CHAPTER ONE
Talen
The lights in the club were too bright, and the music blasted the hell out of my ears. The bass vibrated through my chest as I cursed my current location. Cursed my friend. Cursed myself.
And I didn’t even know why I was here.
Of all the times I’d been inside the Vegas Sunshine, this was the worst. It was late on a Thursday night, and I’d allowed Brandon to drag me to the outskirts of Las Vegas to pick up women. This wasn’t unusual for either of us. Our weekends began on Thursday nights, and we almost always found ourselves in some club, hitting on any available woman who passed by. I’d always enjoyed myself before. What wasn’t to like? Good music. Great drinks. Gorgeous women. It was everything I wanted.
Until it wasn’t.
I didn’t know why it happened, but something clicked inside me that night. As I sat across from Brandon at our usual table, my mind drifted. I stared in the direction of the dance floor, but I wasn’t really looking. Plenty of attractive women spread out before me like a delicious, sex-inspired buffet, but I didn’t see any of them.
Instead, I thought about my life and the path I was on. I thought about my family and my obligations. I thought about my father’s company. I thought about the things I wanted for myself, and none of those things could be found inside the Vegas Sunshine.
“Those two,” Brandon said, pointing across the room. I followed his finger, and my eyes fell on two blonde women leaning against the bar. Their heads were together as they whispered to each other. They were beautiful, their bodies spectacular. Both wore tight dresses that left nothing to the imagination. On any other night, I would have flown out of my seat to talk to them.
“What about them?” I picked up my glass of bourbon and took a sip.
“That’s them,” Brandon said. “Tonight’s conquests.”
I scoffed at the old-fashioned label. “Conquests?”
“Yes. Conquests. I’m thinking the wife story this time. Thoughts?”
“That again?” I rolled my eyes. “Brandon, our money can get us any girl we want.”
It was true. Between the two of us, Brandon and I were insanely wealthy. There wasn’t a woman alive who could reject our advances once they realized the depth of our bank accounts. It was shallow. Totally materialistic. But in my experience, following the money was lucrative for them.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Brandon asked with a chuckle. “I need some excitement in my life. Frankly, so do you.”
I shot him a look. “I have excitement. Plenty of it.”
“Really?” Brandon scoffed. “Like what?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I couldn’t argue with Brandon’s logic. Lately, I’d been a shut-in. While Brandon and I were notorious for hitting the town multiple nights a week, the past couple of months had been anything but interesting.
When I didn’t answer, Brandon shook his head and downed his drink in one gulp. He set his glass on the table and turned to face me with a serious expression. “Ever since you joined that crazy father-son program, you’ve been a total bore.
“Big Brother program,” I corrected automatically. “You know what it is.”
“Yes,” he admitted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “What I don’t know is why you’re wasting your time with it. As your best friend, it’s my job to lighten you up from time to time. I’m just doing my duty here.”
I took another swallow. “I see, and getting me laid is your duty?”
“Absolutely,” Brandon said with a wink, then stood up and hurried across the room before I could stop him. Tossing back another drink, I watched him cut through the crowd until he reached the two blondes by the bar. They hadn’t moved, and when Brandon approached them, they both turned a sexy smile on him. Even from across the club, I could see the telltale signs of a hot flirtation beginning to emerge.
I sat back in my seat and sighed. Brandon wasn’t wrong. About two months earlier, I joined the Big Brother program in Nevada, which meant I was spending a lot of time at the youth center. I had yet to be paired with a specific kid, but I was enjoying the training and meeting many of the program’s members. It wouldn’t be long before I was assigned my own little brother, and when that happened, I knew Brandon’s irritation with me would only grow.
Brandon saw my venture into big brotherhood as a colossal waste of time, but I’d been drawn to doing it. My entire childhood was spent alone. My parents weren’t bad parents. They never beat me or were neglectful. In fact, as a child, I didn’t want for anything except their time and attention. Becoming a big brother was my way of giving support to kids who might not have it at home. When I thought back to my own time as a kid, I only wished for one thing — someone to give me their time. I wanted to be that someone for another kid.
I couldn’t blame Brandon for questioning my actions. The last thing he expected was for me to become a different person overnight. He just wanted his wingman back. We’d been best friends since childhood. Every adventure I ever had was with him. I knew he only wanted to return to our past shenanigans, but I wasn’t sure I could give him that.
When I looked up, Brandon was coming back through the crowd with a blonde on each arm. Fuck. He caught my eye and winked. I glanced away, considering an escape option, but I soon realized there wasn’t a point. Brandon and the girls were already too close. I took a breath and resigned myself to the inevitable encounter.
“Talen, meet Brandi and Tracie. Ladies, this is my boy, Talen.”
“Nice name,” Tracie said with an appreciative grin. Her eyes trailed over my body before resting on my face. I smiled back at her politely, and she took it as an invitation to sit down.
Brandon and Brandi had their arms wrapped around each other while Tracie slid into the chair beside me. She was so close that I could immediately smell her shampoo. It smelled like vanilla, one of my favorites. I looked over at her, and my eyes fell to her full lips. They were naturally pink and perfectly shaped. When I found her eyes, she stared at me with an attentive gaze. Her interest was obvious. I knew exactly what she wanted.
“So,” Tracie said, her hand coming to rest on my thigh. “I heard there were VIP rooms in this club. Is that true?”
I nodded and sipped my bourbon. I’d spent a lot of time in the back rooms of the Vegas Sunshine.
She leaned hard against me. “I’ve always wanted to check one out.” She gave me a meaningful look, which I ignored. My attention was focused on the drink in my hand, but it was hard to refrain from giving in to Tracie’s desires. She was gorgeous, and she wanted me. Despite my preoccupations, I was still a man, and she was too good to pass up.
Making my decision, I set down my drink and stood, holding out my hand. She didn’t hesitate, just grinned as she took it. As we passed her friend, Tracie whispered something in Brandi’s ear, and they both giggled. I pretended not to notice and continued leading her toward the back corner of the club.
We stepped up to a dark door. A bouncer stood beside it, but once he saw me, he moved aside without a word. Everyone at the Vegas Sunshine knew me. I opened the door and pulled Tracie into a brightly lit hallway. Passing a number of doors, I walked the blonde down to the first one that said “vacant” and pulled her inside.
The room was simple but elegant, with dim lights reflecting off the rich leather couches and chairs. A huge four poster bed took up much of the space as did the chest that housed most of the toys and implements. These rooms weren’t always used for sex, but most often, they were. Only the elite had access.
“Wow,” Tracie said as she looked around. “This is amazing.”
“It’s alright.” I shrugged and fell onto one of the couches.
Damn, I needed to pull myself out of this shit mood.
Undaunted, Tracie sat down beside me, and I turned to face her. I took in her features one more time, lingering on her lips and eyes. She stared back at me, and I let my gaze trail down her body. I took in the curve of her breasts and the smooth skin of her thighs. I placed my hand gently on her leg, just below the hemline of her dress. As I found her eyes again, I slid my hand slowly upward, slipping my fingers beneath the thin material.
“I’m sorry about your wife,” Tracie said, sympathy oozing from every pore.
My fingers froze as her words snapped me back to reality. Fuck Brandon and his theatrics. I’d let my attraction to Tracie guide my actions, and I forgot all about Brandon’s ploy.
“It’s not true,” I said simply, removing my hand from her leg.
Her brow furrowed. “What?”
I looked her in the eye. “The story Brandon told you… it isn’t true.”
Tracie blinked several times in confusion. “Your wife didn’t die?”
“No.” I pushed my hands through my hair. “Sorry. I’ve never been married.”
Tracie pushed herself off the couch and stood in front of me, planting a fist on her hip. “But why would you lie about something like that?”
“Technically, I didn’t. Brandon played you, and I’m telling you what he said wasn’t true.”
I attempted to be kind, but deep down, I really didn’t care. If she was naïve enough to fall for such an obvious line, then it wasn’t my fault that her feelings were hurt. And if she couldn’t give me credit for disabusing her of the lie, she wasn’t someone I wanted to be with anyway.
She stared at me in disbelief for a fraction of a second before turning and storming out of the room. I could hear her angry footsteps pounding down the hall.
With a sigh, I stood up slowly and glanced in the mirror on the far wall. At six-one, I was too tall, and I had to duck down to see my face. My black hair was all over the damn place, and my blue eyes were surrounded by red lines. I groaned at my appearance and knew it was time to leave. I was sure Brandon would be pissed at me by the time I made it out of the VIP room.
When I stepped back into the club, my ears immediately began to ache from the loud music. I strode across the dance floor to where I’d last seen Brandon. He was still sitting at the table with Brandi beside him. Tracie was bent over, whispering in Brandi’s ear. Tracie’s dress rode up slightly, and I found myself wishing I hadn’t admitted the truth to her. I would have loved to explore the curves of her ass in private.
As I walked over to them, Tracie straightened, caught my eye and glared at me menacingly. Brandi jumped to her feet and took Tracie’s hand. Together, they hurried away from Brandon and disappeared into the crowd.
“Hey!”’ Brandon called. “Where’re you going?!”
“Don’t bother,” I said, plopping down beside him.
He was still staring after the girls. “What the hell just happened?”
“She saw right through your lie, man,” I lied to the liar. “The second we got back in the room, she started asking all kinds of questions about my ‘wife.’ She knew it was all a ruse.”
He appeared crestfallen. “Damn. It’s always worked before. I must be getting rusty.”
I laughed. “Yeah. That must be it.”
“Well,” Brandon said, clearing his throat. “We’ll just have to work on it for next time.”
I just shook my head, not sure of what to say. It was amazing how quickly Brandon could shake off rejection. He bounced back faster than anyone I knew. He was already scanning the club for another girl, while I was just ready to go home.