Page 53 of Torn In Two

Kara pushed him out the door. “Go. We’ll be fine. See you this afternoon.”

I reached around her to lock the door.

She smiled up at me. “I hope this is okay? Just dropping in like this.”

I grinned at her. “Are you kidding? You saved me from chopping onions. Plus, I want you to see this place.”

Despite the fact I’d had myself convinced just minutes earlier that I was ruining the entire thing, the idea of showing Kara around filled me with pride. I hadn’t seen Luca since he’d shown up at my apartment, and other than some texts with plans for opening night, he’d left me to run the place by myself. It was easy to forget he had anything to do with it, and I could pretend it was all mine.

That probably wasn’t helping with the pressure, but it did alleviate the guilt sitting heavy on my heart because I’d gotten back into bed with the devil.

Fuck him. I wasn’t going to let him ruin this for me. I wasn’t going to let my own messed-up head and self-doubt ruin it either.

“You want the grand tour?” I went to the bar and washed my hands in the sink and pulled off my apron.

She followed me, eyes all big for what we’d created inside four walls. “It’s amazing. Everything here is so beautiful.”

Sinners had almost been fully transformed from a worksite to the upmarket restaurant of my dreams. It was dark and moody, deeply sexy from the dark wood floors, black walls, and red barstools. Black tablecloths covered small, intimate tables.

This wasn’t the sort of place you came with a group of friends, celebrating birthdays. Or with your parents when they were in from out of town. This was the sort of restaurant you came to with someone you wanted to get naked with.

We’d provided a place for that just feet away, in the back where my very own little den of iniquity had been erected.

No pun intended.

I pointed around the space. “The maître d’ will be positioned just over there by the door, and he’ll escort couples to their tables. We’ve hired a bartender to make signature cocktails and to serve champagne and top-shelf liquor.”

She studied some of the bottles on the shelves, ready for drinks to be poured from. “These all look very expensive.”

“They are. You want one?”

She squinted at me. “It’s not even lunchtime.”

“Fair point.” I grinned at her. “Come see the rest of the place.”

I threaded my fingers through hers, the desire to touch her too strong to be ignored. She followed me through swinging doors that separated the eating area from the kitchen. I bypassed it, embarrassed of the mess I’d made. “Kitchen,” I said with a jerk of my head, quickly towing her past.

She dragged on my hand. “Wait, I want to see it.”

“Let me show you what’s through here first.” I pushed through a second set of doors. This set heavier and more elaborate than the first. They were heavy wood, with “Sinners Welcome” carved out of the middle.

Kara frowned at it as I led her through into the darkness beyond. I fumbled on the wall for the light switch, finding it and being careful to only switch on the low lights. The ones we’d use when the club was in session, rather than the bright fluorescent overhead lights that would come on when it was time to leave and for the cleaners to come in.

Kara frowned, taking it all in. Her brow furrowed. “What is this?”

The space had been one big room when Luca bought it. But now walls had gone up everywhere, turning the space into a maze of sorts, with dozens of alcoves for people to indulge in all sorts of different sexual kinks.

“Sex club,” I filled her in. “Hawk didn’t tell you?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You mean…a club where people…”

She was so cute when she blushed.

“Have sex?” I leaned on a wall. “Yeah. Have your dinner out in front. Dessert out in back.” I cocked my head, studying her. “You ever been to one before?”

Her head snapped around so she could transfer her wide-eyed stare to me. “Of course not! Why would you think that?”

I shrugged. “Bliss owns one, you know? Psychos. Not a huge jump to think you might have checked it out. Especially since…”

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