Nicole Edwards - Zane

McKenna didn’t answer a single one, which made Sam pout, although not for long. The next thing V knew, everyone was getting up from the table, shaking hands, and agreeing to see each other at the club.

Feeling the minimal effects of the alcohol, and according to the conversation she just had, V began to wonder whether she should’ve ordered another glass of wine. Or ten.

Yep, her nerves were back, and the second her eyes met Zane’s, she was instantaneously overridden by an even more poignant emotion.

Lust.

♂♀

When Zane pulled Sawyer’s Corvette into the underground parking garage of Club Destiny he was still reeling from dinner, and it had nothing to do with the food. Although fabulous, Zane had barely tasted a damn thing. Instead, he’d been hanging on every word that the McCoy’s spoke as it related to Club Destiny. To hear how the club came about, what it was before and what they managed to turn it into, he’d been impressed. More so, when Travis spoke as though he knew more about the sex club industry than even Luke and Logan McCoy.

His brother had undoubtedly done his research. The same could be said for Sawyer and Kaleb who held their own, asking questions that seemed to stump Luke a time or two. It all made Zane realize just how out of the loop he actually was. He’d made a commitment to himself that he would rectify that once they were back home. Seeing how intensely serious Travis, Sawyer, and Kaleb were about making AI a success made Zane need to prove his worth to his brothers. He had absolutely no doubts that he could do this, but he was no longer willing to sit in the shadows and wait for guidance.

“Are you all right?” V asked when he helped her out of the car.

“Fine, why?” Zane knew he hadn’t been talkative on the drive from the restaurant, but it had only taken five minutes, so he didn’t feel the need to talk. Since V hadn’t chosen to say anything either, he’d been content to enjoy the companionable silence with her.

“You’ve been quiet,” she answered, taking his hand and walking with him to the club entrance.

Zane put his hand on the small of her back, walking behind her as they entered through a door one of the bouncers – make that security guard - held open for them. Bouncers didn’t carry guns and this man was packing. Once they made it inside, he realized they were in the nightclub, although it seemed oddly empty for a Monday night.

“He closed the bar for the night,” Kaleb answered once Zane approached the rest of the group, answering Zane’s unspoken question. That made sense. If not, Luke McCoy needed to do some serious advertising because there were only a handful of people, not all of them within their group, but most of them were.

“Who are those people?” V asked, talking to Kaleb.

“He handed out some special invitations. If I heard correctly, they’re interested members that Luke has known for a while.”

Zane liked the control Luke had over his club. He also liked that the man didn’t bat an eyelash at closing the doors on what was undoubtedly one of their busiest nights. As he stood beside Kaleb, listening to his brothers talk, waiting for Logan and Sam who had yet to join them, Zane admired his surroundings. Namely V.

She seemed a little relaxed, probably from the wine she’d had with dinner, but she also seemed different somehow. She was laughing with the other women, talking very animatedly which was something Zane didn’t see her do very often. He decided instantly that he liked it. He liked seeing her with her hair down per se, enjoying herself as though nothing else was going on in her life. If he knew a way to put that smile on her face all the time, and eliminate those memories that somehow managed to mentally cripple her from time to time, Zane would do it.

“You ready for this?” Sawyer asked, pulling Zane apart from the rest of the group.

“Ready for what?” Zane had no idea what Sawyer was talking about.

“This is going to be our first taste of what Travis’ expectations are,” Sawyer explained.

Zane glanced over at his brother, noticing he was standing really close to the red haired woman and the bald man she was with. He had no idea what the connection was with those two, but Travis seemed fairly intimate with them. More so than he had seen his oldest brother with anyone else.

“Do you know anything about this place?” Zane continued talking to Sawyer while he watched Travis.

“Not a clue. I’ve tried researching it, but the McCoy’s have somehow managed to keep it out of the media. Completely.”

Zane had no idea how they could’ve accomplished that, but he was interested in finding out. He didn’t think Travis had the same intentions for AI, but Zane wasn’t positive on that either. After tonight, he fully intended to sit down with Sawyer and Travis and define what the expectations were for these clubs. Zane had some ideas, yet he was certain he’d have more before the night was out.

“Looks like the party is getting started,” Sawyer whispered when Logan and his wife Samantha walked in.

Zane made his way over to V, listening to a couple of the introductions being made. Some guy named Dylan, a younger couple, probably closer to Zane’s age – Lucie and Kane – and an intimidating looking man that Logan referred to as Trent. The Trent guy didn’t look like one to fuck with either, but he did look oddly familiar. Like Zane had seen him on television or something.

Taking V’s hand, Zane followed the rest of the group back out to the parking garage, then in through a door that looked like it would’ve led to some sort of mechanical room. For all intents and purposes, Zane felt as though they were walking through a maze.

Although no one entered any codes along the way, he didn’t miss the number of small, electronic boxes lining the walls just outside of a set of double doors that were currently open, and manned by at least two security guards.

Before they made it to the last set of doors, Zane heard the thump of the music as it pounded through the club, getting louder as they moved closer. Once he stepped inside, he had to keep moving around the group as everyone stopped in one place as though they were on some sort of scenic tour.

Holding V’s hand, Zane eased to one side, noticing a bar backlit with brilliant pink LEDs.

“Holy shit,” V’s startled mumble had Zane glancing over at her, then following her gaze to the two women standing behind the bar.

Holy shit was right.

The entire setup was stimulation for the senses, in a wildly risqué sort of way. Between the loud, provocative music, the scantily clad bartenders, the black floors and walls, along with the metal cages suspended halfway up on thick, steel poles, the whole place screamed sex. That could also have been concluded by the few groups of people scattered about, actually engaged in some sort of sexual act.

He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but this clearly wasn’t it. Zane had frequented his fair share of strip clubs and those were seedy by comparison. From what he could tell, Luke and Logan had spared no expense on this place. The building was vast, with what appeared to be three floors, although those above were only around the perimeter of the building.

Aside from the lavish setup at the glass bars and the expensive looking furniture scattered about the lower level, there was an overabundance of steel and glass. In fact, that was the only other material Zane noticed, and he liked the design, which inspired some ideas in his mind for his own club.

“I thought he closed it down?” V asked from beside him, interrupting his thoughts.

“I doubt we’d find much interest if no one were here,” Zane informed her. Seriously, what were they all going to do, separate and go at it? He didn’t see that happening.

While Luke and Logan moved together around the room, followed by Travis, the rest of the group seemed to scatter, including their wives. A few people moved up the stairs while the others took in the scene in one of the huge glass rooms located on the main floor. Zane wasn’t sure what they were expected to do, so he just took V’s hand and decided to give himself a tour. He didn’t need to know the logistics – Travis could manage that – but he was interested in seeing the overall club and getting a glimpse into what actually went on there.

♀♂

The night flew by in a blur of motion and activity. V spent the last three hours cuddled up to Zane’s side, watching with voyeuristic fascination, everything that was going on in the club until, finally, the group they came with opted to leave. Interestingly enough, V hadn’t seen anything remotely sexual out of any of the people they came with. Not that she had been looking. Ok, she had been looking.

Everyone seemed to be doing a scope of the setup, rather than showing any interest in what was going on there. Considering the conversation she’d had with the other women at dinner, V had been a little disappointed not to see Samantha go wild. The woman seemed like the type, but tonight, at least at the club, she had composed herself exceedingly well.

Now that V and Zane were back at the hotel, she longed to crawl into bed and close her eyes. It’d been a long day, starting with a long drive, and then a night at a club that managed to overstimulate every single one of her senses.

Truthfully, she had been stunned by Club Destiny. Initially, she had expected just a glorified strip club, maybe with a little upscale design. That was by far what she found when they arrived. Not that she had been to many strip clubs, nor had she ever been to a fetish club, or swingers club, or whatever the hell they labeled it as. She liked it enough. Definitely enough that she was even more interested in what the Walkers were planning to do with AI.