The Decadent Gift: An After Dark Novel Read online

  The Decadent Gift

  An After Dark Novel

  Lauren Blakely

  Little Dog Press

  Contents

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  About

  The Decadent Gift

  1. Kate

  2. Kate

  3. Jake

  4. Kate

  5. Jake

  6. Kate

  7. Kate

  8. Jake

  9. Jake

  10. Jake

  11. Kate

  12. Jake

  13. Kate

  14. Kate

  15. Jake

  16. Kate

  17. Kate

  18. Jake

  19. Kate

  20. Jake

  21. Kate

  22. Trish

  23. Kate

  24. Jake

  25. Kate

  26. Trish

  27. Christine

  28. Kate

  29. Antony

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Contact

  Copyright © 2020 by Lauren Blakely

  Cover Design by Helen Williams. Photo by Steph Bowers

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This book is licensed for your personal use only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy romance novels with alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Big Rock Series

  Big Rock

  Mister O

  Well Hung

  Full Package

  Joy Ride

  Hard Wood

  The Gift Series

  The Engagement Gift

  The Virgin Gift

  The Decadent Gift

  The Heartbreakers Series

  Once Upon a Real Good Time

  Once Upon a Sure Thing

  Once Upon a Wild Fling

  Boyfriend Material

  Asking For a Friend

  Sex and Other Shiny Objects

  One Night Stand-In

  Lucky In Love Series

  Best Laid Plans

  The Feel Good Factor

  Nobody Does It Better

  Unzipped

  Always Satisfied Series

  Satisfaction Guaranteed

  Instant Gratification

  Overnight Service

  Never Have I Ever

  Special Delivery

  The Sexy Suit Series

  Lucky Suit

  Birthday Suit

  From Paris With Love

  Wanderlust

  Part-Time Lover

  One Love Series

  The Sexy One

  The Only One

  The Hot One

  The Knocked Up Plan

  Come As You Are

  Sports Romance

  Most Valuable Playboy

  Most Likely to Score

  Standalones

  Stud Finder

  The V Card

  The Real Deal

  Unbreak My Heart

  The Break-Up Album

  21 Stolen Kisses

  Out of Bounds

  The Caught Up in Love Series:

  The Swoony New Reboot of the Contemporary Romance Series

  The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)

  The Dating Proposal

  The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)

  The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)

  Stars In Their Eyes Duet

  My Charming Rival

  My Sexy Rival

  The No Regrets Series

  The Start of Us

  The Thrill of It

  Every Second With You

  The Seductive Nights Series

  First Night (Julia and Clay, prequel novella)

  Night After Night (Julia and Clay, book one)

  After This Night (Julia and Clay, book two)

  One More Night (Julia and Clay, book three)

  A Wildly Seductive Night (Julia and Clay novella, book 3.5)

  The Joy Delivered Duet

  Nights With Him (A standalone novel about Michelle and Jack)

  Forbidden Nights (A standalone novel about Nate and Casey)

  The Sinful Nights Series

  Sweet Sinful Nights

  Sinful Desire

  Sinful Longing

  Sinful Love

  The Fighting Fire Series

  Burn For Me (Smith and Jamie)

  Melt for Him (Megan and Becker)

  Consumed By You (Travis and Cara)

  The Jewel Series

  A two-book sexy contemporary romance series

  The Sapphire Affair

  The Sapphire Heist

  About

  The rules of the game were simple.

  One weekend.

  We play our roles. Actually, we play lots of roles.

  I get the info I need for a secret work project.

  We go back to how we were.

  That’s what I proposed to handsome, clever, commanding Jake.

  That’s what he said yes to—this decadent gift of a weekend that would get me out of debt.

  But that’s not what happened when our nights together in Vegas ended . . .

  The Decadent Gift

  By Lauren Blakely

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  1

  Kate

  I had a dirty little secret.

  Those were the best kind.

  And the worst too.

  Because sometimes secrets could torment you.

  Like at night when you were alone.

  Or during the day when your mind wandered to what-ifs. I had so many what-ifs running through my head.

  As I weaved my way through the casino, checking out the crowds, scanning the couples tangled up in each other, the women sliding close to their men, the men dropping kisses on their cheeks, the latest possibility pulsed inside me.

  Just a regular day in Las Vegas.

  Then, I walked past the roulette tables, headed toward the restaurant where I was meeting my friends, and I spotted a new boutique.

  New to The Luxe Hotel, that was.

  Ava’s, a well-known lingerie shop, had moved last month from the Bellagio to here, peddling an eye-catching assortment of lace and satin that beckoned shoppers through the windows.

  But that wasn’t what first caught my eye.

  It was a sign next to the display, where a lightbox flashed in lush pink: Explore Your Fantasies.

  Might as well be my mantra.

  I
t was what I’d encouraged my girlfriends to do when they’d come to me for advice.

  I preached it like a religion.

  “Are you reading my mind, Ava?” I whispered.

  Maybe so, because I was a card-carrying believer in delving into your dirty dreams.

  Trouble was, I’d yet to explore all of mine.

  Not the way I wanted to.

  Not the way I craved. I’d never met the kind of man who’d take that journey with me. But still, the possibilities were powerful and alluring, flitting through my mind like will-o’-the-wisps just out of reach.

  I peered at the white door to the shop, open, inviting.

  Hard to resist.

  Music pulsed low, drifting faintly out of the shop into the cavernous hallway, some Corinne Bailey Rae number that suggested nudity was on the menu.

  Well, it was a lingerie shop. The kind of lingerie meant to be taken off.

  Meant for exploring fantasies.

  Would this store hold the key to unlock mine?

  I shivered as I pictured scenarios of entangled bodies, desires, and longing.

  Of hot, naughty nights.

  And words, so many filthy words spilling from lips.

  I stepped into the store, my heels sinking into the plush pink carpet.

  Ava’s was no clandestine sex dungeon, but when I spotted a display in the far corner of the store, I grinned, whispering, “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  Elegant French maid costumes. Insanely sexy stewardess uniforms. Schoolgirl skirts that left little to the imagination.

  No, that wasn’t my kink. I wasn’t a costume-play girl. More power to the ones who were, but that didn’t do it for me . . . except in how they suggested scenes, just a few in the endless array of scenarios I could imagine.

  The games. The role-play. The infinite possibilities.

  If a couple came in to buy a schoolgirl costume, what sort of script would they follow that night?

  What might unfold between a flight attendant and a first-class passenger on a transatlantic flight?

  What if, what if, oh yes, what if.

  A slight shiver ran through me.

  “Anything catch your eye?”

  The sultry, smoky voice drew me back from speculation to reality. I turned to a willowy blonde behind the counter.

  “All of it,” I said with a smile, raising an eyebrow at the items in the corner.

  She smiled back. “Glad to hear you like what we have.”

  But I wasn’t so interested in my likes. Since I’d never met a question that I wouldn’t ask, I voiced the one foremost in my mind. “Are they selling well?”

  Translation: are there role-playing games transpiring all around us right now, this minute?

  “Indeed.” Her satisfied grin hinted that she had a naughty secret, and I wondered briefly what it might be. Maybe she was buying up the naughty nurse garb. “We added them last week. They’re a big part of our store’s mission.” Her gaze drifted to the displays. “Is there anything particular you’re looking for in that arena?”

  I could have answered that question in many ways. The most honest would have been I’m merely interested in the games people play.

  But before I could fashion any sort of reply, my phone trilled from the pocket of my purse—my boss’s ringtone.

  I smiled apologetically, patting my purse. “Another time,” I told the blonde.

  She nodded. “We’ll be here when you’re ready.”

  Something about that stuck with me. When you’re ready. I liked how it implied the opportunity would inevitably come. It wouldn’t pass me by.

  Right now, though, I had to be ready for a call with Trish Valentine.

  I always had to be ready for my twenty-four-seven boss. But that suited me just fine—work and the paychecks that came with it were what I needed most in my life.

  Not fantasies. Not mine, and not anyone else’s.

  I shucked off those distractions as I stepped out of the store and into the wide hallway.

  “Hi, boss lady,” I said into the phone, keeping it as upbeat as she liked.

  Trish laughed, a familiar throaty sound. “Haven’t I told you that Queen of the Night will do? That’s all I require.”

  It was an apt title, given some of our more risqué clients. “Queen of the Night you are, and I am but your humble servant.”

  I could sense the eye roll from across the city. “Please, you’re my right-hand gal, Kate. I can’t do this without you.” Trish’s assurances were genuine, her tone as kind as she was. Despite the you’re-on-call treatment, the woman was warm and caring.

  “Which is why I’m calling,” she went on. “I’m on my way to an appointment, but we just landed a new client, and I want you to take the lead. I’ll give you the details tomorrow. It will be amazing, but we need to move quickly for them. They’re rolling out new products right away.”

  My ears perked. Everything perked. Trish had been hinting at some new work for her marketing firm, where I was a vice president. New work for us meant potential bonus money for me. And I needed every extra shade of green. Badly. “This is the client you’ve been angling for?”

  “Yes indeed. It’s a woman-centric company. The messaging needs to be spot-on for females who love this city. I need you to be my woman on the ground. You know Vegas, you know young women, and you know what makes them tick. Be thinking about girls’ night out marketing.”

  Ah, so girls’ nights out—that was what the client did. Perhaps arranged them? Organized bachelorette parties? “What kind of girls’ night out?”

  “The extra fun kind,” she said, teasing. “I’ll tell you more in the morning. Must go. My driver is here.”

  Before she hung up, I heard her purr, “Hello, Daniel.”

  Intrigued, I filed that—hello, Daniel—away. Was she having a fling with her driver?

  But now wasn’t the time to linger on my boss’s preferences—there was never a time to do that—so I turned my mind to the scant breadcrumb trail of information she’d tossed out.

  Be thinking about girls’ night out marketing.

  That was a little broad, and secretive too. But then, so was my job, marketing the after-hours world I inhabited here in Sin City. Most of our clients preferred we operated under the radar, marketing them in subtle, nuanced ways.

  I rounded the bend, heading for the restaurant.

  A dinner out with my best friends could only help prepare me for this secretive meeting tomorrow to talk about girls’ night marketing.

  The extra fun kind.

  2

  Kate

  Through the edamame appetizer, miso soup, and seaweed salad, I pondered this city.

  What it offered in nights out.

  Vegas was a pleasure palace, and you could have any extravagance you desired for the right amount of money. Everything had a price tag.

  It was the kind of city where you could buy, barter, win, or lose anything.

  Bets were only the beginning.

  You could arrange for nights out, nights in, nights with men, nights with women, and nights with a mix. Like in a cupcake box, you could pick your flavor, make your sampler, and take it home.

  Devour it.

  Vegas was a hamlet for freedom of the nighttime variety. The city encouraged exploration of your fantasies because Vegas let you shed your inhibitions after dark.

  In a city where anything went, nothing stayed forbidden. It was a city of why not.

  That was what I would lean on tomorrow during the meeting.

  Those notions.

  Tonight, though, was for research.

  As Lily, Nina, and I moved on to our rainbow rolls, my gaze drifted to a clutch of women in full bachelorette-party garb sauntering toward the sushi joint’s bar.

  The bride wore a tiara and a white sash with THE ALMOST MRS. written in black Sharpie across it, while the bridesmaids hyped themselves as THE BRIDE SQUAD. They made a beeline for the bartender, squealing their orders—one cosmo,
one lemon drop, a margarita, and a vodka tonic. The woman I pegged as the maid of honor ordered a round of tequila shots.

  Perhaps I could learn something useful as prep for Trish’s last-minute assignment. What made a great girls’ night out?

  Sometimes you focused on finding sex, and sometimes you celebrated friendships—different strokes for different women folk.

  Time to go fishing and see what I might catch.

  I leaned in closer to my friends, dropping my voice. “Let’s play a game,” I suggested. “It’ll help me with my meeting tomorrow. We’ll even have stakes. A gentlewoman’s bet, if you will.”

  “Ooh. You’re letting us into your secret work world. This ought to be good. What’s the meeting about?” Lily asked as she reached for a roll with her chopsticks. She loved to give me a hard time about my boss’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell vibe.

  “I don’t have all the details yet. But Trish called an hour ago to tell me we landed a new client who wants to focus on girls’ night out marketing, and we don’t have much time to get it going, so I want to be in tip-top shape with my . . . talking points,” I said, finishing the sentence in the same tone my boss used when she spoke to her driver.