The nerves were quickly leaving my stomach, and I was beginning to feel a surge of confidence like I had never felt before in my life. I held my clutch in front of me the same way I saw the other women carrying theirs, and I walked with soft deliberation toward the door.I could feel heads turn as I walked past, but I didn't have the guts to make eyecontact with any of them. Men and women alike took notice of me, and therewas a part of me that wanted to blurt out my mistake and turn around to go home. Once at the door, I was surprised to be stopped by a man standing with arms crossed—a bouncer, I guessed. He wore sunglasses in spite of it being night-time, as well as a headset. He was tall and muscular, with a no-nonsense lookabout him. The bouncer held his hand up, motioning for me to stop, and I flung my hairover my shoulder, doing my best impression of a movie star. I then noticed a second doorman on the other side, dressed completely identi cally to the first man. They both
EMILYIwasn't sure what was going to happen next, nor how to respond. I had to keep reminding myself that I was supposed to be my sister, and that I should do what she would do but in the moment, I wasn't certain what that was. Maddy had always been calm and collected, and I could only imagine that she would be in this situation, as well.But then again, Maddy would know what was going on here.The man led me through a side door and into a narrow hall where we were met by a woman."You're late!" she hissed into my ear as the man transferred me to her."I'm sorry. I was having dinner...with my sister," I explained. The woman gave me a look that made me feel as though I had just said the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, then she turned and pushed me into what appeared to be a dressing room. I wasn't sure what she wanted me to do, but I didn't have to wait long. Within seconds, two more women had appearedand were stripping me of my cocktail dress.My first instinct was to tell
KYLEIdon't know what came over me when I walked into the club. I'd been there a hundred times before, and this time wasn't any different...or so I thought. The Gathering was nothing new to me I would walk in, look over my options, and make my selection.I knew I had more money than the richest man in the room; I knew all the men wished they were me, and that all the women wished they were with me. Kyle Cunningham was a name that circulated around the club often. The atten- dees knew that I was a no-nonsense kind of man, and when I wanted some thing, I was not afraid to get out there and take it.I sauntered through the room, making eye contact with everyone I passed but not bothering to hold their gazes for long. I had more important matters that needed my attention, and I was going to address those before anything else. Cora, the stage manager, was making her normal announcement, filling thetime before the first of the lots would appear. I was used to this speech; it wasthe same t
EMILY"Please, call me Kyle."The man they'd introduced as Mr. Cunningham sat at the bar next to me, sip- ping on his whiskey and smiling at me as though I were the only girl in the room. Every now and then, he would turn his attention to the other guests, but I never felt like he was focusing on anything but our conversation."But that really is enough about me. I'd love to hear about you; I don't recall see-ing you here—or in any other club around here for that matter," he said, look-ing down at me as he lifted his glass to his lips and took a drink.I immediately felt flustered and began stumbling over my words. I had kept upmy sister's identity throughout the entire evening, but now that I was with aman who not only found me attractive, but didn't recognize me as my sister, I felt I had the opportunity to drop the act and tell him the truth."My name is Emily Shadows. I'm a model." So much for telling him the truth.Kyle looked at me for a moment with raised eyebrows, as thoug
KYLEIkept my palm on the small of Emily's back as we headed for the staircase, fresh drinks in hand. There were a few men and women scattered along the way- some engrossed in conversation, some busy watching the events on the dance floor.As for me, I had come to the conclusion that if you've seen the dance floor once, you've seen it a thousand times, and I felt I wasn't missing out on anything tak- ing her away from itI knew this was her first time at the Gathering, but Emily seemed to be enjoyingherself, in spite of the nerves she must be feeling. I had to hand it to her, shedid manage to fit in with the rest of the guests, though it was evident she hadn't done anything of this sort before. I could feel a slight tremble in each step she took as we mounted the stairs, and I added gentle pressure to my palm on her back. There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to be fun in bed, but Ididn't want her to feel nervous taking this next step in her night. She was sobeautiful,
EMILYIwalked quickly and silently next to Kyle as we made our way through the hall. I wasn't sure how he knew the rooms in the house, but I trusted he knew what he was doing, and he wasn't going to take me anywhere I wouldn't feel safe. The rooms were all dark, with some dim lights lining the hallway.It was clear that, though there were many people in the room behind us, it wasn't entirely encouraged for people to be in these back rooms. I didn't even know for sure who owned the house, nor what their connection was to my sis- ter. For a moment, I hoped I wasn't doing anything that was going to get her in trouble. The feeling was a brief one, however, as Kyle kept his hand on my back, guiding me past room after room.The sounds that came from inside several dark corners revealed that we weren't the only two people to have this idea, but it was clear that Kyle didn't have any intention of exploring my body in the shadows of a doorway like some high- schooler. He wanted to take me some
KYLEIhad to admit, I wasn't entirely sure what had come over me. I'd had many one- night stands in my life. In fact, it was my preferred way of doing things— get the girl in bed, have fun, then get away from her as fast as possible. Miss Shadows, on the other hand, had piqued my interest.I hadn't had any real expectations when I'd taken her up to the party upstairs, but seeing her reaction first to those who were enjoying each other, then seeing her in bed with me, sparked an interest in me that I had never experienced be- fore. I had no intention of committing to her or making any kind of promises that I would ever see her again, but I did wish to get to know her body a littlebetter and that wouldn't be possible if we stayed at the Gathering. There was a little voice inside my head that warned me to be careful taking any woman home, especially one like Emily. Not only did I feel a connection to her, but I could sense that she was feeling a connection to me.It had become easy for
EMILYlopened my eyes, slowly blinking as I looked around the room. I had a headache from the champagne the night before, and it took me a moment to remember where I was exactly. Slowly, the events of the previous day came to mind, and I began to piece together what today would hold.I remembered having the disagreement with my sister, and began searching for my phone. I then remembered that I had dropped my clutch out in the living room, and figured my phone must be inside. Looking around the room, I could see that Kyle was already gone, having gotten dressed while I was still asleep.I hurried out to the living room in nothing but my underwear and, sure enough, found my phone inside my clutch. Kyle had been kind enough to pick it up off the floor and leave it sitting on the coffee table for me, and I ignored the feeling of embarrassment that threatened to swell up in me.I was a grown woman, and I was allowed to do anything I wanted-includinghaving a one-night stand with a person t