by JL Mac
Just as Mercedes promised, my locker is stuffed with an assortment of amazing dresses and heels and coordinating handbags. I gawk as I thumb through them. Some still with price tags dangling from them.
“Fancy clothes for a prostitute,” I hear someone say from behind me. I casually turn to see the woman Mercedes said was my new enemy.
“Kate, right?” I ask, brushing off her insult and ignoring the fact she’s wearing a thong and two stickers over her nipples. Her fake boobs stuck in place, immovable and … odd looking.
“Yep,” she says reaching around me to run her hands over one of Mercedes dresses. I refuse to back away as the side of one hard, fake boob brushes against my upper arm.
“You know, I hope you don’t have any dumb ideas about Beast in your head. He’s spoken for. You are just his new prostitute. You’ll disappear before anyone around here even gets to know your name,” she leans close, whispering with the distinct scent of Zebra Stripe bubble gum or… something fruity lingering like a vapor cloud around her.
“Is that Zebra Stripe?” I ask absently. Her face screws up in confusion.
“What?”
“Nothing. Listen, cupcake, you mind your own fucking business and I’ll mind mine. Cool?” I smile coldly.
“Sure as long as you understand Beast is definitely my business. Not yours.”
“Have at it,” I smile and wink but a little jolt of territorial aggression bubbles through my veins making me want to claw this skank’s eyes out. I bite my tongue hard and smile before plucking the shortest dress from my locker and coolly walking away. Even I’m impressed with my act.
I lock myself in the bathroom with my bag and quickly dress. I could have dressed in the dressing room but I had to get away from Kate and her fog of fruity perfume. Though I’ve placed distance between the confrontation, her words are still bouncing around in my head. What did she mean I’d disappear? Was that just catty talk or is there something to that? As much as it sickens me, I realize I will have to have another encounter with Kate so I can see if she has any information and if she’ll give it up. I check my makeup in the vanity mirror and tussle my hair a little. This dress is insanely short and I have to keep telling myself not to tug at it. Escorts and strippers don’t have a sense of modesty while at work. Hell, maybe they never do. Inhaling deeply through my nose and out through my mouth I leave the bathroom and make my way to my duty station which, essentially, is the couch in Beasts office. I plop down and dig out the book I cant stay focused on.
“Beast wants you,” Murphy says from the doorway making me jump before disappearing again. That man is a fucking ghost! I get to my feet and smooth the skirt of my dress though there isn’t a whole lot to smooth and it’s so tight it couldn’t wrinkle if I made it a point to try.
I make my way down the hall and out into the main area of the club. The music is pulsing and three dancers, none of them being Kate, are earning their take for the night. I scan the club for him but he isn’t here.
Maybe they are together.
I grit my teeth at the irrational jealously knotting in my stomach. I hope Beast isn’t planning on humiliating me with Kate in his lap or something because that may be a bit much for today. My nerves are already so shredded. Most of me is wise enough to understand seducing Beast, getting close to him is just a means to an end. My bottom line is finding my sister and another woman being between Beast and I is a problem. But that visceral, raw … thing happening between us when we’re in the same room tells me another woman in my way isn’t just causing a problem for me, it’s cultivating plain, old fashioned, jealously. “Mata,” Murphy says in my ear making me jump again.
“Stop fucking doing that!” I clip, resisting the urge to slap him. Murphy says nothing, turns and walks away. “Goddammit,” I mutter, trying to calm my racing heart. I head towards Mata, the VIP room at the end of a wide corridor opposite the corridor that leads to the offices. Catcalls ring out from all over as I cross paths with patrons. It’s no wonder either. Mercedes provided me with a wardrobe designed to gain attention from men. This dress is a joke. It’s not a dress at all. It’s a postage stamp.
Stop tugging on it, I mentally scold myself.
The double doors to the VIP room down the hall are open and as I make my way toward them my eyes read the embossed nameplates beside each private room. It isn’t lost on me that he chose to name the rooms after women who have been at the center of some sort of scandal involving men where, unfortunately the men got the raw end of the deal. Eve, Helen, Cleopatra…
Clever, Beast.
I walk into Mata, subconsciously wracking my brain to try and figure out Mata’s story. All of that is forgotten when I see Beast with an older man I instantly recognize as Orin, the one and only top boss of High Knoll.
Fuck me.
My eyes scan the room and I note several familiar faces. The punching bags I met the first night at Eden are sitting with a small group of men on another big semi-circle couch. Eyes lift to me as I enter the room and I immediately notice Kate’s glare from her perch on the private stage in the center of the room. Super.
I take a deep breath and walk to where Beast is sitting. Beast’s dark gaze sweeps over me from head to toe. “You sent for me?” I ask coyly. His muscled arm sweeps out wide and snakes around my waist, tugging me to him coaxing a little squeak from me. He’s so strong… and hard, and I hate myself for liking how he feels. I hate it more that I am relieved Kate is nowhere near him. The breath in my chest turns to sand and Orin chuckles from the couch opposite from us.
“I can see why Carrick wanted you for himself. You’re stunning,” the older man smiles and I’m struck by how unsuspecting he looks. You’d never think he is the leader of such an organization. My first impression is librarian not mob boss.
“Thank you.” My cheeks warm and I hate myself for it. I shouldn’t give a shit about what this man thinks. I should want to see him behind bars. Who knows who and what he’s done in his lifetime. But with his adoring smile, gentle eyes and Beast holding me against his lap I feel very weak and out of my depth. Beast’s fingers flex against my hip and something deep inside stirs and tingles.
“Why would a woman like you want to work as an escort?” Orin asks taking a sip from the glass in his hand.
“I’m kinda starting over and I need the money.” I answer shyly.
“Well I hope my boy here, isn’t treating you too bad,” he smiles again.
“He’s been very kind.”
Orin laughs boisterously and shakes his head in disbelief. “I’ve heard many people offer many different adjectives to describe Carrick, but never kind. I’m glad to hear it nonetheless. A woman as striking as you deserves nothing less.”
I nod, playing shy, and settle a little deeper into Beast’s lap noting Kate is still glaring at me every time she turns this direction. His hand drifts from my hip up the exposed triangle of skin across my back. Damn this dress. My breathing becomes shallow and labored. His hands are strong but his caress is light. I turn my gaze on him and hate that I have to fight back the urge to lean into him and taste his lips. His other hand skates over my thigh and comes to a stop just on the inside of my knee forcing goose bumps to spring up across my suddenly heated skin.
“This dress is too slutty,” he mumbles quietly.
“It belongs to Mercedes. She’s letting me borrow some of her clothes until I can buy more,” I whisper my explanation.
“She’s a hooker,” he adds.
“Then this dress should be ideal because I’m a hooker now too.”
Beast’s gray eyes search my face and appear to be contemplating something.
“But you aren’t, and if I hadn’t seen how well you dance I’d bet you aren’t a dancer either,” he says on a breathy whisper right against my ear. Orin laughs at our intimate exchange snapping our attention back to the old mobster. “Go to my office and wait there for your ride. I’ll send one of my men for you. You’re going home.”
“I won’t
be working tonight?”
“We’ll have to see about that.”
He lifts me easily off his lap and I give another smile and nod to Orin McCrae, silently reminding myself that contrary to appearances, I’m amongst monsters, which only leaves me to wonder why in the world I’m not the slightest bit scared of either one of these men. Carrick The Beast of Boston Ferguson is a drug and he is going to my head. Fast.
I swallow down my groan as I leave the VIP room and obediently return to Beast’s office. I’m no closer to finding Alana, but definitely closer to losing myself. I need to mentally regroup and try to do a better job at staying focused. Beast doesn’t make it easy on me.
What the hell does he mean when he says we’ll have to see about that?
Once I’m back in his office I scan his desktop for any bits of information that may be useful but it’s been cleared of everything save the computer monitor. I peruse the rest of his office only to find it to be just as useless in terms of helpful clues. I plant my butt on the sofa and wait. The moment Beast rounds the corner into his office, he quickly shuts the door and locks it. I jump to my feet and sway with the sudden upright position in four-inch heels. He lunges forward and grips me by my waist. I freeze. With a mere hair’s breadth between us he whispers, “Take off the dress.” I jerk back to look him in the eyes. He’s serious. He leans close running the tip of his nose against the skin behind my ear, making me shiver as my insides tug at my baser instincts, urging them the hop in the driver’s seat.
I swallow hard, hesitating. His hands drift down my back and over my ass, cupping me and drawing me closer. One hand squeezes my ass tightly while his other hands moves around to the front and slips beneath the short dress. His fingers barely graze over the lace of my thong and my eyes roll back as a whimper that doesn’t even sound like me comes out of me. He stops just as he has just begun and my eyes find their way back to him.
“Dress. Off. Now.”
“Here?” I ask, eyeing the desk behind him. Beast only nods. I stare at him for a long moment before iron-will kicks in and forces me to act.
I turn in place and back up to him. “Unzip me?” He slips one thick arm around my waist and jerks me back to him. With his hips pressed flush to my lower back, I fight the urge to arch myself into him. My heart is pounding in my ears and my breathing feels choppy. The teeth of the zipper make a little sound as he uses his other hand to inch the zipper down my back. “There, you should be able to take it off now,” he says nudging me back away from his body. “Face me,” he orders.
I turn in place again and glance up at him before I slip the straps of the dress down my shoulders. The dress clings precariously to my strapless bra. An evil smirk plays across Beast’s beautiful mouth causing me to frown. He laughs and shakes his head.
“What are you doing?” I don’t bother trying to hide the confusion I’m feeling. What’s so fucking funny? Feeling a little self-conscious, I guide the straps of the dress back in place while I wait for him to answer me.
“Proving a point,” he says crossing his big arms over his chest.
“Which is?”
“You’re no hooker. A liar, yes. A hooker, no. A hooker would have come out of that dress in no time. A hooker would have run her hand down the hard cock that was just pressed to your bare back. A hooker wouldn’t be standing there looking nervous.”
“So, sue me, I’m no whore.”
“Technically you are an escor—” He cocks up one eyebrow. I snap and decide to cut him off before he reminds me of my new career.
“Technically I’m not because you have decided to whore me out exclusively to you except you don’t fuck me. Perhaps you’re the one with no balls. Maybe you’re gay,” I taunt him, doing my best to right my dress. A muscle in his jaw twitches and he takes a threatening step toward me, forcing me to back up on instinct. I inch back until my ass is pressed to the wall behind me. Beast stands in front of me for a long moment. He gets off on this. He likes the stalking. The cat and mouse act. He loves it.
I do too.
Like a bolt of lighting, Beast has me lifted from my feet and pressed hard against the wall. He pins me to the wall with his hips and catches me behind the knees, hitching my legs high on his waist. One big hand reaches down and cups my ass while the other holds my face just where he wants it.
“Still think I’m gay?” he says forcing my face to the side. He growls into my ear then bites the tender flesh of my earlobe just as he grinds his steel cock against me. My cheeks flame with lust. My heart is hammering. My brain is pleading for more of him. “You think I don’t have balls huh?” he growls as he rolls his hips again, harder this time against my sex. I gasp at the feel of him there. He feels amazing and despite who he is, I need more. I wiggle my hips, asking for more but he isn’t making another move. Yet. “You think I don’t want to rip off that little dress and fuck you until I’m too exhausted to keep going?”
His hips grind against me again forcing another whimper a pleasure from me. “You think I don’t want to go round after round with you? You don’t think I’m dying to hear my name on those lips? Think I wouldn’t have everyone in this fucking club well aware of what we’re doing in here?” His thumb traces my bottom lip and my eyes slip shut, willing him to kiss me already. “Trust me baby, I want to fuck you plenty. I’d just like to know who I’m fucking first.” My eyes snap open and he forces my face forward. Nearly nose to nose, I watch him, watching me. His hips roll into me again and the desire is so thick between the two of us, I can smell it. “And I know you want to fuck me too so here’s the deal, you tell me the truth about who you are, what you’re doing here, and I’ll fuck you until we’ve both had enough. But you should know, either way, I’ll find out, Abigail Tally, so you may as well put us both out of our misery right now.”
Screw it! Tell him! He knows you aren’t Abigail Tally. Find Lan another way!
The needy, all female part of me is drunk on hormones and screaming at me to confess. The part of me who actually uses the brain in my head is pressing her lips together, refusing to budge knowing that a lie in his world is a death sentence. If I tell him anything I’m dead. Maybe blissfully sated sexually but still dead in the end and me dead is zero help to my missing sister.
Beast arches an eyebrow, waiting for my confession then nods. “Have it your way,” he says dropping me to my feet in a hurry. I exhale and work at ignoring the fact that I already miss his warmth.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did,” he mutters.
“I get the name Eden and Helen, Cleopatra and Eve but Mata—who is she?”
Beast smiles wickedly. I hate myself for the tingle it produces deep in my belly. “Mata Hari is the mother of exotic dancers. She was good. A seductress. Truly brave considering the era—early nineteen hundred. But what won her notoriety wasn’t the dancing it was the fact that she was later charged with being a spy for the Germans in World War One. She was a traitor. She used her ability to seduce as a weapon and she got caught. The French executed her for her crimes,” he says crowding me and tilting my chin up to stare into his eyes.
“Am I leaving now?” I whisper.
“Yes,” he says shortly then waltzes out of his office completely indifferent to me, to the desire floating in the air.
Goddamn him!
Chapter Thirteen
Beast
I could throttle her for making this so difficult. Pretending to not mind playing this game is taking a toll. I’m tempted to fuck Kate just to get off but she’s just not what I want, and the idea of trying to substitute Kate for Abigail is a turn off in and of itself. I know what I want, and it isn’t Kate or any other female for that matter. I’m being forced to wait though. Abigail Tally is a better poker player than I’d thought she’d be. Teeny needs to hurry up with the information I requested. I’m growing impatient. It also doesn’t help that Murphy and the men haven’t had any success rooting out any information about the missing women. He insists he�
�s getting closer though, so I will have to be patient on all fronts. It’s proving to be more challenging than I can stand.
I watch carefully from the corner booth. Shadows cast me in gray and I made sure to tell Gary, our stage guy to adjust lighting tonight. He didn’t question me and I like that about Gary. He does a he’s told and rarely says anything in return. He’d probably turn off all the fucking lights if I told him that’s what I want.
Abigail.
I mentally try her name on for the thousandth time and decide my gut instinct is the same. She’s fucking lying and god help me for liking the fact that she had. It gave me every excuse in the world to keep her under lock and key. I have my hunch about this vixen. She’s the most stunning thing I will ever have to do away with. Stunning isn’t even a big enough word for this woman. Every time I see her, the craving to bury myself in her warmth only grows. She waltzed into my life and took a sucker shot that stole the breath right out of me. She was a kidney shot. A cheap one at that. A knockout punch.
Those doe eyes cut through me. Her hair blazes in the light. Her body beckons me to spread her wide and sample everything she’s got to give. Worst of it all, she intrigues me more than physically. She makes me want to ask her questions, to talk to her, to be near her. And that’s the problem. She’s too fucking good to be true. She’s too tempting. Like meat dangling before a famished animal, she spells trap. That part of things makes me despise her and wish very badly to wrap my hands around her delicate throat. I’d really wanted to take her last night. I wanted to taste her and interrogate her and even punish her for deceiving me. The way she trembled at my touch, the way her skin blazed for me… It was more than I could take so I left before I threw caution to the wind and took what I so desperately need from her.
I notice movement in the corridor leading from the back offices and watch as she glides out into the main area of the club. I told her she was free to mill around tonight knowing she would, and I’d have the chance to watch. If I’m being honest, after nearly ripping her dress off in my office last night, I need some space. I’m a strong man but a man nonetheless. I can only handle so much temptation before I’ll snap and end up diving into her heat until I collapse.