The Hunt for Summer (NSC Industries) (5 page)

Lucas spluttered out
his wine and frantically dabbed at his shirt with his napkin in an attempt to
soak up the spill before it stained.

I narrowed my eyes
on Mason, who just shrugged and looked amused as the waiter placed our food in
front of us.

“Yum,” I smiled, “I
haven’t had the monkfish here for years.”

Mason grinned
wickedly and I widened my eyes at him and shook my head faintly when I knew
what was coming, but it flowed fluently from his mouth and I cringed. “Yeah
Lay, I seem to remember I enjoyed you having the monkfish as well, you devoured
it… and then devoured me under the table.”

Lucas spluttered
again and I glowered at Mason. “Will you stop!” I warned him.

He just chuckled and
turned to Lucas “Ready for business?”

Lucas stared at him
in astonishment and I nudged him, “Ignore him Mr Hunt, he’s winding you up” I
lied.

He tipped his head
at me. “I suppose this was from your ‘fucking men for money’ days?” he barked
out.

“What the Fuck!”
Mason growled as I shot out of my chair and held Mason back.

“It’s okay Mase, my
fault. He asked what I did before dancing and I kinda told him I fucked men for
money.”

Mason glared at me
and frowned “What the hell did you tell him that for?”

I shrugged. “He was
getting too personal” I whispered in his ear.

“You were joking?”
Lucas asked and I rolled my eyes.

“Of course I was
bloody joking!”

He seemed to relax
and then smile, before a huge grin erupted on his face. Wow, he was really
stunning when he actually smiled and I bit my lip against the small flutter in
my stomach.

The twinkle in his
eyes came back and he seemed happier as he tucked into his lunch.

We all ate our lunch
whilst Lucas and Mason discussed some new club venture Mason was developing and
he required Lucas to set up the technology side of the business.

As we stood to leave
I placed my hand on Mason’s forearm and halted him before I turned to Lucas. “I
just need a quick word with Mason.”

Lucas sighed heavily
but nodded. “I’ll wait in the car” he said bluntly and stalked away.

Mason gave me a
curious glance. “You fucking him, Lay?” he asked with a concerned expression
and I calmed his nerves immediately, “No.”

He nodded in
acceptance and I swallowed before I looked up at him. His face became serious
as he sensed my anguish.

He tucked a stray
hair behind my ear in a comforting gesture “Lay?”

I bit my lower lip
as my thumb drummed against my index finger. “I think he’s here, Mase” I said
quietly.

Mason’s eyebrows
lifted high on his brow and he inhaled deeply “You want me to check it out?”

I nodded and
grimaced “Yeah.”

He nodded again and
leant in to kiss my cheek, “No problem, babe” he smiled gently and led me out
to Lucas’s car.

“I’ll sort out with
Ava for a COD night little Willow” Mason grinned and I chuckled. He knew I was
the only person on the planet that could slaughter Ava at the Xbox game and he
loved to watch her get crushed underneath me.

“Only if Greg’s not
playing” I winked as I climbed in the car beside Lucas.

“Fuck no, he’s
banned. My walls can’t take any more of his hissy fits” he scoffed as he raised
his hand to Lucas and strolled off towards his car.

Lucas was mostly
quiet for the ride back and I sensed his question before it came. “So you had a
thing with Mason?”

I just nodded in
confirmation and pulled my trilling phone from my bag. I frowned at the name
displayed on the screen, “William?”

“Hey, Willow. Sorry
for ringing in your personal time but I’ve had a bloke digging about you and I
wanna give you a heads up.”

My skin immediately
became clammy and cold and I hissed through my teeth. “What did he look like?”

“Handsome fucker.
Tall, black hair…”

“Fuck!” I
interrupted him.

“You okay?” he asked
hesitantly.

“Did you tell him I
worked there?” I asked apprehensively.

Fuck!! Why now?
After six years of nothing, of thinking I was okay, he turned up out of the
blue.

“No, told him I
didn’t know any blonde dancers. Didn’t like the vibe he gave off Willow”
William admitted, “Is there something going on?”

“Someone from… before.”

“Shit, Willow. Is it
him?”

I nodded, even
though I knew he couldn’t see me and then mumbled a “Yeah.”

“Okay, sweetheart,
I’ll step up security and get Trevor onto it.” William said with sincerity.

“Has anybody ever
told you you’re the best boss ever?” I told him.

He chuckled, “Loads
of times. You told Mason?”

“Yeah, he’s onto
it.”

There was a slight
silence and I knew William was nodding. “I’ll see you tonight Willow” he added
before ending the call.

I knew it had been
him I had seen last night.

Fuck, this was bad.
This was really bad and I bit my lip savagely as his face materialized in my
head and I sighed loudly.

How the hell had he
found me?

“Everything okay,
Red?” Lucas broke through my thoughts and I had forgotten he was even there.

I plastered a smile
on my face and nodded reassuringly “Sure.”

He frowned and I
jolted as his finger slid down my forearm “You don’t seem so sure, Red.”

I shivered against
his touch; a warm sensation pulsed in my vagina as my nipples hardened and
strained against my dress.

What the hell, Lay?

I cleared my throat
and gave him a nonchalant look. “Positive.”

How good you had
become at lying in the last six years, Lay!

Chapter 6

Lucas

I slung my keys on
the entrance hall table and practically threw my briefcase at the wall with a
loud growl.

Fuck that crazy,
feisty, beautiful, sexy, hot little redhead.

She had my head all
over the fucking place and I didn’t like how it felt. I had never felt this
kind of… emotion and it was fucking with my senses.

Women were women,
existing for fucking and controlling, for killing a throb but this hot little
number had me wanting more than just a quick dip.

I wanted to explore
every inch of her delicious silky skin. I needed to feel the softness of her
flesh under my mouth as I worshipped every single part of her. I wanted to
sculpt her under my hands, ply her with gratification and watch her face as I made
her come.

But I didn’t want to
just make her come, I wanted to fucking command her to come like she never had
before, I wanted to give her so much pleasure she screamed out random things
and passed out in ecstasy .

This was merciless
Lucas and I knew the hunger wouldn’t bate until I had devoured her.

My phone alerted me
to a text and it was Brad reminding me about meeting tonight.

Could I be arsed? I
suppose I could give Tilly a hard shag, she always took it rough and I was in
the mood for rough.

Pouring a whisky I
replied and told him I’d meet him there as I started the shower running and
wandered back into the kitchen.

My phone beeped
again and I frowned as it displayed an unknown number. I opened the text and my
brows hit my hairline.

Unknown:

You need to know
exactly what your new temp is capable of Mr Hunt.

I’ll be in touch
soon.

What the fuck?

I stared at my phone
as though it would suddenly tell me who had sent the text or give me an
explanation of what the unknown meant.

‘Need to know
what your temp is capable of’
?

Was she some sort of
serial killer? An axe murderer? Had she been lying when she said she had been
joking about shagging for cash?

Red seemed innocent
and sweet, even if she was an erotic dancer and none of it made sense.

Her huge blue eyes
held many secrets yes, but I didn’t think it would be anything worth worrying
about.

Maybe an old
boyfriend hurt her, maybe her Dad was a member of the mafia, or maybe it was
that she had once been locked up for shoplifting or drunk and disorderly.

Fuck it. I deleted
the text, choosing to ignore it and downed the last of my whisky before taking
a deep breath and telling myself to forget all about Layla Summers.

***

As I walked into the
club, my eyes immediately scanned the various poles looking for Red. She was
over in the far corner and my cock throbbed almost painfully as I watched her.

She was kitted out
in a near see-through white lace romper, long white gloves that reached up past
her cute little elbows and then on her legs were a wicked pair of thigh high
leather red boots with colossal silver heels.

She looked like an
angel with a devilish kink.

She pulled some near
dangerous poses on the pole as a group of drunken louts established their
selves on the table in front of her.

That was the trouble
with Monday’s at the club, it was non-members night and all the local students
and bully boys crowded the place.

I kept my eyes
trained on them as Brad approached the side of me.

“You still hungering
after the little redhead?” he asked as he delivered his drink order to Owen.

I shook my head as I
turned towards him “Turns out Red is my new temp.”

Brad’s eyes widened
“Shame.”

Brad knew I didn’t
shag my employees so he understood my disappointment.

“We’ll find someone to
work her out of your system tonight,” he said as his eyes scanned the
entertainers on offer tonight “Tilly or Ursula? Both?”

I inhaled deeply and
shrugged. Truth be told, I didn’t want either and my eyes swung back to Red as
one of the lads stood and approached her, whispering something in her ear.

She shook her head
and gave him an apologetic smile and I noticed his shoulders tense and his lips
purse in irritation as he took hold of her wrist harshly.

One of the bulky
security guys was by her side within seconds and I relaxed when I knew she was
safe, even though I still wanted to kick the little scrote in the balls.

Turning back to Brad
I pursed my lips at his question “I’ll just grab a drink I think, not really in
the mood tonight. You go ahead without me.”

He frowned at me as
he took a mouthful of his beer “Fuck Luc, you’ve got it bad mate.”

He downed his pint
in one and wandered off towards Tilly who stood immediately as he approached
her and they both disappeared up the stairs towards the communal room.

I flicked my eyes
back over to Red but she had disappeared and the group of louts had moved on to
the next table to watch Misty, so I twisted back to Owen and ordered another
beer.

I smelt her unique fruity
scent before I saw her and I rolled my head towards the distinct fragrance.

She was leaning over
the bar talking quietly to Owen and the exquisite contours of her arse drew my
eyes. God, she had one amazing backside, and I had the sudden urge to slide my
hand over it before bringing it down hard and marking that flawless skin I knew
she had.

“Drink, Red?” I asked
her.

Her eyes widened as
she turned towards my voice. Had she not even realised I was stood here? How
shit was that realisation?

I always noticed
her, every single time I came to the Panther, every single minute I was here.

She gave me a
confused expression and I managed to bite back my annoyance and gave her a soft
smile.

Her eyes widened
even further as she took in my grin.