Opening the door for her, Zane waited while she got in, and yes, being the man he was, he tried to sneak a peek, but somehow V managed to remain perfectly decent the whole time. Much to his dismay.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Zane handed the key to the valet and met V on the sidewalk after the second attendant had opened her door for her. He’d much rather it’d been him, but he hadn’t been fast enough.

Mistake on his part. One that he wouldn’t let happen again.

Taking her hand, they made their way inside where a young hostess asked their names and then led them to the back of the restaurant where a large group was already gathered. V’s hand tightened in his when they approached the small group of men and women, most of whom Zane didn’t recognize.

Kaleb and Zoey were already there, which Zane was grateful for considering they were the only people he knew. However, his brother quickly rectified that situation, introducing both him and V to everyone at the table. Thanks to all of the commotion, Zane wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep the names straight.

V chose the seat beside Zoey, leaving Zane to sit on the other side of her, right next to a big guy with blonde hair and unusually intense blue eyes. If he remembered correctly, the guy’s name was Cole. By deduction, he would like to think he was correct, considering he knew Luke and Logan McCoy were twins, and they were seated on the opposite side of the table as him and V.

Thankfully, Travis, Sawyer, and much to Zane’s surprise, Ethan, Brendon and Braydon came walking up to the table, all dressed similarly to Zane. It was damn hard to take the cowboy out of the man, that was for damn sure. At least he’d insisted on wearing his cowboy hat, even after V had tried to talk him out of it.

Once his other brothers took seats around the table, Zane choked back the urge to laugh. It was kind of funny, really. Between the seven Stetson wearing cowboys, himself included, the other men looked a little... uptight. At least as far as their appearance. Not that he had anything against suits and ties and all that, but pigs would probably be flying through the frozen depths of hell before Zane would be caught in one.

Zoey and V were chatting quietly between them, as were the other women at the other end of the table, but Zane couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. A minute later, he had a good idea because Zoey and V stood, changing seats with Kaleb and Sawyer so that they could move closer to the other women.

Well, fuck. Who the hell was he supposed to talk to now?


♀♂


Nervous might just be the understatement of the century, V thought to herself as she sipped a glass of red wine, listening to the laughter and various conversations going on around her. She chimed in when expected, smiled like her lips were being pulled upward by invisible strings, and tried to have a good time. She would be too if she weren’t so damn nervous.

Why? Hell if she knew. Samantha, Sierra, Ashleigh, and a knock out red head named McKenna seemed pleasant enough. They included her in the conversation, but she couldn’t find much to say. Unlike Zoey, who acted as though she had known these women all of her life.

Jealous? Ok, maybe a little.

V watched Samantha as she told a story about something that happened last week, noticing how eloquent the woman was when she spoke. Very confident, not to mention, very beautiful. Her long blonde hair hung board straight, flowing over her shoulders and swaying like silk with every head turn. She was Logan’s wife, although, for the life of her, V couldn’t determine which one of the two men was Logan and which one was Luke. She’d been introduced to each of them separately, knew they were wearing different colored ties, but hadn’t taken enough mental notes to distinguish the difference.

There was Sierra, glowing like a damn lamp post, her hands resting on her round belly, her eyes dancing with humor while her jet black hair shone with hints of cobalt highlights beneath the overhead lights. The woman sitting next to Sierra – Ashleigh – wasn’t nearly as vocal as the others, but she never stopped smiling either. V was pretty sure hers wasn’t forced though.

And then there was the red haired goddess who had somehow captivated V. Never once had she ever been attracted to a woman, but holy hell, she was pretty sure McKenna could be the exception. She was stunning. From what V could tell, she was a journalist, and she was dating, or engaged to, or hell, she might even be married to, the attractive, bald man sitting at the far end of the table.

“How far along are you?” Zoey asked Sierra when Samantha finished her story.

“Thirty four weeks,” Sierra blushed beautifully.

“Not long now,” McKenna added from the seat across from V.

“Not long at all. In fact, if Sam doesn’t get her butt in gear, we might have a baby before we have a baby shower,” Ashleigh added before sipping her wine.

When the salads were brought out, V managed to eat and talk, without feeling too incredibly awkward. The longer she sat there, the more comfortable she became until she was acting just like Zoey. Like she had known these women all of her life. It was true, V didn’t normally make many friends, but there was something about this group of women that she just couldn’t explain.

Well, that was until Sam changed the subject and V damn near choked on her tomato.

“So, Vanessa,” Sam began, “do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

V glanced around at the other women, noticing the way Sierra tried to stifle a smile and the quick eye roll that Ashleigh thought she was hiding.

“Ok,” she answered, unsure whether she honestly wanted to be asked any questions. Something told her this one might sting a little.

“Have you ever had a threesome?”

Cue choking on tomato.

Zoey slapped V on the back while all of the women laughed. Oh, they weren’t laughing at her, she could tell. Something told her that Samantha was a wild one and that question probably wasn’t the worst of it. V knew she was as red as the tomato lodged in her esophagus, and she prayed they all thought it was because she had trouble breathing.

“Oh, just ignore her,” Ashleigh laughed, signaling the waiter to bring them more wine.

“I guess I should’ve warned you,” Zoey grinned, looking remarkably pleased with herself.

That would’ve been nice, V thought to herself. From that moment on, even though V hadn’t shared her most intimate secret, the six of them became even closer and the conversation took a very quick and even spicier turn. At one point, V looked up to see the men staring over at them, probably hanging onto every word Sam spoke. The woman wasn’t shy about anything, much less her need to talk about sex.

By the time dessert was served, V was feeling no pain. After three glasses of wine, a steak she had been able to cut with her fork and more laughter than she was sure she had ever heard, she was definitely enjoying herself.

When the topic turned to the club they would all be visiting in the next hour, V’s ears tuned in.

“I haven’t been to the club,” Sam explained. “I’m still shocked that Logan kept it a secret from me for this long. Here I was thinking that the private rooms and the play room were what all the hype was about.”

“I knew the second Tag walked me through those doors that they were hiding something,” McKenna laughed. “I won’t deny that going to the play room has its benefits, but holy shit, it is child’s play compared to The Club.”

“What’s it like?” Sierra seemed just as in the dark as Sam when it came to this uber secret sex club their husbands owned.

“That, my friends, is not for me to tell,” McKenna went on to explain the confidentiality agreement, although she inserted a lot of “blah, blah, blah’s” when she felt the details were boring. V appreciated her for it. As it was, she didn’t understand what they were talking about.

“So, how did Club Destiny come about?” V heard herself asking, seriously relaxed from the wine. She didn’t normally engage in conversations, preferring rather to sit back and listen.

“Luke purchased the club about six years ago,” Sierra began, “and at the time, it was called The Destined Hearts Club. I know, I know. Horrible name. Once Luke took over, he changed the name, then restructured, giving the nightclub a face lift and creating a secure area on the second floor of the building he now owns.”

“That’s the sex club part?” V inquired, trying to visualize this place.

“Well, if you mean do they have sex there? Yes, they do. But not like you think. Club Destiny is restricted to members only, and it’s pretty upscale if you ask me. Totally not what I expected when I first went on the tour. There are a handful of apartments that they rent out to members, several conference rooms that they use for business, as well as a play room.”

“Yes, play is exactly what happens in this room,” Sam added when it was obvious V didn’t understand. “Taboo, if you will.”

“But nothing compared to what you’ll see tonight,” McKenna added. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find. If you’ve ever researched sex clubs, this is not what you would expect, although it very much is a sex club.”

V hadn’t researched sex clubs. Glancing over at Zoey, she wondered whether her friend had. By the way her eyes were glazed over as she hung on every word, it was quite possible. In order to avoid sounding any more prude than she already did, V didn’t ask any more questions. That wasn’t a problem because Sam began firing them off left and right like she were a prosecutor and McKenna was on the witness stand.