“Cheers,” I manage, after our wine is poured. “To a wonderful evening with a gorgeous girl.”
Jemima giggles.
“Would you say that this is our seventh or eighth date? Have you been counting?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Honey, you’ve practically moved in with me here at the compound, so I’d say it’s our fortieth. I’ve claimed that sweet body more times than I can remember already.”
She laughs melodically again.
“Oh you. But are you counting the hunt as a date, or not a date? We did spend the whole night together, after all.”
I think for a moment. “Good point. I’m not sure. I mean, you couldn’t see my face that night.”
She giggles.
“I know, right? To be honest, I was intimidated at first by the bull mask, but then you turned out to be quite handsome, Mr. Cathcart,” she adds in an arch tone.
I smirk. “You think I’m handsome?”
Her cheeks go pink. “You know you are! But yeah, you could have been a gross troll behind that mask but instead, it was more sexy Phantom of the Opera.”
I shoot her a look over the rim of my wineglass.
“Now you think I’m sexy?”
Jemima giggles and sips her drink. “Come on, you know you’re sexy.”
I wink at her. “Thanks, honey. It doesn’t hurt to hear it every once in a while. That, and compliments about my enormous size. I always appreciate those too, preferably as you’re taking me in your bottom.”
Jemima nearly spits out her drink. “Zane! OMG, people will hear!”
I merely chuckle while looking around. The man at the next table literally has his hand in his date’s décolletage, squeezing her breast as she moans up a storm.
“I doubt anyone’s going to care, honey,” I say in a dry tone. “It’s all par for the course here at the club.”
She just rolls her eyes.
“Still, talking about anal sex at dinner is definitely not good manners.”
I wink at her.
“But you like it.”
She blushes again.
“That’s true,” Jemima murmurs. “I love it in fact.” But then she becomes serious and throws me a curious look. “How’d you get involved with Sanctum anyways, Zane? Did they show you a Facebook ad or something?”
I let out a low chuckle.
“No, sweetheart. Let’s just say that when you’re a wealthy man living in a big city, these kinds of secret clubs tend to find you.”
She blinks.
“But the annual fees are crazy expensive. My friend Corrie mentioned a figure once, and it was more than my yearly salary.”
I laugh at Jem’s innocence and shrug.
“Yeah, but the money isn’t an issue for me. I make plenty of it, and really, I’m looking for ways to spend it. When you have as much as I do, you run out of things to buy, believe it or not. I can understand why some billionaires are focused on space because it’s the last place to put your cash.”
Jemima cocks her curly head at me.
“But what do you do?”
“I own a large media conglomerate. We oversee a bunch of popular sites and apps, like DatingMatch and ErosLand.”
Jemima’s eyes widen. “Oh wow, that’s so cool. Actually, I used ErosLand once, but it didn’t work. Let’s just say the guys on the site are more interested in hooking up than actually dating.”
I smirk.
“Hey, everyone has different priorities.”
She wrinkles her nose and then giggles.
“But do you go to a lot of Sanctum events?” Jemima continues with her questioning as the mains are served. The shrimp scampi looks delicious, in addition to the fresh lobster and warm bread. I shake my head.
“Not as many as I’d like. With this much money, I tend to get recognized easily, and that’s not exactly what you want when you’re trying to enjoy a woman’s body. As a result, I try to maintain my privacy by asking Sanctum to stage private events for me. I’m not that often in attendance at their club-wide parties.”
She nods while taking a bite of scampi.
“Yeah, that makes sense. Like the hunt right? Although I can’t imagine being instantly recognizable. It seems like it would be a burden.”
I nod.
“It is, sometimes. People have randomly come up to me at restaurants, wanting to pitch business ideas or just to press the flesh with an honest-to-God billionaire. So yeah, places like Sanctum are a sanctuary for me, and I like the fact that there’s the flexibility to request private events.”
But then I turn towards the pretty woman.
“Okay, my turn. What about you, sweetheart? How did you get into this?”
She takes a deep breath.
“Actually, my friend Corrie came to one of the events and after she told me about it, I was hooked. Then I scheduled an interview with Melissa, and the rest is history.”
I nod.
“How was that interview?”
She thinks for a moment.
“It was okay. Again, I only got to participate in the hunt because another girl sprained her ankle.”
I chuckle.
“Alison would probably be sputtering with jealousy if she knew what I’ve been doing with you, sweetheart,” I say in a dark tone.