Free Find Me in Darkness by Julie Kenner Page A

your stage name when I mentioned that you and Brayden were coming. I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Not at all.” I’m trying out that overly polite thing myself, but the truth is that I’d much rather be Jaynie around this man. Somehow, that just seems safer.
    I smile brightly at Dagny. “So tell me, is that how it works? All the members learn about the new blood?”
    “Not all the members,” Dagny assures me. “Only the VIPs.” She seems so genuine and so sweet that I like her despite the fact that she’s now resting one hand on Mal’s shoulder in order to keep her balance on the thin armrest. But that bit of familiarity is counterbalanced by the fact that she’s otherwise not paying attention to Mal at all. Instead, she’s entirely focused on Brayden.
    And from what I’m seeing, Brayden has noticed that, too.
    “I’m Brayden,” he says, then holds her offered hand for what I calculate is at least five seconds too long.
    “I know.” Her smile is bright and just a little mischievous, and when the waiter returns with our drinks, she takes one of the glasses with no ice and helps herself to a small sip. “You don’t mind, do you?”
    “Nope,” Brayden says. I see the heat rise in my best friend’s eyes, and as I take a sip from my own glass I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be bumping into Dagny when I stumble into the kitchen to get coffee in the morning.
    “Good.” Her eyes never leave his as she downs the rest of his drink, then eases off of Mal’s chair to stand beside Bray. She holds her hand out to him. “Looks like you need a refill.”
    “I guess I do.” And then—because he is my best friend in the entire world, he meets my eyes, unwilling to leave unless he’s certain I’ll be okay. “Do you mind if I take Dagny to the bar and buy her a drink?”
    For the briefest of moments I want to beg Bray to stay by my side. Because there is something about Malcolm Greer that both compels me and terrifies me.
    Mostly, though, he excites me. And it has been a long time since any man stirred such a variety of emotions within me.
    “Yeah,” I finally say as I turn to look at the man beside me. “Yeah, I’ll be just fine.”
    Bray rises with an eagerness I rarely see in him where women are concerned, and I watch as he presses his hand lightly to the base of Dagny’s spine as he guides her through the crowd to the bar.
    “Ah, those crazy kids,” I say, and Mal laughs.
    “I thought Dagny might enjoy meeting him. She’s just moved back to New York from Los Angeles.”
    “What does she do?”
    “She works for me.”
    “Oh,” I say. “And what do you do?”
    He says nothing. Instead, he reaches for his glass and takes a long drink of his scotch, and all the while his eyes never leave my face. “Is that what we’re going to do now? Casual small talk?”
    His low voice fills my senses like music, threatening to sweep me away. “I—” I swallow and try again. “Do you want an honest answer?”
    “I have no use for a dishonest one.”
    “In that case, yes. Small talk. The weather is always a good choice.”
    A muscle in his jaw twitches, and I can’t tell if he’s amused or frustrated. “Politics? Religion?”
    “Don’t be absurd.”
    “Hollywood?”
    I tilt my head from side to side as I consider. “Possibly. It has the potential to get too personal.”
    His brows lift. “As in whether you prefer network or cable? PG or NC-17?”
    I feel my cheeks heat. “Something like that.”
    “Witty banter?”
    “Definitely off-limits,” I say.
    “Mmm.” He steeples his hands on the table. “I can see your point. Banter with you might inspire more sexual innuendoes than are usually tolerated among polite society.”
    His voice has taken on a rough, sensual edge, and as a shiver runs down my spin, I try to tilt my head down. I don’t want him to see my face, because the mere thought of Malcolm Greer anywhere close to sexual innuendoes is more than I can handle at the moment.
    He,