Finding Home: A Club Dark Novel Page 13

  Neither one of them says anything, making me realize I’m just standing here looking at my feet like an idiot. When I look up at them, they’re both staring, making me feel so much more uncomfortable.

  “What?” I ask feeling nervous and ridiculous. “I should change right?” God, I knew this was a bad idea.

  “Oh no, honey, you most definitely should not change,” Claudette says with a gentle smile.

  Emmanuel clears his throat before he finally has something to say. “Girlfriend, you’re a knockout. I doubt there’ll be a single person there who can keep their eyes off you.” I feel my eyes sting as tears spring forth along with a light blush on my cheeks. “Oh no, honey, dry them eyes. We don’t want to smudge your makeup.”

  We hear a soft knock on the door before Al walks in. “Miss Carter, you look positively stunning tonight.” He flashes me a warm smile before continuing, “Mr. Lewis has arrived. You’ll find him outside waiting for you.” He gives a curt nod before turning to leave.

  “Thank you, Al.” Well, here goes nothing.

  Standing at the front door, I take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves before turning the handle and walking out. My breath catches in my throat when I find Cory standing on the front porch. He’s in a tux that looks perfectly tailored to fit him. He’s wearing a white button-down underneath, and his tie appears to match my dress. The fact that he dressed with me in mind makes me fall for him even more.

  He takes a step toward me and my heart stops beating. Will I ever get used to being around him? “You look absolutely beautiful,” he says while grabbing my hand and planting a soft kiss on the back of it. It’s such a simple gesture, but the effect it has on me has my thighs clenching and by the look in his eyes, he knows it. “Everything okay Miss Carter?” he asks with a smug smile on his gorgeous face. Asshole.

  “Just fine. Let’s go.” He chuckles and tugs on my hand, leading me down the stairs to a limo I didn’t even notice until now.

  This is probably the longest limo I’ve ever seen, which makes me wonder why we need such a vehicle for just the two of us.

  The driver is standing at the side of the vehicle as we make our way down. He opens the door for us when we approach. “Mr. Lewis, Miss Carter.” He nods our way.

  “Good evening, George.”

  Cory gestures for me to slide in then takes his place beside me before George closes the door.

  The inside is impressive. Two long, black leather bench seats sit adjacent in the wide space. I’m almost certain the black carpet would feel plush if I were to take my shoes off. I’ve never been surrounded by so much luxury. I feel so out of my element here that I hope I don’t make a fool of myself or embarrass Cory tonight.

  “Relax, Lacey, I can feel the tension radiating off of you.” He reaches over and grabs two champagne flutes, handing them to me. He then reaches for a bottle of champagne and pours us both a glass. “Here, sip on some of this. It will help calm your nerves a bit.”

  Bringing the glass to my lips, I take a small drink before trying to explain to Cory my concerns. “I’m not used to this, Cory. I’m just a small-town girl. I don’t even know how to act, and what if I embarrass you somehow?” I say honestly.

  “Just be yourself and you’ll be just fine, I promise. I’ll be with you the entire night, and there is nothing you could do to embarrass me; you’re perfect.”

  He places a hand on my thigh, doing the exact opposite of calming me down. He gently squeezes, drawing my attention to his—as if he didn’t have it before. His eyes grow dark as he looks into mine, and I know I’m in trouble. Before I can even think of anything to say, he reaches over and takes my glass then sets them both down.

  Wasting no time, he slides his tongue against mine and lifts me onto his lap. My hands fly up to his chest, feeling the hard muscles underneath his shirt. I moan into his mouth as he lets out a low growl, “I want to take you, right here, right now. I want you screaming my name as I pound every inch of my cock into your tight pussy. I want to feel your nails across my back as I bring you pleasure over and over again.”

  I feel myself growing wet just from his words, and I wish now more than ever that I had something under this dress. I’m just about to give into our needs when he suddenly pulls away.

  “Sadly, I can’t do any of that right now,” he says, making me feel just a little rejected. Noticing my mood change, he places a hand on my chin raising my mouth back to his. He plants a single chaste kiss on my lips. “Trust me, Lacey, I’d love more than anything to fuck you right now, but we are minutes from the fundraiser, and while I’m all for a quickie in the backseat, I don’t want to mess up your beautiful hair or ruin this perfect dress.” I feel my cheeks grow warm with his confession, knots forming in my stomach at his sweet words.

  “Sir?” George calls out through some kind of intercom.

  Cory leans over me and presses a button on the wall of the car above my head. “Yes, George?” Cory responds while his hands continue to run up and down my back.

  “We are approaching Octavia.”

  Cory smiles then gentle grabs me by the waist and slides me onto the seat. “Thank you, George.” I look at Cory in question while trying to readjust my dress. “Octavia is a private banquet hall reserved exclusively for fundraiser members to hold events like tonight,” he explains. It’s cool what kind of reach he seems to have. His life could have gone in so many directions and he chose to make the best of it. I envy him and his strength.

  We pull up to a non-discrete building, and I kid you not, there’s a freaking red carpet leading all the way to the door with cameramen lined up along both sides. Clearly, these events are well known.

  “I can’t do this.” What was he thinking? I’m not a part of his world, and I’m certainly not cut out for this kind of attention.

  “It’ll be okay, Lacey. The local newspapers like to cover the events, but they aren’t allowed inside. You don’t even have to talk to them,” he says, attempting to make me feel better. Ugh! This is going to be a nightmare. Where is my champagne? If I’m going to do this, then I need all the courage I can get.

  George walks around and opens Cory’s door, allowing him to step out first. He then reaches inside for my hand. I have a brief moment of hesitation before realizing that I trust him; he won’t let anything happen to me. So with all the strength I have, I put on my best smile, grab his hand, and step out of the limo.

  The moment my feet hit the ground, I’m blinded by all the flashing lights as every photographer there decides it’s the perfect time to start taking pictures. Then all at once the chatter starts.

  “Who is that?”

  “Look at her gown.”

  “That’s not the same girl he was with last year,” says one camera man. Does he make it a habit of inviting all his woman to these events?

  “Mr. Lewis, who’s the girl with you tonight?” This coming from a middle-aged man standing right beside the doors.

  “This is my girlfriend, Lacey,” Cory says, surprising me. Girlfriend?

  “Why now? You’ve never gone public about a girlfriend before, why is she so special?” another guy asks. Embarrassment settles over me; I’ve been asking myself that same question lately. But Cory just walks past him, not answering his question. But now I need to know myself.

  “Why am I so special?” I ask once we’re through the doors. We are in a hall with another set of doors at the end when Cory suddenly stops, pulling me to a stop with him. Thankfully, the hall is empty.

  “Why not?” he asks, “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. When everything around you has threatened to knock you down, you’re still standing. You’re more than special, Lacey,” he confesses, my heart melting more for him. “Are you ready?”

  No!! I’m really not. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, knowing he can see right through me. He laces our fingers together before leading us through the door.

  Chapter 13

  All eyes turn in our direction as we walk th
rough the door. It’s standing room only with at least five hundred people walking around. Most of the men and women appear to be sipping on wine or scotch as they socialize with the people near them.

  I look around trying to get a feel for my surroundings. Soft white cloth drapes from the ceiling in intervals, creating a tranquil atmosphere. There’s a stage on the other side of the room where a plump, older man is setting up a few microphones. Cory grabs my hand, walking me through the center of the room. I can hear the whispers as we walk by, no doubt mirroring the ones from the photographers on the way in. I do the best I can to ignore them, knowing full well that I’m out of place here.

  “I just have to make a quick speech, talk with a few people, then we can head out,” he assures me.

  “I don’t want you to cut this short because of me, I’m a big girl, I can handle it,” I say with a smile, this time, trying my best to reassure him. He plants a kiss on my cheek before taking the stage. The whole room goes quiet as every person turns toward the stage to hear what he has to say.

  “Welcome, and thank you for being here for yet another year. As most of you may know, these fundraisers were started to raise awareness for a condition that is near and dear to my heart. Each year, more than twelve thousand new cases of some type of spinal injury are presented and more than half of the patients can’t afford treatment, or they can’t afford all of it causing them to miss some of the more important treatments. Either way, what we do here helps those who can’t help themselves. Last year, we raised more than twenty-three million dollars to support our local charities that help patients with spinal impairments. Please know that your donations and contributions go to the patients and their family so that they can get the care they deserve,” with that, the entire room explodes with an applause, and I’m amazed at what this group of people have accomplished. “Let’s make this year better than the last. Our goal is to try and double our donations from last year, so get your checkbooks out and let’s see what we can do to help these patients lead a better life.”

  He walks off the stage and straight toward me. “That was brilliant! Twenty-three million? Just, wow!” I have no words for this man right now.

  He grabs me around the waist, his hand sliding further down as he gives me a playful squeeze. And then he surprises me with another one of his growls, “Are you naked under here?” Could he be any louder?

  “Shh, Cory. Emmanuel insisted they wouldn’t go with this dress, so no, nothing's underneath.” I love having the power to tease him, it’s exhilarating.

  “You may want to be careful tonight, Lacey, or you may find yourself fucked up against one of the walls, observers be damned.” The promise in his eyes almost has me throwing caution to the wind and calling him out on his threat... almost.

  Moments later I hear a squeal coming from behind me. “Oh my God, Lacey, you’re here? I’m so glad you decided to come.” It’s Amber, and suddenly, I’m not so anxious, having someone I’m starting to care for— well other than Cory, actually here.

  “Amber, what are you doing here?” I say pulling her in for a quick hug.

  “I’m at every event. Most of Cory’s partners are here, so it helps having live staff around in case they have any inquiries that Cory’s not around to answer.” Oh, that’s good to know. Amber looks gorgeous as usual.

  “So who’s running the club if you all are here?” I ask.

  “My backup is there and more than half of the security team. Cory usually only brings Alex along to these things, but you know, things have tightened up a bit,” she answers. “But I better get back and make sure everyone is taken care of. Hope to see you soon, love.” She places a kiss on my cheek.

  I turn to Cory and say, “I hope you aren’t still being hard on her. You do know it wasn’t her fault right?”

  He looks angry for a brief moment before his features smooth over. “I’ve actually been thinking about promoting her for a while. I know it wasn’t her fault. I’ve just been too busy to talk to her about it.” This man just keeps getting more amazing.

  Everything seems to be going great. We’ve walked around and made small talk with different groups of people, all of whom Cory seems to know. I don’t feel as out of place anymore, and Cory has been by my side this whole time, just like he said he would be. He’s introduced me to a lot of his partners but he also says many aren’t here. He says they like to operate in the shadows and stay anonymous, and he respects their privacy which I admire.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, my intuition kicks in. I feel that something is off, I just don’t know what it is. I’ve never really felt intuitive before, but it’s almost like having a sixth sense. Almost like how I felt when I thought I was being watched when Amber and I went to lunch, only more intense. I just keep having this feeling of impending doom. Like something big is coming and I can’t do anything to stop it. There're brief moments that make me feel like I’m going crazy— like now when I can almost feel someone watching me again. It’s like every cell in my body awakens, warning me that I’m not in a good place. My skin is crawling, making me feel like I need out of this room and fast. I place my hand on Cory’s shoulder, hating that I have to interrupt him.

  “Something doesn’t feel right,” I whisper into his ear. Although I feel like I’m going crazy, I don’t want everyone else to know that. He excuses himself and walks me to a quiet hallway, where my feeling of dread only intensifies.

  “Is everything okay?” he asks, concerned.

  “No! I feel like I’m being watched,” I speak honestly.

  “That’s because you are being watched, sweetheart. My security team is placed throughout the entire building and they’re under strict orders to keep their eyes on you and anyone surrounding you.” While this is very reassuring, that’s not what I’m sensing.

  “No, everything has been fine until now. Just being in this hallway has my stomach churning. This feels wrong, Cory.” There is panic in my voice, and I’m trying really hard not to freak out.

  “Okay, okay. Calm down.” He’s rubbing my arm in a soothing gesture. “I’ll have my men check everything out, but I see no reason why we need to stay any longer. If you would like, we can get out of here.” I feel terrible making him choose between me and this event. I know how important this cause is to him. But I can’t say that I don’t fall even more in love with him for taking me seriously.

  “I’d love to, but I don’t want to pull you away. This is your event.” I’ve really seen him in his element here. It was nice seeing him around his own people and doing what he’s good at; people really respond to him.

  “It’s okay, Lacey, they will understand, and I don’t usually stick around for long at these things. I’ve never really had a reason to socialize before.” You would’ve never been able to tell; he fits in so well. “Let’s go,” he says, taking my hand and leading me toward the exit.

  We spot Alex by the door and Cory walks toward him. “Get your men on a security sweep of the entire perimeter. I need all names checked out and report back to me if anyone is here that doesn’t belong,” Cory orders in a strict tone causing Alex to become even more alert.

  “Yes, sir. Is everything okay? Do I need to get someone to escort you home?” Alex has his full focus on us, waiting to see what Cory will decide.

  “That won’t be necessary, but I expect a full report within the hour.” Cory is firm on this and I really hope we get some answers, at least maybe then I can stop feeling so paranoid.

  “On it, sir,” Alex says and starts speaking into an earpiece I didn’t even see.

  “And Alex?” Cory says as we’re heading out the door, “Thank you!” He grabs my hand and leads us out the door. By the look on Alex’s face, he’s not used to the gratitude. Maybe I can fix a few things in that department. Seems like Cory’s staff goes above and beyond for him, and they deserve the acknowledgment for it. But that’s a conversation for another day.

  Right now, we really need to discuss what was going on back th
ere. I know the feelings I’ve been getting aren’t for nothing, and Cory and I really need to get to the bottom of it, as I’m sure everything is related. It has to be, but my question is why? I wait until we’re back in the limo before I voice my thoughts.

  “Have you or your team made any progress on what happened that night? It’s still so confusing how someone could slip something in my drink when I was practically with it the whole night, unless it was one of the very few times my attention was diverted to other things…but that didn’t happen but maybe once or twice.”

  I feel like I’m rambling. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m still freaked out about what happened, or if it’s from subtly admitting that I was distracted by him that night.

  “Honestly Lacey, that’s really all it takes for someone to sneak up, roofie your drink, and clear out of the way. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Just be glad we were there for you.” Wrapping me up in his, arm he scoots me closer to him and kisses my forehead.

  “I know I owe y’all everything and can never repay you for saving me.” I cuddle deeper into him, needing to feel safe especially while we’re discussing that night.

  “I will tell you this much, we’ve made a crack in the case that may just lead us to who’s doing this. I won’t say just yet, but he’s done some questionable things recently and we are investigating it.”

  I’m relieved that they at least have some kind of suspect and hopefully soon we’ll have some answers.

  “You should know that you are being investigated as well. I didn’t want it to come as a surprise when you found out.”

  I’m being investigated, but why? “Why am I being investigated, Cory?” I ask, a bit shocked. I don’t have anything to hide, but I haven’t done anything wrong to warrant an investigation.

  “It was unavoidable. We had to look into you as we look into those associated with you. Please know that your privacy was and is being taken very seriously.”

  I sit quietly for a few moments, still wrapped up in Cory’s arms, trying to think everything over. “So tell me about the questionable activity and what lead y’all to it,” I say.