She refused to shed the rising tears. It maddened her to the core she might soften on the inside at his little speech, at his obvious remorse. In truth, his words should have given her some relief, as if, perhaps, he understood the depth of pain he’d caused. They didn’t.
She turned. There was nothing more to say.
“I’ll wait for you all to reach out to me.” He chuffed, raised his hands, and let them fall back to his lap. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Just as she was passing through the doorway to go back out in the hall, his voice rose a notch. “And, I’m going to pay you back that three thousand.”
She paused but didn’t look back. She didn’t believe him, but she was glad he’d at least said it. “Thank you.”
“And for what it’s worth, Starr. I never stopped loving you or your sisters.”
Her blood simmered. She glanced back at him. “If you believe that, you don’t know what love is. My boyfriend. He’s the best man I’ve ever met, and he knows what love really means.” She and Nathan hadn’t declared anything like love to one another, but she was certain of one thing—should she ever fall in love and have children, it would be with someone like Nathan, a man who’d never put her in danger, not ever.
She scooted out, knowing she would never return. Their father may want forgiveness like people in hell want ice water, but wanting wasn’t getting. Her stomach churned like a volcano. She would not get sick—not here. From now on, Luna could do what she wanted, and so could Phee. She was done being the self-declared messenger and referee for the three of them.
26
Nathan bolted out of the car as soon as he saw Starr falter through those sliding glass doors. As soon as her eyes caught his, she ran to him, which was the only thing he needed to know. Big Daddy inside wasn’t so big if he left a woman in tears like those she now shed.
“I hate to cry.” Her muffled words into his shirt tore him up as much as the wet staining his shirt. If anyone deserved to unload grief, it was this woman. Between sobs, she described the conversation she’d had with her father. The guy’d had the gall to ask for forgiveness. He’d offered her nothing but words—goddamned words. His fists ached from clenching, needing to land a few cracks where they were deserved.
Instead, he cupped her face between his palms. “I’m taking you home. You don’t ever have to come back here, but if the urge strikes, I’m coming in with you. Nonnegotiable.”
She gave him a weak smile and sniffed. “You can’t afford to hit him.”
“I’ll make sure there are no witnesses.”
She laughed a little at that, and a sliver of tension eased inside him. She got in the car, pulled out a tissue from her purse, and blew her nose. She pulled on her seatbelt and focused straight ahead. “I’m ready now. I know you need to get to work, and I do, too.” She lifted her cell phone to check the time and let it fall to her lap. “Soon.”
He started the car. “Guess what? We’re taking the night off.”
She rolled her head to the side to look at him. “It will be better if I dance. Otherwise, he wins a little then.”
Oddly, he understood that. Anytime their lives were interrupted because of another—like her father, like Ruark MacKenna—the nemesis won an inch. Screw that.
“Okay, but we’re making a pit-stop at my place first.”
“Oh, right, Moonlight.”
“No, babe. You.”
He managed to get home fast without getting a speeding ticket. They had an hour before needing to be at Shakedown, so there wasn’t much time, but he was spending every second of it making this woman forget everything but him. He lifted her up, pressed her into the shower tiles, and buried his cock so deep inside her warmth that he couldn’t imagine heaven being better than this. Thanks to her, he’d discovered sex was a spectacular way of burning off a shitstorm.
Her nails dug into his back, and she moaned loudly into his mouth. God, her sounds could make him come on the spot. He pulled himself out, and she murmured a protest.
“Shhh.” He pushed wet hair off her face. He knelt down in front of her, lifted one leg and hooked it over his shoulder. God, she was beautiful everywhere. Her peach-colored lips shone with arousal. He had to taste her. As soon as his lips met her flesh, he couldn’t stop himself from devouring her.
She cried out as he sucked and licked her for long minutes. She came on his lips, and he still didn’t stop. Darting his tongue inside, he fucked her anew until her moans grew desperate. Until he grew desperate. He rose to his feet and wasted no time seating himself inside her again.
“What do you want?” he growled.
“I want you to fuck me. Hard.”
She’d called him a gentleman, but there was nothing gentle about what he was going to do to this woman. With his hands protecting her ass, he battered her against the tiles, grinding against her clit until his knuckles ached at the friction. Stopping wasn’t happening though, not until she came again.
When she did, she called out his name—so full of emotion, his eyes pricked. Only then did he allow himself to spill inside her.
Leaving this apartment was going to be damned hard—if he was able to do it at all.
27
Nathan took a swig of ice water and quickly scanned the full crowd. The lights were dimmer than usual, or his eyesight was failing him. Losing the front door hadn't deterred business one iota. He overheard some guy whisper to a girl, “They have gangsters here,” as if it were a selling point. By the way she beamed up at him, it was.
Jackie held her hair off her neck and waved her hand toward her skin. “Man, when will this humidity break?”
The heat wasn't so bad. He liked that the large doors on the side had been opened up. It allowed some summer air in the usually stuffy place.
Gabrielle set her tray down on the waitress stand. “If Declan doesn't let me change into flats soon, my toes are gonna start bleeding.”
“He said when everyone's good and drunk.” Jackie set an entire bottle of Lagvulin 16 on the girl's tray. “Take these to the group of guys in booth twenty.”
“Big spenders. Let's hope they're good tippers. Tell Declan I’m totally up for a drink with him later.” She winked.
Jackie smirked. “I've run their card. It's good.”
Man, the women in this place had some spirit. Nathan shifted his position so he could get a beeline view of the “big spenders.” Of course. Ruark MacKenna and friends. Nathan moved to the handicap ramp leading to one of the exits. Better to see the entire crowd—and watch the man who just needed to fuck off already.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Miss Cherry Noir slung open the curtain.
“Eyes on me.” She prowled the stage. “That means you, too, sweetheart.” She pointed to a balding man who nearly spat out his drink. “Oh, yes, especially you.” She took careful steps to the edge of the stage and winked at him. Raising both arms, she gave the opening spiel Nathan had heard a hundred times.
“Tonight, you will immerse yourself in a veritable wonderland where the conventional is challenged by the extraordinary. Where wonder and magic are not only real, they're required.”
Her voice faded a little as his glare drilled straight into the back of MacKenna’s head. The music changed, and the slow roll of drums resonated in his chest. Starr, Luna, and Phoenix stepped on to the stage, one after the other. For their patriotic rumba act, Phoenix blazed in red sparkles, Luna shone in white, and Starr sparkled in a dark blue. They sashayed, all rolling hips and long legs, to the edge of the stage and paused in a pose.
Whistles pierced the air, forks clinked against glasses, and a growing rumble of voices rolled through the room. Ruark cupped his mouth and hooted like a teenager in Starr's direction. Her smile was forced and tight. She might have seen him. The fact the fucker had any influence on her mood, after the day she had? He had half a mind to ask Jacquie to replace his drink with gasoline.
“We're watching him.” Trick had sidled up to him.
“MacK
enna came to see me today.” He trained his eyes on Starr. “Got me kicked out of my apartment. I'd say that calls for a change in tactics, don't you think?” The guy had waltzed into Shakedown and was acting like he hadn't just fucked with Nathan's life again, and probably worried Starr.
“Paying customer. Causing no trouble.”
“Are you shitting me?” He turned to stare at Trick's profile.
Trick faced him. “Yeah, I am. Max is outside having his Porsche towed. He parked over the line into the handicapped area.”
His lips twitched upward at that bit of good news.
His attention followed Gabrielle as she delivered a tray of giant coconuts with umbrellas and fruit sticking out of them to a group of girls who sat at the table nearest to where they stood.
“Bachelorette party,” whispered Trick. “They thought tonight was a male strip show. Man, were they pissed when they discovered their $50-a-head didn't include some guys ripping off their Velcro pants. So we're giving them some free drinks.”
A bark of laughter escaped his throat.
“Good to hear you can still do that.” Trick placed both hands on the brass railing and stared up at him. “Ya’ know, forgiveness is a powerful thing.”
“The MacKennas don't do forgiveness.”
“Talking about forgiveness of self. None of this is your fault.”
“Shrink talk.”
Trick laughed, but at least he stopped staring at him. “Keep watch on the floor, okay?” Trick patted him on the shoulder and sauntered onto the crowded main floor, periodically stopping to “glad hand” customers.
Over the next hour, Nathan swiveled his head left to right over the massive floor space and caught the dance acts in his periphery. Phoenix danced her twenty-minute matador act, and Trick, always seeking a way to market the place, sent a round of flaming beachcomber drinks to the front table so everyone could see.
For a few minutes, Gabrielle stopped at a table that blocked his view of MacKenna and his gang of men, and when she moved, he nearly lost his shit. When their acts were done, the dancers often drifted into the crowd to say hello to some of the bigger spenders, but the last thing he needed to see tonight was Starr, standing by MacKenna's table.
Ruark had his mitt wrapped around her wrist.
He was going to burst a blood vessel in his brain.
Starr was in profile, her back ramrod straight. Was she smiling at Ruark? Did it matter? Hell, no.
He darted around a few people, and within seconds, his legs ate up the distance between him and Starr. He caught her under the elbow to lead her away. “Got a minute?” He began to steer her.
“Nathan, what are you doing?” she hissed—an actual hiss. It made him think of the cat he was keeping because of this woman.
By the time they got to the exit, she'd yanked her arm free. Her eyes fired like blue flames. If MacKenna did something, said something ... “Did he threaten you?”
She didn't answer. Just turned on her heel and headed for the backrooms. He followed.
He'd never understand women, not ever, but he'd be damned if he’d let Ruark continue his cat and mouse game with either of them.
28
Starr gaped at him with arms crossed. “Ruark grabbed me when I walked by. I couldn't create a scene on the floor.” The cool storeroom did little to tamp down the heat rolling off her body.
Well, so the fuck what. “What did he want?”
“He suggested, again, that I go to dinner with him. He also asked me if I was dating you.”
“Tell me you said no.”
She cocked her head. “I said it was none of his business. He said he could fill me in on some things about you. That if I stayed away from you, there would be rewards for me. Like he wouldn’t have to tie me up and throw me in the trunk.”
He would kill the man. “What the—”
“Nathan. Stop. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“More threats. Just great.” He scrubbed fingers through his hair. If MacKenna succeeded with his intimidation tactics, he was going to snap the man’s neck in two.
She uncrossed her arms. “You don't trust me, do you?”
Well, if that didn't come out of left, right, and center field.
She waited for an answer, one he didn't want to give. That was the problem wasn't it? He didn't trust anybody. He should have more confidence in her, but she was on Ruark’s radar. She was naïve as hell if she couldn’t see the danger posed by just standing here with him.
She stepped up to him. She moved all her glorious red hair and adorable freckles so close he was enveloped in an intoxicating cloud of cinnamon and rosemary. “I trust you. There's nothing Ruark MacKenna can do to me.”
“Starr.” He shook his head. While her loyalty moved him to his core, it could get her hurt. “He got me kicked out of my apartment this morning.” Yeah, he hadn’t told her that yet. “What he could do to you ...”
“You can stay with me until you find a better place.” Blue eyes blinked up at him.
This was going to hurt like a bitch. He stepped back because he had to break her spell on him. “We need some time apart so the target can be removed from your back, and I can figure something out.”
She huffed, crossed her arms. “Sure we should because it's convenient for you.”
“Convenient?” He needed to get control of his voice. “Nothing about this is convenient for me, babe.”
“Well, then, no. You don't get to dump me using that guy” —she pointed to the storeroom entrance— “as an excuse.”
“Excuse me?” He pushed forward, driving her against the wall. “I'm trying to protect you.”
She lifted her chin, uncowed. “You think Declan, or Max, or anyone else out there, would let anything happen to me? Screw Ruark MacKenna.”
“You don't know him.” His teeth ached from biting down so hard.
“Not. Caving.” She leaned her breasts into his chest.
He backed off—an inch. “Starr. It's to protect you.” He clenched his fists to keep from embracing her. One touch and he'd give in to her magic, for that’s what she was to him. She was fairyland, paradise, and heaven, all rolled into one. Someone had to defend all her goodness.
Her hands settled on his pecs, and his heart threatened to leap out of his chest at the contact. He knew what she felt like under him now, what she tasted like, how she moaned when he first entered her. Her hands traveled upward until they hooked behind his neck.
“I call bullshit,” she whispered. Her eyebrows twitched upward. “Afraid of me?”
“I'm afraid for you. Vast difference.” His hands found their way to her waist.
“I don't let the bad guys win, Nathan. Too often, they do.”
He yanked her closer to him because he just couldn’t help himself. “But next time—”
“There won’t be a next time.” She curled her fingers into the hair at his temple. “My gentleman, always worried about everyone else.” She stiffened her spine. “So. It's time we take a stand. Do you like me?”
This woman was going to give him mental whiplash. “What do you mean?” He knew exactly what she meant. Despite the fact he’d worshipped her body, it wasn’t enough. Women liked to hear things, flowering stuff—that much he understood.
“Do. You. Like. Me.”
Now her whole body pressed against him. The beads of her corset dug into his chest, sharpening his sense of her form. This woman did not play fair. “Of course I do. I told you that, but I’ve got so much shit and—”
“I know men, and you're one of the good ones. I won't let them get to you.”
He half-smiled at her concern but sobered. She couldn't go up against the MacKennas, but God love her for wanting to. He'd never had anyone go to bat for him. It felt fucking great. And just like that, she'd gotten inside him.
“Thank you for growing your beard back. I like the way it feels against my skin. Especially here.” She circled her leg and captured his.
His little vixen ha
d no concept of fair play. “Distracting me with sex?”
“Yes.”
Resisting her wasn't possible. His lips came down on hers. He'd had enough of talk anyway. His palms couldn't move well over such an elaborate corset, but his hands found a zipper that ran down the back. He used it, releasing the restriction, freeing her perfect breasts.
Her flesh had fabric stripes across them. “What's that?”
“Fashion tape. Keeps the girls in. Don't worry about it.”
When Starr unhooked her stockings from the garter belt, dropped her thong, and pressed against him wearing only her high heels, nothing but her mattered. She fumbled with his jeans button. Within seconds, her hands wrapped his cock. He grasped her ass, lifted her, and glided inside.
A slice of light cut into the storeroom. They were half concealed behind the wall of shelves holding cleaning supplies, but not hidden enough. He pulled out and jumped in front of Starr to shield her.
“Christ.” Trick had the decency to turn away. “Declan needs you, Nathan.”
“Was just taking a break.”
He raised one hand, silhouetted in the hallway light. “Yeah, well, you may have a permanent one. We just lost our liquor license.”
29
Starr pressed the side of her face harder into Declan’s closed office door.
“They were seventeen.”
Who was seventeen? Nathan and Declan had been talking behind closed doors for a while. Ruark's name was spoken a few times, so her spying was justified. She did not appreciate being shut out of this meeting by sexist, overprotective males.
A curse accompanied Nathan's low growl.
Vote Then Read: Volume I Page 78