A
kiss wakes me. Slow and sexy on my mouth, lips barely brushing mine, bringing me to consciousness with a wave of desire. I blink my eyes open to see Claire looking down at me. Our eyes meet, and she smiles as she slips her leg over my hip sitting up to straddle me. “Hi there,” she says, and I drink in the sight of her. Her blonde hair, tousled from our shower sex, hangs over her shoulder. I see she found my shirt from the night before and is wearing it half unbuttoned with what I am pretty sure is nothing else. So erotic, and sleep leaves me. I am turned on in an instant.
“Hi there,” I reply running my hands up her thighs to her hips. “I like your shirt.” She laughs fingering one of the still fastened buttons.
“You do?”
I nod. “I do. But probably more if you take it off.”
Her smile turns sultrier as she unfastens the one button and lets the shirt open wider. The curve of a breast draws my eye causing a pulse of excitement deep in my body. She moves lower and undoes another, this time pulling the shirt back to expose a swollen nipple. I reach for it, but she leans back away from my touch. “Not yet,” she murmurs and my arousal surges. Dropping her hands to the last button, she pauses with half-closed eyes full of the same hunger as I feel. I wait clinging to only a thread of patience. “This one too?” she whispers.
I suck in a breath. “Yes,” I answer hearing the huskiness in my voice. God, I want her. I already know there will never be a time I don't. She stirs something in me I cannot deny. Finally, the button is unfastened, and she is exposed for my pleasure. “You are so beautiful.” She tilts her head running a hand through her hair, even more sexy in this unconscious gesture.
“So are you,” she says taking my hand from her hip and placing it on her breast. I growl as she presses it against her and arches her back. “I want you.” I feel her heart beating a rapid pulse and know what she tells me is true. This pleases me more than I could imagine, and just as I think our morning is going to be special, there is a buzz from the penthouse’s front door.
I furrow my brow. No one should be at my door. The hotel is secured to keep this from happening. A look of surprise crosses Claire’s face as well. “Ignore it,” I tell her and try to recapture the moment, only to hear the buzz again. Longer and more insistent. Whoever is pressing it is going to pay for interrupting my morning, especially when Claire rolls off me.
“You should check,” she says, and I know she is right. Hardly anyone knows I stay here, so it must be important. It had sure as hell better be. I roll out of bed, grab my robe, and stride toward the door. Not until I peek through the peephole do I pause. It's Chloe—the Australian lesbian from our club. She reaches for the buzzer again, but I yank the door open before she touches it.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I ask. It is not particularly unusual for members to visit each other, but common courtesy dictates a phone call first.
“Room service!” Chloe says cheeky as always. I notice she carries a box of Chicago’s famous Do-Rite donuts and shake my head.
“Seriously, what are you doing here?” I ask again. “This is not a great time.” Thinking of Claire straddling me a moment ago, that is an understatement.
Chloe grins. “No time to waste, mate,” she answers. “We need to talk. You need to go to Los Angeles. Tonight.”
With a sigh, I step aside so she can enter. “Get in here.” Chloe does, walking boldly across the room as if she owns the place. Only when she sees Claire standing in the bedroom doorway in a robe, does she pause. A glance back at me, and I see from her grin, she approves. Chloe might not make headlines as I do, but her ‘appreciation’ of beautiful women matches my own. Or at least it used to before I met Claire. No longer.
“Claire, I presume?” Chloe asks, and I nod.
“Claire, please meet one of my best friends, Chloe,” I say. Since we don’t use real names, the introduction is not a risk to the group.
“A pleasure. You are a lovely sight,” Chloe says, a hint of flirtation in her voice. I don’t take offense. This is simply Chloe’s way, and I know it is meaningless. She would never truly make a pass. “Donut?”
Smiling, Claire walks to my side, leaning close as she puts a hand on my shoulder, and I slide my arm around her waist. I love the message she sends to Chloe—that she belongs to me. “The pleasure is mine,” she says before turning to me. “Do you need me to go?”
I look to Chloe who shrugs. “I say we keep her in for this, but it’s up to you. You’re going to need a girl on your arm for the thing regardless.”
Frowning, I consider her words. “And the risks?” Nothing will make me put Claire in danger, no matter how deep my loyalty to Lila and the others.
Chloe sets the donuts on the monster-sized coffee table and takes one before looking back at me. “Everything has risks, Madison,” she answers and bites into the pastry. I feel Claire stiffen under my arm. Clearly, she is not happy with this reply, and I look at her. Before I can say anything, she lifts her chin, determination in her eyes.
“If you will be in danger, I want to help you,” she says, and I understand any answer other than letting her come with me will not go well. “If nothing else, I owe you for helping me with Johnny.” Her face softens. “But I also want you safe.”
Our eyes hold, and a mixture of emotions run through me. Already, she is everything to me. The need to keep her safe is strong, but I also know we will be an unstoppable team. If I must have someone by my side for this, Claire is the only one I want it to be. Leaning in, I kiss her. Meaning to be tender, I cannot help but feel the passion behind it when our lips meet. This woman turns me on like no one ever has in my life. Chloe clears her throat. “Okay, lovebirds, we don’t have all day. What’s the verdict?”
Breaking the kiss, I smile at Claire for a moment, and she nods, understanding what I am about to say by instinct. We are that connected already. “We are in this together,” I turn to my friend. “Tell us about the plan.”
“Excellent,” Chloe says, licking the last of the donut’s frosting from her fingers. “We will have a conference call on your plane as you head back to the west coast for the small details, but I can give you the highlights.”
I lead Claire to the couch, and we sit while Chloe takes the chair. She looks at ease as always even though I know the situation is stressful for her as well. One of our close-knit group is under attack, by an invisible, yet a hugely powerful threat. I don't need it spelled out to me to know this Dark Web faction could make any of us vulnerable. “So, talk,” I say. “Then I’ll arrange for my jet.”
“Right,” Chloe starts. “We’ve been in contact with the diamond sellers online and arranged for you…” She looks to Claire. “… and you to view the merchandise before buying.” I frown, not liking the sound of this already.
“Where? Someplace with lots of visibility, I hope.”
Chloe grins. “How about the Hollywood Gala? Getty Museum, day after tomorrow?” This is impressive. The gala is a huge evening event, and only the rich and famous will be in attendance. I have an invitation for two, of course. Zena and the others no doubt picked it for this reason. Still, the question is who the thief could be, and if he or she can arrange an invite as well.
“I will agree to that,” I answer. “And assuming we are shown the diamonds somehow, then what?”
“You make the transaction,” she says. “Payment of two-hundred seventy million in Bitcoin.” If Claire is impressed by this number, she doesn’t show it. Her demeanor, even in a robe with next to nothing on beneath it, is calm and, if I’m reading her right, a little calculating. Pleased, I take her hand.
“I assume we have a plan to recover those funds once I walk away with the inventory?”
“Naturally,” Chloe says leaning forward to dig into the box for another donut. “You know, you really should try these. They are delicious.”