GAGE

CHAPTER ONE

I don't know why I decided to come here. The Wicked Wolf Club, is no place for a good girl like me. But I couldn't let my best friend, Ava, do something stupid in her emotional state. So here we are, sipping drinks at the corner of the bar, Ava, a martini and I, a coke as someone needs to have a clear head for us to reach home in one piece.

I take in the dimly lit club; numerous people making out on the dark hardwood floors and some against the dark walls, elegant maroon furniture occupied by men with a woman on every man's lap, a classy bar stocked with all the drinks in the world, and women dressed in lace corsets perched on high bar stools with immaculately dressed men in button down shirts and slacks beside them- either caressing the women or kissing them. A huge dance floor with many grinding bodies, where, men are dressed in leather vests and jeans and women in barely existent clothes- shorts or skirts teamed with lacy bras or spaghetti tops.

Looking at the others choice of clothing, I look down my body and feel oddly overdressed in my simple white crop top and black pencil jeans.

Shaking off the thought, I resume scanning the club, spotting a final element in the ground floor. A spiral staircase at the corner of the dance floor leading to a hallway for other activities I presume as I fight off a blush, cursing Ethan for the millionth time.

I quickly turn back to Ava and see her order another drink, that would eventually give her one hell of a hangover tomorrow. But I guess I would be the same if I found my boyfriend of three years cheating on me.

"Why me Kiera? I was bloody loyal to Ethan. Why are men such pigs? God, I hate him!" Ava mutters angrily at me with tears in her eyes.

"He's not worth it Ava," I reply, my voice thick with emotion.

Ava is a beautiful person both inside and out. With her red hair and light green eyes, she is simply stunning to look at and her perfect hourglass figure always captures the attention of guys. She doesn't deserve a cheater, she deserves the best of the best. It breaks my heart to see her heartbroken.

Hearing my words she gets a fire in her eyes, "You're right Kiera, he's so not worth it. He's not worth my tears, my time or my anything! He can go suck on Lucy's tongue all he wants, he doesn't deserve me!"

"That's the spirit girl!" I holler enthusiastically, happy to see her coming out of her depressed state.

"I'll find someone who deserves me," she exclaims.

"You're damn right you will and he'll know your value," I say with a warm smile.

"And I'm going to find him right now," Ava bobs her head up and down with finality.

I feel my jaw drop and before I can ask what she means by 'right now', she's off the stool, gliding toward the dance floor with her drink in her hand.

Sighing, I drop my head on the reflective glass top of the bar and study my reflection. Light brown eyes stare back at me, long black hair falls forward on my shoulders and brushes my face, creamy skin slightly flushed at the cheeks and full pink lips a bit red from my teeth worrying the soft skin.

I close my eyes wondering just how long we might have to be in here. Taking a deep breath I open my tired eyes and push off the bar top to keep on eye on my drunk best friend.

It might not have been more than a minute or two since I took my eyes off her but searching through the many faces in the crowd I fail to trace her anywhere. My heart beats a staccato beat of worry in my chest as I begin to panic.

I frantically move my gaze around the club and find her climbing up the stairs with a muscular blonde hulk following right behind, guiding her up the steps with a hand on the back of her figure hugging short black dress.

Abandoning my coke, I jump off the stool and rush across the dance floor, trying to catch up before losing sight of them in the myriad of dancing bodies.

By the time I make it to the stairs they're already heading down the hallway, only the top of their heads now being visible.

I run up the stairs two at a time, praising myself for wearing flat ankle boots.

I'm panting by the time I reach the hallway but I don't see them there anymore. All the doors down the hallway are closed and I curse our bad decision of abandoning our cell phones in the car to avoid Ava drunk dialing her ex, leaving calling her out of option.

Thinking fast, I slowly inch toward the first door hoping to hear her voice, but as I place my ear against the door all I hear is female moans and I immediately backtrack, flushed head to toe with embarrassment.

Seeing as there were five doors on either side of the wall I quickly walk to the next door and try to pinpoint Ava's familiar voice but I could only hear loud banging noises of what I guessed to be of a headboard against the wall.

With my heart hammering away in my chest I run away from the door and try to control my ragged breathing as I place my ear against the next door. Hearing nothing, I move on to the fourth door and pray for Ava to be in it.

"Strip and get on the bed, chica. I want you on your elbows and knees and that sweet ass high in the air for me to admire," a deep male voice rumbles and a gasp slips out of mouth before I could stop myself.

"Who's there?" I hear the male voice growl from inside the room and I scramble for cover.

My heart now lodged in my throat, I rush to the last room and try the lock. Luckily, it opens and I dash inside, hurriedly closing the door behind me and placing the lock for closure.

Breathing heavily, I cover my mouth with both hands to avoid alerting anyone in the room of my presence and quickly scan the place for occupants. Finding no one, I breathe a sigh of relief and try to calm my racing heart.

The huge room is illuminated in bright lights by an extravagant chandelier, contrasting with lush brown hardwood floors and dark walls; a king sized bed with grey silk sheets in the center of the room, a medium sized wooden closet lining the far wall and a door probably leading to a bathroom, completes the room.

And that's when I notice the light streaming out from below the bathroom door. The fear of being caught sneaking around kick-starts my heart and I debate whether to head back out or explain my situation to the person in the bathroom and hide out here or ask whoever is in the bathroom to help me find Ava.

Approaching footfalls sound beyond the room door I'm leaning against and is soon followed by the rattle of the door handle.

I stand frozen in place and try to wrack my brain for a way out of this unbelievable predicament when I hear another set of footsteps from the bathroom door.

Cursing my incredible luck, I look around the room for a temporary hiding spot and rush to the closet, throwing open the door and crawling inside quickly before soundlessly closing the door.

A door clicks open, footfalls sound closer than before and I hold my breath, terrified of being caught by the occupant of the room.

After a moment I hear a person breathing in deeply and its silent for a few scary seconds before the sound of footsteps commences again.

When the door to the room opens, I let out the breath I was holding and lean against the back of the closet in relief.

"Eric," a deep, strong male voice rumbles and for some strange reason it causes goosebumps to break out on my skin and a shiver to run down my spine. Not the scary kind, no, the thrilling, pleasurable kind.

"I think I heard someone in the hallway, did you happen to see anyone Gage?" The male from the other room, whose name I now know as Eric, asks.

I gulp in nervous anticipation and wait for Gage's response. Just thinking of the manly name Gage, alone, sends a tingle down my back.

What is happening to me?

There is a short pause before Gage replies, "No, but I'll be on the lookout."

"Okay, got to get back to my chica," he says, excitement coating his words and I feel my cheeks heat, remembering his dirty words from before.

As the sound of his footsteps retreat I pray that Gage vacates the room too so I could escape from this dark closet unnoticed.

Hearing the door closing and locking into place, I listen intently for the sound of footsteps but I hear nothing. I wait for another minute or two, hoping to hear some movement and when I'm only met with pin drop silence, I conclude that Gage has also left the room.

Instead of feeling happy about being able to escape I feel strangely disappointed about not being able to meet him, not being able to give a profile to the captivating voice.

Frowning at my odd emotions, I open the closet and silently crawl outside.

I have barely crawled two feet when I hear a sharp intake of breath and whirl my head in the direction of the sound, staring into the most magnetic, enchanting blue eyes I have ever come across.

I freeze in shock as I continue to stare at him standing right next to the bed, though how he got there without making any padding noise, I have no clue.

He is tall, well over six feet, his build- muscular yet lean, wide shoulders, trim waist, powerful arms, long, strong legs and bare feet.

Dressed in a white t-shirt, that does nothing to hide his gorgeous six packs, and faded blue jeans hanging low on his hips, he's the epitome of perfection.

I quickly rake my eyes up his body to his face again and take in his mop of dark brown disheveled hair sitting at just the right length below his ear, short at the sides and long at the top; dark eyebrows, straight noise, high cheekbones, perfect pink lips, and the scruffy stubble only adding more oomph to his sexiness.

Realizing that I have been staring for a very long time and that I'm still on my hands and knees in front of this male perfection, my cheeks heat.

Tearing my eyes off him, I turn away, not wanting him to see the red staining my cheeks and hastily get up.

"Um...I...I was lost," I stutter looking at the floor.

"Lost in my closet?" He questions humor lacing his tone.

Having no idea how to come up with a story of how I got lost in his closet, I decide to bolt out the room before I further embarrass myself in front of the handsome stranger.

"Yeah, sorry about that, bye." I mumble and walk briskly to the door, still looking at the ground.

When I'm a few feet away from the door I collide with a solid wall. Only this wall is not made of bricks, it's made of sturdy muscles. Before I stumble back and fall on my ass, he loops his arms around my waist, their strength like a band of steel, bringing me flush against him and forcing me to place my hands on his biceps to brace myself.

The moment my hands come in contact with his skin a pleasant bolt of electricity shoots through my body, heating me from head to toe and awakening every never endings.

I gasp and look into his eyes wondering how he got in front of me so quick. His face is even more beautiful up close, it's perfection personified. He peers down at me as there is over a feet of difference in our heights and my head barely manages to reach his chest.

There are so many emotions swirling in those dark blue eyes, but I could only place the strongest ones- pride and supreme happiness.

Unable to bear the intensity in those eyes I choose somewhere else to look at and end up focusing on his extremely kissable pink lips. The bottom lip is a tad plumper than the top and surrounded by his weeks worth of stubble, is simply tantalizing. His mouth is mere inches away from mine and I am overcome with the sudden desire to kiss it and memorize his taste.

I don't know how long I was staring at his lips but I finally snap of the trance they had put me in when those lips part to reveal a set of perfect white teeth in a killer smile, creating two lovely dimples on his cheeks.

Oh common! Could this guy get any more perfect?

"Not so fast, love," he says smirking.

The one word love, gets my heart racing as my entire body tingles with warmth.

"First you're going to tell me who you are and how you got here, then we are going to get wicked," he continues and I snap my eyes back up to his at the word, staring in shock.

"Wicked?" I squeak.

"Yes," he replies with amusement shining in his eyes.

I freeze, fear taking over my body of the unknown.

He must feel the sudden change in my body as he brings his arm from around me and trails a finger down my cheek, sending tingles through their path.

"Don't worry, love, I promise you will enjoy the wickedness thoroughly," he says with certainty in his dark blue hues and surety in his voice.

I gulp wondering how the night's events took a turn for the worse, and how in the world am I going to escape from this wall of muscles.