“Straight to the VIP room, please,” Jax said as the men were greeted at the door of the club. The woman nodded and motioned for them to follow her, though they knew where the VIP room was. She was busty and beautiful, and all of them couldn’t help but glance at her perky ass covered in a tight skirt as they stalked down the hall behind her. There were extra bouncers outside the door, and they gave the men a short nod when they slipped by. Chase glanced around the club.

This wasn’t the same club he had been removed from before, but he still had memories of that embarrassing night. He glanced back toward Jax and promised himself he was going to keep the situation under control that night. Jax could binge-drink all he wanted, but he wasn’t going to fall into that this time. Just because he was the youngest didn’t mean he had to do what everyone else was doing. The rest of them could do what they wanted, and Chase would take care of himself.

All the men took a seat around the table and settled in. Chase made a point not to sit next to Jax. There was enough space at the table for them all to have room, and he made the most of it. He looked around the club, glancing at the women who were behind the counter and the waitresses who were wandering around the floor, checking on tables and delivering food and drinks. There was a relaxed ambiance in the club despite the upbeat music with a loud bass.

“Good evening, gentlemen! What can I get started for you?” A woman asked as she walked over. When Chase looked over at her, he saw that she had her paper and pen in hand. She greeted them all with a warm smile and her voice cascaded like molten lava over Chase’s mind. He immediately had a primal reaction to her, not unlike the way he zeroed in on many other women on his wild nights out. Chase raised his eyes to observe “the mother of seduction.” He noticed with a small thrill how she looked quickly around the table, making eye contact with each of them before holding his gaze for a moment longer than the rest. It seemed Chase would win the bet after all, he thought cockily.

If her beauty wasn’t telling on its own, Chase would have guessed she was the girl Jax was talking about from the way he was looking at her. And Jax was right. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word, and Chase couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had long, blonde hair she pulled up into a high bun on top of her head, full breasts, and a curvaceous figure. She was captivating, and he was struck by her natural yet distinctive beauty.

Never in his life had he been so attracted to someone the first time he laid eyes on her, and he couldn’t help but stare. He could see by the smile she gave him that she was aware of his attraction to her, but she wasn’t going to do anything about it—at least, not yet. He’d seen them in action before. The hostesses and servers in the clubs would take care of the needs of the table first, but they would always come back, giving him special attention. There was no doubt in his mind she would find a way to give him her number at the end of the night.

Of course, with the bet lingering in the back of his mind, Chase knew that he might have to be the one to make the first move. He got the distinct feeling that this wasn’t like the women he usually encountered, women who all but threw themselves at him with zero shame. Perhaps she was the kind of woman who would rather have him pursue her than the other way around. It would be out of character for him, but at the same time, he had never dealt with this woman before, and he didn’t know what she was like compared to the rest.

“What would you recommend?” Jax asked her, giving her a flirtatious look. She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“What are you in the mood for? I can offer some of our sparkling wines—they’re one of our specials for the night. We’ve got some special imported tequila this week as well. You can take a look at our menu for some side items, but of course I can bring you just about anything you want.” Penny smiled, gesturing at the fancy menu on the table, and Jax gave her another flirtatious look.

“How about a side of you, then?” he asked, and she gave him a look to prove she was not impressed with his attempts at flirting.

“I think we should go with a nice French wine, actually. A bottle of Domaine Faiveley Musigny Grand Cru, please,” Chase spoke up. He saw how much Jax was fucking up his attempt to make a move on this girl, and he knew it was his moment to act. If he were to step in now, he could look better than any of the other men at the table, convince her to come home with him, and win the bet. It would be easy.

“Yes, we’ll start with that and then we can think about what we’re doing next,” Jax added. He was looking over the drink menu as he spoke, and Penny went to get the bottle. Chase watched as she walked over and grabbed the glasses, unable to take his eyes off her. She was strangely aloof, but he had to give it to her—she was being completely professional, not losing composure. He was itching to get her closer, both literally and figuratively, but he wasn’t getting the impression she was interested in any of them, let alone him.

This was turning out to be a challenge. He had to turn on the charm even more.

“Thank you,” Chase said once she returned with the glasses and bottle.

“You’re welcome,” she said, barely looking at him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

As she finished handing out the glasses, he knew he had to say something more. She wasn’t biting at all. “I insist that you try this with me. If it’s not the best bottle of wine that you’ve ever had, I’ll buy you an entire case of whatever your favorite is,” Chase told her. A few of the guys around him that weren’t busy drinking whistled.

Penny looked at him with raised eyebrows once more. It was clear by the look on her face she knew what he was doing—what all of them were doing—but appeared to be unfazed.

Chase didn’t know why she didn’t just take the bait, but she clearly wasn’t interested in doing that. She looked at the bottle, then at the glasses, and gave a light shrug before taking his own glass and taking a small sip for herself.

“Oh, come now, you’ve got to have more than that! That’s hardly more than a taste,” Chase said when she sipped it. She smiled at him but shook her head.

“We aren’t supposed to be drinking on the job. I could get fired for that,” she said with a smile. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, then he glanced toward the bar.

“If anyone tries to fire you for that, I’ll take the blame. What do you think of it?” he asked, trying to change the subject. She looked at the glass in her hand and shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s good, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t call it the best wine that I’ve ever had, but it’s good,” she said casually.

“What? That’s not the best? Then what is?” Chase asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. “Please do me the honor of getting a bottle of your best wine. I am dying to try it.”

Within a few minutes, Penny was back with the bottle in her hand, as well as a few fresh glasses. The men had already drained the bottle of wine, and Jax was getting ready to order more drinks for everyone. Chase could see that each attempt he made to impress the waitress wasn’t going as well as he planned, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Though he wasn’t having much more luck with her, he was at least getting her to engage with him, even if it was purely about wine. It didn’t even seem like she was flirting with him, she was simply doing her job—no more, no less. Each time she came back, his request for her number was on the tip of his tongue, but he only had one chance to ask and didn’t want to fuck it up. He couldn’t fuck it up. He knew he was going to have to wait for just the right moment.

She poured the wine into the glasses and handed one to him. “I know it’s not the most expensive, nothing like your three-thousand-dollar wine, but if you ask me, it’s a lot better than what you have in that bottle there.”

Chase lifted the liquid to his lips and his eyes brightened. In a slow, disbelieving shake of his head he set it down on the table and looked at her with utter admiration in his eyes. “You know, I hate to say this but I think you’re right. You do know your wine. I’m impressed.” He tipped his head at her with a crooked grin.

A bright smile flashed across Penny’s face, and Chase felt the blood rushing to his manhood. If it were possible for her to be more beautiful than she already was, that was when it happened. With nothing but her gorgeous body and the bet in his mind, he knew he was going to have to find a way to get her number. Unexpectedly, a thought popped into his mind, and he smiled once more. “Well, then, I owe you a case of this wonderful stuff. Where should I have it sent to? I’ll need your address, and I’d like your number to make sure you get it.”

The waitress was taking another drink order from Jax, and she smiled over her shoulder when he offered to follow through with the deal. “That’s very kind of you, but you can just have it sent here. Have it set aside for Penny.”

She gathered the dirty glasses and empty bottles, then headed back toward the bar. Chase sighed. It was as bold as he dared go in front of his friends to get her number and risk getting shot down. It definitely wasn’t his style to grovel for a woman’s number, as beautiful as she was.

He could already sense he would be leaving alone that night, but it wasn’t losing the money that was driving him crazy. It was not being able to get a hold of this mesmerizing woman.

He had to figure out a way to get to know her better. Even if he didn’t get her number tonight, he’d find a way to see her again and make her his.