Devotion (Club Destiny #7) (6 page)

Chapter Five

Luke was up with the sun the following morning, which was way too early in his opinion. After the events of the night before, and getting home to find his house a complete and utter disaster, – at least in his opinion – he should’ve been too tired to get out of bed. That didn’t appear to be the case because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed.

With so many things on his mind he had tossed and turned most of the night so finding any peace within his dreams wasn’t going to happen. With Sierra still sleeping soundly beside him, Luke decided to get up so she could rest a little longer.

Sneaking out of bed and into the kitchen required stealth that a man of his size didn’t have, but he tried. He was thankful that he knew his house so well because his thoughts were still on the fritz and he was practically moving around while lost inside of his thoughts entirely.

As with most morning’s, Luke’s first thought was about the club and the current turmoil it was in, and he knew he couldn’t give one hundred percent until he had a cup of coffee. He wasn’t a big fan of the stuff, but he’d learned in recent months that the caffeine did wonders to clear the fog from his brain.

Not that coffee was going to make him come up with some brilliant plan to counteract the result of his actions. If it would, he’d have been in much better shape long ago. After closing the doors on the fetish club, he had taken a substantial hit from all angles, financially being the least of his worries, although with a baby on the way, it was another factor that was beginning to weigh heavily on his already overloaded brain.

He would be the first to admit that he was prone to rash decisions. He just couldn’t help but feel that this one wasn’t rash. After finding out most of his members were nothing more than sanctimonious assholes who felt as though he actually owed
them
something, he’d decided enough was enough.

So, that left him in the rebuilding phase, only he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant for him yet. With Kane Steele now handling the memberships, he was getting much more in depth than ever before, digging even further into the member’s background – those that still remained – which meant remarkably little escaped him, and it was probably easier to get into the White House than it was to get into his club these days. But even he knew Kane was not going to be able to make that a full time job.

Unfortunately, Luke was at a standstill on what to do from here, which meant his brain was working overtime. He was at the point he just wanted someone else to take over, to make the damned decisions, to figure out what the best approach to take was. For the first time in his life, Luke was about ready to relinquish control to someone else.

“Mornin’,” Cole greeted from his seat at the breakfast bar as Luke moved into the kitchen.

He allowed his gaze to drift over the taut, firm muscles of Cole’s bare back and as with any morning, Luke appreciated that he was able to wake up to someone as incredibly sexy as Cole. The man had the ability to turn him on like a fucking switch and this morning was apparently no different than any other.

“What are you doing up?” Luke asked, forcing his thoughts from sex and back to what his plans were for the day.

“Alex asked me to go meet with Carson Throckmorton this morning,” Cole answered, sipping his coffee. Luke felt Cole’s eyes on him, which didn’t help the current state he was in.

“What time?”

“Ten,” Cole said as he stood from the bar stool before carrying his cup back to the sink and rinsing it. “What are your plans for the day?”

Luke wasn’t quite sure what his plans were. He knew he needed to go to the club. He needed to have a conversation with Serena, better known as Mistress Serena, before Trent Ramsey made another appearance. From what he heard, the two of them went toe to toe the night they’d allowed the Walker brothers to visit the club. It hadn’t been a good run in either, or at least that’s the story he’d gotten. With Serena, he had absolutely no idea. The woman was in a league all her own, and for a man who didn’t get scared easily, she sometimes freaked Luke out.

“I’m going to talk to Serena and Kane today.” Luke needed to talk to Cole, but he wanted to do it at the club, he just wasn’t sure how to go about bringing up the subject yet. Convincing his lover to quit his full time job and come help him manage the club wasn’t an easy conversation to instigate. He wasn’t sure how Cole would take the request, so he kept putting it off.

“Well, once I’m done with my meeting I’ll come back and keep Sierra company.” The grin that split Cole’s too handsome face quickly forced the weariness from his brain and got his blood pumping. That mischievous glint in Cole’s eyes said he had something much more compelling than an afternoon of meetings planned.

“Speaking of,” Luke began, glancing down the hall to their bedroom, checking to see if Sierra was awake yet. “You think she’s doing all right?”

“Why?” Cole looked perplexed as he turned to face him, standing just a few feet away. “I don’t know, I’m sure it’s the pregnancy,” Luke admitted, turning away to face the counter again. Luke knew Sierra was more fatigued than usual, she’d told him as much. But for some reason he wasn’t sure that was all it was with her.

Cole’s intoxicating scent drifted his way, and Luke damn near dropped his coffee. He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with him these days, but he couldn’t seem to get enough of him. They both had too much to do today for him to get something started. He damn sure wouldn’t survive not being able to finish it. After the last time the two of them had been alone upstairs, Luke had been hoping for a repeat.

Only he was hoping for something a little different.

Maybe.

Shit.

“Are
you
ok?” Cole’s smooth, rich voice slid around him at the same time his warm hands pressed against his back.

Luke let out an involuntary hiss at the feel of those smooth, yet callused fingers against his skin. When Cole leaned in closer, tucking his chin in the crook of Luke’s shoulder, pulling his head back slightly, he damn near saw stars. He was getting bolder these days, and Luke would be damned if he didn’t love the hell out of it. He just wanted to give in to Cole, to give in to whatever the man wanted to take from him, only he feared that’s not what Cole wanted.

Luke had his own fears as well, but they revolved more around giving too much of himself away. Those demons were still lingering, still fresh in his mind, even if Sierra and Cole had managed to alleviate the worst of his fears over the last several months.

But he also feared that by taking, or rather giving in this case, what he needed, he would be taking something away from Cole. He knew by the way that Cole reacted to him just how much he expected Luke to be the dominant one. And for the most part that’s what Luke preferred as well. It was only recently that he’d started thinking about something else.

Something more.

Cole nipped his earlobe and Luke growled, reaching behind him and gripping Cole’s head, holding him close and absorbing his body heat against his back.
Fuck.
This was two seconds from getting out of control, and the feel of Cole’s thick cock pressing against his ass wasn’t helping matters at all.

“You don’t have time to start this,” Luke warned, but Cole didn’t pull away.

To his shock, Cole tilted Luke’s head to the side until their mouths hovered close together. The feel of Cole’s bare chest against his back, his strong hand planted in the center of Luke’s chest, the other holding his chin firmly had his entire body gearing up for what he knew would come next. Only his natural reaction was to control it, so why he didn’t try to pull out of Cole’s arms, he had no idea. Sliding his hand through Cole’s hair, he allowed the man to bite his lower lip before sucking it into his mouth.

“Fuck.” It was Cole’s turn to growl, the vibration in his chest sending a torrent of pleasure coursing through Luke’s veins, which in turn had all of his blood heading south.

“Don’t do this,” Luke warned, reaching for some measure of sanity. He couldn’t let Cole take control. It wasn’t in him to let anyone take control. He didn’t care if he trusted Cole with his life, he still wasn’t about to let him see him weak.

“You want it,” Cole whispered. “You know you do.”

Luke didn’t respond. He remained stone still, feeling Cole’s breath feather over his lips.
Fuck.
He wanted to kiss him senseless and then bend him over the fucking table and take him like a mad man. That’s how hot Cole made him.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Luke growled, gripping Cole’s hair tighter. “I won’t deny wanting you,” Luke managed to turn slightly, “but never mistake who’s in control here.”

Cole let go, taking a step back but still meeting his stare. Luke turned fully to face him, then stalked him across the kitchen like a jungle animal set free, only Cole didn’t back up. He was exerting even more of his dominance than Luke was used to. Like usual, he didn’t succumb to Luke’s demands. At least not at first.

“Just remember, you started this,” Luke smiled, leaning in and biting Cole’s lip the same way he’d done to him seconds before. “And I’m going to finish it.”

“I’m counting on it,” Cole said, kissing him briefly before turning and walking out of the room without looking back.

Rubbing his cock through his jeans, Luke trailed Cole with his eyes until he disappeared around the corner.
Sonuvabitch
. It was going to be a long fucking day.

~~*~~

“Did you notice that Dylan’s here again?” Luke asked Logan as they stood in his office at the club staring down at the small group growing bigger by the minute.

Club Destiny was popular on Friday and Saturday nights, but in recent months, Monday’s had become quite busy. Probably for the fact that Luke made Monday’s karaoke night despite Logan’s extreme distaste for that decision.

Logan joined him beside the window and glanced down at the bar. Luke watched as Dylan held up a hand motioning for Lucie to bring another drink. From where he stood, it was clear that the man wasn’t drinking water. Whatever it was, he was doing doubles, and he was rapid firing them as soon as Lucie handed them over.

Luke couldn’t help but think that Dylan’s day was going about as shitty as his own. Not only had Trent postponed their morning meeting to the evening, Luke had the pleasure of sitting in a room with a decidedly unhappy Domme for the better part of an hour. Serena didn’t talk often, but when she did, it was hard to get her to stop. He didn’t mind for the most part because he truly needed to know what was going on between her and Trent Ramsey.

As it turned out, after sixty minutes of continuous chatter on her part, Luke had learned nothing.

“Something wrong with him? Besides the obvious?” Luke asked, watching as Lucie handed Dylan another glass, nearly half full with clear liquid. It didn’t take long for him to down that one. He had to be feeling good and numb by now. When he called Lucie over again, this time she had the proper sense to ignore him momentarily and shoot a glance up at the window. Luke knew she couldn’t see him, but he could see her.

“You want to go talk to him?”

“Not really, no,” Luke admitted.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to Dylan, but he knew the man was going through a tough time right now. The anniversary of his wife’s death was never an easy day, and although Luke didn’t want Dylan to pass out cold on his bar floor, he knew someone had to go talk to him.

“Fine,” Logan said, turning to walk away.

“Hey,” Luke called to Logan, turning to face his identical twin brother. “Why the hell are you here anyway?”

The grin Logan tossed at him said Luke wasn’t going to like the answer.

“I heard you were supposed to meet with Trent. I knew by your mood when I walked in that it hadn’t happened yet.” Logan didn’t look nearly as pleased with himself as the words came out.

“He should be here any minute. You might want to go talk to Dylan, or I’m tempted to force you to hang out with us.”

“Oh, hell no. Give me the drunk guy any day,” Logan responded at the same time there was a knock on Luke’s office door. Before he could call out to whoever it was, the door opened and in walked Trent. Somehow Logan managed to slip out of the room without even having to talk to him.

Bastard.

Luke had been expecting Trent for a while now, and like usual, the man seemed to keep his own schedule, the rest of them be damned. Ever since the night he gave a tour of the club to the Walker brothers, Trent had been pacing like a caged tiger. It was clear he had something on his mind.

“What brings you slummin’?” Luke greeted Trent with the question as he moved closer to his desk. He wasn’t sure he wanted to sit just yet. At six-foot-five-inches, Luke was by far a small man; however, it was interesting because even though Trent was probably an inch or two shorter, he was larger. Strangely, he was bigger both in size and personality. It explained why he was in the industry that he was in.

“Slummin’?” Trent laughed, his deep, raspy voice sounding oddly jovial and putting Luke’s back up.

What was he up to?

Luke, Logan, and Trent went way back. Although Trent was five or six years younger, the three of them had somehow forged a friendship prior to Club Destiny’s inception. Theirs was one of those friendships that coincidentally happened – right place, right time and all that. The three of them shared the same unique appreciation of adult clubs and many years later, here they were.

With the help of Trent’s and Logan’s capital, along with almost every penny Luke had in savings at the time, the club had been born. Going into it, the three of them knew they had bigger dreams than just creating a public bar.

Their intention was to create and expand a fetish club into something much bigger than what Club Destiny even was today. Considering recent events, they seemed to be moving in the opposite direction which had obviously pulled Trent out from behind the scenes.