Nicole Edwards - Temptation

The waitress returned to refill their drinks, take their discarded plates and offer them dessert. Each woman kindly declined the offer of dessert and waited for the waitress to get out of earshot before they focused on Sam once more.

“Ok. Fine.” Sam tried to sound exasperated, but Sierra noticed the smile in her eyes. “It’s no secret that Logan and I have had our share of threesomes, however, since the man we had originally chosen to come to our bed has so graciously declined because apparently the man is in love…” Sam paused for effect, grinning mischievously at Sierra. “Well, do either of you know anything about Tag Murphy?”

And with that, Sierra listened intently as Sam discussed her desire to incorporate the newest member of Club Destiny into her extracurricular bedroom activities. Although from what Sam said, they very seldom restricted those activities to the bedroom.

She only hoped Sam didn’t see the sudden and intense relief that washed over her from the admission. Knowing that Sam and Logan had shared a bed with Luke and accepting that fact were two entirely different things. Since Sierra had developed strong feelings for Luke, she wasn’t interested in sharing him with anyone else. Well, unless you counted Cole.

Sierra spent the rest of the week trying to appease one very demanding, very selfish lawyer. Yes. Selfish. It was no wonder the woman wasn’t in a relationship, or not that Sierra could tell anyway. She thought of only herself and Sierra found the trait rather annoying. However, that didn’t change the fact that Sierra worked for her. So she continued to put her best foot forward, doing what Susan asked and gritting her teeth in the process.

The week droned on and thankfully Sierra had an appointment with one of the other clients she met at the conference and that meeting turned out to be the polar opposite of any she had had with Susan. The man, Mr. Brendon Cason, a well to do architect whose eye for design was right along the lines of Sierra’s, was happy with her ideas. She had spent the better part of two days placing orders and tying up a couple of loose ends. Lucky for her, the weekend was in full force because she was more than ready for a break.

So when Sam invited her to Club Destiny for drinks, she hadn’t been able to refuse. And here she was, sipping one of those drinks as she watched intently while various groups of people laughed and had a good time around her. She was all for the good time, but, unfortunately, Luke apparently had other plans for her. Upon her arrival, he immediately exiled himself to his office to do whatever it was that he did.

“How are you and Luke doing?” Sam asked, and although the question sounded innocent enough, Sierra knew Sam picked up on the apparent tension between the two of them.

Sierra just wished she knew where it was coming from. Since Valentine’s Day, she hadn’t seen much of Luke, both of them so busy that their schedules never seemed to sync up. Now Sierra wondered if that hadn’t been planned on Luke’s part.

Sierra glanced behind her, as though Luke might be lurking somewhere in the vicinity. As if.

“I don’t know. Until tonight, I thought things were fairly normal. We’ve both been busy, so I haven’t seen much of him.”

Sam appeared to be lost in thought, as though trying to figure out what could have happened. “Logan said there was a problem at the club, so maybe that’s keeping him busy.”

Possible, but not likely.

How much time could it possibly take to determine the consequences for one of your employees that had been caught stealing? Yes, Sierra knew all about the problem Luke was dealing with. Luke had shared the details with her one night over dinner, the only night she had managed to coax him over to her place so she could spend just a little time with him. Luke had played down the actual theft, but strangely tried to play up his thoughts on Cole’s relationship with the woman. Sierra had been stunned to learn Cole could possibly be seeing someone, and she hadn’t believed it for a minute, but Luke had been rather convincing.

After what happened on Valentine’s, Sierra found it hard to believe Cole would have volunteered to come over if his affections were diverted elsewhere. He wasn’t that type of man, Sierra knew that much. But, instead of arguing with Luke, she’d let him tell the story and even asked the right amount of questions, all of which Luke continued to answer the same. Apparently Cole found someone and Luke wouldn’t be surprised if he lost interest in the two of them. Sure, the comment stung, but Sierra hadn’t argued.

That was the first sign that Luke was trying to withdraw from her. And likely Cole as well. If she had to guess, he was overwhelmed by what happened between them, to the point that he was running. Even if it was figuratively.

Not wanting to dwell on the depressing thoughts, Sierra changed the subject. “Luke told me CISS is taking on another big client. What does that mean for you?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. Dylan, Alex and I have talked a little about what I might be doing for them, but we haven’t carved out the plan. The only thing I do know is Logan isn’t too happy with the idea of me leaving XTX.”

“Do you have to leave?” Sierra asked pointedly.

“Not necessarily, but if you want to know the truth, I’m kind of intrigued by the idea. My contract with XTX isn’t up for another year and a half, so I’ve got some time to convince Logan.”

Sierra’s eyes were drawn to a group of people walking in the front door. Eight o’clock on Friday night seemed to be the time to go out based on the way Club Destiny was filling up. The noise level was increasing thanks to the hordes of people filing in, and the music had been turned up a few notches.

“Have you ever been here on a Friday night?” Sam asked, obviously noticing Sierra’s interest in what was going on around them.

“No.” Admittedly Sierra had never been big into the club scene, though she seemed to have developed a voyeuristic fascination with what was going on around her.

“If you watch long enough, you’ll see all sorts of interesting things.” Sam told her, turning her attention to the group of people Sierra was watching. “See, those would be the regulars, just coming in to have a good time. But see that woman over there in the corner?” Sam said, not out and out pointing, but damn near close.

“The one in the midriff red halter and the tight jeans?” The woman looked old enough to be Sierra’s mother, though her own mother didn’t look near that old.

“Yes. And believe it or not that outfit is one of the more discreet.”

The woman obviously worked out. She also probably spent one too many hours a week in a tanning bed based on the way her skin looked like leather. She wasn’t unattractive by any means, but Sierra got the impression the woman thought she was much younger than she was.

“She’s also one of the regulars. Her name is Barbara, but she goes by Barbie – no shit, I’m not kidding.” Sam grinned wildly as she took a sip of her drink. “She’s in here every Friday and Saturday night, and the woman sees more action than most college girls.”

“Is she a member of the club?”

“Not hardly.” Sam said, glancing over at the woman.

“Is that her son with her?” Sierra asked, noticing the more than attractive young man who was standing close by.

The question must have been funny because Sam laughed out loud. “No, that would likely be her date for the night.”

“Date?” Sierra couldn’t hide her disbelief. “But he looks half her age.”

“And that’s why she’s classified as a cougar.”

“Cougar? What the hell is a cougar?” Sierra dared to ask, wondering if she even wanted to know the answer.

“You know, an older woman on the prowl for a younger man. A much younger man.”

Holy crap. Sierra watched as the woman and the younger man cuddled up to one another, blatantly groping each other right in the middle of the club.

Thankfully Logan walked up behind Sam, wrapping his thick arms around her, deflecting Sierra’s attention from the way the older woman was sucking the young man’s tongue down her throat. Gross.

Sierra watched Logan, riveted by the way he looked exactly like Luke, yet the two men seemed so very different. A hint of jealousy coursed through her as she watched the way the two of them openly shared their affection for one another. The sight was so sweet, it made Sierra’s teeth hurt.

If Luke harbored even an ounce of the affection Logan did, Sierra wouldn’t be sitting alone at the table, feeling like a third wheel. Before she allowed her emotions to get the best of her, she downed the rest of her drink and made eye contact with Kane. He knew exactly what she wanted and nodded his understanding.

“Where’s Luke?” Sam asked the question Sierra was dying to ask, but couldn’t.

“He said he’d be down in a minute. He was talking to Cole in his office a few minutes ago.”

Cole? The mention of the man’s name made that jealous spark from a minute ago seem inconsequential compared to the rush that flooded through her. The way Luke had portrayed Cole as having been basically one foot into another relationship, she was under the impression the two men weren’t talking much. No matter how hard she tried, every time she thought about the two of them together, her thoughts drifted to that erotic shower scene she’d witnessed in Vegas.

Even though Luke was doing his best to convince her that Cole was actually seeing the daytime bartender, Lucie, she had yet to see evidence of it. And, no matter what, that didn’t mean Cole and Luke weren’t willing to cross that line.

The thought depressed her.

When Kane walked up and placed her drink on the table, Sierra was tempted to tell him that she was leaving. Subjecting herself to these types of things wasn’t in her best interest. Especially when Luke was managing to avoid her altogether.

“I hear that lawyer is giving you hell.” Logan said as he pulled up a chair at the table. “Sam tells me she’s one of those you just can’t make happy.”

“That’s what I’m beginning to think. Susan is definitely an interesting character.” Sierra answered, trying to turn her attention back on the two people at the table.

The lawyer Logan referred to, Susan Toulmin, had successfully made Sierra want to pull her hair out. Strand by individual strand. She had spent Tuesday with the woman, listening as she proceeded to tell Sierra that every idea she had was basically garbage.

It was hard to believe she had been so eager to take the job in the beginning, thrilled with the possibilities. She should have known better when Susan had so easily agreed to all of Sierra’s ideas. At least until she was presented with them officially. Now she knew why. There was no pleasing that woman, no matter how hard she tried.

The problem was, Sierra needed the job. She needed the reference, so she had worked her ass off for two days trying to find exactly the things, no matter how ridiculous, that Susan wanted to use in the design.

“What did you say her last name was?” Logan asked, glancing from Sam back to Sierra.

“Toulmin.” Sierra answered, her attention riveted on what he might say next. Did Logan know her? Sierra met the woman at the conference in Vegas, so odds were Logan either knew her from there or had at least heard of her. Based on the way his jaw tightened, Sierra believed it was the former.

“Fuck. Seriously?”

Sierra’s attention was definitely captured. “Yes. She’s the Dallas lawyer that I met while I was in Vegas. Do you know her?”

“Not personally, but Luke does. Toulmin is her maiden name which she uses for her law practice. Although she’s not married anymore, she never dropped her married name… Mackendrick.” Logan informed her.

Sam’s head jerked toward Logan and Sierra caught the look of distaste written on her beautiful face.

“What? What aren’t you telling me?” Sierra wondered out loud, looking back and forth between Sam and Logan.

“Susan used to…” Sam started to reply, but Luke walked up just in time for her to close her mouth abruptly.

“Hey.” Luke stated as he took the vacant chair beside Sierra. Shockingly, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the mouth before turning his focus on Logan.

“Where’s Cole?” Logan asked and for the second time that night, someone else had voiced the burning question.

“He had something to do. Said he might be back in a couple of hours.” Luke replied, raising his hand to get Kane’s attention.