The Affair With The Stranger

Casey Charles stood in front of her mirror with a small scowl on her face at her appearance. Her best friend Amber was dragging her out to go clubbing tonight in celebration of Casey's job promotion, and while the idea was fun and all, the outfit her friend had tossed at her the second she had walked in the door was way too revealing in Casey's opinion.

The dress she had on was so short that it barely made it past her nether regions, and when she tried pulling it down the low-cut top slid down over her breasts. No matter how many times she tried to cover herself, the stupid dress just wouldn't cooperate with her. Although the dress was unorthodox and in no way Casey's style, it was very flattering to her slim figure and it was a beautiful deep red color and had shiny sequins that glittered with every movement.

She checked her make up and hair one last time, making sure her smokey eyes and blood red lips were perfect and not a single curl was out of place before heaving a sigh and turning away from her mirror. She really didn't want to do this...

As soon as she came into view of her best friend, Amber shrieked gleefully and playfully clapped her hands together. "Girl, you look so hot!" she exclaimed, her baby blue eyes shining intensely with her happiness.

Casey couldn't help her grin, even though she felt too vulnerable and on display being in this dress, her best friend always knew how to feed her ego. "Alright. Alright, come on. We've got to catch a cab before it gets too late."

It took no time at all to catch a cab even though it was getting to be around midnight. The cabby was nice enough to play some music for the girls to get them in the mood for the club and was even singing along with them and sending Amber flirtatious looks in the rear view mirror. The ride to the club went by quickly, even though it was an hour long drive. Amber paid the driver and even slipped her number into his hand with a not so subtle wink.

Casey rolled her eyes and at her friend's antics and pulled her away with a grin, "Down girl," she said as Amber waved seductively at the driver once more before he pulled away and left them to have fun.

"I don't know about you, Case, but I plan on getting laid tonight and that man was the definition of fine as wine!"

Casey giggled and shook her head. She should've known that this was also a ruse for Amber to hook up with someone and not get attached. Amber wasn't into relationships and wasn't ready to be tied down to anyone. She wanted to have as much fun as she could before she found that spark of affection for that one man who would settle her down. Amber called herself a 'free spirit' while Casey insisted that she was just wild. Nevertheless, she loved her best friend more than anything in the world.

The neon sign in front of them read, Champaign Room, in bright purple lighting and it was filled to the brim with gyrating people and loud dance music. They pushed their way to the bar to order their drinks and made their way to an empty table. Casey didn't mind getting drunk for the night and spending time with her best friend, but she did have some reservations about being in large crowds and getting lost.

As the night went by, and more and more drinks were had, Casey loosened up and began dancing the night away. She lost herself in the music and just let go for the evening.

What she didn't notice was a man at a nearby table with eyes only for her. Derek Rowan was the owner of this club, and although he rarely visited it due to his other businesses that kept him occupied, leaving this club and a few others in the hands of the few men and women he trusted. He'd decided to make an appearance and have a talk with his partner about some financial issues, who had yet to come out of his office. In the meantime, he had seen the two women walk in hours ago. The deep red dress catching his eye and narrowed in on the slim brunette and her blonde friend as they sauntered eagerly up to the bar for drinks.

He wasn't one to delve into a single woman, keeping his relationship status to a minimum because of his work. Not only was he the owner of several businesses, he was also the son of the cities most lethal crime boss and he didn't want to bring an innocent woman into that life with him. He kept his sexual life to a one night stand every once in awhile to satisfy his needs and never spoke to them again.

But something about this woman had him captivated. Not only was she beautiful, and her slim body moved gracefully as she danced, but there was an air about her that called to him and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. Sipping on his whiskey, he let his eyes travel around the room. He saw a few of his body guards posted about, silently awaiting his orders if and when he had any. He also noticed a few unruly types that were making glances at the woman in the red dress as if to advance on her and ask her for a dance. She didn't seem like the type to just dance with anyone but her little blonde friend though, and he felt like it was his duty to step in if someone was brave enough to approach her.

Nevertheless, he kept his eyes on her as he waited. His partner made his way over to him and slid into the chair in front of him. "So sorry to keep you waiting, Derek, I had to take an important call and gather the paperwork for you. It took longer than I had thought."

Derek inclined his head in acceptance, "It's quite alright. I've been entertained while I waited. What have you got?" He got straight to business, and kept one eye peeled on the woman as well.

"It seems like money keeps getting taken out of the safe and I'm not sure how. There's only three people who know the code, not including myself. I've interrogated each of them myself and I'm not getting anything out of them. I might need some help in making them talk."

"How much has been taken out?"

"We keep the safe at strictly two grand for security purposes, and over the past couple months about half of that has been taken."

Derek clenched his teeth in thought. Who would be stupid enough to steal from his own business? "Did you check the cameras?"

"Of course," his friend nodded, "but for some unknown reason it doesn't show anyone going in or out in that span of time. I don't understand it. It's as if the feed has been compromised somehow. I'm not an investigator, nor do I have enough of an understanding of technology to fix it and solve the problem. This is why I asked you to come, so I could get your input and your help as well."

Derek's thoughts went on overdrive in the span of a few seconds and came up with a solution to the problem. He turned to look behind him at his second in command, Chase, and gestured for him to approach them. Once he came over, Derek looked to his partner, "This is my second, Chase, he deals with the difficult matters and I want him to interrogate the three and figure out which one is lying. And deal with it because I don't tolerate liars and thieves." Chase nodded silently before stepping away while Derek faced his partner once again with a cold nonchalance that had the man swallow nervously. Not wanting to anger Derek, the man nodded in agreement and Derek dismissed him.

His eyes went back to the woman in red to find that she wasn't dancing anymore but was sitting a few tables away with her friend, fanning her face with her hand and laughing about what her friend was saying. There was persperation glinting on her delicate face and her cheeks were rosy from all of the drinks she had consumed. He wasn't sure how much more she could handle but he doubted that she would be leaving anytime soon. He sighed and sat back to continue staring at her.

He was confused by his sudden infatuation with her, but he had to admit, even to himself, that she was beautiful.

Of course, he wasn't the only one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement going towards the women and he tensed inwardly. The man that stumbled over to them was big and burly and he obviously couldn't hold his liquor very well. Derek smirked inwardly. Amateur, he thought snidely. The man grabbed onto the woman he had his eye on and Derek nearly bolted out of his seat to defend her.

The women looked startled at his touch and the one in red flinched away from his hand. Derek couldn't help the satisfied smirk from growing on his lips. Yeah, back off buddy, he thought, she's mine.

Even though he hadn't met her yet and wasn't sure what he wanted from her, Derek knew he wanted her.

Casey was feeling light and free at the moment, but the heat had been getting to her for awhile and when Amber suggested they take a break and sit down, she wasn't going to argue.

Amber had been on the lookout for a hookup nonstop but hadn't left her friend's side once. She hadn't found the one she wanted to spend the night with yet. But the two girls were having a blast just hanging out and dancing and drinking freely.

When the hand landed on her shoulder, Casey managed not to jump out of her skin, but she did flinch away when she looked up at the man that had grabbed her. He could barely stand on his own two feet and the alcohol on his breath smelled days old and not hours like hers probably did. His eyes were glazed over and she had to hold back the wrinkling of her nose at his stench.

"H-Hey...pretty lady...wunna dance...with me?" His words slurring horrendously and his attempt at charming her with a grin had her grimacing.

"No thanks," she said politely, wondering if her voice was slurring as bad at his, "my friend and I are taking a break now." He looked blurrily between the two, swaying slightly beside her chair. Amber didn't hide the disdain on her face from him like Casey was and he scowled before walking away.

"That was disgusting, but you should try and find someone to dance with," Amber said with a grin, her eyes looking off to the side and making eye contact with a surly man standing against the wall as if she was debating on grabbing him up and whisking him away to the dance floor. Casey laughed at her friend's words and the look she was giving to the poor guy along the wall as if she was devouring him with her eyes.

"I wouldn't even know who to dance with. There could be drug dealers or rapists here. How could I know the difference?"

Amber scoffed at her, "Just find and handsome guy and drag him to the dance floor." She got up from the table and leaned over Casey's chair, "Watch this." She walked to the man along the wall, who had his eyes on her every move instantly. Casey saw her friend make a come here gesture with her hand and with no hesitation whatsoever the man followed Amber to the dance floor.

Casey shook her head. How in the world did Amber do that? It was like the guy was under a spell instantly. She wished she had her friend's confidence with men.

She took another drink of her cocktail and fanned herself again, trying to cool off and relax for a moment. Her eyes scanned the crowd and skimmed over and man who was sitting a couple tables away from her and was staring right at her! She did a double take and met his eyes. They were dark and honed in on her like a missile. He was leaned back, looking relaxed and yet coiled to strike as he sipped his drink. He was wearing dark jeans and a button up shirt that was a dark color. Maybe blue or black, but she couldn't tell for sure in this light. The tie he had around his throat was loose and his sleeves were rolled up over his muscular forearms.

His face was fixed with angular planes and he looked dangerous and sexy as sin as he kept her gaze locked on his. What could it hurt? She thought, maybe I should take a page out of Amber's book for once.

She put on a hundred watt, man-eating grin and beckoned him over. The surprise didn't register on his face, but a cool grin slid in place as he picked his glass up and walked over to her to sit down with her.

"Does that move work on everyone?" His voice was like rich velvet as he leaned back and looked her up and down. She was mildly shocked that the move actually worked and couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Never tried it before now," she pushed away the surprise and nervousness and slowly lifted her drink to her lips, to gather her wits about her.

This man was even more handsome up close, she thought to herself as she slid her eyes back up to his. They were a dark chocolate brown that was both captivating and intimidating to her. In her inebriated state, she didn't think about what she was doing next when she stood up and held her hand out to him, "Will you dance with me?"

He smiled softly and nodded, standing up and grabbing her small hand in his. He was tall and she had to bend her back slightly to actually see his face when he was this close to her. He tugged her to the dance floor and they began moving together, almost as if they were one and the music fed on with their excitement. He held her hips close and looked down at her as if she was the only person in the room and she felt powerful in that moment.

They danced for another hour before he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Would you like to get out of here?" The question was loaded and if she was in her right mind, she probably would've thought harder on the implications. They didn't even know each other's names for crying out loud! Instead she nodded, throwing her common sense out the window.

"I just have to let Amber know I'm leaving." He nodded and let her go to her friend.

Casey found Amber leaning against the wall next to the guy she was dancing with earlier. At a closer look, the guy had a security logo on his shirt and he was handsome as well. Just not to Casey's tastes. "Amber, I'm gonna get out of here. You think you can get home yourself?"

Amber grinned and nodded, giving her friend a quick hug, "Go get some girl!" She said looking over Casey's shoulder at the man waiting patiently behind her. Amber winked at him and at Casey and they parted ways.

Casey grabbed her things and the man kept his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the club. He led her to a black charger and helped her into it before driving off to a hotel. After checking them in for the night, snagging his usual penthouse suite whenever he had his trysts, he brought her upstairs and immediately took her mouth and pushed her against the wall. She reacted instantly, feeling heat rise up her body and swarm through her in waves. He grabbed her legs and lifted her up with their lips still locked and walked her to the bed, depositing her on it gently.

His warm hands slid over her legs and up to the hem of her dress to start pushing it up and off of her. Casey felt like her body was on fire as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt before tugging it off and throwing it on the floor where her dress was. Next came her under garments and his jeans and boxers and then they were entwined.

He kissed up her neck to her lips, his hot breath making goosebumps rise on her exposed flesh and she moaned, lifting her hips up to meet his in an attempt to calm the fire rushing through her.

Against her lips, he groaned as the friction of her skin against his erection caused an almost painful bliss. He didn't know why he felt the need to take her so badly, to want to keep her and protect her even before they had come together. But he did. And he was going to make it memorable for her.

He slid down her body and parted her legs, watching her face as she caught her breath from his rough kisses before he started rubbing her on her sensitive nub and her eyes widened before they closed from the pleasure of his mentsrations. He felt his lips lift up in a grin at how she was reactions and the sounds she was trying to muffled with her hand.

Leaning down, he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth and she let out a satisfying moan and quivered underneath him. He released her nipple to give the other the same treatment and watched her bite her lip and sigh.

He kissed a trail down her flat stomach to her nether regions and lavished her with his tongue. Her hands dug into his hair, neither of them knowing whether it was to push him away or for him to keep going. He continued to torture her until he felt like she was ready enough to take him.

She was gasping for air when he straightened up to look at her. The dark blue of her eyes were nearly eclipsed by her irises as she begged him wordlessly to take her.

He didn't even think about needing to use a condom as the need to physically be inside of her was so strong, that he didn't hold back as he pushed inside of her. Her sharp intake of breath had him stop and look at her for a moment, thinking he had hurt her, but when she wiggled her hips wordlessly telling him he could move now that she had gotten used to his intrusion, all thoughts slid from his mind as he began to thrust into her. Harder. Faster. He held one of her thighs against his hip to get deeper into her and he relished in the satisfied moans of the woman underneath him as she met his hips in tandem and held on to his shoulders for some stability.

Their orgasms came swiftly and at the same moment, exploding from them in a whirlwind of pleasure and they parted from each other, lying on their backs to begin the stage of calming down.

Casey's heart pounded so hard, she could feel it in her temples. That was the best sex she had ever had! Not to mention, she finally had her first (or multiple) orgasm while in the throes. She couldn't believe it. As she was wondering if this was the time for her to take her leave, he rolled towards her and pulled her to his chest and nuzzled her hair.

She wasn't sure what to do, but she had to admit that it did feel amazing to be held by him. He was warm against her back and his strong arms were locked around her protectively. Before too long, exhaustion started to overtake her but she didn't want to fall asleep yet. She needed to know one thing. "What's your name? And how far are we taking this?" Okay...maybe two things that she needed to know.

Derek tried not to tense at her questions, not just because if he told her his name that she might know of his name and of his father's business and run screaming from this room, but because he wasn't sure if he really wanted to keep going or lose her forever. As he thought about this Casey held her breath waiting for his answer and fought of her tiredness.

"My name is Derek. Rowan. Derek Rowan," his words tumbled out of his mouth as if his internal filter went up in flames. Screw it, he thought, if she runs then she's not built for this life. The thought tore him to pieces but he decided it would be better to protect her if they stayed away from each other after this. "And the second answer is really up to you."

She didn't react to his name, but she had heard the name thrown around every once in awhile. Something to do with the mob? Or the mafia? She internally shrugged, he might not be related to it. "I'm Casey," she said softly, her words muffled by a large yawn, "and I'm not sure how I want this to go. I've never done this before but I wanted to have a little fun tonight so I went for it."

He nodded against her neck, pleased and grateful that she hadn't tried to run from him. He didn't want her scared, he thought of her as a fragile little flower and he wanted to protect that image as long as he could. "Would you prefer to leave tonight or stay with me?"

She yawned again and snuggled up closer to him as an answer and was out like a light in seconds. He stayed awake for a few more minutes, basking in her warmth and her smell. He wasn't getting his hopes up that she would stay with him after this, but he was hoping she wouldn't.

Whatever happened, he would deal with it. He always did.