Page 55 of Empowered
Chapter 13
While Sarah didn’t have anyone she would call a “friend” in New York, she saw a plethora of familiar faces when she stepped into the club Saturday night. Staff, like the bartender who knew exactly what she liked and the bouncers who always kept an eye on her, nodded their heads or heaved a sigh of relief that some sort of party had arrived. A few locals who frequented the place as often as she did waved before going back to their cocktail conversations. A Spanish shipping magnate gave her a knowing look as she walked by to pick up her drink. The man did not touch or speak to her, but his presence was instantly discernable.Thinking about the good times, Pedro?Eh, he was an all right lover. Self-absorbed, involved, not about to put his mouth where he put his dick…
“Anything wild happening tonight?” Sarah asked the bartender. Her blond wig threatened to get into her drink, and considering the amount of grenadine in it? Gross. Sarah tossed the fake blond locks over her shoulder, enticing Pedro even more.
“There’s some business meeting going on in the back. They’ll let you in, I’m sure. Just don’t hold your breath regarding the pickings. Alotof women here tonight.”
Maybe that’s what I need to not think about Lucas for a night.Sarah did not consider herself bisexual, but she was not above fooling around with a woman if that’s what Angel fancied. Perhaps tonight would be an excellent night for finding a frisky couple looking to spice up their marriage. When was the last time she got involved in a threesome? Five months ago?
Or maybe it was a lesbian convention for all she knew. Whatever. As long as Mr. Blackbourne was out of her brain by the end of the night, she didn’t care who she fucked.
Well, maybe I’ll pass on Pedro tonight.He had stopped paying attention to her, anyway.
“Thanks.” Sarah grabbed her drink and headed deeper into the club.
She found some prime real estate within twenty seconds. Three young, handsome and well-dressed men crowded around a table and laughed at some end-of-the-week joke. At least one of them had to be game for some fun with a strange woman that night. Maybe two of them.
“Gentlemen,” she interrupted with a slight sway of her hips. “Can I interest any of you in another drink? I’ll be more than happy to go get it for you and bring it back. Maybe with one less article of clothing, if I think you’re cute.”
The three men were more than happy to accept a beautiful woman into their midst. At first. But, as Sarah discovered, they soon declined her offer to get them drinks and join them in their after-business celebrations. The leader of the group politely brushed her off by suggesting another group of young rabble-rousers might enjoy her company instead.
Except the next pair likewise took one look at her and turned around again. A man and his younger wife looked her up and down before passing on her as well. Sarah huffed her way deeper into the club, where the men might be more likely to give up some time.
They certainly took longer to turn her down. Some of them would engage in conversation long enough to catch her face in the light, only to pale in sickly shock and find some excuse to get away from her. Others pretended to be interested in her only to disappear into the bathroom, never to be seen again. One woman flat out told Sarah to stay away from her, because “she didn’t want any trouble.”
Did Sarah have some undesirable sign hung around her neck? Had she developed a pox on the train? Was she bleeding from her eye sockets? Did the Angel of Death haunt her steps?
She didn’t get an answer until she went back to the front of the club, where the well-lit bar welcomed her to sit down and have a drink.
How unfair was this? Here she was, ready to party and move on from some asshole who had consistently lied to her – and dared to pry into some of the most personal matters a woman carried in her heart. Angel was here to let go on Sarah’s behalf. To release the pent-up frustrations consuming her ever since Lucas walked into her life.Why did I ever sleep with him? I should have left well-enough alone the last time I was here.Sarah folded her arms on the bar and buried her face in their depths. Her wig was more than happy to choke her.
She needed it.
“Excuse me, Miss. Care to have another drink, this time with me?”
The man was young and unfamiliar. Well, maybe Sarah had seen him around before, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember him. He had the face of an intern, but to be here by himself, he must have been an heir or new, rich blood of means. Either way, he couldn’t have been much younger than Sarah. While such men may lack in certain finesse, they made up for it in all-night stamina.
God, who cared anymore? This night was shot enough as it was. Sarah better cling to whatever she could get. As long as the guy was hot and a decent enough flirt, she was ready.
“Sure,” she said with a quick flip of the hair. Time to turn the charm back on and stop feeling sorry for herself. If she blew this like a quick-tempered hurricane, she’d regret it. “I’m having a martini.”
“So I see.” The man nodded to the bartender and ordered Sarah another martini. For himself, he asked for a whisky highball, no wedge. The drinks were there moments before Sarah batted her eyelashes and cranked up her fervent seduction.
“What brings you here, stranger?” Her shoulder grazed against his. “It’s been a slow night around here. About time the wind blew someone in.”
“Honestly?” the man grinned over the rim of his glass. “I’m looking for a good time.”
“As it so happens, so am I.”
Finally. Sarah was starting to wonder if she lost her touch when it came to getting men into bed. Or into a private room. Whichever. She’d do this guy in the back of a cab if it sealed the deal for the weekend.
She fully intended to walk into the office Monday morning, look into Lucas’s lying eyes, and comment flippantly on her activities that weekend. The least she could do was make him jealous before stepping on his balls to drive home the point that they were never, ever going to be a “thing” again. (Not that they were much of one to begin with, mind!)
Oh, Sarah had so many intentions. So did this guy, who clearly arrived too late to receive the same message everyone else in the club had when it came to Sarah making the rounds. Because once she glanced in his direction again, intent on turning up the seduction a few more notches to make this happen as quickly as possible, a firm hand slammed down between them.
Sarah leaped back, almost landing on the empty stool behind her. Her prince of the evening likewise widened his eyes and gaped up at the large, overbearing man interrupting their tryst at the club bar.
The thing Sarah hated the most? How her heart fluttered when she recognized Lucas’s aura before his face.
