Chapter Ten
Robyn
Surprisingly, after my initial nerves, I found that sitting with Oliver and chatting wasn’t half as scary as I’d expected. He behaved himself impeccably, he didn’t tease me – well, not too much anyway – and was in fact turning out to be amazingly helpful for my research. He was like an encyclopaedia on the subject of this club, and had so far answered all of my questions without hesitation.
We’d been speaking for a while about the varying reasons that drove the customers to the club, when we were approached by two men – one being the man Sasha had expressed her interest in earlier – and I craned my head back to look at them. Crikey, were all the men in here mutants or something? Because these two were almost as large as Dominic and were carrying some serious muscle, too.
‘Good evening, Oliver,’ the taller of the two men – Sasha’s crush – said, and I wondered if I could detect just a hint of an American accent in his tone.
‘Marcus, Nathan, good to see you again,’ Oliver replied with a smile, and I noticed that although these new arrivals looked a little intimidating in their stature, Oliver sounded genuine with his greeting and didn’t seem to bristle with tension as he had last week when Dominic had approached.
He also didn’t take hold of my hand again, which sensibly should have been a relief, but wasn’t, and I actually found myself wishing he would reach out for me and stake his claim again.
I was in so much trouble here. I’d only met the guy twice and already I was infatuated with him. Damn. I was usually so much better with my self-control, but his proximity seemed to remove all my usual restraint.
Oliver’s manners seemed to insist that he did a full greeting, and he held out a hand and gestured at the men. ‘Robyn, this is Marcus Price,’ he said, referring to the one Sasha fancied. I stored the name away, so I could tell her later. Marcus gave me a dazzling smile in return, complete with a set of perfectly straight teeth and dimples in his cheeks. He was at least as tall as Dominic had been, but with his relaxed posture, floppy blond hair, and warm expression I didn’t feel any of the fear I had last week, so I tentatively nodded my head and found myself smiling back. I could see why Sasha liked him. He was a good-looking guy, and his grin was actually quite infectious.
‘And this is Nathanial Jackson.’ My gaze travelled to the other man and I felt my smile becoming a little strained. He wasn’t threatening like Dominic had seemed, but he radiated some sort of shuttered tension. He was tall, blond, and had the iciest blue eyes I’d ever seen. He was nowhere near as friendly as Marcus, his posture was stiff and defensive, and overall, he made me feel uneasy.
‘Call me Nathan,’ he corrected immediately, with a vague nod of greeting, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on my cheeks, which made me worry that I had something smeared on my face.
Giving my cheek a quick wipe with my hand, I tried to shrug off my worry, then took a calming sip of my drink. It suddenly occurred to me how stupid I was being – I was sitting in a sex club as a compete newbie, and was now surrounded by three attractive – not to mention huge – guys. They must put growth hormones in the drinks here, because I couldn’t see how any of these men would be below six foot five, and that included Oliver. What if they suddenly expected me to partake in something with them all? Three men and me? Crikey, I wasn’t even sure I was imaginative enough to envision how the biology of that would work … but even though I found the idea quite intriguing, it also terrified me, so I quickly slid from my seat and grabbed my bag.
‘I should find my friends, I’ll leave you guys to it.’
All three sets of eyes turned to me, but it was Marcus who spoke first. ‘Don’t leave on our account,’ He smiled again, and I felt some of my anxiousness releasing. He really did seem like a genuinely nice guy. ‘We’re just grabbing the drinks for our group.’ With a jerk of his chin he seemed to be indicating to a table against the wall where two women sat with a dark-haired man. I watched with interest as Nathan caught the eye of one of the women and winked at her, which in turn caused her to grin back at him, his entire body seeming to relax from their eye contact. Interesting. For a few seconds he transformed into a completely different man, so presumably she was his girlfriend, or partner.
Turning back to us, Nathan immediately stiffened again. He picked up the drinks from the bar and, with a swift nod at myself and Oliver, he departed towards his friends.
I was already playing with fire by sitting with Oliver, so maybe this had given me the perfect opportunity to leave. Judging by the way Oliver’s stare was now intently fixed upon mine again, though, he wanted me to stay.
Marcus broke the connection between Oliver and me by leaning in between us to get to the bar. ‘Don’t mind Nathan, he’s just a bit of a quiet one,’ he remarked with a smile as he picked up the remaining drinks. ‘It was a pleasure to meet you, Robyn. Enjoy your evening.’
‘Thanks.’ I mumbled, because I had no idea what else to say.
‘Still on for squash on Thursday?’ Marcus asked Oliver with a raise of his eyebrows.
Nodding, Oliver shared one of his own smiles. ‘Of course. I believe it will be four-nil to me if I win again this week?’
Laughing, Marcus nodded. ‘Indeed it will, but that’s only because I’m rusty. Give me a few more weeks to get back into my game and I’ll be wiping the floor with you, old man.’
There was no way Oliver could be termed an old man, but he took the banter with a grin and nodded. ‘It’ll be fun watching you try.’
With a wink and a cocky grin Marcus then left us. I hesitated, still unsure whether to retake my seat or try to take my leave and go in search of Chloe and Sasha. I knew what the sensible option would be, but the prospect of spending more time in Oliver’s charismatic company was making me pause. As if sensing my uncertainty, Oliver gave my stool a brief pat and raised his eyebrows hopefully. ‘Sit a little longer with me?’
At his invitation my tummy gave a little leap of excitement, which was ridiculous, because I was far too boring to embark on some wild fling with a self-professed sexual dominant, and yet I still climbed back into my seat.
‘Marcus is the man your friend liked, yes?’
Nodding, I took a sip of my drink to try to calm my hammering heartbeat.
‘I don’t know what she’d be looking for, but he just got out of a relationship, so I suspect casual would be all he’d be up for at the moment.’
Casual was all Sasha did, she was a specialist at fucking without commitments, but I decided not to enlighten Oliver with that lovely fact. ‘He seemed nice.’
‘He is. He’s a good friend of mine, very decent guy, too. He’s a chef, only recently got back from a stint working in New York. Unfortunately, he’s found himself single again, because his girlfriend decided she preferred America over him.’
Frowning, I glanced across at Marcus, then turned my attention back to Oliver. ‘Poor guy, that’s horrible.’
Oliver gave a shrug. ‘She was a money-grabbing bitch. He’s better off without her.’
My eyebrows rose at the chill in Oliver’s tone, so, sensing it was a sensitive topic, I changed the subject slightly. ‘Nathan seemed almost as intimidating as Dominic,’ I remarked, watching as Nathan and Marcus joined their friends. Marcus was on his own, happy at the head of the table, but as soon as Nathan sat down he wrapped an arm around the shoulder of the petite blonde woman and tugged her firmly against his side.
Oliver laughed and glanced towards the group. ‘He might look it, but I’ve known him a long time, and believe me, he’s quite a soft touch underneath that prickly exterior. He’s got a permanent partner, Stella, the blonde he’s with now. They’ve got a young child, too, so we rarely see him in here nowadays. Guess someone’s babysitting to give them a night off.’
Wow. Parents choosing to go to a place like this on their night off. What a peculiar thought. ‘Did they meet here?’ I asked, finding myself incredibly curious about the relationship the two of them must have. It would probably make a fascinating book.
‘Actually, they did. David Halton – he’s another of the owners here – set them up, and he’s very proud of that fact, too,’ Oliver commented dryly. ‘You’ve no doubt already seen him around. He’s the tattooed guy that works behind the bar.’
I did recall seeing him, but was surprised by Oliver’s mention of yet another owner. ‘How many owners are there?’ I asked, thinking that already there was Oliver, Dominic, and now this David guy.
‘Four. David is the majority shareholder and the only one with an upfront role in the business. Myself, Dominic, and a woman named Alexandra loaned him the money he needed to start it all up, and in return we get a percentage of the takings. The three of us all have jobs outside of the club, so we’re silent partners, really, but I also do the accounts as a side job.’
‘What do you do for a day job?’ I asked, hoping that I wasn’t pushing our arrangement too far into personal waters for his liking.
‘I’m a financial advisor. I own my own company now, so I can be choosy about my clients.’ Which I took to mean that he only represented filthy rich people, and was rather successful at what he did.
After that, we sat in silence for a few moments as I watched all the goings-on around us. ‘So, did you have any more questions you wanted to ask me for your research?’ Oliver asked with a curious tilt to his head. ‘Or perhaps we could find a more practical way to kill some time? There’s plenty of things here within Club Twist that we could entertain ourselves with.’
Gulping at his suggestion I felt my cheeks burn, and proceeded to open and close my mouth three times, each time not managing to actually speak. He looked so serious. Was he actually suggesting what I thought he was?
Tipping his head back, Oliver laughed so loudly that several people turned in our direction to look at him.
‘I’m joking, Robyn!’ He wiped a tear from his eye and grinned at me. ‘You are such fun.’
I wasn’t sure I liked being teased like this, but his grin was so beautiful that I found myself relaxing with a wry smile of my own as I shook my head in mock chastisement.
‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.’ He didn’t sound repentant at all, but I had a feeling that with his twinkling blue eyes he could persuade me to forgive pretty much any misdemeanour.
‘Maybe you should try harder then,’ I replied, trying for a chiding tone, but giggling at the end of my sentence as I felt myself getting more and more flustered.
There was something between us, I was sure of it. Something potent. A pull, or attraction, that I suspected would only get stronger the more time I spent with him, and I was hardly helping matters by joining in with his banter.
‘So, questions?’
Clearing my throat, I nodded. ‘Oh … uh … yes, please.’
He slid from his stool, straightened his jacket, and buttoned it, drawing my eyes down to his impossibly trim torso. ‘Let’s go somewhere a little quieter.’
Somewhere quieter? That sounded decidedly dodgy, so I gave him a tentative look and shook my head. I might be a little infatuated, but I hadn’t completely lost my mind.
Seeing my stubborn expression, he laughed again. ‘I’m not going to drag you off to a bedroom, Robyn. I have never needed to trick or force a woman in my life, and I don’t intend to start now.’
His comment was supposed to reassure me, but it gave me a sour taste in my mouth, and as hard as I tried to dismiss the wave of jealousy that swept over me, I couldn’t. How many women had fallen at his feet over the years? Given his charm, looks, and build, it was probably countless amounts.
A sudden pain in my hands made me realise that I had clenched my fists so hard that my nails were biting into the skin of my palms. I’d never been one for jealousy before, which made this even more laughable, because Oliver wasn’t even mine to be protective over. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my hands and shoved my irrational thoughts aside.
As I looked back at his face I found him watching me curiously, as if he’d read my mind and knew exactly what I’d been stewing over. Damn it. I really needed to work on hiding my emotions from his all-seeing eyes.
‘Trust me?’ he asked softly, holding a hand out for me.