Point of Seduction [Sunset Point] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Lori King

  “Ms. Green. I was asked by hotel management to escort you to the Palace Resort and Spa. Ms. Cross told me to tell you it was her idea.”

  That made Amber snicker. “Yes well, my dear sweet friend Trinity does know how to get her way, doesn’t she?”

  “Ms. Cross is definitely set in her ways, ma’am.” He smiled and then took her suitcase from her hands and said, “Please follow me to the car so we can get you settled in to the hotel.” The large six foot, ginormous, attractive blond driver walked ahead of her as she followed him to the black sleek town car that was a few feet away. The driver then opened the trunk and placed her suitcase inside. He then opened the rear door for her as she entered the luxurious car.

  While on the ferry, Amber overheard some patrons talking as they stood beside her. She heard a man say that Sunset Point was about eight hundred square miles, not even as large as Rhode Island. There were only about twenty thousand people that populated this very private and exclusive island. After listening to their conversation, Amber had grown more interested and fascinated with Sunset Point.

  The Palace Resort and Spa was a truly extraordinary sight. They had driven up to the resort on a deserted road lined with the rainforest on either side until the striking structure came into view. Rising over the treetops, with the sea at its back, Amber thought of an exotic palace with a contemporary appeal.

  When Amber entered the lobby she was amazed. It was simply breathtaking.

  “Ma’am?” someone asked from behind her as she stood staring at the magnificent lobby. She turned and faced a man who was dressed in an expensive business suit. “May I help you to check in?”

  “Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I was just in awe of how beautiful your hotel is. Yes, I need to check in. My name is Amber Green.”

  His smile broadened. “Ahh yes, Ms. Green. We have been expecting you.” He then snapped his fingers toward the bellhop. “Please take Ms. Green’s luggage for her, and I will let you know what suite she is in so you may take them to her room for her.”

  “Oh please, don’t bother. I can carry them for myself.

  “Nonsense. If you will just follow me, I will have you checked in within no time.”

  Amber couldn’t believe the suite they had set her up in. This was one of the nicest places she had ever stayed in. This was more like a miniaturized version of a condo than a hotel room. Amber placed her bag on the chair as she went further into the room for a better look. As she walked toward the large floor-to-ceiling windows she noticed the large, open living room with a full kitchen and a bedroom off to the side. Amber couldn’t believe she was going to be staying here. She felt guilty, almost out of place if she were to stay here. Amber kept telling herself that Trinity was just helping her out and as soon as she found a job she was going to find a place to rent on the island.

  As she looked out her window, she noticed the pool below. Maybe she would have a chance to sneak down and take a dip in the inviting pool. Amber heard her phone ring in her purse. She ran to the chair where her purse was and answered it.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  “Hi, Trinity! Oh my gosh, why am I staying in such a nice suite? I don’t need to be staying in a room like this. This room even has a full kitchen. Can’t I stay in a normal room—”

  Trinity laughed. “Slow down, Amber. You should see the owner’s suite I’m staying in. That place will make your suite look like a Cracker Jack box. Listen, honey, get your shit and come meet me and some friends at a bar in town. I’m declaring a girl’s night.”

  “Trinity, I don’t know about going out on my first night here. Couldn’t you and I just go out and have dinner together?” Amber asked.

  “Nope. You’re meeting me at the Kracken’s Cave tonight, and I don’t want to hear another word. I know you could use a drink after what you’ve been through and I know I can after the day I’ve had.”

  Amber knew she was going to lose this battle whenever Trinity got all badass on her and everything. Trinity was the stronger one of the two of them. Amber tended to let people push her around and tell her what to do. People always told her she was too nice and needed to grow a backbone.

  Amber sighed. “Okay. What time should I be downstairs?”

  “There should be a rental car for you downstairs. Just go to the front desk and give your name. They should have the keys, and they’ll give you directions. See you soon.”

  Amber looked at the phone after her friend hung up and sighed.

  Sunset Point

  Tattoos and Cupcakes

  Being sequestered on Sunset Point Island is the least of Lane Erikson’s worries. Being a witness to a murder may be her demise. What does one do when a network of FBI wanted criminals are looking to kill you? You run like hell, even it’s to a place you’ve never heard of.

  Dane Hutchinson, local tattoo artist, sets his sights on winning Lane’s affection and sharing her with Bannock Garrison, Sunset Point police officer. Bannock never wanted a ménage relationship, even though his parents have lived a happy life in one. The idea of sharing a woman bothers him, but losing Dane’s friendship bothers him more.

  As the relationship begins to soar with possibilities, Lane is faced with her world crashing down again, and her life hangs in the balance. Can Bannock and his colleagues save the day? More importantly, can Bannock overcome his distrust for women and allow Lane into his heart and share her with his best friend?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 64,672 words

  Chapter 1

  Lane hated this, hated that everything had gone to hell. If she would have known sooner, things may be different now. If she had any idea, she would have stopped it, or would have tried. If only. She pushed her unruly hair out of her face. Her hands trembled as she recalled the scene. How did she miss blatant evidence that must have been in front of her face the whole time? How could she have not seen the terror behind their smiles, and the fear concealed by their sensual glances and movements?

  She couldn’t stop crying. Dead. Ingrid had been dead when she found her, laid out across the floor with her long blonde hair haphazardly strewn over the hardwood floor. Smart, she thought, the hardwood that is. Carpet would have been a nightmare to clean up. She wondered if he had killed before. Is that why he chose hardwood over carpet? Goddamn it! Why didn’t she see the monster under his handsome face? Had she been so caught up in her own world she ignored any and all clues of his true nature? I’ve had sex with a monster, a killer! He had touched her body in the most intimate of ways. She had given herself freely to him. She wanted to shower in extremely hot water with the toughest soap on the planet. A gag involuntarily rippled over her tongue. The desire to brush her teeth became an immediate urge.

  At the sink, Lane brushed three times. Her queasy stomach threatened to blow any minute. The problem was she’d done that already, three times during her run from the club to the police station. There was so much blood, so much damn blood. The last thing she noticed before she ran was Ingrid’s expressionless face, eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling. Those beautiful blue eyes of hers were like ice, shimmering with intensity. Her tall and fit body demanded attention from all those that passed by her in the club. Even women stopped to stare, unable to understand how any woman could be as striking or beautiful.

  When Ingrid had danced in the club, her long, blonde hair draped over her shoulders, cascading down her back in large ringlets, and framed her slender face. Plump lips made her red lipstick envious and grateful to be smeared over such perfectness.

  Now, she was gone. All her dreams were dead and gone like her cold body that was probably at the morgue by now. The mortician may die of shock when he unzips her, Lane thought, sure he’d think he was staring into the face of an angel. Then he’d weep for her and hate the monster that took her from this earth.

  Lane knew she needed to get it together, stop crying, and pretend to be strong. For crying out loud, she didn’t even know Ingrid. She had just seen her at the c
lub working, dancing, and using her perfect body to captivate the men who entered.

  For the last three months, Lane Erikson had been to the club quite a bit to see her boyfriend, the owner of the club, The Sinful Seven. She thought Joe was a good guy. He owned one of the most exclusive night clubs in LA, which anyone who is anybody frequented. And she thought he was a good guy? She questioned herself again. Right, I’m a dumbass. And since when had she been so dense, so naïve, and downright dirt dumb?

  Everything was gone. Everything she’d worked toward all these years and finally succeeded and it was gone. Her life as she knew it would be screwed, along with her apartment, new car, and shoes…lots of new shoes. Most importantly, her career was over. There was no way she could model in high fashion magazines and be a runway model without being recognized. From what she understood, the criminal network her boyfriend was involved in was large, expanding to each continent around the world. Lane had become a key witness and a liability. They wouldn’t want her story told.

  The name of the club, The Sinful Seven, finally made sense and it struck Lane hard. She face-palmed her head. There are seven continents and the club showcased women from each, and all were housed under one roof. They were kept as prisoners though. A headache developed, almost debilitating with the intensity. She needed pain relievers in the worst way.

  Lane returned to her bedroom to continue the task she had started. Mr. Suit from the FBI stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb in his black suit and tie. His eyes regarded her without emotion. It was just business for him, but for her, devastating. What do I even take? Where am I going? And when can I come home?

  “Can you tell me where I’m going?” She pulled a handful of panties from her top drawer.

  “Ms. Erikson, you will be briefed later this afternoon.” Mr. Suit replied with a solemn tone and a seemingly uncaring expression when he spoke.

  “Well that’s great and all, but that sure as hell doesn’t help me with packing. Now does it?” Lane couldn’t help her sarcasm. Of course she realized the man was only doing his job, but it was how he did his job that pissed her off. “Can you at least tell me if I’m going to the North damn Pole? Seriously, what kind of clothes should I take? Do I need a frigging parka or a light jacket? Flip-flops or fucking snow boots?”

  Mr. Suit exhaled as if irritated and rubbed his eyes. “Ms. Erikson, considering you’re from LA, I doubt you own a parka or snow boots.”

  “Grrr,” she sounded off loudly and wiped another offending tear away. She started shoving shorts and sweatpants into her luggage. Jeans, I need those, too. Back to the closet she went and pulled out a couple of pairs. Socks, shoes, makeup, hair supplies…Her mind became overwhelmed with a task that should be simple. And suddenly, she couldn’t catch her breath. A sharp pain constricted her chest. Breaths came in fast spurts and no matter how quickly she tried to take them, it wasn’t enough. She didn’t feel like she could get enough oxygen. She turned, terror gripping her, and held her chest. “I, I can’t, can’t breathe!” She struggled to suck in another breath.

  The last thing she heard before darkness took over was Mr. Suit’s voice. “Oh, hell. Send help!”

  Sometime later, Lane awoke in a daze of confusion with no idea how long she was out or where she ended up. While struggling to open her eyes, she could swear they were full of sandpaper and glass. The sunlight made them burn as the light peeked in. Closing them again, she squeezed her lids tightly together. We’re moving, or I’m moving. A car, that’s it, she decided. She was in a car. They just made a right turn. The pounding in her head was worse than it had been before. What was I doing earlier? Where am I now? She finally forced her eyes open and shielded them from the offending sunlight.

  She was thirsty as she touched her face, noting the puffiness of her eyes. I must look wretched. An object tapped her leg and she looked to see what it was. Sunglasses. Her eyes moved upward to the man sitting next to her. Mr. Suit, as she called him, since she had forgotten his name as soon as he had introduced himself, sat with an expressionless face, offering her his sunglasses. She had been sure he was a heartless prick until now. “Thank you,” she rasped out and felt her throat burn.

  It was all coming back. Mr. Suit and a trio of other suited men escorted her to her apartment to gather her things. Then, the pain from the events that brought her to this particular point in time hit her full force, like a Mack Truck, and she was the pedestrian at the wrong place at the wrong time.

  “Water?” Mr. Suit offered.

  Lane accepted a cold bottle from him and twisted off the cap. The water soothed her throat. It bubbled as she guzzled down the entirety of it without stopping. A loud crunch of the plastic in her fist was the only sound breaking the silence. Her anger was still flaring and her emotions running rampant with unanswered questions.

  “Ms. Erikson, I know you’ve been through quite an ordeal, but you need to push it out right now. Take a slow deep breath through your nose. Allow your chest to expand until you can’t take anymore.” Mr. Suit nodded as she followed his instructions. “Now, slowly exhale that breath.”

  Lane exhaled and the exercise helped some, but not enough. “I think I could accomplish the same experience with some pain relievers and a cigarette, if you’ve got it.”

  Mr. Suit reached into the inside breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. With a light flick of his wrist, two popped out of the top and he extended them where she could pull one out. Lane wasn’t really a smoker, but it helped her stress level from time to time. Her life had been anything but normal. The last few years, up until a year ago, an uphill struggle.

  One year ago, her electricity was shut off because she didn’t have the money to pay the bill. The cell phone bill had always been paid on time though. It was her lifeline and the only way to hear from prospective employers. The refrigerator had been so barren, even a mouse would shake his head, pack his bags, and leave. She had lived that way for the better part of three years since she moved away from home. She felt pretty pathetic, aged twenty four years and still living at home with her mother. When her mother remarried to a wonderful man, Lane didn’t want to ruin the bliss they had found. Lane’s father had skipped out on them when she was three and her brothers five and seven. Their mother struggled to keep them fed, in clothes with a roof over their heads. With her mother single and Lane an adult, it just made sense to stay as a roommate and help with the bills. Well, until Mr. Wonderful stepped into the picture.

  She inhaled the cigarette deeply and immediately felt her blood pressure drop. The soothing flavor of the smoke passed over her tongue and filled her lungs as the anxiety momentarily drifted away. She quickly drew another long drag and held it for a second before releasing it. Since she didn’t smoke much, she caught a buzz instantly. The tiny distraction allowed her mind to drift off as she enjoyed the nicotine rush and stared through the darkly tinted windows. The only bright light coming in was through the windshield. The sunglasses made it bearable.

  “So, Mr. Suit, how many damsels in distress have you rescued this week?” she asked, needing any kind of subject to think about other than her own miserable predicament.

  Mr. Suit chuckled and a nice smile lit up his face. “You’d be the first this week, Ms. Erikson.”

  “Hmm, must be your lucky day, huh?”

  “Well, I’d feel a lot better once we get you safely out of here.” His tone was genuine and his baby blue eyes sparkled with honesty.

  “Yeah, me, too.” She turned to stare out the window again, taking another puff of the stout cigarette he had given her.

  Before long, they pulled into a parking garage. The driver stopped and handed his identification to the sentry and the gate rose ahead of them. He sped through like someone was hot on their trail. Lane turned to look out the back window just to be sure they were safe. Who would have ever guessed that me, Lane Erikson, born poor, struggling my ass off to rise above it all, would find a dream come true for a life, and then
poof! All gone. She shook her head with the dizzying array of shapes and patterns floating through her mind, courtesy of the chemicals contained in the cigarette. She flicked her ashes out the cracked window and wondered if she was dreaming? Surely this couldn’t be happening to her?

  The driver parked with an abrupt stop, making her chest heave forward. Her legs acted as a buffer to keep her from face-planting the driver’s seat in front of her. No one else in the car apparently thought his driving sucked, just her, damsel in distress, sitting in the back seat.

  “Ms. Erikson, Mark will bring up your bags. If you will accompany me, I’ll get you the man that has the answers you need.” Mr. Suit spoke in his businesslike manner, but offered a sorrowful grin.

  “Thanks for the shades and the cigarette.” She smiled even though she wanted to cry.

  They got in the elevator and exited on the fifth and top floor of a seemingly innocent-looking building. From the outside, one would guess it was nothing other than a business call center of sorts, but on the inside, a sterile facility with men and women in plain business suits of blacks and grays. She walked past a bank of cubicles, each occupied by the same expression of business as usual. Phones periodically rang with that incessant landline quality Lane grew to hate when she had worked as a telemarketer a few years ago.

  “Right this way, Ms. Erikson.”

  Lane followed Suit past an official looking secretary and into an office just as sterile as the rest of the space.

  “Mr. Donaldson.” Suit addressed the man sitting inside behind a desk.

  The man peered away from his computer to look their direction. “Ms. Erikson, have a seat and we’ll get down to business.”

  Suit patted her on the back and smiled. “Good luck, Ms. Erikson.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath. She hated to see Mr. Suit go. Up to this point, he seemed to be the only semi-friendly face. He exited the office, leaving her stuck with Mr. Donaldson. She took a seat when he motioned toward the empty chair opposite his desk.