by Cat Miller
“It’s refreshing to see a beautiful woman who doesn’t feel the need to show everyone all of her charms,” Evan complimented. “I like this.” He fingered the long beaded skirt Jennifer wore.
Jennifer looked down at her breasts encased in a tight, low-cut top and gave him a disbelieving grin.
Evan followed her eye and smirked. He looked around the room at women who wore dresses that hardly deserved the name. They were tube dresses and little more than a scrap of stretchy fabric that covered them from breast to upper thighs, leaving little to the imagination. Jennifer had to concede his point.
“We’re dancers.” She defended her coworkers. “We’re not really known for being shy about our bodies.” They laughed, and the conversation moved on.
Evan seemed so perfect, almost too perfect. When he finally asked Jennifer for a date, she graciously declined. This wasn’t her first rodeo. Many men tried to pick up the girls after shows. Jennifer was a professional, and she separated business and pleasure. Sadly, pleasure had been all but absent in her life. When Evan persisted in pursuing her, asking her out repeatedly to the exclusion of all others, Jennifer eventually gave in and agreed to a date. It wasn’t long, though, before Jennifer would regret that decision.
Evan picked Jennifer up for their final date after her performance the night she met Luc Christianson for the first time. She didn’t know then that her life was about to change. They’d been dating for over a month, and Jennifer wasn’t sure it would go much farther. There was something disconcerting about Evan that Jennifer couldn’t put her finger on, but she was giving him a chance. Evan was attractive, and he doted on her, sending flowers to her every single night after her shows. She had so many bouquets of flowers that she sent them home with the other dancers most nights because she didn’t have anywhere left in her closet of an apartment to put them, but Evan kept sending them anyway.
He’d taken her one particular date that turned into a shopping trip. Evan was a successful investment banker, and he wanted to spoil her, but Jennifer wouldn’t go for it. It was like he was trying to buy her, and that was never going to happen. When she’d refused to allow him to buy her the clothing and shoes, he insisted she deserved, Evan purchased them anyway and had them delivered to her tiny apartment.
The dresses he bought her were nothing like her own clothes and she didn’t wear them. At first, Evan had complimented her style. Then, he tried to change her, calling her a hippy and telling Jennifer, she looked homeless. Things had finally come to the point that she was ready to cut off her relationship with Evan. He was bordering on controlling, and she couldn’t deal with it. They weren’t even that serious. He didn’t need to know the name of every person she spoke with after a show.
The final straw snapped that evening after the show when Jennifer found a box waiting for her in the dressing room. Evan sent her a dress, underwear, and shoes to wear on the date. It freaked her out. Who buys lingerie for a woman they haven’t even slept with yet?
They’d been dating for such a short time, and already, he was trying to change Jennifer, after insisting she was perfection and begging for a date. She didn’t wear the damn dress, and Evan wasn’t happy about it. He explained that he had a special evening planned that called for something more formal. He swore he didn’t mean any insult by the gesture.
She should have ended it right then. She should have given him back his expensive fucking dress and walked away, but Jennifer didn’t have a rude bone in her body. She’d agreed to the date, and he was already there to pick her up. Therefore, she put on the dress and pasted on a polite smile. This was it for Jennifer, just one final date. She would say goodbye when he dropped her off at home.
Jennifer was lost in her own thoughts when Evan led her to the entrance of The Inferno Casino and Hotel. They passed the reception desk and the casino, continuing on to a short hall with an elevator that required a key card to operate. Dread filled her belly. If Evan had booked a hotel room for his idea of a romantic evening, things would get uncomfortable quickly. She was ending their relationship. There would be no sex.
To her relief, Evan informed Jennifer that they were going to a private club with a lot of security. He explained that you had to pass financial and background checks to get into the club. Jennifer entered the club with Evan after he greased the palm of the door attendant on duty. She wasn’t a member, so she shouldn’t be allowed to enter. Evan paid her way in.
She wasn’t impressed. It sounded like the country club set she’d grown up in back home. The people were snobby, and they looked down on anyone less fortunate. Jennifer couldn’t stand it. If nothing else, though, Evan must be an upstanding character if his background afforded a membership to an elite club, right? Wrong. Oh, he was wealthy, but his character came into question before the end of the evening.
When they entered the floor of Hell or the pit, as Evan called it, Jennifer thought it was a casino like many others, if swankier than most. Then the differences started to stand out. The patrons were unlike the tourists playing slots and cards on their vacation downstairs at The Inferno Casino. These people were expensively dressed regulars and the amount of money changing hands on the card tables and at the roulette wheel was obscene.
There was an inordinate amount of security roaming the floor. They also stood at attention near various doors that ranged around the perimeter of the room. While Evan played a few hands of blackjack, Jennifer people-watched. To get through the other doors, people swiped that card that opened the elevator over a security panel on the wall.
Jennifer watched as a man was denied access to a room he wanted to enter. He wasn’t pleased about it and started to get loud. The employee guarding the door tapped the device in his ear and spoke a few words. Within seconds, the man causing a scene was confronted by two other members of security, who were observing the action on the floor nearby. One of them said something that made the angry man pale. The man didn’t struggle at all when they grasped him under the arms and literally carried him away.
Jennifer watched open-mouthed while Evan whispered an explanation to her. Not everyone had the same clearance. That’s why the doors were locked. You had to have the cash flow and proper background check to get past the main floor.
It was all fascinating. Jennifer wondered what was hidden behind those mysterious portals. She didn’t have long to ponder. Evan took Jennifer’s hand and led her to one of those doors. He approached and nodded at the hulking staff member stationed at the door. The guard covertly ran his own card over the panel lock.
This was Jennifer’s first clue that something was off. Why hadn’t Evan used his own card? More palm greasing must have been done to get them past the pit. They entered a place entirely unlike any casino she’d ever known, and Jennifer began to understand the secretive nature of Hell.
Nearly naked women were wandering around with drink trays and some nearly nude men too. Jennifer gasped. Then, she made an effort to control her reaction. She wasn’t an innocent. She saw naked people backstage every day, and that never shocked her. Backstage, though, there was nothing sexual about women getting ready for a show. Just like changing your clothes at the gym, it was acceptable behavior. These men and woman were also working. Jennifer told herself to stop being a prude.
As they moved deeper into Hell, she got one surprise after another. People were openly having sex in some areas. In other parts of the club, scantily dressed servers served drinks and actually danced with the patrons. Each room they entered seemed to have a theme, and things got wilder as they moved on. There were card rooms and nightclubs, as well as a long dark hall lined with alcoves and two-way mirrors so you could view people in all sorts of sexual situations without them seeing you. Some of the alcoves had curtains drawn for privacy, but others were wide open, and couples were fucking while they watched others perform behind the glass.
Evan took it all in stride, not paying attention to any of it. He seemed to have a destination in mind, so she kept quiet as he pulle
d her from room to room. Evan stopped when they reached a bar area that looked typical until your eyes are adjusted to the darkness. The bar sported high-backed booths and low tables that were more like ottomans where women and men alike danced for patrons while holding onto a strap that hung from the ceiling for balance. Other booths had stripper poles.
Jennifer quickly turned away when she noticed far more than dancing happening in one booth. It was an orgy. She’d just seen an orgy with her own eyes. She was trying to focus on something else when she saw the bartenders. They were completely nude. Surely, that couldn’t be sanitary, could it?
Evan was talking to another man. Jennifer thought it was rude of him not to introduce her, but she didn’t want to speak to anyone anyway. The struggle to overcome her shock was an ongoing battle. It was quite offensive of Evan to bring her to such a place without a warning. They hadn’t even had sex yet, and at this point, they never would. He’d brought Jennifer to what amounted to a brothel! Who does that? This was her second clue that Evan wasn’t the man he pretended to be. Her decision to end things with Evan was further solidified.
While she was trying to think of a way to extricate herself from this date, Evan’s conversation turned into an argument. Evan grabbed the other guy and slammed him against the bar. There were fists thrown, and a struggle ensued, but it ended quickly when Evan reached for a holster hidden under his jacket. Evan had a gun. He was threatening the other man’s life convincingly while Jennifer watched in horror.
This whole evening was such a shock to Jennifer, but not as shocking as being hauled out of the building through dark corridors and down a private elevator by a group of none too gentle bouncers and tossed into the alley with threats of violence if they ever returned. Jennifer had never been so embarrassed or frightened in her life. At least not until that point. Things changed for her after that fateful night. She’d seen too much to frighten that easily now.
Just before she and Evan were shoved out the back door, a large man stepped out of the shadows. This man wasn’t security. He looked expensive in his tailored suit. His slightly waving black hair was perfectly styled. His equally dark eyes glittered with anger. The sound of his voice was terrifying in its calmness as he informed Evan that his membership to Hell had been permanently revoked.
It was Luc Christianson, for sure. She’d never forget that face, but he was nothing like the man she met in the soup kitchen. The man in the soup kitchen was bossy but well-mannered and had obvious respect for the homeless people he was serving. The Luc she’d crossed that night in the depths of Hell was cold, distant, and scary. Very, very scary.
When Jennifer was dragged past Luc, he looked her up and down with disgust written on his too-perfect face. The expression of pure loathing made Jennifer pray she’d never run into the man again. Then she was deposited in the alley like trash in a silk dress.
When Jennifer brushed herself off and asked Evan to explain himself, he’d told her it was just business. That was it. Just business. He refused to explain any further. What kind of business would an investment banker do in a club at one o’clock in the morning that involved a fucking gun?
On the way back to his car, Evan raged about Luc Christianson, calling him every nasty name she’d ever heard and a few she hadn’t. Evan ranted on about Luc believing he was the fucking king of Vegas. He said somebody needed to teach Luc a lesson, and Evan was going to see to it.
Then Evan blamed Jennifer for the incident. “If I hadn’t been on a date with you, my men would have been with him when he went to Hell. I’m sick to death of pussyfooting around you, Jenny!”
Jennifer didn’t know Evan had men. What kind of men would he have? He was pussyfooting around her? Who was this maniac, and where was the charming sophisticate who's been courting her?
This was her first true glimpse of who Evan MacGraff really was: a liar, a thief, and a murderer. A chill ran down her spine. Jennifer had seen things she’d never be able to forget, but she was trying to put it all behind her.
Jennifer’s thoughts returned to the present. She’d been looking forward to helping out in the soup kitchen that day until Pastor Davis introduced Jennifer to Luc. Her heart had nearly stopped on the spot. She knew it was the same man from Hell. He was unforgettable. Jennifer’s nerves had been on edge all day just waiting for him to point a long elegant finger in her direction and pronounce her trash that needed to be removed, but he hadn’t.
Luc was domineering but polite for the most part. Jennifer kept her head down and tried not to engage him at all. It was best not to nudge his memory. Her day was totally ruined by the unexpected appearance of someone connected to Evan, but she couldn’t let the pastor down now. Pastor Davis needed her to help serve the meal while he took care of other things.
Jennifer was trying to avoid Luc when she walked in on Rourke and Dolce embracing. She’d immediately believed the affectionate pair was a couple. Dolce was a stunning woman with dark eyes and hair. Her skin was so creamy and perfect, her lips a natural red hue. The overall effect brought Snow White to mind: a tall, confident version of the princess. Rourke was Dolce’s fair-haired, muscular opposite.
Jennifer couldn’t hold a candle to a woman like Dolce. Not that she had any damn business even thinking about competing with another woman for a man, even a man as striking as Rourke. She had enough trouble of her own.
As the day went on and Jennifer observed their interaction, it became apparent Dolce and Rourke weren’t a couple. They couldn’t be siblings given their differences, but that’s how they behaved, bickering and teasing each other as a brother and sister would. Maybe they were half siblings. Who knew, and who cared? Jennifer needed to mind her own business and hope they did the same.
By the time they were preparing to leave, Jennifer had thought her neck would snap from keeping her head down and her face away from Luc. She breathed a sigh of relief until she realized Rourke wasn’t going with them.
She was doing busy work, just trying to stay out of Rourke’s way, but he was still watching her. Rourke was also attempting to look busy. He was sweeping a floor that she’d just seen Dolce sweep before leaving. Rourke had seen Dolce sweep it too, so why was he stalling?
Rourke’s inquisitive gaze shifted from accusing to interest in a short time. Judging by the subconscious licking of his lips and roaming eyes, he was very interested. She’d caught him looking at her ass more than once. He was a big man, the opposite of the leaner dancer types that usually caught her eye. Maybe that was why she was so affected by him. There might be something to that whole sexy man-in-uniform thing. She’d never seen the attraction before, but holy hell, Rourke was hot in his BDUs.
It didn’t take long for Rourke to start asking questions Jennifer wasn’t prepared to answer. He was curious about this stranger at his church. He was feeling her out, too, looking for any signs of interest in him. She found Rourke dangerously attractive, and Jennifer was doing her best to hide her fascination with the sailor.
Pastor Davis interrupted Rourke’s inquisition of her with news of donations that needed to be put away. Jennifer was thankful for the disruption. Rourke chatted with her pleasantly while they carried in the boxes of food. He was solicitous and just a little flirty but not overly so. Jennifer could tell Rourke was trying not to scare her off. Little did he know, she had no place else to go.
Jennifer had to keep reminding herself that she was not in the market for a boyfriend. She’d heard Luc and Dolce talking about Rourke being fresh off the boat. He was home on leave from the Navy. If she were looking for a man, which she most certainly was not, she wouldn’t go for a man who would be returning to his Superman duties for the U.S. Navy SEALs. She was no man’s port of call. Fuck that. She needed to put him out of her mind.
Jennifer wanted to do was crawl into her bed and forget that it was a holiday. She wanted to forget the sad truth that no one in the world would be missing her. This isolation was a hard thing for a woman who longed for her family. It was Thanksgiving
, and people all over the country would be gathering to celebrate and be grateful for their blessings. Jennifer didn’t have any blessings, except the kindness of a preacher and his wife. Now that was something she could be thankful for if nothing else.
Jennifer shook off her melancholy. She put on a fake smile and went to see if the pastor needed anything else done. She’d stalled in the storage room for as long as she could to avoid sex SEAL. Hopefully, Rourke would be gone by now as well. Then she could go to bed and wallow in self-pity. The holiday season was going to be hard for Jennifer, more so this year than ever before. Jennifer found Rourke and Pastor Davis in the kitchen after she deposited the last box in storage.
“There you are, Jennifer,” the pastor extended a hand to her. She took his offered hand and tried to look happy. “Rourke has just agreed to have dinner with us. Isn’t it wonderful to welcome a member of our armed forces home on such a blessed holiday?”
Jennifer’s nearly fell out of her stilettos. Dinner? Her? And Rourke? She hadn’t expected the pastor to invite her to Thanksgiving dinner. It was so tempting to spite her wish to get away from the impossibly attractive man as quickly as possible.
The pastor must have noticed her surprise. “Come now, Jennifer. You didn’t think we’d let you get away before dinner, did you? It’s Thanksgiving. You shouldn’t be alone.”
Warmth and gratefulness spread through Jennifer’s chest. She hadn’t had a holiday meal, or a family meal for that matter since her father disowned her for choosing a career in dance instead of going to the Ivy League college for the law degree he’d decided was best for her.
The pastor must have sensed she was beyond words with that lump lodged in her throat. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder and gently guided her to his car. They could have walked the short distance to the pastor’s home, but Jennifer was happy to get off her aching feet. She was also wary of being out in public for too long, so driving was better. The pastor and Rourke were talking about the delicacies Mrs. Davis had prepared for them. Rourke was pleased to put off some much-needed sleep for a hearty home cooked meal.