Page 67 of At the Heart of It
“As opposed to what?”
“Holding it like a prop, which is mostly what I was doing before,” she said. “I might have to grab some food from the buffet so this doesn’t go straight to my head.”
“There’s a buffet?”
Kate nodded toward the hallway that led toward an area the owner had described as the Group Playroom. “It’s down there,” she said. “Apparently the buffet is the only place in the club where you’re not allowed to have sex.”
“There go my plans for the night.”
Kate grinned, though something about the gravel in his voice made her skin tingle pleasantly. She couldn’t keep her brain from picturing what Jonah might look like pushing aside the fruit platter, then reaching for his belt buckle and?—
“I hear the food’s pretty good!” she said with a little too much enthusiasm. “They switch to breakfast at midnight.”
Jonah looked at her oddly and took a sip of his beer. “I guess people work up an appetite fucking each other senseless.”
“I guess so.” Kate took a deep breath and tried to focus on the job she was here to do. “The film editors will have their work cut out for them if we end up shooting here.”
“How do you mean?”
“All this nudity means a lot of editing. A lot of black boxes to add.”
“You really think they’d want to shoot here?”
“It’s perfect for the sort of salacious footage viewers love. Something a little taboo, a little forbidden?—”
She stopped talking and took a sip of beer, hoping Jonah didn’t read too much into her words. Surely that’s what was happening here, right? She wanted him so badly because he was off-limits. It was as simple as that.
Glancing over, she saw his mossy amber eyes fixed on two couples headed up the spiral staircase in the corner. They reached the first landing and kept going, headed for the third level.
“The orgy bed is on the third floor,” Kate said. “In case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t, but thanks.” Jonah sipped his beer and shook his head. “Holy shit. I feel like I’m getting an education here.”
“You and me both.”
He grinned and set his glass down, studying her with an intensity that made her skin hum. “You know the five-things exercise you had me do with Viv on set?”
Kate swallowed hard, wishing it didn’t bother her that he’d brought up his ex. “It’s a great exercise.”
“Right. Well, this is one of the five things I really admire about you,” he said.
Kate laughed, surprised by the turn in conversation. “That I drag you out to swingers clubs to spend time creepily staring at strangers?”
Jonah smiled and spun his glass on the bar. “I meant that you’re so open-minded. That you go out of your way to experience new things.”
“If you’re talking about orgies, I don’t think that’s on my bucket list.”
“I meant the beer, but good to know.”
“Right.” Kate grinned and sipped her beer. “Trying new things usually pays off for me. At least half the time, I end up discovering something I love.”
A heavyset man with tattooed arms the size of tree trunks skidded to a stop in front of them and looked at Kate. “If you want to try new things, there’s a frog chair up on the second floor. I could grab my wife and my girlfriend and the five of us could?—”
“Actually, we’re just here observing for now,” Kate interrupted.
“For now,” Jonah agreed. “But the second you see my wife heading for the sex swing over there, that’s your signal to join us.”
The man grinned and gave them both a conspiratorial wink. “Got it. We’ll see you around.”
