Merciless Sinner (What Alex Wants #1) - E.M. Gayle Page 0,4

No, scratch that. I double-dog dare you to go.”

Aww shit. No she didn’t. Game. Set. Match. I hadn’t even known I was in the game and she’d lobbed me with my personal kryptonite.

Chapter Three

Harper

I stood outside the Glass Kat and stared at the front door. I’d had all the time and opportunity in the world to change my mind. When I went home to change I could have deserted this mess of an idea. Or on the train ride uptown I could have gone anywhere my heart desired. Or even when I got off the train, I could have gone left instead of right and spent the evening at my favorite hole in the wall with a beer and a slice to keep me company.

Instead I stood here, my heart beating a rapid staccato in my chest, far above its normal rate. Fortunately, between the bulky coat and gloves no one would notice the trembling in my arms or hands. That at least remained my personal humiliation.

Screw it. I deserved some fun, right? Why should I stand outside and act like I don’t deserve one night of fun?

With one last breath to steel my nerves I pushed my way through the revolving door and into the small luxurious lobby of one of the most elegant establishments I’d had the privilege to step into. With no other people lingering in the entry I crossed to the front desk, my heels clicking on the marble floors like a ticking time bomb to a fate I hoped wouldn’t be a disaster. The trim middle-aged man at the concierge desk stepped out from behind the counter to greet me.

“Good evening, mademoiselle. May I take your coat?” His smile and easy manner relaxed me a fraction as I pulled off my gloves and shoved them in my pockets. I began to shrug the coat from my shoulders and the kind man stepped behind me and helped me remove it.

A subtle waft of his cologne drifted to my nose, reminding me of the money that went into a place like this. However, despite all the opulence, I still knew that behind the elegant furnishings and decor lay in wait some of the most extreme sexual pleasures to be found anywhere in the city.

I’d heard the rumors, experienced a small thrill when I’d been here last week as an outside observer, and now I was poised to experience it for myself.

If I could go through with it.

During the cab ride over, I’d repeatedly reminded myself that I deserved a night of pleasure. A one-night stand if you will, might be just the thing I needed to get my head back into the game of dating. God knows, my libido certainly agreed with that chain of thought. Having gone more than a year and a half without sex did strange things to my mind.

When the concierge disappeared into the walk-in closet, I smoothed down the front of my new dress. I had to admit that I liked the way the luxurious red silk caressed my body in all the right places even if the length stopped shockingly high. What had Zia been thinking when she’d purchased this? Fortunately the black tassel fringe rimming the bottom of the dress gave an illusion of another two inches of coverage to almost mid-thigh. Hopefully that made my not so slender thighs less noticeable.

It wasn’t easy in my line of work to stay on a diet. But I did my best and I got a lot of exercise walking nearly everywhere I went. Not needing a car was one of my favorite things about the city. Walking helped, but it wasn’t some sort of miracle cure. Some bodies just weren’t meant to be stick thin. Some of us were born to be curvy no matter what we did.

“Can I get your name, please?” The concierge had returned to his station behind the desk while I’d been single mindedly focusing on the state of my dress.

“Yes,” I cleared my throat. “Harper Allison.”

“Ah, yes, Ms. Allison. I’ve been expecting you. I have your evening’s itinerary all set, however there are a few electronic forms for you to look over before you can be escorted to the private areas of the club.”

“Great. Can you tell me who I will be meeting?”

The concierge lifted his brow and frowned. “I’m afraid that is not part of the instructions I’ve been given.” He handed me a leather portfolio. “If you’ll read through this and then sign where indicated,