Nicole Edwards - Temptation

So, no, Sierra hadn’t come up with a strong enough excuse not to go along with her mother’s logic, though she still didn’t understand how a date was going to help her in that regard.

When Veronica had mentioned that XTX – the company her mother worked for – was holding their annual vendors conference in just two days, Sierra hadn’t thought anything of it. Why would she? XTX didn’t have anything to do with the interior design company that Sierra had yet to even name.

Only when Veronica mentioned that the conference was in Las Vegas had Sierra’s ears even perked up. And here she was, on the next leg of this journey that she only hoped would turn out the way her mother intended.

And yes, she was incredibly nervous, despite her reluctance and despite the fact that she felt as though she were being led to an execution. Even armed with a few details about the man she was going to meet, Sierra wasn’t feeling all warm and fuzzy about the outcome. The positive side of this endeavor was that she at least knew what the man looked like. Or at least she thought she did.

According to both her mother and Samantha, she was off to meet Logan’s identical twin brother. That had immediately piqued her interest because hell, she had to admit, Logan McCoy was smoking hot. Not that she would share that little tidbit of information with anyone, especially the man’s wife who she had become close to over the course of the last few weeks.

But realistically, how similar could the two of them actually be? They were grown men for goodness sake, and surely their personalities would set them worlds apart in appearance. So when Sam and Veronica had reiterated the fact that they were identical, Sierra had mentally rolled her eyes and resigned herself to finding out on her own.

Maybe her mother’s physical descriptions were accurate. Although Sierra liked Logan enough, she still wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the idea of being set up with a man – gorgeous or not. The one positive that she could manage to conjure up from this entire screwed up ordeal was that she and Sam had actually become good friends. Since the woman was the epitome of what Sierra had worked her entire life to become, she knew she would ultimately win in this deal.

At twenty nine years old, Sierra still had some growing to do when it came to establishing herself in business, but after meeting Sam, she knew she’d found a role model who could undoubtedly teach her some things along the way. And when said role model had ganged up on her with the help of Veronica and another woman they worked with at XTX, insisting that Sierra actually meet Luke McCoy, she had found herself outvoted.

Both Veronica and the other woman, Deanna, had spoken very highly of Luke, but something had set her sensors off when Sam had talked about him. If Sierra wasn’t mistaken there was something much more intimate about the way Sam spoke of her brother-in-law. Just in case she was imagining things, Sierra hadn’t bothered to ask. Not that it was any of her business anyway.

Now, two days later, she was on her way to meet the man, though she got the impression that he had no idea he was being set up.

“You said we were going to a club?” Sierra asked, interrupting the loving couple holding hands in the front seat. “Isn’t it a little early in the day?”

“It’s a club, but it isn’t what you’re thinking.” Sam offered. “Well, at least not entirely.”

Sierra noticed the subtle way Logan squeezed his wife’s hand.

What other kind of clubs were there? Besides the ones that offered drinks to people who congregated to laugh, drink and have a good time?

Oh!

Her mind struggled with the possibility before shrugging off the comment. Glancing at her watch, Sierra added, “I didn’t realize clubs were open this early.”

Eleven thirty on a Tuesday and Sierra was on her way to meet a mystery man who, despite the fact that they didn’t know each other at all, would likely accompany her to a four day business conference to be held in Las Vegas.

The Entertainment Capital of the World.

Sin City.

And one of Sierra’s favorite vacation destinations.

She could certainly get down with going to Las Vegas, no matter who she was going with. She was quite fond of the city, having gone numerous times for girl’s only getaways. Never once had she come back disappointed. Going for business, now that would be a first, but no more so than going with a man. Any man.

What would they do if they didn’t get along? How was she supposed to suffer through four long days in the party capital of the world with someone she had nothing in common with?

Granted, she was jumping ahead of herself. She hadn’t even met him yet. The one upside to it all, if he looked anything like Logan McCoy, at least she was in for a visual treat.

Logan maneuvered the car into an underground parking garage, and Sierra felt the butterflies take flight in her stomach.

Glancing down, she noticed that she was wringing her hands in her lap, a sheer sign of the tension coursing through her veins. She chalked it up to the fact that she suspected Luke had no idea she was coming or anything else that was in store for him, in the coming days. She’d gathered that from the conversation she’d overhead – ok, more like eavesdropped on – earlier between Logan and Sam. When Logan mentioned that Luke didn’t seem to be in the best of moods, she’d momentarily questioned her sanity.

Not that she really cared what kind of mood he was in, as long as he could manage to be polite and courteous for four days, only a few hours at a time while they were in Vegas.

Moments later, Sierra was climbing out of the back seat, coming to join Samantha standing at the side of the car.

“Brace yourself.” Sam smiled brightly, looking almost playful.

“Is there something I should know before we go in?” Sierra asked, for the second time questioning what she was walking into.

“Not specifically. Let’s just say that Logan’s brother is the darker twin.”

“Darker?” Confusion set in, and Sierra tried to comprehend what Sam was saying.

“You know, mysterious. Ominous.” Sam laughed as she took Logan’s hand.

Great. Just what Sierra needed. Her mind immediately conjured up a version of Logan McCoy; only this one had a permanent scowl, making him look sinister. She smiled to herself.

With a deep breath, she stood up straighter, adjusted her short skirt, and steeled herself for whatever was to come.

How bad could it be?

“You find it?” Kane asked, looking both weary and determined as Luke approached.

“Of course I fucking found it.” Luke growled, slamming the invoice on the bar top. “Right on my desk. Now you want to tell me how we lost eight cases of our best vodka?” Luke knew he was being an asshole, and he knew that Kane was working his ass off trying to figure out what the hell had happened during the week that the other man had also been on vacation, but Luke didn’t need theories, he wanted fucking answers.

Three thousand dollars’ worth of vodka didn’t just up and walk away, yet no one seemed to know a damn thing.

“Shit, Luke. I don’t have any idea.” Kane answered, running his fingers through his shaggy, brown hair, a clear sign the man was at a loss.

Sucking in a ragged breath, Luke glanced around the near empty main floor of the club – the equivalent of counting to ten – in an attempt to hold on to the anger that was begging to break free. He only hoped there weren’t any customers getting a firsthand glimpse of his tirade.

Since all other areas were limited to their exclusive members by design, he should have thought to have his mental breakdown behind the big double doors that separated the two divisions of the club. However, since Club Destiny saw a large portion of its overall revenue from the public club and bar, Luke spent a lot of his time right in that very spot.

Staring at the empty area now, Luke acknowledged the dim lights above weren’t nearly as attractive as the neon glow of blue and red that outlined the walls and the bar when the club was open. The usual mass of bodies that filled Club Destiny from wall to wall was nowhere to be found, nor was the noise that came with so many people occupying one place. To be honest, Luke wasn’t sure which way he preferred most.

As he tried to gain his composure, not wanting to beat up on Kane too much, Luke inhaled deeply, took one more look around until his eyes landed on the man sitting at a table near the back.

Shit.

Luke wasn’t feeling overly social, and Cole Ackerley was the last person he wanted to talk to. Thankfully, it didn’t look like Cole was up for talking either. Instead, Cole sat at an empty table, drinking what appeared to be a soda, rather than the shot of whiskey he normally favored.

For all intents and purposes, Cole looked like he didn’t give a damn that Luke was staring his way, but Luke felt the heat of Cole’s midnight blue eyes burning a hole into him. They certainly had some things they needed to talk about, but like usual, Luke would put that disaster waiting to happen off for a little while.

Since Cole was one of the main reasons Luke had gone MIA for the last two months, there wasn’t much he could say, even if he wanted to. After everything that had happened between them that night…

Not going there.

Those damned demons he’d managed to bury temporarily were not going to show up now. If he wasn’t careful, Luke would manage to brew up a shit storm of issues he hadn’t been able to figure out during those few weeks he’d disappeared. Since he hadn’t been able to get to the bottom of them then, he knew for damn sure it wouldn’t be happening now.