“Maybe you should look for yourself.”
While Katya was having a lot of inner turmoil about her choices and actions, her mouth was having no such issues – she was shocked at the dare she'd just issued. Liam stepped forward and while his eyes never left hers, he reached out very slowly and tapped his finger on her top button. He waited half a beat, and when she didn't move away or stop him, he pushed the button out of its hole. He continued down the line and she drew in a shaky breath when she felt the floppy bow come to rest in her cleavage.
I'm about to be topless in a night club. Who is this person, and what has she done with Katya Tocci?
“Still racier than I expected,” he said in a soft voice, and she felt his finger trace along the lacy edge of her lilac bra. “But definitely not leather.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Katya whispered.
Maybe it was the tequila. Maybe her sign was in retrograde, or maybe it was all the stuff Tori had been saying to her. All Katya knew was it felt like her blood was on fire and she never wanted him to stop touching her.
So when he hooked a finger around her belt, she let him. Stepped forward when he pulled her near. Didn't stop him when he leaned down so close, she could feel his hot breath against her lips.
“Katya, there is literally nothing about you that could possibly disappoint,” his voice was gentle.
“Don't say that – you haven't checked for the crotchless panties yet.”
He gave one last laugh, causing her heart to do a little somersault, and then his mouth was on hers. She was almost ashamed at how good it made her feel. She hadn't been kissed in a long time and she abandoned herself to the sensation. Sighed against his lips, then gasped when his tongue filled her mouth.
She returned the favor, her tongue tentatively skimming along the edges of his teeth, then when she realized he was undoing her belt, she became more aggressive. Wrapped an arm around his shoulders while she actively pressed back against his tongue with her own, waging war for space in their mouths.
“C'mon,” he panted when he pulled away, and she realized he was forcing her to move backwards by shoving on her hips. “Let's go to my office. I can have some drinks brought in and we can -”
“No.”
Katya was just as surprised as him at the tone of her voice.
“No?” he asked.
“No. I … I want to stay out here,” she told him. Since new-Katya apparently didn't care about anything of a proprietary nature, she figured being honest wouldn't be weird.
“Ah, I see. Angel cake wants to watch,” he teased her, and she could feel his fingertips rubbing against the bare skin just above her belt.
“I'm curious,” she corrected him.
“Then by all means, let's see if we can scratch your itch.”
She had to concentrate on her feet as he moved her into the empty booth next to them. The alcohol was settling around her brain and making her body feel relaxed.
But not her mind. That felt sharper than ever. She knew exactly what she was doing, and was suddenly very aware of exactly what she wanted. It had all been a dare, to see how far she could push herself, but now, she wasn't even thinking about any of that – she was only thinking about how good looking the man next to her was, and how amazing it had been to kiss him.
They sat down side by side. Katya noticed how wide and deep the bench seats were – if she pressed herself to the back of it, she couldn't put her feet on the floor. Her knees didn't even reach the edge, though Liam's did; he was pretty tall, easily six-foot-two or so. There was no proper table, but rather a low glass coffee table with what looked like movable ottomans underneath it. Several bottles of water were gathered at one end, unopened and inviting looking.
“What made you want to do this?” Katya breathed, letting her eyes wander over the room.
“Bring you here?” he asked.
“No. Run your own sex club.”
The place wasn't exactly a raging orgy, no one was having out-and-out sex in the middle of the open floor. But most of the booths held occupants, and only a handful of them were just chatting. The rest were engaging in all sorts of naughty activities, some on full display for the room, their moans and sighs audible to everyone, while others chose to be more discreet behind the sheer curtains.
“I had a background in night club management, they hired me on. I liked the place, but they were doing a shitty job. It never would've lasted without me. Then I came into an inheritance, met some … investors, kinda, and came up with the plan to buy this place,” he explained.
“So it wasn't your life's ambition to run a sex club?” Katya asked. He laughed.
“No. I mean, I guess I've always been a sexual person. You know, like overtly so. I'd been to sex clubs, some swingers parties, but never thought about it as a job.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, very much.”
“So people just come here and mingle and then get it on in these booths?”
“Yeah, but not just that,” he said. “See those double doors over there? They'll open up after ten o'clock. There's private rooms along the hallway – some, people pay by the hour. Some, they rent by the month. Then at the very end are two conference rooms with a removable wall between them, so they can become one huge room. Those usually get booked out for conventions, birthday parties, whatever.”
Katya couldn't imagine what kind of birthday party would rent out a ballroom at a sex club. Yet for all that, the place was really … chill.
“It's different than I expected,” she said, and he seemed to understand what she meant because he laughed.
“It's a Tuesday and it's kinda early. It'll pick up later,” he assured her.
She turned to face him again and when his eyes dropped to her chest, she had to work hard not to blush – she'd actually forgotten that her top wasn't buttoned up.
“I've never done anything like this before,” she said in a soft voice.
“I'd already guessed that.”
“And not just the sex club,” she continued. “Going out with a man I don't know. Kissing a man I don't know. All of this.”
“Still not surprised.”
“Can anyone come down here?”
“No. Members only, and we're very strict.”
“How does one become a member?”
“You asking for yourself?”
She'd been looking over the room again, but cut her eyes back to him. He had a rich voice and usually sounded like he had a laugh hiding just beneath the surface of his words. But now he sounded serious. Sexy. Their kiss ran through her mind and she felt a little dizzy.
“I don't think I'd meet your qualifications,” she whispered.
“We have got to cure this nasty self-deprecation habit you've developed.”
“It's the truth.”
Liam moved into her personal space and gently grabbed the bow on the front of her shirt. She leaned into him as he pulled her closer.