Sierra

 

I approached the doorman with my hand in my purse, clutching the membership card Coyote had given me. He simply nodded, admitting me without so much as asking me for my membership. I gave him an appreciative smile and wink as I walked past him and let my purse hang down from my shoulder.

 

I was no stranger to mingling with high society. Somehow I always ended up at all the balls, the charity events, and even most of the most exclusive clubs, usually on the arm of this one or that one who wanted to show off the latest catch.

 

Even though it was my first time walking into Eden, I knew that I couldn’t let it show on my face. Letting it be obvious that it was my first time would have marked me as a target for some of the men and women looking for a new face. It would have also blown my cover. I kept a stern face. I belonged among these wealthy and powerful people. I was one of them, even if I had probably lifted something belonging to someone in the room.

 

One of the dangers of my lifestyle was being spotted in a crowd. It rarely happened, but I also made sure to cover my tracks so that when it did happen, they never suspected me of being the one who lifted their priceless jewels.

 

I knew Gunner and his men didn’t look like typical bikers. They dressed in tailored suits or formalwear. They couldn’t be spotted by their colors like most bikers. They had other ways of marking themselves apart, namely the small pins they wore on their suit jackets sporting what would have been the back patch on their vests. It was a skull with fire in its eyes.

 

The club was filling in nicely by the time I arrived, but I had no trouble spotting Gunner Kaye at the bar. He was the broad man sitting alone watching the room through the mirror behind the bar. He wore his long dark brown wavy hair slicked back and stared out at the world through deep brown eyes set in a clean-shaven, chiseled face. As I approached, I could see the pin in his reflection. I had found my mark.

 

Then he found me in the mirror. Our eyes met, and I felt drawn to him. He turned as I reached the barstool next to him.

 

“Is anyone sitting here?” I asked him as I sat down, not waiting for an answer.

 

“Someone is now,” he said with a smirk. His voice was inviting and seductive. He turned and called the bartender over, telling him to put whatever I ordered on his tab.

 

“You know, I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t afford my own drinks,” I teased him. Then I turned to the bartender and told him, “Just a glass of your best champagne.”

 

“You’re going to try to make me regret putting you on my tab, aren’t you?” he joked.

 

“If you can’t handle it, maybe I should be paying for you,” I shot back.

 

“That would be a first.” He laughed and extended his hand to me. “Gunner Kaye,” he said.

 

“I know who you are,” I said through narrow eyes as I took his hand in mine. His grip was firm around my lithe fingers. His grip was more than a casual handshake. I could feel his desire in the way his fingers wrapped around mine. My stomach tingled with desire.

 

“And you are?” he asked.

 

“Sierra Farrow,” I answered, using my real name. I caught myself and smiled, but it was too late. He had distracted me enough that I hadn’t used an alias. He was good.

 

My champagne arrived, and his whiskey was refilled, while we sat and stared at each other.

 

Finally, I pulled my hand gently out of his grip and turned to my drink.

 

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Kaye,” I said.

 

“Please, call me Gunner, and I’m intrigued that you know who I am already even though I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you,” he said.

 

“No, you probably haven’t,” I assured him. “We don’t exactly move in the same circles.”

 

“So, what brings you to Eden tonight?” he asked.

 

I had to decide in that moment just how open I wanted to be. I had already been too open by giving him my name. I had to be careful with this dangerously disarming man, before I told him everything.

 

“Same thing you are,” I told him, smirking, and I returned to my drink.

 

“Just looking for a good time, huh?” he asked.

 

“Now, don’t tell me,” I said after I set my glass down on the bar. “I’ve already found it right here.” I could see from the look in his eyes that he enjoyed it when I presented myself as a challenge.

 

And I could tell from the tingling between my legs that I enjoyed the way his desire for me was so obvious. Gunner was a powerful, sexy man. To see such unguarded desire in his eyes was the biggest turn-on I could have asked for.

 

“Well, I certainly appreciate your vote of confidence, Sierra,” he said to me, “but if you think you can do better, then by all means. You certainly have your pick of wealthy, powerful men in the room.” He turned back to his whiskey, but I could tell he was only trying to see how long it would take me to make a move.

 

The little game we were playing was rather entertaining, but I figured if what I saw in his eyes was real desire, there was no shame in making my move. I wasn’t going to get anywhere sitting at the bar with him all night. The information I needed definitely wasn’t at Eden. I needed to get closer to him than a barstool to get what I needed.

 

“That wasn’t the answer I wanted,” I told him as I placed a hand on his leg. His skin felt electric through his pants. I could almost feel him trembling with longing as I slid my hand up far enough to tease him, but not far enough to give him too much pleasure there at the bar.

 

“Oh, it wasn’t?” he said in a teasing tone.

 

“No, it wasn’t.” I leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, “But I’ll let it slide for now and still give you another chance.”

 

I sat back and finished my glass of champagne while he stared at me. The look on his face was a mixture of shock and amazement. He obviously wasn’t used to having a woman put him in his place the way I was. Hopefully, I was leaving my door open enough for him to still want to come through. I was fairly confident I was, but I knew I needed to let him buy me at least one more drink before I tried to seal the deal.

 

He needed to feel like I was giving him at least some control over the situation no matter how strong and powerful I came across. I laughed to myself as I signaled the bartender for another glass. They were all the same. They wanted a powerful woman but they wanted to maintain some power over her. I kept his reflection in the corner of my eye while I waited for my drink. I wondered how much power he wanted to hold over me, and how much power he was going to let me have.

 

Coyote had been right about Gunner and The Immortal Devils. They were a dangerous bunch, and I could see a predatory hunger in Gunner’s eyes as he looked me up and down from the barstool next to mine.

 

We didn’t have to say anything else at the moment. I knew I was in. I could imagine how hard he was between those muscular legs of his. As long as he wanted me, I knew I would be able to get anything I wanted out of him, perhaps even the location of the Sun Stone. I smirked at his reflection as I thought about how ironic it would be to get him to show the diamond to the very person who was going to steal it.

 

I was getting ahead of myself though. I needed to get away from him for a moment and check in with my boss. I needed a restroom, but I also needed to get back to them without making it obvious I had no idea where they were.

 

Once again, I placed a hand on his leg as I leaned over to whisper into his ear. I could feel his muscles tense up under my touch. He wanted me so badly he was probably thinking about taking me on the bar. I had to make sure he didn’t follow me to the restroom and try anything in there.

 

“I need to powder my nose,” I told him in my best heavy, sultry voice.

 

“Okay. You know where the restrooms are, right?” He pointed me in their direction.

 

“Thank you, and if you wait patiently, like a good boy, I might bring you back a surprise.” I winked as I walked away, looking over my shoulder to see the longing in his eyes. I had him right where I wanted him.

 

Once again, my body was going to get me everything I wanted. Gunner Kaye, one of the most powerful men in the city, was ready to do whatever I told him, and the only thing he really knew about me was what I had told him, and that was just my name. My real name, dammit. Oh well, I would just have to handle that when the time came, I figured.

 

In the meantime, I stepped into the restroom and pulled my phone out at the counter with the row of sinks along the wall. I texted Coyote.

 

I have made contact. I’m in.

 

I waited for a response, knowing that if I went back out there too soon, he would know that something was up.

 

Thank you. Keep me posted, she texted back.

 

Will do. Going to try to get him to take me to his place. Will let you know what I find, I told her. I made sure my phone was on silent and stuffed it back in my purse.

 

I checked my look in the mirror. I wasn’t afraid to compliment myself or appreciate the way I looked. The subtle curves and contours of my body had never failed me before, and they weren’t going to fail me on this particular job either, I knew.

 

I watched the looks of envy on other women’s faces as they strolled in and out of the restroom behind me. For me, the scornful looks they gave my body were just as good as any compliment I could have received from any of the men at the bar.

 

“Are we ready to do this?” I asked my reflection.

 

“I think we are,” I answered myself with a wink, and I left the restroom. I could feel my nerves balling up in my stomach and between my legs. I was about to let possibly the most notorious man I knew of take me to his home. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that once I made it through the night with him, I would be able to get anything I wanted out of him.

 

I took a deep breath as I approached the bar from the hallway leading to the restrooms. From where I stood, I could see him waiting for me with another glass of whiskey. When I had stopped to text Coyote, it had hit me that I was flirting with the most dangerous man in Eden, which was what made him the most powerful person there.

 

“You can do this,” I told myself under my breath, and I was right. I could do it, and I would. Gunner Kaye was just another billionaire. He just so happened to be the head of a very dangerous motorcycle club that was known for the horrible methods they used to torture their enemies. I had to be careful around him, careful not to drop my guard. No matter what, I had to be professional, I reminded myself.

 

Gunner was just another mark, even though I could already tell he wasn’t like any of the others. Normally, that would have been an exciting thought.