An Assassin's Deception Read online

  It’s the only nippleless place to look.

  “So… What kind of club is this?” I press again. I'm not uncomfortable. I'm more turned on than anything.

  But it's the most interesting club I've ever had the downright pleasure to walk into.

  A woman slinks over to our booth, her palm splaying wide against the gleaming tabletop as she leans forward until her chest is poised right in front of my face. The tight dress curves along her full figure and for a second I’m impressed. Someone paid good money for those curves; she should show them off.

  “Are you two new?” White teeth shine in the lighting as she smiles mischievously at me. “I like showing the new ones the ropes.” The word “ropes” slips peculiarly from her lips as if there’s a hidden meaning tied up in there.

  I smile at her, pulling my arms a little closer together so my cleavage mirrors hers. She’s not the only one with impressive assets, okay?

  Now that I’ve met this alluringly beautiful greeter of this club, it’s abundantly clear what’s happening. I’ll admit, it took me longer than a moment, but I was caught off guard. It’s not every day I wander into clubs like this.

  But I’m all caught up now. I got the memo. I’m… probably the most innocent person here though.

  And I don’t know how the fuck that happened to me in my life. Jealousy licks through me for a moment at that thought

  I lean into Tylin, placing my palm against his strong shoulder until my leg slips over his. My thighs are bare against his jeans and they clench around his lean hips as he stares up at me. Pale lights shift over his steely gaze and a hint of a smile is hidden there. His body fits nicely against mine, and it’s hard for me not to let my fingers drift down his black button-down shirt to better feel his hard chest as I hold myself above him. Slowly I lean into him, the scruff of his dark beard abrading my skin as my lips brush against his jaw.

  “You could have fucking warned me we were going to a sex club, you asshole.”

  Three

  Behind Closed Curtains

  The rhythmic, pulsing beat of the music reverberates through me as the lights in the club illuminate the gleam in Tylin’s eyes. I narrow mine, but there’s not enough steel behind the look. Yeah, he should have warned me about the fucking sex club, but I’ll choose to wait until later to ream him out for it, instead deciding to play the part he needs me to play. I’m feeling downright angelic as I take one for the “team.”

  He’s still an asshole though. Always an asshole.

  This was a test. A sink or swim, see if I claw my way back to surface to drown beneath the waves test.

  Determined to prove my worth, I lean down, playing into the atmosphere around us while I try to dig for more information. I won’t be much help if I continue into this situation blind. I nibble on his neck, and his hands find my waist. The squeeze he gives me is part wanting, part warning, and I make my way to his ear, nipping at it before I whisper into it.

  “You have thirty seconds to fill me in on what I need to know. Otherwise, I’m floating dead in the water here, boss man.” If the squeeze to my sides is any indication, he doesn’t appreciate the sarcasm I let seep into my every word.

  “Our best guess is that Allison’s destination last night was this club.” I hum approvingly as his tongue flicks out to lick along the shell of my ear. I tell myself we’re simply play acting… but there’s no denying his tongue is talented. I wonder what magic it could work on other areas of my body.

  I snap myself out of my train of thought and focus. “So we need to look around for her? What makes you think she’s here now?”

  “She didn’t leave.” The statement is matter of fact.

  It’s a curious problem. The fact that she was spotted just last night means she’s not a missing person like the police said she was, but if she hasn’t been seen by anyone close to her in three days, there’s definitely something going on.

  I nod and Tylin hums lowly. I let my gaze fall on the dancers on the club floor as I look around, scanning the room as he skims his nose down the sensitive skin of my neck. It feels so damn good I bite my lip. My face effortlessly portrays that I’m enjoying myself in my dark corner of the room, and it’s not hard to fake. Tylin’s lips tease the curve where my neck and shoulder meet, and I want nothing more than to get him alone and show him how I really feel.

  I bite my lip harder, using the pain to remind myself that Tylin and I don’t have this kind of relationship. If it wasn’t for being undercover at the club, I doubt he’d ever get this close to me.

  Our relationship is… complicated.

  I hate complicated.

  Shadows writhe behind the sheer black curtains of the semi-private alcoves that line the room. The bar is crowded, lights are flashing, and a couple on the dance floor is openly fucking, adding to the overly sexed up atmosphere in the club. Everything about this place is meant to seduce, from the dancers on elevated platforms moving their bodies seductively to the music, to the pulse of the beat that literally vibrates through your body. Besides the colorful lights, the whole place is dim, alluding to privacy that doesn’t exist. And the patrons seem to like it that way. It’s like they want to be seen.

  Behind me, there’s a wide, luxurious looking staircase. Everything here is exceptionally sleek. I wonder how much it costs to get into this place. While most of the women are scantily clad, the majority of the men are dressed in sharp, expensive-looking suits. The elegance of Club Crystalline screams money.

  I feel the attention of the sexy woman behind us, and I blink my eyes innocently as I peer over my shoulder. Her eyes are heated as she leans one voluptuous hip against the glossy surface of the table we’re sitting behind. Her gaze is riveted on the scene we make. She likes watching. I’m not modest or shy, but I can’t say I’m used to a female audience who looks like she’s seconds away from joining in my sexual escapades. The idea of another woman’s hands on Tylin awakens a green seed of jealousy inside of me.

  As much as it makes me a hypocrite, I’m not sure I’m the sharing type. It’s something that’s never even occurred to me until right now, and it makes me worried about what I already share with Mason and Jameson. How do they feel about the arrangement we seem to have going for us?

  I fight from letting my train of thought show on my face. Now is not the time to dwell on important shit other than the case. If this woman is as much of a regular as she seems, she’s probably a wealth of information.

  I turn back to Tylin and sweetly say, “Baby, I could use a drink.” I run a hand down his chest just like I've thought about doing since the moment he put on this suit, playing the part of adoring girlfriend. I’ve never been a girlfriend at all, let alone the adoring kind. But I’m good at trying. Hell, I might as well have a little fun with this.

  He raises an eyebrow sardonically and slaps the bare sides of my thighs, the black dress having ridden up during our little PDA display. The sting of his hand against my skin tingles right to my core. It’s hard for me not to gasp as I hold his gaze.

  “I’ll be right back.” His voice is low and rumbles through my palms just before he moves, sliding me off his lap. He adjusts himself before standing. I smile to myself in victory. It’s nice to see the statue that is Tylin crack.

  It’s nice to know I’m the one to break his carefully placed facade.

  Shimmying to the end of the booth, I stand and smooth my dress, shooting the blonde as shy of a smile as I can conjure. It must work because she inches closer.

  “Quite a cute couple you two make,” she purrs.

  “Oh.” I laugh and bat at her arm playfully, leaning closer as if I’m about to share a secret. “We’re not a couple… exactly.” I let my gaze wander to Tylin at the circular bar. He’s ordering drinks and surrounded by mostly naked females. I grit my teeth but relax just as quickly. He’s not mine. I have no claim on him.

  Yet.

  The woman offers me a feral looking smile and moves in closer. We’re inches apart now, but I for
ce myself not to move backward to recover my bubble of personal space.

  “So you’re an open couple, then? That just makes your visit to Crystalline more exciting!” She tries to inconspicuously press her arms together, making the round globes of her breasts press precariously against her dipping neckline. I simply count my blessing that she’s at least… you know… clothed. “There’s so much here for couples who are willing to expand their horizons.”

  I'll admit, with the abundance of attractive men who share a living space with me, her information is more than a little bit intriguing to me.

  Her smile is saccharine, and I use it to my advantage.

  “You mentioned showing us the ropes.” I enunciate the last word a little more than necessary and curiously toss my gaze over the small alcoves in the walls and then over to the staircase. “What exactly does the club offer an adventurous couple?” I’m truly curious. This place isn’t sleazy like I would have imagined a sex club to be, and the mystery of the upscale club genuinely has me interested.

  The woman reaches for my hand and walks farther into the room, leading me toward the edge of the dance floor. Her palm is soft and delicate in mine, and it takes me three seconds to realize I've never held another woman’s hand. My obvious lack of friends in my life becomes clearer every day.

  “The curtained off sections around the room are our semi-private alcoves that may be reserved by any of our guests.” She pulls back a sheer black curtain to reveal little more than a large square cushioned space that could fit two people comfortably. The cushions look lush and comfortable, but I cringe as I think about what’s been done on them. Wouldn’t they be hard to clean? Would leather furniture have been a better investment? Are we using a standard carpet cleaner on these or something stronger? I wonder how sanitary they are. A thousand ridiculous thoughts fly through my mind as I keep a serene look of interest in place.

  “You can rent them at the bar or at the entrance.” She points to the attendants manning both areas. “The bar is fully stocked and you can get just about any concoction you can dream up. Every Thursday night, they have a boudoir show on the main stage, and every third Friday is singles’ night.”

  “And what awaits upstairs?” I ask, pressing for more information. I blink wide, innocent eyes at her as she turns her attention to the roped-off stairway. A bouncer stands at the bottom of the steps, and it seems you have to be on some kind of list in order to ascend. I need to know how to get on that list, and I need to find out if Allison is on it too.

  “Our upstairs area is reserved for club members only. More information is required to become a member. We take the safety of our guests very seriously.”

  Tylin arrives back at my side and hands me a drink, which gives me the perfect reason to slip my hand from the overly friendly blonde to grasp the glass full of colorful, alcoholic liquid. Colors stack on top of each other within the tall glass. Yellows and oranges and deep reds make up the pretty drink that smells far too sweet.

  “If you’re interested in purchasing one of the membership options, the club will offer you a tour so you know just what you’re getting by joining us.”

  I twist toward Tylin and run my free hand over the expensive cut of his suit. “Sounds interesting, don’t you think, boo bear?”

  One dark eyebrow raises slightly and I watch his gray eyes darken, but he recovers quickly from the ridiculous nickname and offers the blonde a sharp nod.

  She’s still talking as he grasps my upper arm and walks us away, heading toward the front desk to get us set up for a tour.

  “You’re enjoying yourself too much,” Tylin chastises, but I catch the corner of his mouth twitch, betraying his amusement.

  “Got to play the part, darling.” I take a sip of the overly fruity drink and wince, wrinkling my nose at it. “Can’t a girl get a whiskey sour, around here?”

  “That seemed like the kind of drink a girl would like.” Tylin shrugs, choosing that moment to take another sip of the dark amber whiskey in his crystal glass.

  “Well, I’m not some typical girl,” I remark with some bite to my words.

  “No.” He glances sideways at me. “You’re not.”

  My gaze snaps to his face, and I search his profile as we arrive at the front of the club. Tylin swiftly makes arrangements and flashes the girl behind the counter a hefty tip, bribing her to allow us access to explore the upstairs without a tour guide. We’re instructed who to talk to upstairs if we have any questions.

  We head toward the stairs, easily stepping past the bouncer who only nods at us, and while I shouldn’t be impressed, I can’t help but feel like a VIP. I add a little sway to my hips as we step onto the second floor. The environment is dim, purple and blue uplighting around the room offering just enough illumination and adding to the seductive vibe. Larger alcove rooms line one side of this level and another round bar sits in the middle of the space. As we wander past them, I peer through the few open curtains, taking in what are essentially sensual bedrooms. Each one features an enormous bed. The curtains are dark purple and opaque, offering the couples behind them privacy the ones downstairs don’t afford. On the opposite side of the room are a few sets of double doors, and my attention catches on the golden lettering above them.

  “Holy shit!” I say, excitedly. “They have a fucking theater up here!” I can’t help but be impressed.

  “Case, Alexa,” Tylin reminds me.

  “Oh, please, Mr. All-Work-And-No-Play. You could have a little fun once in a while.” I roll my eyes at him and unhook my arm from his, strutting ahead of him as I explore.

  Rough hands clasp around my waist, and Tylin’s body presses along the line of my back. Slowly, he walks us into one of the open curtained rooms. He doesn’t stop until he has me up against the back wall and then he lets out a masculine growl. Setting down his glass on the small table by the bed, he takes mine from my hand and repeats the action.

  “Getting cheeky already, are we?” His hands trail down my arms, gripping my wrists and lifting them above my head. It’s then that I notice the array of bondage hooks, cuffs, and rings around the room. “Do I need to teach you how to respect your superiors?”

  With a heavy breath, my breasts push against the wall as his hips align with the curve of my ass. He might be the boss but that doesn’t make him better than me. I bristle at the word superiors. I want nothing more than to fight him on it, but my body ignores the insult. It only seems to hear the promise behind his words. I feel myself growing slick as I focus on all the places his body touches mine.

  “You’ve got a kinky side,” I say breathily. It makes sense though. All that control he has.

  I definitely don’t hate it.

  If it takes a sex club to get Tylin to let his guard down with me, then sign me up for a one-month membership.

  He leans closer, the musky scent of his cologne teasing me as his teeth rake against the skin just beneath my ear. A gasp slips from my lips before I can stop it.

  One year. A one-year membership might be better.

  Pushing him further, I wonder how far I can test his carefully tethered control. I wiggle against his hips and smirk when he hums appreciatively. He may think he’s got the upper hand here, but really, we both know who holds all the cards right now. And it’s me.

  I shift my thighs together, and I know he notices. His dick grows hard against the thin material of my dress. Disappointment swamps me as he releases me just as quickly as he started all of this.

  He straightens his tie, grabs his drink, and turns, heading back into the main hall.

  I take a moment to get my breathing under control. My nipples are hard pebbles, but I guess I don’t need to worry about them showing through the thin fabric of my dress. Hello? Sex club.

  I straighten my dress and follow him out. Aside from the hard outline beneath his slacks, he appears entirely unaffected. The control snaps right back into place. All work and no play, indeed. Neither of us says anything more as we round the bar and head dow
n another long hall. This one is decorated with black doors set at even intervals. In the center of the wall is a pair of frosted double doors that are propped open. Some of the rooms boast a security guy outside.

  Call it spidey senses, but my women’s intuition tells me that those are the rooms we need to focus our attention on.

  I step closer to one of the unoccupied doors and reach for the handle, but before I can open it, one of those security guards calls out.

  “You don’t have access to this area.” He crosses his arms over his massive chest, but his scary demeanor doesn’t intimidate me at all. I narrow my eyes, but before I can let loose a witty retort, Tylin slips his arm around my waist and offers his apologies, pulling me away.

  I draw on the power inside of myself and shoot Tylin a sly smirk. He nods once, and I let my power gather and then release it, easily freezing time.

  Sixty seconds.

  Everyone around me is frozen, and I don’t waste a second before opening the door that had been my destination. The room beyond is like a fancy hotel room, except bigger. It hosts its own bar, a humongous oversized bed, a lush looking couch, and a huge TV. Nothing useful. I close the door and move to the next one.

  An explicit scene plays out in front of me when I open the door, and I suddenly wish that time wasn’t frozen. The ecstasy on the woman’s face tells me how much she’s enjoying the double penetration she’s receiving from the man sandwich she’s placed between. If I was turned on before, I’m on fire now, as I picture myself in her place.

  I shut the door, realizing I spent too long staring at the threesome. Priorities, Alexa.

  Twenty seconds left.

  I hurry and step around the security guard, turn the knob, and step into the middle of what looks like a bachelor party. Men litter the room, clearly enjoying the show they were receiving. Women are frozen in various states of undress as they dance and strip for the guys. I’m about to shut the door and return to Tylin when an open binder catches my eye. I bend in front of the man holding it to get a closer look.