Charlie
I walk into the Regency hotel feeling more confident than I have in weeks.
It’s the latest London hotspot for suits, models, and influencers, dripping in decadence and drenched in dark lighting that could make anyone look seductive.
It also happens to be the venue of choice for this evening’s management team outing as it’s conveniently on the next street over from our office.
The hostess smiles at me. “Who’s your reservation under?”
I smile back. “Mark, table for two.”
She reads down the list then nods. “Right this way. Mark is already here.”
Thank God. I follow her. At least Danny Walker won’t catch me all dressed up sitting alone.
I stride across the bar, my heels clicking, and do a mental high five as some of the men’s heads turn.
I dare not look around the bar in case Danny and the senior team are here yet. I’m not supposed to know they’re here.
She leads me to a candlelit table where a dark-haired muscular guy is seated, and I inhale sharply.
His photo wasn’t lying. The guy is gorgeous.
His eyes go wide as he gives me a slow once up and down.
“Hi.” He beams as he jumps up to give me a bear hug.
“Hi,” I return, my mouth dry.
As he stands up to pull out my chair, he towers above me, proving that he is not lying about his height.
“Thanks.” I smile shyly, sitting down.
There’s a button in the booth called ‘Press for Bubbles.’ Don’t mind if I do.
“Do you always look this incredible?” He grins. “I couldn’t believe my luck when the girl that all the guys were staring at walked over to my table.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “Do you always know the right things to say?”
“Seriously.” He leans into me so that our arms are touching. “Do you feel heat at the back of your head right now? You have at least forty sets of eyes on you.”
I don’t know whether to swoon or retch. The guy is laying it on thick. Is this his tried and tested panty removal method? If so, I’m down with that.
I opt for swooning. “You know how to make a girl feel special, I’ll give you that. Is that an Australian accent I hear?” I can’t stop smiling at his beautiful face. He’s about the same height and build as Danny and just as handsome with one obvious difference—his face is open and welcoming. It’s the opposite of the cold hard one I see when I lie awake at night.
“It is.” He grins. “I came over here for medical school then never left.”
“Yes, you work in Guy’s hospital around the corner?” I administer my most dazzling smile. “What do you do?”
“I’m a cardiologist.” Collect six points!
He continues, “I also teach a kickboxing class a few nights a week, but that’s more for fun.” Advance to go!
“Fixing people’s hearts must be pretty intense,” I say, trying to hide my pathetic swooning.
I need to up my game here.
“What about you, Charlie?”
“I.T. Support for a company around the corner,” I reply in a husky voice. Did I just try to make I.T. Support sound sexy?
“Damn, if I’d known I.T. support desks were this hot, I’d have broken my laptop a long time ago.”
I laugh too loudly at his joke, flicking my hair over my shoulders.
It’s working. He’s responding to my amateur flirting.
He watches my lips as I speak and gently nudges my arms and knees every so often. Maybe I.T. Support is sexy.
I like this guy.
Shit. Did I really think this through?
How will I concentrate on Mark knowing Danny Walker is metres away?
It dawns on me that I don’t want to blow this date with Mark. In the short twenty minutes that I’ve known him, I can confirm that he is a perfect specimen of a man.
The champagne arrives as if by magic. This button is awesome.
I hear Mike before I see him.
The calming ambiance of the bar is interrupted by his obnoxious bellowing. He always talks too loudly, even when he’s standing next to you.
They have arrived. I daren’t look around to check if he’s with them.
They have clearly been somewhere else first because Mike is slurring his words as if he’s had a bucketload.
“Charlie?” Mark looks at me with his eyebrows raised.
My eyes search his. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”
“Ouch!” He laughs loudly. “I’ve lost the focus of my girl already.”
My girl. It sounds much sexier than the missus.
I’m talking, but Mark is distracted by something over my shoulder. Is he looking at another woman?
“Now, who’s lost focus,” I say in a clipped tone.
“Sorry.” He strokes my arm reassuringly. “It’s just there is a group of men staring over at us. One looks like he’s going to kill me.” He chuckles, focusing on whatever is happening on the other side of the room. “Jesus, do you always get this reaction? Good thing I can defend myself.”
“Really?” I play dumb whilst my heart pounds hard in my chest.
“I think I recognise that guy.” He squints over my shoulder. “The tech guy, Walker!”
Panic engulfs me. “Danny Walker,” I rasp. “He’s actually my boss. Well, my boss’s boss’s boss. We work around the corner. They probably just recognise me.”
He shoots up an eyebrow. “You work for The Nexus Group? You must be an I.T. whizz.”
I shake my head. “No, a small company they have just bought over. Ignore them,” I add quickly. I need to get his focus away from that side of the room. The last thing I need is Mike coming over drunk out of his skull.
Mark smiles as he runs a finger down my cheek. “The only person I want to pay attention to is right here.”
I beam and lose my basic hand-to-mouth coordination, spilling champagne down my dress. “Ahh!” The coldness seeps through the silk fabric of my bra.
Mark jumps up and grabs napkins from the table beside us. “I’d wipe you down, but that’s probably too familiar for a first date.”
“A little.” I grin as I take the napkins. I wipe at the growing stain on my chest. “I’m only making it worse.” I sigh. “Excuse me, Mark. I’m going to pop to the ladies.”
As I glance around to find out where the toilets are, I meet the icy stare of Danny Walker blazing across the room. His scotch glass pauses mid-air.
He’s at the furthest corner, and still, his gaze manages to suck the wind out of me.
My stomach twists. How does he manage to make me so uncomfortable? I’m sitting with a handsome guy that is openly interested in me, and it’s the sadistic moron across the room that makes my stomach tense with nerves.
Thrown off my game, I give a brief nod of recognition and divert my gaze.
“Do you know where the toilets are?” I turn back to Mark.
He points behind me to a wall at the other side of the bar. “Just there, do you see the split in the wall?”
“Not really.” I frown, confused. “There’s no door.” All I can see are dark blue walls, no door or bathroom sign.
“It is over there, I promise.” He laughs. “It’s just very subtle; there’s no handle. You have to just push the door.”
“Why are they hiding the toilets?” I grumble.
Damn these bars trying to camouflage their bathrooms because going to the toilet isn’t sexy.
“OK, I believe you,” I say, not convinced. “Be right back.”
I get up and stroll as casually as possible across the bar, clutching my bag against my champagne-soaked tits.
“Charlie,” Mike bellows as he spots me, his nose and cheeks an unattractive alcohol-induced glowing red.
There are ten of them, mostly men, sitting around a table with enough bottles of champagne to service the entire bar, never mind them.
I give him a curt nod of recognition and a brief wave at the rest of the team.
Karl Walker, Danny’s brother, shoots me a brilliant smile and beckons me over. We’ve met at a few of Tristan’s events. I hadn’t realised he was in town. He runs the New York branch of Nexus and is Danny’s number two. They share the same physical traits, but that’s where the comparisons end; Karl is the polar opposite of Danny, charming and charismatic. Not an arrogant, cold prick.
I give him a sly nod to the table where Mark is waiting and shake my head politely as I try to push forward on my shaky twig legs.
Karl’s not taking no for an answer. He moves towards me, stopping me in my tracks.
“Charlie.” Karl kisses both my cheeks. “So good to see you again. You’re not getting off that lightly.”
I can’t believe this man was birthed from the same woman as his brother.
Ignoring my protests, he pulls me along with his hand on the small of my back.
Their table is loud, the rowdiest in the bar as they all talk over each other and jump between seats in a drunken state of restlessness.
A few of them shout my name excitedly like I’ve descended from heaven or a similar miracle. I’m nowhere near their level of drunk.
“Are you coming to the strip club, Charlie?” Mike jumps up and down excitedly like a little kid with new toys.
“Not tonight, Mike.” I cringe. “I would prefer to stick chopsticks up my nose.”
My eyes float to Danny as he leans against the table, holding a beer. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, and he’s loosened the top three buttons revealing a tanned chest.
With his cold eyes locked on mine, he takes an aggressive swig of his beer.
“You look sensational, Charlie,” Karl says, oblivious to the tension.
I smile at him. I had always warmed to Karl. He was the life and soul of every party. If I had any common sense, it would be Karl that I would be lusting after.
“I’m actually trying to hide champagne stains.” I laugh, jutting my chin down to my breasts. “I’m not called Clumsy Charlie for nothing.”
Karl nods to the table. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Ah.” I look over where Mark is sitting, looking a little bored. “He’s actually a blind date.” I blush. “He’s a doctor.”
His eyebrows arch. “I thought you had a serious boyfriend. Shane?”
“Ben,” I correct him, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. “We split up.”
“How do you know this guy?” a deep voice growls beside him.
None of your fucking business, mate.
“It’s an online date,” I say after a pause.
He glares back at me without blinking. “Does Tristan know about your blind date? You know the security concerns he would have.”
“I’ll bear those concerns in mind,” I respond through gritted teeth. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“Lovely to see you, Charlie.” Karl grins at me flirtatiously.
I make my way to where the toilets are and stand, confused. This is the spot where I saw someone push the wall a minute ago, and the door opened. There’s nothing here but a blue wall.
Do I have to say Open Sesame or something?
I push at the wall. Nothing budges. I move along the wall and push harder. Still no movement.
I feel across the wall, and the tables around me stare. This is getting embarrassing. I look like I’m trying to push the wall down.
A waitress stops to watch me. “Can I help you?”
“I’m trying to find the toilets,” I reply.
She points to a section of the wall further down.
I push the wall, and low and behold, it moves. It’s like trying to enter fucking Narnia through the wardrobe.
“Is it male or female?”
She rolls her eyes like I’m a moron. “It’s gender-neutral.”
It’s as confusing inside the bathroom as it is outside; dim lighting and mirrors make going to the toilet a sexy, but difficult experience.
An environment more akin to a brothel than a bathroom.
“Look at the state of you,” I scorn my reflection in the mirror. The stain makes my breasts look obscene like I’m applying for a wet T-shirt competition.
The door crashes open and slams against the wall.
I whip round to see Danny Walker standing in the doorway, face like a bull about to charge.
My eyes widen. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Me?” he snaps. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What?” I stammer, taking a step back.
He slams the door shut, and I jump, dropping my lipliner down the sink.
“Are you trying to fucking tease me? Parading some prick in front of my face?” He storms forward into my personal space. “I told you not to play games with me, Charlie. Playing me like a pet.”
My mouth drops open. “What? What an arrogant git you are.”
Even if he is right.
I square my shoulders, stepping towards him.
He’s drunk, I realise as I watch his erratic breathing. “My date is none of your business.”
His stormy eyes tell me he doesn’t like my answer.
I turn to retrieve my lipliner in the sink, but he grabs my arm and pushes me against the wall, his hot breath on my face.
I feel his hardness slam against me like a volt of electricity, and I gasp.
Before I can stop myself, I’m widening my legs and pushing my hips into his, so his dick is hard between my legs.
My head weakly protests at my actions but is no match for my traitorous body. All willpower goes out the bathroom window. I need him so badly.
I grind against his erection.
He lets out a low guttural moan and grabs my ass, clenching me against him so hard I think I’m going to bruise.
“You’re going to ruin my date,” I stammer.
“I’m going to fucking ruin you,” he growls as he hitches me up in his arms and walks us both into the nearest cubicle.
Inside, he slams the door and pins me against the wall with his legs. He pushes his tongue into my mouth, and I respond furiously. I wrap my left leg around his hips to push closer into his hard cock. I need skin on skin.
This man. He’ll be the end of me. When did I become one of those girls that fucks in a toilet?
His hands roughly pull my panties to the side, and he pushes a finger deep inside me. I yelp at the shock then warmth circles between my legs.
I cry out as he starts pulsing in and out.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he breathes against my lips. “This wetness is for me.”
I moan into his mouth, grabbing onto his biceps to stop from sliding down the wall since my legs can’t do their job.
“Double standards, Danny. I don’t share,” I whisper as my hand travels down to rest on his hardness. “If you want me, it’s only me.”
He flashes me an arrogant smirk. “You want me all to yourself, Charlie?”
I fight my urge to let him bring me to climax right here in the cubicle. Instead, I yank down his trouser zip and release him from his boxers. I need to be in control for once.
He hisses in response as his cock snaps up against his stomach. So so ready. So angry. So massive.
For a second, I stare at it in awe.
“Like what you see?” he whispers with a dark smile.
Instead of answering him, I push my hand down and give him a hard stroke from base to shaft.
He lets out an appreciative moan, and I wrap my hand around his large length and stroke with intensity. He’s so engorged, so ready to explode, and I’ve barely started.
“Fuck,” he mutters through clenched teeth, gripping the walls to steady himself. “I won’t last.”
I stroke faster and harder, my own arousal deepening as I watch the control I have over him.
He rests his forearms on the wall on either side of my head and closes his eyes, pressing his forehead against mine.
“Keep going,” he whispers against my face.
“Still trying to buy me out?” I pant.
“At this rate, I’ll give you the damn company.” He draws in a stuttered breath. “I’m close.”
I stroke, watching his face contorting in pleasure. His tongue hangs down over his bottom lip. He shudders and lets out a groan that echoes throughout the toilets.
Without stopping to think, I aim his cock at his custom-made designer trousers and feel the warm liquid squirt out into my hands and all over his trousers. It explodes out, thick and fast. I release it and wipe my hand on his shirt, smearing his jizz over himself.
“Now I need to go back to my date, Mr. Walker,” I whisper in his ear.
I push him away from me, and he falls against the opposite wall of the toilet, surprised.
“Charlie,” he snaps, steadying himself.
With a wink, I open the door and leave him underwear down, jizz on his trousers and jaw hanging open.
