Wild (The Ivy Chronicles #3)(54)

“Annnnnie, looking hot!” The guy who opened the door for us was familiar from the last kink club. His hair was shaved on one side and the other side of his scalp sported long, slicked-back hair. He wore glossy pink lip gloss a shade close to my own.

He pressed a quick kiss to each of our cheeks. “Well, bitches. What do you think?” He motioned widely to the foyer with beringed fingers.

“Beautiful,” I murmured, looking up at the domed ceiling in awe.

“Yeah, I thought you were bullshitting about hosting this month in a twelve-bedroom mansion, but I stand corrected, Andy.”

“I always deliver. No more orgies in a room the size of my closet.” He linked his arms with ours and led us through the grand foyer, our heels clicking over the tiles.

I admired the expensive art hanging on the walls. Classical music piped in from hidden speakers somewhere. We passed a table holding a ginormous vase of fresh-cut flowers. “Andy, is this your place?” I asked.

He smiled elusively as we entered the living room. “It belongs to a friend. I have connections.” He plucked up two wineglasses and thrust them at us.

I nodded my thanks and scanned the small crowd occupying the large space. No loud music or kegs of beers. No cheering as people made out on top of a pool table. It was dignified. A dozen people mingled throughout the room, drinking from wineglasses.

Annie spotted her guy almost immediately. She winked at me. “I’m going in.”

Suddenly alone, I stood near the grand piano, fingers playing with the stem of my wineglass and trying not to feel uncomfortable. Tonight was about freedom. Doing what I wanted without fear of failing to meet the expectations that had been drilled into me since birth.

Even though it was summer, a fire crackled in the fireplace. I’m sure Andy thought it added to the ambience, and I had to admit it did cast enticing light and shadows throughout the room.

Within a few moments, Annie and her guy slipped upstairs, presumably heading to one of the many rooms available. And they weren’t the only ones slipping away. A few minutes passed and Andy gave up on his hosting duties, exiting the room with another couple.

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Lance.” I turned to face the guy who stopped before me. A girl stood beside him. “This is my girlfriend, Opal.”

We shook hands. “Hi, I’m Georgia.”

They were an attractive couple. Maybe a few years older than me. Grad students probably.

“Are you new?” Opal asked. “We haven’t seen you before.”

“I’ve been once. Briefly.”

“Ah.” Lance nodded. “Decided to try it again then. Well, the summer meetings are the best. Less intimidating for a newcomer, right Opal?”

She nodded, her dark corkscrew curls bouncing around her shoulders. “Yes, far more intimate. It’s more conducive to making an actual connection.” I almost smiled. She made it sound like online dating. This was a bit of a stretch from that. “The rest of the time, it’s just one giant meat market.”

“It was a little overwhelming the last time,” I agreed.

“Are you interested in going upstairs with us, Georgia?” Lance asked, his gaze cutting into mine directly. His hand lightly touched my arm. He was all politeness, but what he was asking was clear. Would I join them? In a bedroom?! Just the three of us.

I swallowed and stammered. “I-I appreciate the offer, but no, thank you.”

Opal nodded. “Interested in something else, huh? Maybe we can help you find it.”

I must have looked panicked at their invitation for her to take pity on me and make such an offer. I was looking for something else, I realized. Someone else. Someone else was the reason I had come here. I had been pretending otherwise.

I opened my mouth, but then closed it with a snap when Rachel and Logan walked in the room.

My gaze locked on him. He wasn’t dressed up like everyone else. He was wearing jeans and a cotton T-shirt that looked soft and touch-worthy, falling flat against the cut of his pecs and abdomen. My palms tingled, ready to feel all the hard valleys and angles of his body.

“Ahh.” Opal nodded, following my gaze. “You’re here for Logan.”

I shook my head in denial, even though I kept my gaze trained on Logan. I was locked on him like he was some kind of homing device.

Opal waved him over. “Logan!”

“Oh, no . . . Don’t!” My face burned as his gaze lifted and found me. He took me in with a sweep of blistering blue, and I suddenly felt self-conscious standing there in my tight dress. Like a little girl playing dress-up.

He and Rachel strolled toward us. I risked a glance at Rachel, and her eyes flashed at me with some of the aversion that I recognized from our last conversation at the ballpark.

“Fancy seeing you here, Georgia,” Rachel said, looking back and forth between Logan and me. Clearly, she was waiting to see his reaction. So was I.

I took a slow sip of my wine.

Lance and Opal looked from Logan to me and then to each other. The tension was palpable, thick and choking. Lance shifted on his feet.

Opal downed her glass of wine. “I’m going to get a refill.”

Lance nodded eagerly and placed his hand at the small of her back. They walked away, leaving the three of us standing there. I struggled to hold Logan’s gaze, waiting for him to say something.