Sinful Rapture (The Rapture #2)(3)

Hmm. Holly didn’t trust that smile. The last time she’d seen it Sasha had been trying to convince her she needed a tattoo.

“What are you talking about?”

“A walk on the wild side.” The smile widened. “It’s Ladies’ Night at the club.”

“No.” Holly held up a hand. “No way am I going to the Playhouse.”

Sasha arched her brows. “You’d rather stay home and wallow in a pity party?”

“I don’t wallow.”

“Holly, come on,” Sasha pleaded.

Holly shook her head. “I’m just not interested in…”

Her words trailed away.

Actually, she wasn’t entirely sure what went on at the elegant club. Oh, she knew there was a variety of entertainment.

Strippers, both male and female. Spectator sports. BDSM dungeons. And private rooms upstairs that catered to every taste imaginable.

But she’d never visited the club. She was Vigo’s bastard daughter by a showgirl. She had to be twice as careful with her reputation as most businesswomen.

“Not interested in what?” Sasha prompted. “Drinking and dancing with your besties? Hot men taking off their clothes? The opportunity to celebrate being young and beautiful and gloriously free of the douchebag?”

Holly hesitated.

She’d done everything expected of her.

Everything.

And what had it gotten her?

Vigo had sold the business and made her life a hell. Ted had jilted her at the altar. And her so-called society friends had walked away without a second glance.

Did she really want to be the good girl and go home to nurse her wounds in private?

“You’re right,” she abruptly decided, feeling an unexpected rush of excitement. With a deliberate motion she slid off the two carat diamond solitaire and tossed it toward Maddy. Her sister-in-law ran an after-school program for disadvantaged kids. Hocking the ring should give her enough to pay for the healthy snacks they always tried to send home with the children. At least for the next year. “Tonight I just want to forget.”

Sasha gave her a quick hug before turning toward Maddy. “Are you in?”

“Tempting, but I think I’d better keep an eye on Luc,” Maddy said, slipping the ring into her purse without comment.

“Why?” Holly was instantly concerned. “Is he sick?”

“No, homicidal,” Maddy confessed. “If he gets his hands on your ex-fiancé I’m afraid he’ll beat him to a bloody pulp. I intend to take him home and keep him distracted.”

Oh. Holly grimaced. Luc had never liked Ted. Now she didn’t doubt he was prepared to do some painful damage.

“Good plan,” she teased.

Maddy kissed her cheek. “Enjoy your night. The bastard isn’t worth your tears.

“Damn straight.” Sasha took her arm and tugged her toward the edge of the grotto.

“Let’s go, chica.”

***

Liam Conner passed through the scrolled iron gates and entered the three-story mansion that consumed the entire block.

Made of shiny metal with lots of glass and sharp angles, it looked like an expensive home created by a modern architect, not the most exclusive sex club in Vegas.

Bypassing the line of hopefuls waiting to gain entry, Liam boldly stepped past the security guards who were attired in Armani tuxes in celebration of Ladies’ Night and entered the shallow foyer.

Men in his position didn’t ask to be let in.

They demanded entry.

A huge change from his childhood.

Just ten years ago he’d arrived in Vegas from Dublin with nothing but the shirt on his back.

He’d been the youngest of ten children born to Patrick and Alice Conner. He dearly loved his family, but he’d known he was never going to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a construction worker. And since there would never be money for a proper education, he’d taken matters into his own hands.

Starting off as an amateur, then a professional gambler, he’d accumulated enough money to start an Irish-style pub just a few blocks off the Strip. And then another. And another.

Then six months ago he’d fulfilled the first part of the dream that had brought him to Vegas.

He was now the proud owner of the Angeli Casinos.

Tonight he intended to fulfill the second dream. The one that had started a year ago.

A hard smile curved his lips, making the hostess stumble in astonishment.

He barely noticed her dazed expression or low sigh of appreciation as she tried to show off her curves revealed by her black leather corset and matching thong.

He was too accustomed to females gawking at his sculpted male features and the thick satin of his russet hair that he kept cut short.

There was only one woman who he wanted to attract.

And tonight he wasn’t leaving without her.

Entering the main room of the club, Liam came to a halt.

Astonishingly sophisticated, the glass and metal room was an elegant canvas that could be altered by the high-tech laser lightshow. Even the furnishings and expensive artwork were easily portable so they could be switched out, depending on the flavor of the night.

Casting an impatient glance over the crowd of females who were seated at the round tables that framed the small stage, he quickly turned his attention toward the long bar that ran the length of one wall.