Page 15 of Forbidden Flames

“Gerald Albright the Third,” Tony replied, clicking again and the member’s image popped up on the screen.

Hendrix couldn’t hide his surprise. “Albright?” he repeated, looping his thumb through his belt as he stared at the image on the screen. “Really?”

“Yes, sir,” Tony replied, then clicked again. They all watched as Gerald Albright climbed through the window, going headfirst on to the floor before he hauled his legs through. They chuckled as they watched the comical video. Each of the cameras on the third floor showed him nearly dancing down the hallway, then he was caught on the second floor.

Hendrix’s amusement vanished when the ass ignored every door on the administrative floor until he came to Emily’s office. With one touch, he jerked his hand back. Then he must have heard Tony and Dan arriving. The silent alarms had sounded as soon as Albright had passed by the alarms on the drive coming up to the house.

This was no longer funny. The idiot had gone directly to Emily’s office for a reason. What the hell did Albright want in his woman’s office?

Running a frustrated hand over his face, Hendrix tried to make sense of the situation. “Has Albright bothered Emily during the evenings when he was here?”

“Not that we are aware of,” Tony replied. Both Tony and Dan swiveled around so that they were facing Hendrix. “Should I start the process to have his membership voided?”

Hendrix nodded. “Yeah, but hold off on telling him for now,” he replied. “I think there’s something more going on with this guy.”

“Sure, boss,” Tony said.

“Let me know what you find out.” Then he turned and left the security office. Back in his car, he considered his options.He could go back to Emily’s house. He could be back in her bed within ten minutes. Maybe she was still asleep and he could warm her up.

No, he needed to find out what Albright was up to. So instead of heading back to pull Emily into his arms, he started his engine and sped down the driveway. At this hour of the morning, it was fairly simple to catch up with Albright’s car. It was the only one on these old roads. The idiot had no idea that he was being followed as he drove back to his house in the city.

Parked outside of the old, art-deco building that had been converted to luxury condos twenty years before, Hendrix tapped his thumb against the steering wheel of his nineteen sixty-seven Ford Bronco. The truck looked rough from the outside, but Hendrix had restored the engine of the old beauty, adding a few perks and hidden surprises.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a text message to Tony, then tucked his phone back into his jacket pocket. “Emily,” he groaned, noticing the time.

Immediately, he turned around and headed back to her house. It was a twenty minute drive and his gut was telling him that she was already awake. The woman worked late into the evening most nights when the club was open. So in theory, she should have adjusted her sleep cycles so that she slept in most mornings.

But this was Emily. The grass didn’t grow under her feet. Also, she’d given several of the staff members the day off today so that they could recuperate from the holiday. He knew that she would be working today, most likely finalizing the details for the New Year’s Eve party that the club was hosting for members and guests.

Still, he headed towards her house. Should he warn her about the break in?

Yeah. Not only was she involved, since Albright was trying to get into her office, but she was the club manager. She needed to know what was going on. Plus, since he’d started the process to kick him off of the member’s list, she had every right to know why.

Chapter 16

Emily woke up and reached for Hendrix, smiling at the memories from last night. But her hand didn’t find a warm, muscular body next to her. Sitting up, she pushed her hair out of her face and looked around. Hendrix was gone?

For a long moment, she sat still, trying to hear if he was perhaps in the bathroom or maybe in the kitchen, making coffee.

However, she heard only silence. Sitting up, Emily pulled the sheet over her nakedness, trying to ignore the sharp stab of pain in her heart.

“He’s gone?” she whispered to the silence. “I was just a one night stand?”

The pain that hit her at the possibility was too much, so she pushed it away. For a long moment, she just sat there in her bed, thinking about yesterday. And last night. Hendrix had been so…amazing. So sweet and attentive. And demanding. If he’d been here this morning, Emily knew that she would have begged him to do all of those things to her again. Plus, she’d like to try a few things on him that she’d read about. Daring, naughty things that a particularly interesting book assured the reader would blow a man’s mind.

But apparently, that wasn’t in the cards, she thought and pushed her legs over the side of the bed. She didn’t bother to grab her clothes. Instead, Emily rushed across the cold, hardwood floor to her tiny bathroom. There, she flipped on the water, then brushed her teeth while waiting for the hot water to make its way through the old pipes.

Finally, when she stepped under the warm spray, Emily allowed the tears to flow. She felt like a fool! She’d fallen hard for Hendrix two years ago, but if she’d known that he was thekind of man who would leave without a word in the middle of the night, she would have ignored the emotional roller coaster she’d been on for too long!

Scrubbing her body, Emily tried to scour away all of the memories from last night. But every time the soap slid against her skin, she thought about the way Hendrix’s fingers had glided over her, the way his kisses had inflamed her. She felt her cheeks heat up at the intimate kisses from last night, the way she’d clung to his hair, shifting her hips against his mouth as he’d done those wicked, magical things to her body.

“Damn it!” she hissed and rinsed off the soap. Stepping out of the shower, she flipped the towel off of the hook, wrapping it around herself. Looking in the mirror, Emily tried to remind herself that she was a strong, independent woman. “You’renotgoing to let this bring you down!” she whispered to her reflection.

Turning away from the mirror, she dried off, then got ready for work. She had a big party to plan and lots of details to confirm.

Grabbing one of the six pairs of black slacks hanging in her closet, she pulled them on, then a white dress shirt. She wore the same outfit to work every day, the same outfit as the other staff members. She didn’t try to elevate herself from anyone on the team, preferring to be in the same uniform so that she could step in and help in any department. Her staff knew that she was the club manager. That was all that was important.

After drying her hair, she curled it all into a neat, professional twist, then pinned it to the back of her head. She only applied a light coat of makeup, then silently moved about her house, putting everything back to rights. The dishwasher was full from yesterday’s feast so she turned it on to run whileshe was gone. The bed was rumpled, but instead of making the bed, she pulled off all of the sheets and tossed them into the washing machine. Yeah, she’d come home tonight and have to put them into the dryer, but the thought of getting into a bed with Hendrix’s scent lingering in the sheets wasn’t going to happen. She needed to banish every memory of last night and move on. Good times had been had and today was a new day.

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