by Rita Herron
Confront Lucy? Call Lance?
And who was that knockout dressed all in white? He could have sworn she was watching him, too, maybe even playing up her act just for him....
* * *
Lucy's body and feet ached, and she was dizzy from trying to double up and carry off two parts in the show, so dizzy in fact that she thought she must be having delusions when she first spotted Reid Summers in the audience.
But she danced closer to the front of the stage, gyrating her hips and swaying backward so her white feather boa fluttered enticingly toward the crowd. Kicking out her legs first, she swung around, strutted around the stage, then placed her back to the audience, bent forward, and touched the floor, peeking between her knees.
Oh, my God, it was Reid.
And he was contorted in his chair with a goofy grin on his face as if he were drunk, and as if it were the first time he'd seen a professional show. She added some extra sauce to her moves, wiggling her butt and dipping and leaning forward so her breasts jiggled and nearly popped out of the sequined top. He leaned forward, his tongue lolling out.
Did he recognize her?
Another maneuver across stage, and she pranced into the center arena for the grand finale, where male dancers lit a series of fiery handheld lanterns to surround her—their Virginal Princess. Of course, she was missing her partner, the Virginal Vampiress.
Every man's fantasy, a virgin princess and vampire. Sophie had been a genius to come up with the concept and the costumes.
Sophie... Oh, Lord, what would she do if she knew Reid was here? Somehow she had to get Reid alone and convince him to leave. Or maybe she should avoid him.
Fireworks suddenly exploded onstage, their glittery lights flashing a rainbow of colors around her, and smoke swirled into the air in a dramatic style. The last number finally drew to a close, and she watched Reid down another beer, his gaze feasting over all the dancers, then returning to her. Did he recognize her? Or was he lusting after someone he believed to be a stranger?
Only one way to find out.
Keeping her Diva mask, costume, and wig firmly in place, she strutted toward him, first stopping to speak to Deseree. She told Deseree that Sophie would be coming in, so they could get together, perhaps before or after Saturday night's show.
Reid was still watching her, his smile raking over her as she approached. His eyes appeared slightly glazed over, his smile was lopsided, and from the wobble of his body as he stood to greet her, he'd been enjoying himself a little too much.
She shouldn't take advantage of the situation.
Then again, he had come here, perhaps to see her. To make up, maybe?
"Hey, sweetheart," he said in a slurry voice.
Lucy fluttered her white-gloved hand, playing the act for all it was worth. "Hi, handsome."
"Can I buy you a drink?"
Lucy nodded, the waitress appeared out of nowhere with her favorite, a Cosmopolitan, and she took his arm. "Did you come to Vegas looking for me?"
"Honey, of course I did. You're the woman of my dreams."
So he had come to see her! And he was being so romantic. "Are you stayin' here at the Palace?"
"Sure am. Wanna see my room?"
Lucy told herself she shouldn't, but his promise that the real thing was better than her Sleepover, Inc., products still haunted her, and she was in a forgiving mood, and he had come all the way to Vegas to be with her. No man had ever flown across the country for her.
What could one steamy night between the sheets hurt?
She'd screw his eyeballs out, then send him packing in the morning with some wild excuse, and he would never know that Sophie was here, or that Sophie had been involved in the Diva show. He certainly didn't seem to mind that Lucy had. In fact, he seemed completely turned on by her costume.
Five minutes later he was lying naked on satin sheets in a bedroom cast only in moonlight, and she was performing a strip-tease dance for him, one he'd requested.
As soon as her feathers hit the floor, she crawled on top of him and proceeded to have her way with him while he moaned and murmured that she was his fantasy come true. She had yet to remove her mask, though the thong had slowly been peeled from her body, and then came the heavy headdress and sequined top, her bare skin still glittery from the special costume makeup.
"You're all shiny, baby," Reid whispered as he took one pert nipple in his mouth and suckled her.
Lucy writhed and clawed at his arms, stroking his calf with her bare toes and kissing the sleek muscles of his chest. He tweaked her other breast with his fingers, pinching and rolling the nipple, and she moaned, folding her hand around his sex and stroking until he begged her to stop.
"No, let me touch you, baby." He flipped her to her stomach, slid his body on top of hers, and slowly tortured her with his hands and mouth. Lucy ground her hips into his erection, aching to have him inside her.
She had always liked sex, but she had never been so wanton with a man or wanted one as much as she wanted Reid. Cupping her hips in his hands, he lifted her to her hands and knees and slid his sex against her femininity, driving her wild with slow, grinding movements until she parted her legs farther and pleaded with him to take her.
Only then did he slide his length inside her and push her to oblivion. His movements were passionate, strong, controlling, as if he held the power to satisfy her like no one else. She met him thrust for thrust, opening herself up to him as she never had before with another man. And when he thrust himself deeper inside her, kneading her breasts at the same time his lips sucked her neck, she cried out his name so loudly she nearly shattered the chandelier above them.
Seconds later they collapsed onto the bed. She curled into his arms, spent and sated, then snuggled into his embrace and felt his breathing steady to a sleep rhythm. Blissfully happy, and so exhausted she couldn't keep her eyes open, she allowed sleep to claim her.
In the morning they would talk and everything would be fine. Maybe she and Reid would even fall in love and get married someday, too.
Sophie had worried about keeping their secret for nothing....
* * *
Reid woke up with a pounding hangover headache, and his typical morning erection. But something was wrong with his arm. It was paralyzed, numb. He rolled over to see what had happened, and his pulse clamored. A glittery body lay next to him—the dancer from the night before.
Jesus, he'd spent an incredible night with the Diva woman, the Virginal Princess, no less, and she hadn't told him her real name. Lucy's face materialized in his mind, and he panicked momentarily, a tremor of guilt assaulting him.
Why did he feel guilty? He didn't owe Lucy anything. Nothing. Nada. She had lied to him and deceived him—just as Sophie had done to Lance.
Besides, who could have resisted this feminine goddess, especially when she'd approached him? Had Lucy seen him leave with the center-stage act?
He tried to extricate his arm to shake the feeling back, but the moment he moved, the woman rolled over.
A scream lodged in his throat.
Lucy?
Lucy was the virginal goddess star of the show? Jesus Christ, he'd gone to bed with a masked Diva and woken up with Sophie's sister in bed beside him!
"What are you doing here?" He grunted.
Lucy opened her eyes, a sultry smile splitting her mouth. "Don't tell me you don't remember last night, Reid. It was pretty incredible." She traced sparkling silver fake nails over his torso and down to his sex, which had grown even more at the sight of her bare breasts swaying toward him.
"You... you're the Virginal Princess?"
Hesitation darkened her eyes; then realization dawned and anger robbed her smile. "You didn't know it was me?" She instantly grabbed the sheet and tugged it over her nakedness.
He suddenly realized the stupidity of his remark. "Well, uh... yeah, I just meant—"
"You liar!" Lucy grabbed the satin pillow and slammed it over his head, then leaped over the edge of the bed, jerking
up feathers and her thong. Then, clearly thinking better of it, she rushed to the bathroom and came out wearing the white terry-cloth hotel robe. "You said you came here for me."
He pushed at the sheet to hide his erection, which didn't seem to mind her temper, but instead had apparently enjoyed the view of her backside as she gathered her costume. She had the sexiest tush, all curvy and female..."I... I did."
She narrowed venomous eyes at him. "You came here to see me?"
"Yes." God, she was so sexy he couldn't think.
"But you got turned on by the Virginal Princess and went to bed with her."
"Well, uh... she, I mean, you came on to me. For God's sakes, Lucy, you're the same woman."
"But you didn't know that!"
"But you did."
"I thought you knew it was me."
"You told me you were a hostess. I never expected you to be the star of the show."
Hurt and anger reddened her face. "Oh, so you didn't think I'd be talented enough to be the star?"
Why did women always twist a man's words? "That's not what I meant at all." Maybe he could turn the table on her. "Did you really think I knew it was you? Or were you trying to trap me into bed?"
Lucy slid her heels on, stomping around the room. "I do not have to trap or trick men to get them in bed with me."
"I'm sure you don't, not wearing that getup."
Uh-oh, totally wrong thing to say.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy's eyes spewed venom. "You certainly didn't mind my getup last night."
"Of course not; I was drunk, and you looked damn sexy. What man wouldn't want to crawl all over you?"
"What are you implying by that comment? That I'd hop into bed with just anyone?"
"No." He remembered the way she'd danced to the crowd. "Would you?"
"You are an idiot, Reid Summers." Lucy's voice wobbled with emotion. Then a tear trickled down her cheek, totally sucker punching him. He hadn't meant to hurt her.
"Sophie was right; she said you wouldn't understand, that you and your brother would judge us. No wonder Maddie gave her those seven rules for trapping a man, and your brother is such a male, they're working!" Another pillow, this one from the chaise next to the window, sailed his way, hitting the painting above the bed and shaking it against the walls. Reid dodged, hoping the artwork didn't come down on his head. It probably cost a damn fortune.
"What rules for trapping a man?"
Lucy chewed the inside of her mouth. "Nothing, forget I said that, and don't change the subject. You're the jerk who came here and jumped in bed with a strange showgirl."
"The girl was you, Lucy!"
"But you didn't know that, so it doesn't matter."
He held up his hands to fend off another attack. The woman was insane! "Please calm down, Lucy. I was drunk and you were there, and somehow I must have known it was you under all that garb."
She planted dainty hands on her voluptuous hips. Unfortunately the robe slid open and those delicious breasts slipped into view again. "Somehow?"
"Somehow." He stood, wrapping the sheet around him, and stalked toward her. "And it was an incredible night." Although he wasn't sure how he felt about other men ogling her body while she strutted half-naked shaking feathers and sequins. And what would Lance think about Sophie's former life?
"Why didn't you tell me you danced for a living?"
"I promised Sophie I wouldn't mention it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Sophie used to dance, too?"
"How did... Who told you that?"
"One of the waitresses."
"Dag-nab it!" Lucy turned then and faced the window, staring out at the gray morning sky. "Is that the reason you came here, to cause trouble for Sophie?"
Reid rubbed a hand over his chin, feeling the bite mark Lucy had left there the night before. His sex throbbed relentlessly. "Hell, no, I came because I thought you'd called Sophie so you could break up Lance and Sophie. I figured you were up to your old hocus-pocus tricks."
Lucy turned to him, seething. "That's not the reason I called Sophie."
"So you haven't put a spell on them again?"
"No."
"What about me? Did you hex me with dreams about sleeping with you?"
Lucy's eyes widened to platter size. "You mean it worked?"
"You did; I knew it!" The sneaky little witch. She should have played the Virginal Vampiress instead of the Princess. She could cast a spell with her eyes and suck the blood from any man.
Lucy snatched the robe tighter around her. "Well, don't worry, Reid; now that you've lived out your fantasy with the Virginal Princess, I'm sure you've broken the spell." She grabbed the rest of her stuff from the floor and clip-clopped out the door, her head held high, her feathers and headdress and boa draped over one arm.
He wasn't so sure about the spell being broken. Even mad as he was, his body still wanted her. Lucy. The Virginal Princess. Whatever persona she chose to be.
Confusion pulled at him as he sank back onto the bed. What was he going to do about Lance? He didn't want to hurt his brother.
But Lance had a right to know the truth before he got any more involved with Sophie. Wouldn't it be better if he found out now, before he did something dumb like propose to her?
Chapter 20
Lance's insomnia had returned. He had lain awake all night thinking about Sophie, worrying about the crisis she had in her life, and why she hadn't felt as if she could share it with him. He would have been there to support her, to take care of her.
Maybe he should call Maddie....
No, he shouldn't pry. He had to be patient. Sooner or later Sophie would trust him enough to confide her secrets. Hell, they were probably nothing. He was probably imagining things because he'd let her mess with his head, and she'd been gone only one night, and he already missed her like hell.
If this was what love did to a man, he wished he'd never found it.
Love... Did he love Sophie?
Yes, he couldn't deny it any longer. In fact, he'd probably loved her for a long time, but he'd been too foolish and stubborn and scared to admit it. And it did scare him....
What would he do if she decided to take that job in L.A. and move away? He wasn't certain he could stand to live without her, but he couldn't ask Reid and Chase to uproot the company, especially with this multimillion-dollar deal in the works.
Good God, what was he going to do?
Rubbing his hand across his bleary eyes, he staggered toward the bathroom to shower, but he stumbled over a pair of sneakers. He kicked them aside, remembering how neat Sophie's house was, and how homey. His apartment was a mess, nothing remotely homey about it. The phone trilled, and he reached for it, hoping it was Sophie.
"Lance, it's Reid."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I... uh, flew to Vegas last night."
"Vegas? What in the hell are you doing there?" Then the truth dawned on him. "You went to see Lucy?"
"Yeah, but I found a lot more."
His brother sounded upset. Nervous. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to say this, but..." Reid paused. "But I thought Lucy was trying to keep you and Sophie apart, so I wanted to talk to her."
"That's crazy." He sat down on the side of the bed, confused. "Why would Lucy try to keep us apart?"
"I don't know." Reid coughed. "But when I got here, I found out some interesting things about the Lane sisters."
Lance's heartbeat went into double time. "What kind of things?"
"Listen, man," Reid said in a worried voice, "I don't want to do this over the phone. You really need to come to Vegas."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No. You suspected Sophie was hiding something from you?"
"Well, yeah." He dropped his head forward, rubbing a hand over his beard stubble.
"You were right."
His imagination leaped onto a roller-coaster ride. Was she married? Did she have a separate life in Vegas? Was she some kind of fugiti
ve?
"Just catch the next plane out, and I'll fill you in when you get here."
Lance hesitated. A few minutes earlier he'd told himself to be patient and wait for Sophie to confide in him. But he couldn't go through the day and the entire weekend wondering what had upset his brother so badly. Was Sophie's secret really that big?
"Lance, are you coming? I'm staying at the Palace."
Dread filled his chest. "Yeah, I'll see you in Vegas."
* * *
Sophie had caught the last plane out to Vegas the night before, and was so exhausted when she'd arrived at Lucy's that she'd crawled into Lance's shirt—she'd had to bring it with her to remind her of his scent—and fallen asleep. She'd expected Lucy to get home in the middle of the night after the show, and was shocked when she woke up and found the apartment empty. By the time she'd unearthed a diet Coke from Lucy's snake pit of a refrigerator, Lucy had sneaked in. Her sister's eyes flared in surprise; then she pivoted to make coffee.
"Soph, when did you get in?"
"Late last night."
"Sorry I wasn't here. I didn't expect you to come until this morning."
"I figured I'd need some time to go over the dance; it's been a while since I've done the steps."
Lucy nodded, although she didn't quite make eye contact, arousing Sophie's suspicions. Lucy poured her coffee, twirling a strand of hair around her finger—another one of her sister's nervous habits.
"Where were you?" Sophie asked, wincing when she realized her question sounded a tad too motherly and judgmental.
The cup clattered as Lucy emptied a sweetener packet in it and stirred. "I... was worried about Sassafras, so I stopped by to see her. We started talking, and I decided to stay over." She finally looked up and Sophie noticed the remnants of tears. "Sassafras is concerned about the baby, and how's she going to make it and—"
"Lucy, why have you been crying?"
"It's just that time of the month, and Sassafras was crying, and you know how tenderhearted I can get. I cry over Kodak commercials. Have you seen that one with the grandma—"
"Lucy," Sophie interrupted her, "forget the commercial. Did you have a run-in with Garrett or Deseree, or is some old boyfriend bothering you?"