Page 1 of His Curvy Obsession

CHAPTER ONE

. . .

James surveyed Club Curve as customers filled in. Tonight, he was behind the bar, serving drinks while he waited for the crowd to build. Though he now owned several successful clubs, he still enjoyed the occasional shift tending bar. He liked getting his hands dirty every now and then. It kept things fresh and allowed him to really see how things were going.

When he’d opened the club, he’d envisioned finding his perfect soulmate—a confident, vivacious woman who embraced her voluptuous figure. He had created the club specifically to find ‘the one’. His friend, Lucas, had repeatedly told him he had not been ready to find ‘the one,’ which was why he only dated thin women. But that was in the past. Now, he was ready to find the woman whose curves would drive him wild.

His other clubs attracted all types, but this one catered specifically to curvy women and the men who found them irresistible. James knew he wasn’t alone in his attraction to a full-figured woman. He’d tried the dating apps but hadn’t found a woman who ignited his passion. He preferred a woman that didn’t look like the slightest breeze would send her landing on her skinny ass.

He preferred a woman with thick hips he could grab when he fucked her from behind.

“Speak of the devil,” James murmured as his friend Lucas walked up to the bar.

“What was that?” The man took a seat on one of the padded barstools.

“Just wondering when you’d show your ugly mug tonight.” James placed a shot glass in front of Lucas and poured him a whiskey. “You’ve been coming around a lot lately.”

“Just wanted to see the great James Thorne fall flat on his face.” He picked up the drink and downed it quickly.

“You’re wasting your time concentrating on my love life. You should be more concerned with your own.” James poured his friend another shot.

Lucas and James had grown up together in the same foster home. They’d been lucky. While the couple who had raised them wouldn’t be nominated for any parenting awards, they had fed them, provided a roof over their heads, and hadn’t abused them.

Their other friend, Matt, hadn’t been as lucky. He’d been raised by his biological father. A real bastard who couldn’t be called a father by any stretch of the imagination. He’d simply been a sperm donor as far as James was concerned.

By rote James waited on several women. He noted their shape and beauty and smiled when they batted their eyelashes at him. None sparked an interest. He firmly believed that when he saw ‘the one’ there would be an instant attraction he just couldn’t ignore.

Despite the numerous women who had walked through the doors since the club opened, he had to feel that.

“Well, well, will you look at that?” Lucas gave a low whistle, his attention focused on the entrance of the club.

Intrigued, James followed his friend’s intense gaze—and felt his world shift on its axis.

A woman in red satin stood just inside the door, hesitating.

Her curves filled her dress to perfection, breasts and hips swaying as she walked in.

Immediately James’s cock turned to steel. “Mine.” He gave a low growl, fighting the urge to jump over the bar and claim her on sight.

Lucas arched a brow. “Really?”

“Mine.” James repeated, looking directly at his friend. Yeah, they’d walked through hell together, but there was no way he’d allow the other man to lay a hand on what was his.

And the lady in red was definitely his.

Olivia took a deep breath and followed her friend Jenny into the crowded club, her heart pounding. She rarely ventured out to places like this, preferring quiet nights at home. But six months had passed since ending her latest dead-end relationship and her thirtieth birthday loomed on the horizon. She was tired of hiding behind her gaberdine pantsuits and plain cotton underwear. She wanted to start living. She wanted to find a man who could appreciate her curves—a man who wanted her for who she was, a smart yet shy, curvaceous woman. That combination did not usually attract droves of suitors to her door.

Still, as the music throbbed in her chest, she felt acutely self-conscious about the stares her red dress and curves were attracting. She glanced at the confident women surrounding her and tried to silence her usual self-doubts. The purpose of tonight was to build confidence, not tear it down through comparisons.

Yet she felt utterly exposed and on display in her form-fitting red dress. She had chosen an outfit daring by her standards, and she felt uncomfortable with the attention it was garnering, even though pushing beyond her comfort zone had been the point. To say she grappled with self-confidence issues was an understatement.

Olivia was unaccustomed to receiving appreciative glances from men in any situation, let alone in bars. No, wait—this wasn’t a bar. It was a gentlemen’s club. A club catering to curvaceous women and the men who adored them.

When Olivia caught up with Jenny at the bar, her friend wasted no time admonishing her. “Loosen up!” Jenny nudged her shoulder. “Everyone here is just like us, and we’re going to have fun tonight even if it kills us. And that dress is killer on you.”

Olivia wanted to believe Jenny when she said everyone here was just like them, but Olivia still wasn’t convinced.

A man at the end of the bar raised his glass to her. Unlike the typical judgmental stares she received about her full figure, his gaze conveyed desire and admiration. While part of her was thrilled at the attention, the other part—the part she was determined to conquer—wished to disappear into the shadows. She felt utterly uncertain and out of place.