patsy gave her a chilling stare.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that comment. This isn’t a Girls Gone Wild video.” Patsy looked at the rest of us. “Any other impertinent questions?”

We were all silent, and I cheered inside at the jab the blonde had received. I was already feeling like the redheaded stepchild, and it was nice to see negative attention directed at someone else. I stared at the other girls again and frowned to myself. I really didn’t understand why I had been chosen to move forward in the probation period. I sure didn’t feel like I fit the type they were going for.

“Shall we introduce ourselves?” Patsy stopped by a beautiful water fountain, and I looked around the garden again. It reminded me of some ancient Greek setting, with its tall white columns and large expanses of grass and marble. It was grand—really grand. I felt like I was in some rich man’s mansion and not in what was possibly a strip club. But I suppose I’ve never seen a high-class strip club, only the seedy ones on TV. Being in this setting would make everything seem classier, even selling your body for money.

I shivered as I thought about sleeping with someone for money. There was no way in hell I was going to do that. I’d leave before that happened. I wanted to find out what was going on, but not that badly.

“I’m Elizabeth,” the blonde said confidently. “I’m nineteen, from Connecticut. I’m a freshman at Dartmouth, but I’m taking a year off.” She smiled. “I applied for a job here because I wanted to make some money and explore the world.”

I stared at her beautiful smile in confusion. In many ways, she reminded me of myself at eighteen, only I hadn’t been as confident and I certainly wouldn’t have dropped out of school.

My brain tuned out as the other girls started talking. An overwhelming feeling of sadness encompassed me as I stood there. I felt like a loser. How had I ended up here? What was I doing? Had I lost my mind? I was a lawyer, for heaven’s sake. I had a degree from an Ivy League university. I had an apartment in Manhattan. I was responsible, smart, in charge of my own life.

But you’re bored, a voice whispered in my head. Where has your perfectly lived life gotten you?

I thought about Katie and the drama in her life when it came to Brandon. She loved hard and got hurt hard, but still she was living her life and trying again. She was going for it. I didn’t want to be the woman who got to be eighty years old and never had a real love or heartbreak.

“Oh, Mr. Twining.” Patsy’s voice sounded reverent and the garden grew instantly still as I froze. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.” She cleared her throat, and I looked up to see Patsy blushing. I looked to her right and there stood Greyson. He was dressed properly now in a navy suit, and I could see all the girls staring at him in admiration. I looked at Nancy’s face quickly to see her expression, but it was blank. She wasn’t giving anything away.

“Good morning, Patsy. Good morning, girls.” He nodded and gave us all a welcoming smile. “My name is Greyson Twining. I’m one of the owners of the club.”

“Hi, Greyson,” Elizabeth called out and gave a little wave. Greyson gave her a huge smile back and I felt like screaming. “I’m Elizabeth.”

“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth.”

“I’m in the Rainbow Room if you want to stop by tonight,” she continued, and the two girls next to her giggled nervously.

“That’s enough.” Patsy’s voice was loud and angry. “I’m sorry, Mr. Twining. This is day one. They don’t know all the rules yet.”

“No worries.” He nodded, and I felt his eyes on me. I looked up and he gave me a small smile. I didn’t smile back, even though my insides were heating up. “I actually came to see how everyone was getting on before I went to a meeting.”

Elizabeth spoke up again. “Will we get to meet the other owner?” I frowned.

“No.” Greyson’s expression changed and he was no longer smiling. Patsy was glaring at the girl, and I could tell that the mention of the other owner was something they didn’t like being mentioned.

“Oh that’s a pity. I’d quite like to meet Mr. Hastings,” Elizabeth continued, and I stared at Greyson. He looked at me quickly and his eyes bored into mine with a challenge.

“That’s enough, Elizabeth,” Patsy said. Then she turned around and whispered something to Greyson. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. All the while, his eyes never left mine.

“What do you think, Meg?” He spoke quietly, but I could still hear an acerbic hint in his tone.

“What do I think of what?”

“Of us contacting Mr. Hastings?”

“I didn’t know he was involved with the club.”

“There are many things it seems you don’t know.”

“But I’d love to find out.” I smiled at him and raised an eyebrow.

“It was nice meeting you girls.” He nodded and turned to Patsy. “I’ll see you later.”

“Thanks for coming out, Mr. Twining. I know you are busy,” Patsy beamed at him, and we all watched as he went back into the building.

“I’d f**k him in a heartbeat,” Elizabeth proclaimed and her friends giggled. “He wouldn’t even have to pay me.”

“That’s why he’s the boss,” another girl whispered and they all nodded.

"Girls, I'll be right back," Patsy suddenly exclaimed and walked out of the garden. I turned to Nancy.

"That was weird, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Her eyes were buzzing with something. "I wonder if we'll get to see Greyson again."

"Do you know him?" I asked her softly, not wanting her to know how important her answer was to me.

"No, of course not." She shook her head. "That girl, Elizabeth, looks like she is going to be a bitch."

"Yeah, she doesn't look nice."

"I thought she was going to kill you when Greyson said your name."

"Oh."

"Do you know him?"

"No, I just met him yesterday for about a minute," I lied for some reason. "He seems like a nice guy."

Nancy made a face. "I don't know that I would call him nice."

"So you do know him?"

"I know of him," Nancy sighed. "I know about him and Brandon Hastings."

"Oh?"

"The guy that Elizabeth mentioned." Nancy looked around and then whispered in my ear. "He was one of the founders. Along with Greyson."

"How do you know?"

"We can't talk about it here." She shook her head. "Later."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement. What else was Nancy hiding from me?

"Good morning, girls," a deep, gruff voice shouted out, and I looked up and froze. There were three men standing at the front, all dressed in the same uniform. The uniform was instantly recognizable to me as the same outfit the two men I'd seen earlier were wearing. But I couldn't tell which two men out of the three in front of me I'd seen.

"Hi, girls. My name is David. I'm the head of security here at the club. I'd like to introduce myself and the two guys I work with, Bruno and Frank."

"Hi, guys," Elizabeth called out flirtatiously.

"We are here to make sure that your time working at the club is a safe and comfortable one," David continued in a serious voice while Frank and Bruno smiled at Elizabeth. I was pretty sure I knew who the two I'd seen in the corridor were now. "If at any time, you feel uncomfortable or in danger, you should call us immediately. Those who get through the first three days in training will be given a button that you will wear at all times. In the middle of the button, there is a small stone. Push the stone and we will be alerted right away. Each button is equipped with GPS, so we will be able to locate you as well." He looked around the group and paused. When he looked at me, I noticed a quick flash of surprise before he moved on.