Catch (2 page)

Chapter 1

My first night back in New York called for a night out with the boys. Kyle, a good friend and owner of the popular nightclub, Inferno, had sent a text earlier that day to say he’d roped off a small area downstairs in his club for us. As great as it was having the VIP room, it generally kept us away from the crowd and because Inferno was a regular spot, I preferred to mingle with the crowds rather than hang out alone in a separate room. Mind you, those rooms came in handy when you were with a girl.

After calling up another one of my oldest friends, Beau, to join us, the three of us set out for a night of fun.

Arriving out front of Inferno, after bypassing the long line of partygoers lining up to get inside the club, I gave a brisk nod to the doorman, who smiled and licked his lips at me before unclipping the velvet rope to let our small group in.

“The things I would do to be the shirt on your back, Ryan Fox,” flirted Gus the doorman, using the folder he was holding to fan his face.

I snorted as I walked past and gave a firm slap to the shoulder of the colossal being standing beside Gus. Had I not already known Keith, the bouncer, I’d surely be terrified of the guy. He was as intimidating as hell. He was a man who lived and breathed the gym, and there were rumors floating around that he trained with some of the best MMA fighters in the world. Not anyone I would mess with, that’s for sure.

“When the women of this world are done with me, I’ll be sure to give you a call,” I called out, answering Gus as I walked through the club doors.

I heard him call out something then whistle, but the loud music and heavy bass inside distracted me.

A young, hot hostess standing behind a counter smiled and stepped around to greet us.

“Hey there,” she said, raking her eyes down my entire body. Beside me, Kyle cleared his throat and stepped forward. The girl didn’t seem to take notice as her eyes continued their seductive search. She must’ve been new; I hadn’t seen her before. I watched on with a smirk on my face as she blatantly checked me out in front of the owner of the club.

Kyle cleared his throat again, louder this time, causing the girl to forcibly rip her gaze away. The expression on her face immediately soured. On my other side, I heard Beau chuckle.

“There’s a private area reserved; can you please get the drinks organized?” Kyle said firmly, clearly not impressed by the girl’s behavior.

She turned to him and said, “Yeah, sure thing. I’ll get right on it, Your Majesty,” before rolling her eyes.

My smirk grew bigger as I glanced over at Kyle, who was trying hard to keep from losing it. As hilarious as the situation seemed, I couldn’t let Kyle start screaming at one of his employees in front of everyone. I had to do something. There was no way Beau was going to be any help. He was too busy laughing.

“Babe, perhaps you should do as
this
man asks,” I said, pointing toward Kyle.

As soon as she looked at me, the seductive smile returned. “I’d do anything
you
asked.”

I couldn’t help but grin at that. Women were funny creatures. One minute they’re blaming us for using cheesy pickup lines, and the next, they’re using the exact same ones on us.

“Oh, but not the guy who pays your wages? What’s your name?” Kyle interrupted.

The girl rolled her eyes again and turned to Kyle, who was red with anger.

“What’s it to you, old boy?” she spat. “Angry I’m not paying you any attention?”

“
Angry
? Why, you haven’t seen angry yet!” Kyle snapped. He pointed to the telephone sitting on top of the counter. “Call Makayla, and tell her to get her ass down here immediately!” he growled.

“Whatever,” the girl mumbled before turning around and picking up the phone. Was she for real? Was this how she treated all the customers?

No more than two minutes later, Makayla came rushing through the club’s doors. I noticed her cheeks flush as soon as she saw me. Oh, yeah, Makayla and I had one crazy night of red-hot passion a few years back, but every time I saw her it was clear she hadn’t gotten over it yet.

“Kyle?” she asked, taking her eyes off me immediately when she spotted him.

“She’s fired,” he said, pointing toward the girl with attitude.

“
What
? Why?” Makayla asked, confused. “Not tonight, please. It’s too busy.”

Kyle’s voice rose and I knew this was going to take a while. They argued whenever they didn’t agree to something, but I knew Kyle would be lost without her. If anyone could knock sense into the guy, it was Makayla. They’d make the perfect couple, if they’d learn to agree on something and if Kyle manned up and took a risk for once in his life.

Unlike Kyle, I learned how important it was to take risks from an early age. I knew for certain I wouldn’t be where I am or who I’ve become if I hadn’t. I also knew I took unnecessary risks a lot of the time because, well, frankly I could get away with anything. But relationships were the one thing I didn’t bother risking. I didn’t like them and they weren’t my style. I was not a one-lady man; that was for sure. I didn’t know how to be. I didn’t think it was in me to be able to stay faithful to one woman, but that didn’t mean I didn’t treat women with respect. My mamma taught me right.

I stepped away from the bickering couple and scanned the crowd, focusing on the women who were coming through the doors of the club. I felt Beau beside me, but he was busy on his phone, no doubt checking to see which of his girls were already inside. Just as I was turning back to check on Kyle,
she
walked through the doors.

Wearing a short, black dress which hugged her slim, tall figure, the brunette walked past me, attached to the hip of a rather attractive dark man, without so much as a glance. Now, I’d been with many models, celebrities and beautiful women over the years, but this one was something else. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but I knew I had to have her. And I was going to make it my mission for the night to make sure she went home with me.

After Makayla settled Kyle down, and presumably lectured the door girl on her customer service, the boys and I made our way to the roped-off VIP area which had been reserved for us. I was a regular at Inferno but yet the whispers and squeals when people saw me never seemed to cease. The smiles and seductive glances from girls never went unnoticed, either.

“Hey there, mind if we join you?” a blonde-haired model named Selene asked, throwing her sultry smile at Kyle. Unlike the door girl, Selene knew
exactly
who to charm to get her way.

Beau was the one to answer and helped Selene and the five other model-like girls she was with over the velvet rope. After a round of introductions, and a bottle of Belvedere was ordered and handed out with a jug of soft-drink mixer, the girls spread themselves out evenly between us. Selene and a dark beauty named Chelsea went for Kyle, and the owner of the club was immediately in his own conversation with them. Beau talked briefly with the two brunettes beside him but kept checking his phone. I knew he was ordering drugs the moment he leaned over toward Kyle and Kyle nodded.

He didn’t bother asking me, since he knew I’d say no. I didn’t take the stuff. I had no reason to and everything to lose if I did; I wasn’t going to risk my pro-ball career because of some shitty, illegal substance. And I knew taking it would also put me at a high risk of accidentally spilling my darkest secrets to a stranger. And there was
no
chance I was going to expose myself to that.

“So, handsome, how long do you plan on staying here for?” asked the blonde with the bright-red lipstick to my left, who’d introduced herself as Natalie. I jerked when I felt a sudden squeeze on my inner thigh,
very
close to my manhood. In an instant, I ripped my gaze away from the boys to look at Natalie. A sweet, innocent grin was plastered on her face, but those eyes radiated with trouble.

My lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Well, that all depends, now, doesn’t it?”

Her grin turned to match mine. “Depends on…?”

“On how badly you want this, of course,” I replied, nudging my cock toward her resting hand.

Natalie’s eyes flashed toward the other blonde on my right and she arched a brow. She opened her mouth to speak but I knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it. “Can the little guy handle the both of us?”

“You read my mind, sweet thing. Except I plan on staying a little longer…”
or at least until I see that hot brunette again.
“And for the record, there isn’t anything ‘little’ about him. If you girls are happy to wait, he’ll prove to you exactly what he can handle.”

Both girls giggled. I stretched back and rested my arms on the lounge while multiple hands immediately came down and began rubbing, stroking and caressing parts of my body. Too comfortable with how I was sitting and the feel of their soft hands, I let them continue as I cast my gaze out into the crowd.

I could see all the girls eyeing our group, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of them; I was looking for
one
in particular.

Almost giving up, I spotted her making her way toward the bar. Damn, the girl moved well. She didn’t flaunt her sexy body, but there was sophistication in the way she walked which made me think she knew she was better than everyone else in the room. And she was. I thought so, anyway.

I took a sip of my drink just as Natalie snuck a cool hand down my jeans.
Fuck.
I was already half-hard watching Ms. Tight Little Black Dress flick her hair while she waited to be served by the bartender; I didn’t need Natalie to be touching
him
.

“Slow down, gorgeous. We have all night for that.” I tilted my head slightly toward Natalie while keeping my eyes firmly on the brunette. I could hear Natalie giggling but she wasn’t stopping. So, I let her continue. Who was I kidding; it felt amazing to have a hot girl jerk me off in public. I turned my attention toward the bar just as the brunette caught sight of me. Her delicate features gleamed under the bright, flashing club lights, but she looked…frightened.

I shrugged it off and continued staring. Plenty of women freaked out whenever they caught me staring at them. It was as if they had no idea how to handle such a thing. I held back a smile when I saw her glance over her shoulder to check if I was watching someone else.
No, beautiful, I’m staring right at you.
It was when I saw her sneak a glance back at me that I smirked. I couldn’t help it. She quickly looked away before I could do anything else. Good thing she did, because I was aroused by seeing her and by what Natalie was doing.

She didn’t look back after that, and after I watched her disappear into the crowd, I decided to enjoy what was being done to me. I looked over at the boys. Beau smiled and gave me a nod, while Kyle was busy with his tongue down Selene’s throat. I leaned back and was about to close my eyes when I spotted the brunette again, making her way back to the bar. She was either doing it on purpose to see me again or had forgotten a friend’s drink order. Whatever the reason, it was my chance to make a move, and I wasn’t one to deny such an opportunity.

I grabbed Natalie’s hand and pulled it out of my jeans. “Sorry, babe. There’s something I have to do.”

Without further explanation, I stood up, finished off the remains of my drink, and made a beeline for the bar.

I waited for the hot brunette to look the other way before I stepped up beside her. I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out the silver Member’s Card. “Theo, put it on my tab,” I said, resting my elbow on the counter top and waving the card at the young guy behind the bar. However, my eyes were glued to the young woman next to me, and my mind was running with ideas of how to get her into my bed.

I watched on as her eyes searched my face. It looked as though she was trying to figure out who I was. How could she not know? I mean, posters of me were all over this goddamn city.
Perhaps she’s not from around here?

“It’s fine. I can afford my own drinks, thank you,” she replied before quickly looking away shyly.

Oh, so she’s going to play hardball, huh?
Trying to act as though my presence didn’t have any effect on her wasn’t going to deter me that easily. If only she knew just how interesting the game had become. “I’m sure you can, but let it be my treat.” Just as I said that, Theo snatched the card I was still holding from my hand. I ignored him and kept my eyes on the hazel-eyed beauty.

Her eyes bounced from mine to Theo’s then back again before she said, “Err…thanks, I guess.”

“Anytime, beautiful,” I replied with a wink.
Jeez, why isn’t this girl falling instantly, or fainting, like most girls usually do in my presence?
Clearly she hadn’t recognized me.
Shut up, idiot. You sound like a complete ass.
Ignoring my lecturing brain, I added, “So, is that your boyfriend you’re with tonight?” I was talking about the guy I’d seen her with earlier.

“Yes.”

I could tell she was lying. I knew a girl’s gay best friend when I spotted one; plus, from where I was standing I could see him with his mouth attached to some other guy, but I decided to play along with her little game.