by Rita Herron
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 fugitive?
"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?"
"No." Lucy's head bobbed as she shook it, but her eyes teared again. "Don't worry so much, Soph; everything's fine, just fine."
Sure it was. Then why did her sister look as if her best friend had just died? Other suspicions took hold. "Lucy, you did make Garrison promise to keep my identity quiet, didn't you?"
"Of course." She grabbed a bagel and started toward the door. "I'm going to hop in the shower; then we'll head to the club and practice."
Sophie nodded. "Sure. I'll shower after you. I have a feeling I'll need some extra stretching, or I'll be so sore tomorrow I won't be able to move."
Lucy disappeared into her bedroom, and Sophie snatched a bagel for herself, uneasiness stealing through her. For some reason Lucy had been lying to her. But why?
They had never kept things from each other in the past....
* * *
When the shower water kicked on, Lucy let the flood of tears fall. She hated lying to Sophie, although technically she wasn't lying; she'd simply omitted a few truths. But Sophie would find out soon enough, unless Lucy thought of some way around it. Still, there was no need to admit up front that she'd made a complete fool of herself over Reid, or that he was here and he knew about the act... except that he would probably tell Lance, and then Lance would be upset with Sophie, and Sophie would hate her.
How had everything gotten so mixed up?
Her nose clogged, so she inhaled through her mouth, heaving with the mountain of tears welling in her chest and spilling over. She'd meant only to help Sophie by using those spells and charms—to save her from making a mistake by falling for Lance when he was so serious. But her spells had backfired, and now Lance and Sophie were all over each other. And she was alone, exactly as she'd been afraid she'd be. Worse, when Lance found out about Sophie they might break up. Then Sophie would be alone and miserable, and Lucy would be alone and miserable, and Sophie would never forgive her.
Unless she'd been wrong about Lance, and he really loved Sophie.
Then again, if he was anything like Reid, with all his judgmental macho-ism, he would hate the fact that Sophie had once been the Virginal Vampiress. He'd go off on her just as Reid had Lucy and think she had been a loose woman just because she danced, when dancing brought in good money. Heck, they had been two teenagers on their own, desperate and broke. And damn it, they hadn't been hookers or given lap dances. They hadn't even gone topless—and they could have made a killing if they had.
Any way around it, Lance would break Sophie's heart, and it was all Lucy's fault because she had fallen for that creep Reid Summers. She hadn't been able to resist when he'd said he'd come to Vegas to see her, and that she was his fantasy woman. And mercy, she had wanted to see if he really was better than her Sleepover, Inc., products, and dag-nab it, he was. But now she knew he'd meant The Virginal Princess was his fantasy woman, and although she hadn't been loose, she also wasn't exactly virginal herself.
Good gracious, she'd grown up in Vegas—how could sh
e be totally innocent? And what man in the twenty-first century actually expected a woman to be a virgin?
A backward caveman Savannah boy, that was who. Not the man for Lucy Lane!
She and Sophie would both be better off without those insufferable Summers men.
Grabbing a towel, she dried off, wrapped it around her head with renewed resolve, and pulled on her robe. Her reflection caught her eye, and she grimaced. It would take a pound of makeup to cover up those dark circles and puffy red eyes. She hurried toward the refrigerator to find some cold cucumbers to press on her eyelids to stem the swelling. And then she'd find a couple of lucky charms for her and Sophie to wear tonight. They were going to need them.
After all, the show had to go on.
Now if she could just keep Sophie away from Reid for the next twenty-four hours; then she'd explain to Sophie what had happened, and how everything was going to be all right.
Really it was.
That was, unless she didn't have any cucumbers, and Reid showed up at the apartment before the show, or he called Lance....
* * *
By the time Lance reached Vegas and the Palace, his stomach felt as though a fist had clutched it.
He regretted the trip. Then again, he regretted not asking Reid to spill this big secret over the phone, regretted not calling Maddie, regretted not trusting Sophie, regretted trusting her, regretted falling in love and having this sick feeling in his chest now, regretted that no matter what he did, he had a bad feeling tonight was going to get worse. Because Sophie would hate him for coming and not trusting her...
Blast it all to hell and back—he was an effing mess.
"Here you are, sir."
Lance paid the taxicab driver, jumped out, grabbed his overnight bag, and dashed up the steps. He'd been too discombobulated on the way from the airport to appreciate the magnificence of the city's architecture, but this hotel was stunning in its size and opulence. He read the glittery marquis: The Palace Proudly Presents The Infamous Diva Act: The Virginal Princess And The Virginal Vampiress.
Hmm, if he weren't so nervous over this meeting with his brother, he might like to catch a show. After all, he'd never been to Vegas.