Page 49 of The Billionaire's Accidental Daddy Duty
I couldn’t imagine living my life like this—unwillingly in the public eye. With women who, in spite of his hot looks and incredible smarts, only wanted him for his money and his celebrity status. I pressed my body against his. I wanted to comfort him and tell him that, to me, he wasn’t clickbait. He was special.
“Stop looking at me like that or you’re going to makeme forget we’re here on a mission to find Harper and not make proper use of my suite.” He smirked at me.
Before I could tell him that I’d be okay with that, a security guard came out of nowhere and escorted us to the elevator car. “I trust you’re having a good night, Mr. Noble.”
“We are.” His tone was low and sinful.
“Glad to hear.” The security guard inserted his key card in the slot and pressed the button to the thirty-sixth floor.
When the doors slid open again, we walked into a wide corridor with beautiful wallpaper in muted tones and huge flower arrangements everywhere. For some reason, I had expected something more decadent, like velvet walls and naked people walking all over the place. Declan had called the Crucible a sex club, but I hadn’t seen any part of it that had people having sex or anything like that.
We walked the length of the hallway, then turned left and then right. The security guard finally stopped in front of a double door and again inserted his own key card to let us in. The suite was exactly that. Except it was a room with a view. I walked past the king-size bed in the middle and went straight to the window and the bouncing nightclub lights coming through.
“What are we looking at?” I stepped closer until my breath fogged the glass.
“The sex club.” Declan’s tone sounded tentative.
When the security guard left, Declan joined me by the window. “We’re on the second floor of it, facing the main stage.” He cocked his eyebrow.
I pressed my hand to the cool glass and focused on the scene below where, in fact, people were having sex. Like, infront of everyone one else. Like one big orgy. Everyone was so beautiful, with amazing bodies. I supposed if I looked like that, I would also want to pay thousands of dollars to have someone watch me have sex. Actually, no, why would I?
“I can’t believe people are into this. Are you—are you into this?”
He chuckled. “Do I strike you as the saint type?”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. Mostly I stay up here and watch from a distance.”
“Oh.”
“I haven’t been here since the night I met you. If that’s what your ‘oh’ was for.” He cupped my face. “More than the kink, I like coming here for the privacy it offers. And it’s Michelin three-star restaurant. Wait until you try their caviar dish.”
“I wasn’t asking, but it’s good to know.”
I used to think that once I had a fancy job and money, I would finally belong. Now that I’d gotten to meet Declan, I realized I was wrong. He was so alone. Everywhere he went, he was surrounded with people, but he didn’t belong.
“How about a drink?”
“I could use one.” I walked around the huge mattress and the living area on the other side. “Why is the bed in the middle?” I leaned on the bar where a bottle of Champagne on ice and couple of glasses had been left for us.
“It’s the main attraction.” He pointed at the sofas, which I now realized were all facing the bed.
I quickly turned around and poured myself a glass. I drank fast and then poured some more. “In over my head” didn’t begin to cover my current situation.
“Tell me about Harper.” I sipped more of the wine.
“Hmm. Well, we met here.” He pointed in the general direction of the orgy downstairs. “About eighteen months ago. Do you want all the details?”
“Yeah. I’m, um, I’m okay with details.”
He furrowed his brows as if considering his next words. Was he nervous about telling me about his latest sexcapade? If the tabloids knew of this place, they would have a field day. Was that his concern?
“I would never tell anyone.”
“I know.” He rubbed the side of his face. “It’s not that. I trust you. I don’t know much about Harper. I first saw her down on the main floor. I’ve no idea why she caught my attention. Later that night, I saw her out in the corridor. She was crying and looked frightened.”
“What happened to her?”
