Temptation City

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Author: James Lyric

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eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520 Macon GA 31201 Temptation City Copyright © 2008 by Lyric James ISBN: 1-59998-951-4 Edited by Linda Ingmanson Cover by Anne Cain All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: May 2008 www.samhainpublishing.com

Temptation City Lyric James

Dedication To Henry…for being an amazing husband and father, and being the inspiration behind all of my heroes. I love you.

Temptation City

Chapter One “Cue the music, Ravyn,” Ashia Forrester said, looking over her shoulder before turning back to the stage. This guy had a great body. She sure hoped he knew how to dance, because if she had to endure one more hour of booty squirming as an excuse for dancing, she was going to scream. The music filtered through the state of the art sound system installed last month. She hummed to the tune and tapped her foot as the guy began to move. He turned, bent over and flexed his butt muscles. She stifled a yawn. If you didn’t hook your audience in the first sixty seconds, your ass was as good as toast. He tore off Velcro-attached pants and threw them off the stage. Nice package, but he still wasn’t doing anything for her. He got down on all fours and began to crawl toward her with a smile on his face. Two minutes was all she could stand. She signaled her DJ to cut the music. “Thank you,” she said. “Please leave your application and phone number up front.” Gathering his clothes, he gave her a weak smile. She rolled her eyes when he turned away. Sorry buddy. That dance style might work for in-home bachelorette parties, but not for Temptation City. The ladies who came to her club expected a certain type of guy. He had to have a body and he had to know how to work it. Period. It was like having sex. Even a guy with a little dick could please a woman if he knew what to do with it. It was all about sensuality and technique. Even though her guys rarely touched a woman in the crowd, he made her believe he was dancing just for her. When he moved his hips, he was making love only to her. If her pussy wasn’t wet by the time he left the stage, he didn’t belong up there.

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Lyric James

This was the reason that after three years, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night she had a packed house, standing room only with a line of waiting women ready to drop their dollars into the nearest G-string. The women who left Temptation City went home at night thinking about the guy on the stage and rewarded the man she had at home by fucking his brains out. Then she came back the next weekend for more. Ashia picked up her walkie-talkie. “Who’s next, Vivian?” “Jalen Spencer.” She glanced down at her watch. “How many are left?” “Three.” Thank goodness. Maybe she would actually have a lunch break today. “Ten-four.” Ashia sifted through the mound of applications and paperwork she’d collected. Not one decent dancer in the bunch. Oh, there were plenty of good-looking guys, but they didn’t exude the sexuality and attitude Temptation City was known for. She dropped the folders in the box behind her. “Excuse me.” The rich baritone voice sent a tingle across the back of her neck. She swiveled around too fast and tripped over her chair. A pair of large masculine hands grabbed her forearms and held her up. “Are you okay?” Shock waves charged up her spine. She sucked in a breath, looked up and got a blast of remarkable hazel eyes with tiny flecks of green. “Y-yes. I’m fine. Thank you.” He released her and stepped back. “I’m here to interview for the position you have open.” Yes, yes, oh yes. Now this was what she was talking about. The man shouldn’t be allowed outside without a bodyguard. The way he looked at her was enough to make any woman come on the spot. And the way he filled out a plain black t-shirt with those broad shoulders and chest, his superman arms…it just wasn’t fair to the female population.

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Ashia allowed her gaze to travel his body from head to toe and then back up again. Closecropped hair cut, trimmed mustache and full lips slanted upward in a smirk. He looked like he’d been sculpted by Michelangelo, dipped in caramel and left for human admiration. She saw him peeling away every stitch of clothing on his body and every woman in the club screaming her head off, begging to put money between his ass cheeks. “Ma’am?” he asked, an eyebrow arched. She shook away the arousal that threatened to turn her into a complete idiot. “Um, the position?” “Yes, I heard you had a bartender position open?” She glanced down at her papers and back up again. “I’m not hiring, um, bartenders at the moment. I’m only looking for…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes zeroed in on his crotch. “…strippers.” A look that bordered on disbelief crossed his incredibly handsome features. “Strippers?” “Yes,” she replied. “The only ad I placed was for male exotic dancers.” His lips thinned. “Well, I didn’t come quite prepared for that.” “Have you ever danced before?” “Not that kind,” he answered looking toward the stage. She looked him up and down again and smiled, tilting her head. “There’s a first time for everything.” His eyes pleaded with hers. “You sure you don’t have any other positions open? Bouncer? Anything?” She was beginning to enjoy this. Obviously, someone had given this guy the wrong information. But if she convinced him to step onto that stage, she’d have a full house of dollarflinging women for the foreseeable future. Regretfully, she tore her gaze away from his body. She moved in front of the table and leaned against it. “With a body like yours, you could make a lot of money here. Easily sevenfifty to a thousand a weekend.” “Well—” “Why don’t you get up there, try it out and see if you like it?”


7

Lyric James

He just stared at her. All right, he was going to take a little more convincing. He didn’t give off the “look at me, I’m gorgeous” vibe. He was more reserved. Laid back, a more “I like to be in the background” sort of guy. He’d have to be coaxed into it. “You got a girlfriend?” He raised a brow. “No.” “Family in town? Mom? Grandmother?” He tossed her a wicked smile and shook his head. “No.” “Then, you won’t have to worry about it getting back to them, if that’s what you’re worried about.” “That’s not it. I just wasn’t expecting,” he waved his hand toward the long ramp, “…this.” “Well, what’s that saying? If the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.” She sat and crossed her legs. “You need a job, right?” “Yes.” “And you want a job at Temptation City?” “Yes,” he answered again. “Well, up on that stage is all I’ve got.” She paused for effect. “If you can handle it.” It was a dare. She knew it. But for some reason, he struck her as the type of guy who never backed down from anything. Especially a challenge. “I didn’t bring any music.” She yelled to her DJ without taking her eyes off him. “Hey, Ravyn, play this guy some music.” Seconds later, Tyrese’s “Signs of Making Love” came over the speakers. Perfect. With his face and body, and if he could tantalize her with a dance, she’d hire him on the spot. “I’ve never done this before,” he reminded her. She grinned. “I know. Just let the music move you. Let it seep into your mind, your soul, and see what happens.” The lyrics asked her if she was a freak. Damn skippy.

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His dance was seductive and slow just like the music, and his eyes never left hers as he moved. The words guaranteed her that he’d give her body whatever it needed. Ashia squirmed in her chair. When he began to remove his shirt, pulling it from the bottom straight up over his head, she saw an exceptional six-pack and imagined running her hands over his taut muscles. The shirt landed at her feet. The melody wanted to know if she was the freak he’d been looking for. Hell yes. Her eyes glazed over when he began to unbutton his jeans. He bent over and slid them down and off his legs. A pair of red knit boxer briefs hugged his muscular thighs. Her favorite color. She gulped. Oh God. The next thing she knew, he was coming off the stage toward her. He’d really gotten into his performance. A line in the song asked the listener to whisper in his ear. Jalen leaned over to hers. “How am I doing?” he asked, a sexy tone in his voice. He was close enough for her to get a whiff of his scent. She caught a brief hint of tangerine, mandarin and sage. Ashia cleared her throat. “F-fine.” He turned around, spread his legs and bent over to touch the floor, leaving his ass right in her face. She itched to reach out and palm him to see if his cheeks were as firm as she thought they were. Right now, he was the embodiment of temptation. A graceful animal in motion stalking its prey. A cougar or a panther. Perfect for Temptation City. Perfect for her. Oh yeah, he was hired, all right, she thought as he turned around and straddled her. She wanted to reach out with her tongue and lick his chest and grip his ass in her hands. But she resisted, even when the hard pressure of his dick pulsed against her stomach. Instead she looked into his eyes, raised her hand and signaled Ravyn to turn off the music. He gripped the back of the chair and rose as she blew out a couple of deep breaths.


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Lyric James

After he reached down, picked up his shirt and slipped it back on, he asked her. “So, how did I do?” “Can you be here Thursday night?” He found his pants. “What time?” “The show starts at seven-thirty. Try to be here at least an hour beforehand.” He smiled. “I’ll be here.”

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Chapter Two As soon as Jalen Spencer walked out of Temptation City, he called his boss on his cell. “Very funny, Carson.” His friend’s voice filtered over the line. “So, did she hire you?” Ignoring his question, he asked, “Why the hell did you tell me she was looking for a bartender when you knew damn well she was looking for exotic dancers? I’ve been hired as a goddamn stripper.” Carson’s laughter rippled through the phone. “This is not funny.” “Sorry, man. I knew you wouldn’t take the assignment if you knew what it was.” “You’re damn right.” “But she did hire you?” He smoothed his hand over his face and got in his car. “Yeah. I start Thursday.” “Good.” He heard him shuffling papers. “So how was the place?” “It was a club, just like any other club. It has tables, chairs and a bar. Only, this one has a huge stage running down the fucking center.” That wasn’t exactly true. The place was nice with sleek black tables and chairs with red cushions on the seats. Layers of crimson fabric draped over the walls. Crystal votives held tiny tea light candles. And the place smelled like cinnamon apples and sparkled with cleanliness. “I had to audition.” Laughter peeled through the airways. “This is not funny. I’m going to have to get up on that stage this weekend and take all my clothes off for a bunch of women.” “You’ll be fine. How many times do you work out a week, four, five?” “That’s not the point.”


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Usually, he loved undercover work. The different personas he got to wear, cozying up to suspects so he could eventually bring them down. But he didn’t think he’d ever run across one that was as beautiful and enticing as Ashia Forrester. It surprised him when he got into the routine, performing just for her. An attraction he didn’t expect swirled hot between them and the air in the club seemed to sizzle. “Well, just remember why you’re doing it. Her brother works for Joey Kinesta and we’ve checked every business he has. That drug money has to be going somewhere.” Something was definitely going on at Temptation City. For the last few years, that place had been pulling in a ton of cash. It was the last place left they hadn’t checked. “I know. I’ll call you with an update on Sunday, or earlier if I find something.” “Okay. Talk to you then.” As he was hanging up, his friend stopped him. “Hey, Jalen.” “What?” “Don’t forget your G-string.” Jalen clicked off the phone in the middle of Carson’s laughter and threw it in the passenger seat. He’d walked into that place thinking all he’d have to do was mix a few drinks and use the down time to snoop around and pay attention to the type of clientele that came in. But no, now he was a stripper. If his mother found out… Let’s just say she’d have him in church at the altar praying for his soul for a week. Whatever was going on, Jalen was determined to find out what it was and expose it from the inside out. Ashia’s gorgeous face flittered through his mind, but he shoved it out. He had a job to do and he was good at it. Jalen had been known to do whatever it took and say whatever needed to be said to get it done. He wasn’t about to stop now. No matter what.

Thursday night Jalen followed Ashia through the front doors of the club. They’d driven up at the same time.

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Dressed in a cherry red silk Japanese print dress with a slit up the right side, she looked even hotter tonight than she had a few days ago. Matching heels accentuated her muscular calves and her wavy brown hair was piled on top of her head with a pair of chop sticks. He’d planned to look around before he had to get up on stage and perform. The idea still nauseated him. He was going to need a stiff drink before he got up there. The lights were dimmed. He followed her through the entryway into the club and scanned every inch of the place. All the candles on the tables had been lit. Soft music filtered through the sound system and the waiters, all men, were dressed in black pants and red silk shirts. Classy. They continued ahead, down a hallway passing a kitchen and a couple of offices. He collided with her when she stopped and he enjoyed the pressure of her plump backside as it caressed his front. His dick stood at attention from the impact. She twisted around, her chocolate eyes wide with surprise. “Sorry.” “Don’t be,” he said. Her gaze traveled the length of him and her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips, drawing his gaze to her mouth. For a moment, he wished he’d met her under different circumstances and had an opportunity to get to know her better and see what lurked behind those vivid eyes. “Here’s the dressing room,” she said, waving him inside. It was decorated with large couches and pillows on one side and in the far left corner. On the other side there were mirrors and chairs. “You ready for this?” Ashia asked, her eyes twinkling. “There’ll be about two hundred women out there in an hour or so.” “You sure I just can’t dance for you?” A sexual undertone lingered in his voice. There was something about this woman that pulled at him. She smiled and lowered her gaze. “Unfortunately, no,” she said biting her lower lip. “But be sure I’ll be watching,” she murmured then turned and walked out. It was a shame she’d probably end up in jail when this was all over. How did a lady so smart and sexy get mixed up with drugs and money laundering? The background check he’d received on her revealed she’d graduated with honors from college with double degrees in business administration and management.


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Lyric James

How did her exceptional talents turn and twist to doing something illegal? Money, probably. But, it wasn’t his job to feel sorry for her or care why. Yes, there was an attraction there. He’d love to fuck her and probably would if it meant getting him the proof he needed. The last couple of nights he’d already had images filtering through his head of her wrapped around him as he pounded into her pussy. However, he wouldn’t let it get in the way of doing his job. He would bring her down, even if he regretted it for the rest of his life. Before it was his time to go on stage, he chugged back a rum and cola and let the smooth liquid soothe his nerves. It didn’t work, so he swirled back another one. He was nervous. This was new for him. But for his career, he’d do just about anything. He’d been a gay bartender in a club in New York to bring down a male prostitution ring. A photographer at an escort service to catch a serial rapist in Atlanta. A donor at a sperm bank in San Francisco to infiltrate a group of white supremacists wanting to create a master race. Yes, he’d done a lot in the name of his job. But the pang bouncing around in his chest told him that this job wouldn’t be anything like the others. He’d met the other guys performing on the show. There were seven others who all had nothing but good things to say about Ashia. Four of them had been working for her since she opened her doors and had no plans to leave any time soon. Two were putting themselves through medical school. The last did it strictly for the money. This was his night job and he was saving all his money so he could move to an island and live on the beach. None of them was gay, which surprised him. Jalen decided to wear all black. He’d found a store that sold tear-away clothing. He could’ve gone for a costume, but he’d chosen simplicity. He also had on a black mask that covered just his eyes. Just in case he did come across someone in the audience who knew him. Some of the other guys wore costumes. One was dressed as a doctor complete with stethoscope. Another was a cop. Two were dressed in animal prints, one a leopard and the other, black and white stripes. A really tall guy, even taller than Jalen, had on all leather and a motorcycle helmet. And one guy had the whole dominator thing going on with leather, whips and chains. The last was dressed just as plainly as Jalen, but all in red. He was the final act. Jalen was scheduled to go on right before him.

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When it was his time, he stood behind the curtain, shaking his hands up and down, moving his head from side to side. He could do this. He would do this. All night there’d been nothing but screams and shouts from the crowd. Some of the guys came back with as much as seven hundred dollars in tips. Since he’d done so well dancing to Tyrese’s song when he auditioned for Ashia, he decided to do a medley of his music, three songs in all, which would keep him on stage for about twelve minutes. Seconds later, he heard the DJ announce him as a newcomer to Temptation City. She told the ladies how much they were going to enjoy the new flavor and to get their money ready for the Midnight Panther. So, Ashia had chosen a stage name for him. A panther. Interesting. When he thought of the animal, the first words that came to mind were sleek and silent. Predatory. Is that how she saw him? He stepped up onto the platform, the spotlights blinding him. The speakers thrummed out the beat and Jalen let the music move through his body. He let it carry him forward, across the stage. Stopping right in front, he planted his feet wide and rotated his hips. He walked down one side of the stage and then the other so the ladies on each side could get a good look at him, then he returned to the center where he planted his feet wide again and began to slowly unbutton his shirt. The women’s screams got louder and louder as he unloosened each button. He let the fabric slide down his shoulders and over his arms until it dropped to the floor. Repeated shouts of “take it all off” and “let me see what you’re packing” rang in his ears, and he smiled. By now, his eyes had adjusted to the light and he could make out some of the faces in the crowd. Some beautiful, some butt-ass ugly, skinny, thin, fat, and some just right, but he didn’t linger on any of them until he spotted one particular face in the back. Ashia. Their gazes locked. He couldn’t believe these ladies enjoyed watching him strut and prance across the floor. He backed up and stripped his pants away. Since Ashia had chosen to call him the Midnight Panther, he dropped down to his hands and knees and crawled across the floor. The crowd went wild and surged toward the stage so they could shove money down his G-string.


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He felt a few hands glide over his ass and down his legs. One woman even tried to palm his dick. Standing back up, he swayed, danced and strutted back and forth down the stage from the right side to the left until he heard the last song begin to end. His eyes connected with Ashia’s again. Expectation, anticipation…something dark and wet and hungry flashed between them like a lightning bolt. It sizzled and sparkled and threatened to overwhelm him. Images of her and him in his California king-sized bed made his dick pulse under the thin fabric of his G-string. He could picture her legs around him, her feet encased in those red high-heeled sandals she wore tonight. Her long hair fanned out on his pillows as she screamed his name. Jalen kept dancing. Her eyes met his and never left. The screams and shouts and the money being thrown on stage for him didn’t deter him from seeing only her. The fact that she’d been back there the whole time watching boosted his confidence. Whatever was simmering between them was definitely mutual. But as the music began to close, he snapped back to reality. A relationship between them wouldn’t work. They couldn’t work. The song ended, the crowd cheered and he bowed and stepped off the stage. As he yanked the mask off his face, he reminded himself he was here to find out if she was a criminal so the cops could put her behind bars. Once she found out he was responsible for putting her there, the look of passion on her face would turn quickly to betrayal and loathing.

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Chapter Three “How many times have I told you, Aidan? I won’t do it.” Her brother had walked in her office thirty minutes ago with the same question as always. “Come on, Sis. You’ll get a nice cut from the profits.” “I already make a nice profit without doing anything illegal.” “But—” “No buts.” Exasperated, she said, “Look, I like Joey. You know I do. You two have been friends since high school. But I know his business practices are a tad bit shady. I’m not knocking him or you. To each his own.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at him straight on, pointing a finger. “But just because he’s your friend, I’m not going to risk my business and potential jail time to help you out.” She stood and went to her filing cabinet. “Why can’t he use one of his own businesses? I mean, doesn’t he have a laundry mat and a bowling alley? Not to mention a bar of his own?” Aidan lazed back and put his feet up on the edge of her desk. “Yeah. But he’s been getting this funny feeling that the feds are watching him. He’s trying to find another avenue for a couple of months until things cool down.” Ashia rounded her desk, sat back in her chair and closed out a financial spreadsheet. “Well, why doesn’t he just lay low then? I mean, if he’s that suspicious, why not try to run it legit for a few months and see what happens?” He dropped his feet on the floor. “And let some other dealer muzzle in on our profits?” Shaking his head, he said, “No way.” Her stomach rolled over in knots. She loved her brother. However, she hated that he’d chosen to use his talents to make money illegally. But he was all she had left in the world, so she couldn’t desert him. Both their parents were gone, having died six months apart from each other seven years ago.


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She’d always believed that after her father died of cancer, her mother just couldn’t live on this earth without him. She died, too, just so they could be together again in heaven. They’d only been in their early twenties when it happened. She was twenty-three, about to graduate from college, and her brother twenty. He’d been in college, too, but the grief had overwhelmed him and he dropped out. Joey had been there for him, comforted him like a brother and eventually had given him a job. At that time, she hadn’t known what he did was illegal, but after her brother got so wrapped up in his business, he wouldn’t or couldn’t leave. So, she let it go. “Well, you’re going to have to find some other means to clean that money, because it’s not going to get washed at Temptation City.” On a sigh, her brother got up, came around her desk and pulled her up and into his arms. He kissed her on the forehead. He was well over a foot taller than her and sometimes liked to pretend he was the older sibling. “Okay, Sis. I got you.” He let her go and went to the window. “So, how was business this weekend?” “Good,” she said, thinking of Jalen. Her mind wandered back to his show on stage. To say that his first performance was a thing of art didn’t even cover the heat that rolled through her body when she watched him. She shook the image away. “It was really good. I found a new dancer and he turned the show out.” Aidan turned and leaned against the wall. “I still can’t believe this place. After three years, women are still flocking here. Men actually get up on that stage and take their clothes off and you’re making a ton of money off of it.” She grinned and went to stand beside him, pushing the curtains aside. He grabbed her hand and linked it with his, something he’d done ever since they were kids. “I mean, you had I don’t know how many offers from Fortune 500 businesses to come and work for them and you chose this.” “The idea of working for someone else when I could be my own boss is what swayed me. Think about it, I really only work four days a week and I make more money in a week than I could in a month working for someone else.” “True.” He chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you found your calling.”

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She laughed. “Yeah, me, too.” Letting her hand go, he said, “Okay then, I’m outta here. Gotta go make that paper. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She watched him saunter out the door. It amazed her that they looked so much alike they could be twins. People always thought so. They had the same caramel coloring, brown eyes, and crooked smile with one dimple in their cheeks. “Love you,” she said as he went out. She waited for his familiar response. “Not more than I love you.”

Jalen pulled off the expressway and turned left. He still couldn’t believe he’d actually gotten up on that stage for three days in a row and taken off his clothes. He still couldn’t believe the fifteen hundred dollars that lined his pockets. No wonder those guys didn’t mind doing it. If they made that kind of money every weekend, who needed another job? After the first night, it had come easily to him. He’d gained more and more confidence each night he stepped out onto that stage. Not to mention that he knew each and every time he was up there, Ashia was watching him. Something about her twisted his insides. They’d danced around each other all weekend. Flirting, stealing looks. He liked her, damn it. She had this crazy as hell business, but she really seemed like a nice person. Her employees were at ease around her, and she mingled with the customers like they were her friends. He’d tried so hard to keep his personal feelings under wraps, but it was getting harder. It made him feel out of control. He had to watch everything he said, everything he did, all the while snooping behind her back to find out exactly how she laundered money for Joey Kinesta. Each night the place had been packed with women, so it would be easy to slip a few thousand in saying it came from the entry fee, the food or the liquor tab. It had to be hidden somewhere. He parked his car, got out and crossed the lot. It was the beginning of spring and a nice breeze filtered through the scattered leaves on the ground. He always liked this time of year. It was a season of change.


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Lyric James

One thing that had certainly changed was his ability to stay focused on the job and his ability to keep his personal wants out of it. Because he wanted her. Damn he wanted her. The first night, the red dress she wore almost did him in. However, the second night, she’d worn a skintight black body suit with a red scarf wrapped around her waist that accentuated every curve of her body. The entire time he’d been on stage he’d thought of her, and his dick was rock hard the whole time. The third night, she’d worn hip hugging blue jeans and a shirt that had Temptation City stamped across her breasts. He’d wanted to peel it away from her skin and melt inside her. Jalen sat down in the booth. Carson was already there, nursing a beer. He ordered one as well. “So, how was the show?” he asked with a smirk on his face. Jalen gritted his teeth. “Fine.” “You weren’t a dud, were you?” He reached inside his wallet and threw his tips on the table. “You tell me.” Carson’s eyes widened as he fingered the bills. “Shit, man. There must be over a thousand dollars here.” “It is.” “You made all this in one weekend?” He grabbed the money as the waitress returned with his beer. He guzzled some before answering. “Yep.” “Damn. Sure you don’t want to change jobs?” He narrowed his eyes at him. “Hell, no.” “I don’t know. This is what, three days? Plus, working for someone as fine as Ashia Forrester.” “Are you out of your mind?” He hated to admit the idea sounded good. Not the stripping part, but being around Ashia all the time. Ever since he’d met the woman, his nights were

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haunted by dreams of her legs wrapped around his neck as he tasted her pussy. Something told him it would be as sweet as rich chocolate. “Maybe I should have taken this gig instead of you.” “Well, it’s too late now.” He took another swig of his beer. “So, now that I’m in, I plan to go in a little early and scope the place out, see if I can get onto her computer and check out her financials. Plus, I learned that the girl who manages the front door keeps a running tally of how many customers they get each night. The fee to get in is ten bucks. I should be able to tell if she’s fudging the numbers there. Not sure how I’m going to see if she’s fudging her liquor sales, though, but I’ll figure something out.” “Being surrounded by screaming women hasn’t gone to your head yet, has it?” he teased. If his mind weren’t so focused on Ashia each time he got up to perform, it probably would. All he could think about was the magnificent way her luscious hips swung from side to side as she walked, her sensuous smile and her full ass. Not to mention a great set of— Damn. Stop it. He’d never finish this job if he didn’t stop thinking about her. “No, it hasn’t.” “You think you’ll need any surveillance equipment? We could bug her office.” “Hmmm, maybe. Let me see what I can dig up first. If not, we might have to.” “Have you thought about getting close to her to see if you can find anything out? You know, if you did, she might confide in you.” It probably would make things a lot easier. If he got her to trust him, she’d probably tell him anything. “I don’t know. I’ll play it by ear. I could pretend to be interested in her.” You wouldn’t be pretending. “See what happens. She’s usually there during the week, even when the club is closed. Maybe I’ll bring her lunch or something.” “That’s a good idea. Hey, she’s single. You’re single. Our research didn’t reveal she was seeing anyone. No toes to step on. You don’t have to sleep with her.” Carson wiggled his eyebrows at him. “Although that would be a bonus.”


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Jalen threw a paper napkin at him. “I’m not going to sleep with her.” But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. The longer he worked for her, the more inevitable the act became. He wouldn’t be able to control himself much longer. “Just remember, the faster you find something, the quicker you can stop shaking your money maker on that stage.”

Jalen ordered chicken fried rice, egg rolls, egg drop soup, sweet and sour chicken, and lo mein from the Asian restaurant around the corner from the club. The more he thought about it after he left the bar from talking to Carson, the better the idea sounded. He’d bring her lunch, see if he could get to know her better and see what happened. He gathered his two bags in one hand, sodas in the other, and headed for the club. When he got there he noticed there was only one car in the parking lot. They’d be alone. He set the bags down and knocked on the door. When she saw him, surprise registered on her face. She unlocked it and let him in. “Hey, what are you doing here?” Holding up his containers, he said, “Lunch.”

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Chapter Four Ashia’s heart rate sped up. “You didn’t have to do that.” He lifted his shoulders. “I wanted to.” She smiled. “To tell you the truth, I’m starved. I was just thinking about food when I heard you pound on the door.” “I have perfect timing, then.” “Here, let me take those.” She grabbed the drinks from him. “Let’s go back to my office.” They were all alone in the club. She didn’t know if she liked that. She wasn’t afraid of him hurting her or anything. She was scared she’d do something stupid. Like pull him on top of her desk and have her way with him. Restraint. Practice restraint. They sat at the small conference table in the corner and went to work silently laying out everything and then sat down. “Did you go to the place around the corner?” “Yeah.” “Awesome. They have the best Chinese food in town.” She pulled a couple of paper plates and napkins out of her desk and handed one to him. “Here you go.” “Thanks,” he replied. But before she could sit, the phone on her desk rang. She smiled and got up to answer it. “Hello.” Ashia cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear. “Oh. Hi, Mrs. Young.” She went back to the table and began to load some of everything onto her plate. “Sure, I can come by the center today. What time do you need me?” She put her plate down and glanced at her watch.


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“Three o’clock? I’ll be there.” She turned off the phone and glanced at Jalen as she took it to her desk and placed it in the cradle. He had a questioning look on his face. “The senior citizen center. I do a little community service once or twice a week whenever they need me.” She sat, picking up a forkful of food at the same time. After the first taste, she sighed. “Wonderful.” He raised a brow. “How’d you get roped into that?” “At one point in my life I actually thought about going into social service, but there wasn’t any money in that. Instead, I volunteer and help serving food, playing board games with them, visiting the ones who don’t have any family close. It’s my way of giving back. I never knew my grandparents.” Even though it saddened her, helping them took that little bit of sadness away. “This way, I get an entire building full of them.” They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes before he asked her, “So, you’re telling me that instead of going into social work you decided to open a strip club?” He waved his fork around, amusement in his voice. She grinned. “Through my college years I’d been to plenty of strip shows that came to town, you know, hanging out with the girls. But when I graduated, I wanted to work for myself. The idea of being my own boss appealed to me.” “But a strip club?” “Yeah, I know.” She laughed. “But at the last club we went to, I remember hearing this woman at a table sitting next to us saying she wished there was something like that in town that she could go to all the time. Not just once every six months or once a year. A light bulb went off.” “So you graduated from college and what?” She realized Jalen was watching her closely, as if he were mentally taking notes of everything she said. It was unnerving, but flattering all the same. Like he wanted to remember everything about her. “There were plenty of exotic clubs for men, but none for women. One of my brother’s friends had this warehouse he rarely used, and I asked him if I could use it once a month, and he let me. Didn’t charge me a dime.” “Did he know what you were going to use it for?”

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“I told him. He laughed about it at first until I showed him how much money I made that first time.” “Did he ask for a cut after that?” About to put a forkful of food in his mouth he paused midair, waiting for her answer. “Nope.” He seemed relieved for some reason. “Anyway, I found some guys willing to do it for me on a regular basis, and for the first six months or so, put on a show once a month. I charged an admission fee, asked for ten percent of the tips, made a ton of money.” “That is wild.” “I know. I earned enough to make a down payment and buy the warehouse from him. Then, I started doing it twice a month, three times a month, until it grew to three days a week.” He was quiet for a moment before he said, “Temptation City was born.” “That’s right. I’ve never looked back.” “So, does your brother work for you? Have any say in the business?” “Oh, no. He works for his friend, Joey. He comes by to see me all the time, but he doesn’t step a foot in this place on the weekends. Doesn’t want to get mistaken for a stripper. Plus, his girlfriend would kill him.” He wore the strangest expression, like he was relieved by her answer. Why, she didn’t know. Maybe he liked the idea of her doing things on her own. “So, what about you? What brought you here?” “Well, I…I just moved here. I lived in Kansas before. I was a bartender there, too, but I wanted a change of pace, new things. I’ve even thought about going back to school. I’ve always wanted to major in criminal justice.” “Do you fancy yourself a lawyer some day?” His expression turned unsympathetic. “I have a strong abhorrence for people who break the law. My older brother was gunned down when I was a teenager because he walked into a store at the wrong time. His killer was never brought to justice.”


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Ashia’s heart lurched in her chest. Her brother meant everything to her, and every day she worried for his safety because of the career he’d chosen. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost him. She’d be all alone in the world. She reached out and covered his hand. “I’m so sorry, Jalen. That must have been hard for you since you were so young.” “Yeah.” He appeared lost in thought for a moment, probably reliving memories of his brother. She decided to lighten the mood. “Well, a couple of the guys working here are putting themselves through college working for me. Best money they ever made. You could do the same.” He shook his head and threw away his empty plate. “I don’t know if taking my clothes off for a bunch of horny women is what I had in mind, or what my mother had planned for me.” Ashia wondered if he realized how horny he made her every time he got up on that stage. Masturbating with her bullet or her dildo had become a regular event in her bedroom these days. Did he even realize how horny she was right now sitting across from him? “I’m sure owning a place like this isn’t what my parents planned for me, either, but it’s my life, and I’m happy. What’s better than that?” “So, what does your boyfriend think of your chosen career?” She got up and dumped her contents in the trash as well. “Don’t have one of those.” “By choice?” Her back to him, she answered. “Yes.” “You ever date one of your dancers?” Jalen had come up behind her, and even though he hadn’t touched her, she felt him. “No. I find it’s a good practice to never mix business with pleasure.” She turned to face him. He’d all but just admitted that he wouldn’t be here long. So, what harm would it cause? She wasn’t the jealous type. She could handle him being groped by women if she knew he was coming to her bed at night. The minute he’d walked into her club she knew they’d end up in bed together. Every fiber of her being was telling her to go for it. Let him have your body. Let him make you so wet you’ll scream his name.

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Taking a shaky breath she stepped forward and lifted her lips to meet his. He froze, then grabbed her upper arms, angled his mouth to get closer and kissed her hard. If he hadn’t been holding her up, she’d surely sink to the floor in erotic bliss. Her body all but melted into his. She felt like a wild animal in heat. If there were such a thing as magic she’d make both their clothes disappear and spread herself out like a feast to be devoured. She’d give almost anything to stretch herself before him so his strong lips and hot tongue could lick her to an incredible climax. The tips of her breasts hardened and ached to be released. Her hips rocked forward against his and the bulge in his crotch made her grow moist with need. She wanted…everything. She wanted him inside her, plunging into her hot flesh. His tongue, his fingers, his hands on her body. She needed it. She needed him. But all of a sudden, Jalen ripped his mouth away from hers. “What…?” Ashia shuddered and fought for balance. She bumped into the table that only minutes ago she wished he’d lay her on. Desire showed in his eyes, but it changed quickly as if she were some forbidden temptation. He backed toward the door. “I’m sorry I did that.” Her fingers trembled as she held them up to her lips. “Don’t be. I kissed you first.” “We work together. You’re my b-boss.” “I think we can figure out a way around that.” “No we can’t.” His words were hard and sharp and left no room for persuasion. A throbbing silence hung in the air. Guilt washed over his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Then he was gone. She’d hiked up her courage and thrown caution out the window for nothing. Why did he bring her lunch? Why did he give her mixed signals and then turn her away? She felt like an idiot. Ashia busied herself by cleaning up. Well, she’d learned a valuable lesson. She was a big girl. She’d been turned down before. She was sure to be turned down again. It had never


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bothered her before. But as her heart squeezed inside her chest, she wondered why it did this time.

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Chapter Five The next night Jalen pulled his costume off a hanger and began to put it on. He’d chosen to wear the same thing. The Midnight Panther would always wear black, he thought, smirking to himself. Besides, he wouldn’t be working at the club long. There was no need to go out and buy a bunch of costumes when he wouldn’t be wearing them anymore. When he’d gotten to work early, Ashia had been behind closed doors and had asked not to be disturbed. He’d hung around out front waiting for her to finish, and when she did, the break in his case he’d been looking for walked right out of her office. Joey Kinesta. He looped his arm around Ashia’s shoulders, and as they walked he whispered something in her ear. Never taking his eyes off of them, he watched as they strolled to the hallway and she leaned against the wall, her knee bent and foot propped behind her. Joey slid his hand down her arm, held her hand and leaned in close to tell her something, and she laughed. A white hot surge swelled so full inside him, he almost came off the bar stool. What the hell was she doing hugged up with a thug like that? But he knew why. His lips thinned. She had no problem mixing that kind of business and pleasure with Joey. The idea sent bile into his throat. No. No. She’s mine. The thought made him jerk back. Joey kissed her on the corner of her lips and walked away. She stood there for a moment staring down the hallway after him. When she pushed away from the wall she hesitated when she saw Jalen, and something he couldn’t quite make out passed over her face. She gave him a tight smile and retreated down the hallway to her office. Even though he knew he should, he was unable to tear his gaze from the clingy red material of her dress. How it molded every curve, how www.samhainpublishing.com

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the split whispered over her thigh to just before the juncture of her hip, how it coated the ass he wanted to palm in his hands. There was no way in hell he’d get through this assignment without having her. God, she’d hate him in the end, but it would be so worth it, just to have a taste of her for his memories. Later, as he waited to go on stage, he thought of her. The kiss they shared, the heat that seared through his body. As the DJ introduced him, the crowd screamed and yelled, but the only person he wanted out there was Ashia. He stepped up onto the platform and moved with the music. Not a choreographer by any means, he repeated the same routine he’d done last week with a few minor changes. A thrust here, a wiggle there, nothing he couldn’t handle without feeling like a complete idiot. The ladies loved it. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he peered to the back where he knew she’d be standing, but she wasn’t there. Something lurched inside him. He knew he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself. The kiss had shocked him. It happened so fast, and he’d gotten so aroused by it, he’d lost control. He’d yanked her tight against him and kissed her, his heart thumping in his chest. He’d wanted to lift her onto her table, spread her legs and dive in deep for a taste. He was curious to know what kind of underwear she wore. Was it satin bikinis with a hint of lace? Thongs made to tantalize? Or did she go for comfort and wear cotton? Whatever it was, he’d been weak with desire just thinking about it. She probably thought he didn’t want her, but that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t have her. No matter how much he wanted to. Jalen feared that if he did, not only would he not be able to complete the job he was sent here to do, but he’d lose her in the process when she found out the truth. That, he knew he couldn’t handle. The jealousy that poured through him when he saw her with Joey still lingered in the back of his throat. He had to leave it there. He wouldn’t cross the line of professionalism again. No matter how much it killed him. No matter how much he liked her. He’d gotten to know the woman behind the club. He liked how she lived her life the way she wanted no matter what anyone thought. He liked the sweetness that lurked under the surface of

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the cool successful businesswoman. But he had a job to do. And it didn’t include getting intimately involved with her.

Ashia made herself sit in her office. She wanted to go watch him so bad her feet almost moved involuntarily without her. She still tasted his kiss on her lips. But after he turned her away, she knew she had to fight the attraction she felt for him. When Joey came by to see her, she knew Jalen was sitting in the club area and she got a thrill of power from it. She knew he sat there watching, wondering. Joey always flirted with her. It was their thing. But nothing had ever happened between them. Besides, she wouldn’t allow herself to be involved sexually or intimately with someone who had to keep certain things about his life or job a secret, specifically things that could make them wind up in jail. And if Joey kept it up, he would be. He, too, had come to her just like her brother and asked for her help. Again, she’d refused. He didn’t like it, but he understood. The history they shared still allowed them to be friends. But she did get a perverse pleasure out of witnessing Jalen’s jealousy. She didn’t understand it, but was glad nonetheless. It meant that he felt something for her. She heard his music end and the cheers and screams of the women in the club. He’d had another fabulous performance. However, there was still work to do, so she got up and headed into the kitchen. Her manager had already informed her they were running low on a few items. She wanted to head out to make a late-night run to the store. Plus, it would allow her to avoid Jalen. Just being in the same building with him did something to her nerves. “Hey, Vivian, you got that list ready for me?” “Yes, here you go,” she said, handing it to her. “Jalen had another awesome show.” She didn’t want to hear it. She’d purposely avoided watching him tonight. “Those women are so crazy for him. They asked about him when they walked in the door. They wanted to make sure the Midnight Panther was performing tonight.” Ashia slid an unconcerned mask over her features. “Good. That’s what I like to hear.” She folded and tucked the list in her purse. “If I’m not back before the clean-up crew is finished, close up for me, okay?”


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“Sure thing, boss. See you later.” She slipped out the front while her final act, The Crimson Stallion, finished his performance. By the time she got back, everyone would be gone. At least all the dancers would be, anyway. Including Jalen. But an hour and a half later when she walked into her office, that wasn’t the case. He was sitting at her desk, looking at her computer. “W-what are you doing in here?” she stammered, too shocked to be angry that he was in her office and on her personal desktop when he wasn’t supposed to be. Jalen stood. He’d changed into a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt. Her favorite color. The reason why everything in her club was accented in it, and also the reason she wore it each night the club was open. “Um…Vivian told me you might come back, so I waited.” She set down her purse and crossed her arms over her chest. “Why?” “I’m sorry about the other day.” “We’ve already been over this,” she snapped. “No…I mean. I’m sorry I stopped.” She looked heavenward and took a deep breath. “Don’t do this to me, Jalen. One minute you’re pulling me forward, the next you’re pushing me back. Just…just…go home.” She rubbed her palms up and down her arms. They itched to touch him, to feel him, because even though he apologized, his eyes hinted at something different. He wanted her, but he fought against it. He didn’t want to want her. Why? What was wrong with her? Jalen’s hazel eyes flashed liquid heat. He came around her desk and got closer to her. His gaze moved the length of her body, and she knew immediately when the barrier between employer and employee changed. Standing in this room, they were just a man and a woman who wanted each other desperately.

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He framed her face and looked into her eyes, so much emotion behind them that she sensed he felt he was doing something awfully wrong. She cradled him around the waist in an attempt to let him know that everything could be so right between them. So perfect if he’d only let it. Ashia was overjoyed when he kissed her and even more so when he eased his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned against his lips, licking, nibbling at him. And he consumed her in return. Slipping his hand to the small of her back, he traced the curve of her spine, up to her neck and back down again. Jalen’s hands moved lower to palm the curve of her ass and he pulled her tight against him, hard and ready for her. But was he willing? “We shouldn’t be doing this.” But even as he said it, his lips nibbled at her ear. Then he spun her around, swept her hair to the side, and his tongue traced a wet path across the back of her neck. “Then stop right now,” she panted, aching for his touch, needing him, wanting him. “I can’t,” he murmured, and slid his hands under her shirt to cup her breasts. “There’s just something about you that pulls me in.” He was right. For some powerful, unexplainable reason, she was drawn to him, and he to her. As if some magic force tugged them together and didn’t want to loosen its hold. As if they belonged together. His hands found the zipper at the back of the black mini-skirt she wore and she heard the metal come apart and felt the material whisper down her legs to pool at her ankles. She stepped out of it. “This is what you want,” he stated. It wasn’t a question. “Yes.” The word came out as a gasp when she felt him drop to his knees behind her. His hands touched her ankles and grazed a path up over her calves to her thighs until he slipped his fingers under the red bikini panties she wore. “This is what I want,” he confirmed. She wobbled on her feet and had to grab the edge of the table as he pulled them down. “My shoes,” she whispered. “Leave them on,” he said and kissed the dent in her hip.


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Carefully, so she wouldn’t fall, she lifted one leg, then the other as he took off her underwear. Standing, he reached around her and pulled each button loose on her shirt and dropped it to the floor. With his teeth, he unhooked her bra and sent another wet path of kisses up her back. She moaned with pleasure and fought to hold a single thought inside her head. The erotic need that pulsed inside her was so intense it threatened to overwhelm her. Jalen splayed his hand flat against her back and gently pushed her. “Bend over.” An entire cataclysm of spasms rippled under her skin and she gasped for air. Because she knew they’d moved too fast. She’d been too needy, too excited, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t slow it down now. Their need for each other was like a locomotive without a brake, fast approaching a collision. And when it was over, damage and agonizing pain would be the only thing left. She spread her thighs as he bent again and began to apply kisses over her plump flesh. Then, he trailed his hot tongue down and between the crevice of her cheeks. He brushed her pussy with his fingers while she quivered and panted in ecstasy. He ran the pad of his thumb across her clit with the right pressure. Ashia felt his tongue tasting and licking her wet heat. He pushed her farther onto the table until she was half-hanging off the edge, and coiled and thrust his tongue deep inside her. It was coaxing, gradual with a slow, sweet force and the delicious tidal wave of her climax built inside her. She cried out when it pulsated and crashed like a ship floating over a massive wave. Jalen gripped her hips, his fingers digging into her bottom while her climax went on and on. He pushed her forward, her breasts against the cool table, sucking in deep breaths. The next thing she knew, he gripped her ass again with both hands, pulled her against him and she felt the hardness of his cock against her back. His fingers found her clit again before he spread her legs and buried himself deep inside her. The table moved as he rocked against her. He sank himself into her again and again. She pushed backward to meet each powerful thrust. He surged upwards repeatedly, and she whimpered and lifted her hips for more by standing on her toes. Ashia sucked in ragged gasps as spasms of delight rolled unchecked throughout her body.

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Another climax erupted and she rode the wild and wonderful tidal wave of sheer ecstasy. With a harsh groan, Jalen stiffened in release, calling out her name. They both fell against the table, breathing heavily, air rushing in and out of their lungs. She felt him move away and she turned. But when she looked into his eyes, he appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle of wills. The reserved expression came back, the one that reeked of turmoil and guilt. He tried to smile, but it was forced. She fought to control her emotions. Sighing, she closed her eyes, turned and began to dress. In an effort to thwart the apology she knew was on his lips, she said, “This doesn’t have to change anything.” She heard him shuffling behind her, putting his clothes back on. “What do you mean?” “I think you and I both realize this was just sex. A one time thing.” Her heart ached, but she kept talking. “We got it out of our system. Now we can move on.” Maybe he was one of those guys who feared commitment or that she would possibly want something more from him. Or better yet, since she was his boss, she’d make his life hell because of it. Well, he didn’t know her at all. “Don’t worry about your job. It’s safe. We both got carried away. I won’t hold that against you.” “You should.” The way he said it, the anguish she heard in his voice almost tore at her soul. “But I don’t.” Something else was going on, but she didn’t know what it was, and she hated to admit she was too much of a coward to ask. Then a light bulb went off. He had a girlfriend back home, wherever he moved from. Someone he was committed to and now he’d cheated on her. She was a home wrecker. After she zipped up her skirt, she turned. “This will be our little secret. No one has to know.” “That’s not it. Really. There’s just…” Raw yearning flooded his face. “Look. We don’t have to talk about this now.” She’d let them both off the hook. Right now, she was holding onto her composure with a fine string, but she needed to get away from him before it snapped and she began to beg him for more. Her heart twisted a little at the thought. He nodded and walked out, his head low. She’d get over it. Like she always did.


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As she drove home, a single tear slipped from her eye. There was no way she was going to stay interested in a man who fought so hard to not like her or want her, even if he let his self control slip a little one time. They’d move on. But when she slid under the covers in her bed after a long hot shower, washing away his scent, she knew without any control of her own that tonight she’d given Jalen a little piece of her heart.

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Chapter Six Jalen had to fix things between him and Ashia. This was his sixth week at Temptation City and he’d yet to find any evidence she was laundering money for Joey Kinesta. He’d bugged her office, staked the club out after hours and he’d gone through her computer with a fine toothed comb. Nothing. He hadn’t found one damn thing to implicate her. As far as he could tell, she made her money legitimately with the entry fee, liquor tab, food and tips she earned with the club. There was nothing to find. He hadn’t seen Joey in her club. And her brother only came by infrequently for ten or fifteen minutes just to say hello, hardly even going in her office. She was innocent. And since she was, there was no reason he couldn’t get involved with her. He’d tried to have several casual conversations with her, but she only spoke to him when necessary, barely saying anything else. And it was killing him. Going through her financial records early one morning, he’d found out her address. She lived in a quaint neighborhood fit for families, with white picket fences, bikes and go carts in the front yard, basketball hoops and swings in the back. He was going to visit her at home. Bearing gifts. He shifted the package he held from the right hand to the left as he rang the doorbell. It was a Tuesday night, and since he passed the club on his way here, he knew she wasn’t at work. Hopefully, she was home. “Just a minute,” he heard her call from the other side of the door. “Hey, girl, you’re…” Her voice trailed off when she realized it wasn’t who she thought it was. Her eyebrows drew together. “What are you doing here?” “Can I come in?”


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She crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. He held up his package. “I have ice cream.” He’d heard her say to someone in the club one day that it was her favorite. Eying his bag, she asked, “Is that from Coldstone Creamery?” He smiled. “Yes.” “Who told you it was my favorite?” “A little bird whispered in my ear you like Cookie Doughn’t You Want It, so I stopped by and picked up a very large serving.” A small smile lit her features and she stepped to the side. “Get in here. Now.” Ashia grabbed his bag on his way in the door. She shut it, then tore into the bag. He’d gotten the largest serving size they had in hopes it would earn him entrance into her home. And hopefully her heart. In her living room she sat down in a large comfortable chair, pulled her socked feet underneath her and dug a spoon into the ice cream. He watched as she slipped the utensil inside her mouth and closed her eyes on a moan. God, he wished he was that spoon. “This is so good. I swear that place with the twenty-one flavors doesn’t have anything on them.” He smiled and leaned back against the sofa. The living area was nice with comfortable furniture, tables you didn’t mind putting your feet up on, and she obviously had a green thumb because there was a live, tall green plant in each corner. There were pictures of her and her brother, some alone, some with a couple who were obviously their parents, on one wall. Her diplomas hung with distinction on another. She set the ice cream down and eyed him carefully. Dressed comfortably in a pair of red shorts and a red and white t-shirt, she asked him, “So, what brings you by?” The moment of truth. “I’ve missed you.” She sucked in a huge breath and rose. “Thanks for the ice cream, but I think you need to leave.” “Ashia, please.”

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“Please what? Allow you back into my bed again so you can run out of it immediately afterwards? No thank you.” “No. No. I’m not running anymore.” He got up, too, and stood in front of her. “You’re all I think about. I’ve been going crazy not being able to touch you, to feel you. Just to have one conversation with you. I miss your voice. The way that dimple in your cheek deepens when you laugh.” And she did laugh, and he drew the back of his hand down her left cheek. “See, just like that. I miss that.” “I can’t do this again with you, Jalen.” She stepped back, walked away from him and stood by one of her windows. “It’s too hard,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I know I was pushing you back and forth. I’m ready now. I want to try again.” She swung around. “You hurt me.” She swiped a tear away. “Damn it. I don’t need this.” Jalen decided to hold nothing back. If she was going to trust him again, she needed to know exactly how he felt so there wouldn’t be any doubts. “I need you.” “Don’t do this to me,” she whimpered. Dropping down to his knees in front of her, he placed his hands on her waist. “One more chance, that’s all I ask.” She looked heavenward for a few seconds then back down at him. “Okay,” she said quietly with a small smile on her face. He, on the other hand, broke out into a huge grin, stood back up and hugged her, relieved. A wave of irrepressible desire rippled through him. He’d been without her for so long. He wanted to take her, thrust inside her warm pussy and make her moan. Jalen began a slow process of tasting her, kissing her forehead, her temple, the bridge of her nose, over her cheek. When he got to her mouth, he flicked out his tongue and licked the bottom, the top, and she gasped. “Where’s your room?” “To the right, down the hall.” He grazed a trail of kisses over her neck to her ear and took a nip at the lobe. “I don’t know if I can make it that far.”


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Determination washed over her face. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. “Then don’t.” He grinned and began yanking at his clothes. Within seconds they were both naked. He prayed no one out there with a telescope was playing Peeping Tom tonight. But just in case they were, he reached around her and yanked the curtains closed. She splayed her hands across his chest and pushed him. His calves met the couch and he fell backward. “It’s quite comfortable.” She began to straddle him, but he stopped her. “Not just yet.” Jalen scooted to the edge and took her by the waist. He ran his hands over the tight beads of her nipples. She sighed with pleasure when he took one in his mouth and ran a finger slowly between her breasts, down her stomach until he pressed her clit. Her hands found his shoulders as he began to massage her and lick her breasts. Her head fell back. “Oh, yes.” Jalen applied kisses to her breasts, her belly button, and then replaced his finger with his mouth, sliding his tongue inside her for a probing taste. He lapped at her, eager, desperate. Ashia writhed and wiggled, pushing her hips against him. “Don’t stop,” she demanded. He didn’t plan to until he’d had his fill. Senseless with need and lust, he ached for the taste of her. He loved the soft, inflamed tension of her sex. She gasped and jerked against his tongue. “I…I…oh…oh, I’m coming.” The desperate happiness in her voice made him rejoice. He firmed his tongue and applied more pressure, slid a finger inside and drove deep. “Jalen,” she said on a breath. “I don’t think I can take any more.” He smiled and kept his mouth affixed to her sweet pussy. “Sure you can,” he said, and didn’t stop pleasing her. He used both of his thumbs to spread her fully and swirled his tongue around her clit, down her labia and back up before he dipped into her again. She cupped his head in her hands and held on, pushing against him. Jalen used one of his hands to inch around and cup her bottom. He spread her legs wide and pushed a finger inside her as far as he could. She propped one foot on the couch beside his thigh and opened herself wider.

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Ashia rocked against his face. She panted and gasped and moaned and even though she’d said only minutes ago that she didn’t think she could stand any more, she screamed, “Don’t stop, don’t stop. Oh, yes, I’m coming again.” She stiffened and yelled, “Jalen,” and went limp against him, and would have fallen if he hadn’t held her. “That was amazing,” she said, her words like staccato beats, her body still trembled. “Only the beginning.” “Oh, God,” she whimpered. Jalen pulled her on top of him so she straddled his legs. “I’m not through with you yet.” He massaged her butt and swiped his tongue across her breasts. “You ready for more?” “Oh, yeah.” She nodded. In one motion, he impaled her on his dick and she arched into him, tipping her hips. They began to rock in that age-old rhythm that men and women have enjoyed for centuries. Jalen experienced nothing short of complete, utter ecstasy inside her. His goal when he came over here had been to make it all up to her. Even though she didn’t know it, his job and his stupidity almost cost him the most incredible woman he’d ever met in his life. So thankful he hadn’t found anything implicating her in Joey’s money laundering scheme, he’d almost done a happy dance in the middle of his boss’s office when he’d told him he could stop the investigation. This beautiful woman riding him to completion was honest and without guile, and the way she met his thrusts and matched them sent desire skittering across his skin. They moved together in total harmony. When he moved up, she came down. When he wanted slow, she wanted slow. When he sped up the tempo, she welcomed it. The pulsating, vibrating need to posses her overtook his senses. He surged upward repeatedly and she thrust her hips against his, once, twice and then a third time. She pushed against his chest and rose. He opened his eyes and asked, “What…what’s wrong?” Ashia gave him a wicked grin and turned around. “Not a damn thing.” She straddled him backward, pulling her knees side by side with his, her feet behind her up on the couch, and settled herself over him again. Using his legs for support she took control and


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slid down until she enveloped him. When she began to lift her hips upward and then back down again, the sight of her round, delectable ass in his face nearly sent him over the edge. He grabbed her hips and began to pound into her in a fierce paroxysm of ecstasy. He loved her body with each thrust, each wiggle, each mind-numbing undulation of her hips until he couldn’t hold back any longer. He fought for breath as his orgasm took hold and he abandoned himself to the pleasure. He groaned in blissful agony as a jarring, pulsing climax that began in his soul shattered inside him. It became the longest, hottest release of his life as he felt his seed spill into her. His own cries were so loud it wasn’t until his subsided that he heard Ashia’s as well. She stiffened, gasped and cried out before falling over, her hands smacking the floor to keep her from falling. He pulled her back up, and they fell onto the couch. Jalen mindlessly reached for the afghan that covered the back and pulled it over them as they drifted off to sleep.

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Chapter Seven Friday night, Ashia sat in her office with a huge grin on her face. She hadn’t been able to keep a smile off of it for three whole days. She and Jalen were completely in sync. After weeks and weeks of torturing herself and not being with him, they were now together. A couple, if you could believe it. She was beyond happy. After Tuesday night, they’d spent Wednesday and Thursday day and night together. They did those usual things couples do, dinner, movies, walks through the park. And sex. Lots and lots of incredible sex. All over the place. Her office again, and every room in her house had become a bed. Jalen was incredible, and the man didn’t have an off button. He was like the damn Energizer bunny. And boy did she love it. Hours on top of hours of blissful ecstasy. The thought had her shaking her head until her brother burst into her office. “Hey, little brother, what happened to knocking?” Normally when he visited, he was dressed impeccably. Today he looked ragged, like he’d slept in his clothes. “What’s wrong with you? You been out all night partying?” “No, look, Ashia, I need your help.” She stood, got a closer look at him and saw a bruise on his face. Reaching out to touch him, she asked, “Have you been in a fight?” He stepped back and shrugged his shoulders. “No, nothing like that.” “Then what happened?” “Don’t worry about it,” he demanded. “Look I need your help. I need you to wash some money for Joey tonight.” Her lips thinned and she crossed her arms over her chest. “We’ve been over this before, Aidan, I’m not going to do that.” “Ashia, I’m desperate. You have to help me.” www.samhainpublishing.com

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She heard the anguish in his voice, but this time, she also heard the fear. “What the hell is going on?” Then, she took a good look at him. Not only did he have a bruise on his face, there were marks on his neck and hands, and his cheeks looked sunk in, like he hadn’t eaten in days. Alarm clenched in her throat. “What really happened to you?” “Joey…” “Being involved in his business did this to you. That son-of-a-bitch. I thought he was your friend. I thought he was supposed to protect you from crap like this.” “Listen, Ashia, you don’t understand.” “I understand that you chose to work for a low-life thug, doing illegal God-knows-what and now it’s finally come back to bite you on the ass.” “Ashia!” “You should have never gone to work for him. I asked you to work at the club with me—” “Ashia! Stop talking!” His voice was so loud it resonated through the entire club. “What?” Her brother put emphasis on each and every syllable: “If you don’t launder this money for me, Joey is going to kill me.” Air whooshed out of her lungs. “Excuse me?” He swiped his hands over his face and didn’t say anything for a full sixty seconds. He lowered his head. “I stole from him,” he said quietly. “You what?” Putting his hands in his pockets, he walked away from her. “I stole from him, Ashia, and he found out about it.” Her mouth opened and closed several times before she said, “How? Why? You don’t steal from the mob. Are you crazy?” “I guess I am.” “He’s your friend. I thought he paid you pretty well. How could you steal from him? Plus he works for the mob. The mob, Aidan.” “I get it, I get it.”

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“Obviously you don’t. How could you think you’d get away with something like that?” “Stop lecturing me and tell me if you’re going to help me.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and sank into her chair. “Do I have a choice?” “I’m so sorry. I really am.” If she weren’t so scared for his safety, she’d slap the crap out of him, but he needed her. He needed her to break the law. “One time, Aidan. That’s it. You will not come back to me two months from now asking me to do this again. I love you, but I will not go to prison for you.” “And I wouldn’t let you,” he said as he pulled her up and hugged her. “Thank you. I know how hard this is for you.” She closed and reopened her eyes and began to tap her foot against the hardwood floor. “What do I have to do?” “Just run the club as usual. I’ll come by before you close and bring you the money. Just include it in your deposit when you take it to the bank.” “And then?” she urged as nausea rolled through her stomach. “Write a check to Joey’s dry cleaning service on Monday. In your books write it down for services rendered, like you got the linens cleaned or something.” She yanked herself out of her chair and began to pace the room. “This is a nightmare.” “I know.” He walked toward the door. “Well, I guess I’ll go get cleaned up.” He paused for a moment and glanced at her, a look of sorrow she hadn’t seen on his face since their parents passed away. “I’m so sorry, Ashia.” “I know, Aidan. I love you.” She heard him from the hallway. “Not more than I love you.”

Jalen sauntered into her office, dressed in his usual black. “Hey, sexy, how you doing?” About to swoop down and kiss her, he pulled up short. “What’s wrong?” A tight grin formed on her lips. “Nothing. I’m fine. Fine.” Not sure why, something squeezed inside his chest. Something wasn’t right. He regarded her carefully. It was in her eyes. “Are you sure?”


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She ducked under his arm and went to her shut her filing cabinet. “Yeah, I’m sure.” When he walked up behind her, she didn’t turn, so he took her by the shoulders and made her face him. “You know you can talk to me, right? I’m here for you.” Tears swam in her eyes. “I know.” “Then talk to me.” He heard the last verse of Trey’s music and knew he had exactly two minutes before the DJ called him up on stage. This was his last weekend performing at the club. He’d lied to Ashia and told her he’d been accepted into the police academy and would start on Monday. It was the only thing he could think to tell her that was closest to the truth. “You don’t have time right now. Go.” “Ashia.” She swiped at a tear that leaked out of her eye. “Go, we’ll talk later. I promise.” “You sure?” “Yes. I’m sure.” The last minute trickled down. He brushed a kiss over her lips and ran out of her office. Damn, he wished he had time to talk to her. He’d get to the bottom of it later. They were finally at a place where they communicated everything to each other. Of course, there were some things he still couldn’t tell her. He pushed the thoughts out of his head as his music cued and he stepped onto the stage to wild cheers. He hated to admit that if he had a chance at another career, this would be it. The last six weeks hadn’t been as bad as he thought they would be. His set tomorrow was going to be longer since it was his last performance. As he stripped off his clothes and bared his ass to the crowd, he saw Ashia in the back and winked at her. She gave him a tight smile. As soon as he got off this stage he was going to find out what was wrong with her. When her brother and Joey suddenly appeared next to her, he saw her wince. Fuck. No, Ashia. No.

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Then, he knew. All three of them walked toward her office. Her brother carried a pouch under his arm. Damn. When his music came to a close, Jalen grabbed his clothes and rushed off the stage. In the dressing room he yanked on a pair of blue jean shorts and a T-shirt. He had to know what was going on. But when he made it down the hallway to her office, two big thugs stood outside the door and kept him from going in. “Not now, buddy.” He looked back and forth between the two and decided not to risk it. One he could handle, but two meatheads, no. He wasn’t that stupid. He made his way through the kitchen and out the back door to the payphone at the end of the alley. His boss answered. “Carson.” “Hey, I think something is going on at Temptation City.” “What? I thought you said the place was clean.” “Yeah, I did, too, but while I was up on stage Joey and Ashia’s brother walked in. Her brother never comes to the club when it’s open on the weekends. I just tried to get into her office and two of Joey’s bodyguards stopped me.” “Did you remove the bug you placed in her office?” “Shit, I forgot about that. No, I didn’t.” “Hold on.” Jalen heard Carson pick up another phone. “This is Agent Carson, I need you to reactivate the listening device we placed at Temptation City a few weeks ago. Six zero nine eight four. Right. Thanks.” He heard the phone clatter as he hung it up. “Okay Spencer, they’re switching it on right now. How soon can you get over here?” “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up the phone and raced to his car, glad his keys were still in the pockets. But as he started the ignition, he saw Joey and Aidan leaving. He hunkered down in his car and watched them. All of a sudden, one of the meatheads punched Aidan in the stomach. “What the hell?”


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He doubled over, and Joey smiled at him as he got in the car. They left him in the middle of the street. Jalen switched off the ignition and got out of the car. “Hey, Aidan, man. You all right?” Aidan’s eyes widened when he saw him. “Yeah, yeah. I’m all right.” “You don’t look like it.” “Let’s just say I am now.” “Is your sister okay?” Because if she wasn’t, he would finish what the two thugs hadn’t. “She will be.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “Look, it’s business.” “Business, hell. That was Joey Kinesta, one of the most dangerous mob bosses in this city. He just had one of his bodyguards punch you in the stomach. I thought you two were friends.” Aidan straightened up and glared at him. “Look, mind your own damn business. This doesn’t concern you.” “Anything that concerns your sister concerns me.” “Why, you’re just a guy taking your clothes off at her club. A goddamn stripper.” “I love your sister and what I am is a goddamn cop.” The words were out of his mouth before he could yank them back. He hadn’t meant to blurt it all out, but it occurred to him that if Aidan wasn’t in Joey’s good graces anymore they could use that to their advantage. “Y-y-you’re a cop?” he sputtered. His head snapped back as his startled gaze looked up and down the street. He must have expected twenty police cars to come rushing up to them. “Yes, I’m a cop working undercover at the club.” “Does Ashia know?” Jalen gritted his teeth. “No, she doesn’t.” “She doesn’t have anything to do with this. It’s all my fault. I made her do it.” “You made her do what?” Aidan lowered his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “What did you make your sister do?”

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For the next thirty minutes, Aidan explained to Jalen what was going on. It made him sick to his stomach. “Do you realize your sister could lose her business, not to mention her freedom? Do you honestly think Joey is going to let her stop now? She has a weakness. You, Aidan. She’ll do anything to protect you, and Joey knows it.” A stunned look swept over his face, then fear, then anger. “He promised us this was the first and only time.” “You honestly can’t be that stupid. It’s the mob, Aidan. You stole from him and now he has you and your sister in his back pocket. What do you think is going to happen?” Aidan’s legs collapsed under him and he fell to the ground. “What have I done?” “Your sister has worked very hard to be the woman she is today. She’s successful and owns her own business. Do you want Joey to take that away from her?” His head in his hands, he shook it back and forth. “No.” “Then help us put Joey away. Help us close down his operation once and for all.” Aidan sat in silence, his wavy hair disheveled, his clothes wrinkled and getting dirty from sitting on the ground. “Do it for your sister, Aidan. You owe her that much.” “You’re right.” He got up, dusted off his pants and looked him right in the eye. “You’re right. She does. What do you need me to do?”


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Chapter Eight Ashia sat in the police station on a hard brown bench, her arms wrapped around her middle, tapping her foot against the floor. When she got the call that her brother was at the police station, she’d flown out of the club. After she’d taken the money from a sneering, lecherous Joey, she thought her brother was going home. Instead, he’d ended up here and she still didn’t know why. Bile rose in her throat as she thought about the nine thousand dollars sitting in her safe. Now she had to deal with this on top of being stuck under Joey’s thumb. This place was wretched with its plain white walls and large metal desks. The smell of burnt coffee almost made her gag. An empty box of donuts sat next to the pot in the corner. “Ms. Forrester?” A handsome clean-shaven detective in a pair of blue jeans and a polo shirt approached her. A gun in a holster was tucked to his waist and his badge was clipped to his belt. “Yes.” “I’m Detective Carson. Your brother is currently being interrogated in regards to his connection with Joey Kinesta. They should be done in a few minutes.” “I don’t understand what’s happened. Has he been arrested?” “No, ma’am. Actually, your brother has agreed to turn state’s witness against Mr. Kinesta.” From behind him a door opened, and when she saw who walked out, all the air in her lungs constricted. “Jalen?” She allowed her gaze to capture him from head to toe. He was dressed exactly like the detective in front of her. But what shocked her was the gun and the badge also clipped to his waist. “You’re a cop?” “I’ll just leave you two alone,” Detective Carson said to both of them as he walked away. “All this time? What the hell were you doing working in my club?” 50


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“Come on.” He reached for her arm, but she yanked it away. “Don’t touch me,” she hissed. Hurt flashed in his eyes, but she ignored it. He didn’t have the right to be hurt. “Just come in here with me.” He glanced around. “Please.” She side-stepped him into the room and went to the other side of the table. “I was working undercover.” “In my club?” “Yes. We’ve been investigating Joey Kinesta for two years. We knew he was laundering his money through one of his companies, but we never could catch him. Your club was last on our list to check.” She held up her hand. “Let me get this straight. You thought that I was laundering money for Joey.” “At first—” “You didn’t just move here from out of town, did you?” she asked him, knowing the answer before he even said it. “No.” “It all makes sense now. That’s why you kept pushing me back and forth.” The only reason he’d come into her life was to investigate her. She slumped against the wall, miserable and confused. And angry. “That’s why I found you snooping around in my office on my computer.” A shocked gasp escaped. He wasn’t the person she thought he was. It was all a giant fabrication so he could do his job. “That’s why you kissed me that night. It was a goddamn distraction.” Her body turned as cold as ice. “And why you slept with me.” “No, Ashia—” Bitterness made her voice crack. “You bastard. You used me. What was I, a means to an end? You knew if you were fucking me, you could crawl all over my club and I wouldn’t ask questions.” He rounded the table to get closer to her, but she circled it, too, and didn’t allow him near her. “No, Ashia. That’s not why I made love to you.”


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He’d been lying to her about himself, about everything. “Made love? Made love?” she shouted. “Don’t you ever say love in the same sentence when you’re talking about me. Don’t ever.” “Please, Ashia.” His eyes raked over her, his mouth tight as if he had so much to say. Well, she didn’t want to hear it. “Take me to see my brother.” “Ashia.” She punctuated each and every syllable. “Take me to see my brother. I have nothing, and I do mean nothing, else to say to you.” Tears quivered just behind her eyelids and she fought hard to keep them at bay. She would not allow him to see her cry. She would not allow him to see how much he affected her. There was no way in hell she’d allow him to see she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him and her heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces. He hung his head and went to the door. They walked in silence to her brother’s interrogation room. When he opened the door she saw him sitting at a table with his head in his hands. He looked up when she walked in the room. “Ashia.” “Aidan,” she said and rushed into his arms. She heard the door close quietly behind them, but didn’t look back. She wouldn’t look back ever again. On the way home, Ashia sat in her car, wiping her face. She’d just finished another round of crying. Her face was dry and she probably had pieces of tissue paper stuck to it from all the weeping she’d done since she found out Jalen lied to her. If only she could turn back the clock. She wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and never come out. Worse, she wished more than anything that Jalen would knock on her door, hold her and make everything right again. That she knew, however, was impossible. Nothing would ever be right again.

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Chapter Nine You have to find a way to fix it. The thought had been drumming in his head since last night at the station. He’d managed to call her a couple of times at home and on her cell phone, but she hadn’t answered. It might be too late. What they shared was fragile, and he’d ripped a tear right down the middle. Their whole time together had been built on a lie. If there was a shred of hope, he’d do anything in his power to make it right again. His hand hovered over the doorbell outside her house. He hit the buzzer and waited. The door swung open. He drank her in, looked into her rich brown eyes and almost melted. “Hi,” he said. “Hello.” “Can I come in?” “Why? I know everything I need to know.” “Please give me a chance to explain.” She turned on her heel and he followed her into the living room where she sat in a chair. Jalen sat on the corner of the couch closest to her and leaned toward her. “I’m sorry, Ashia.” “Sorry that you thought I was laundering money for the mob, or sorry for sleeping with me?” “I was doing my job.” “Your job? You mean every time you’ve climbed into my bed this week was your job?” Jalen lowered his head. “The first time we made love—” He saw her wince, but went on anyway. “The first time I couldn’t help myself. I’d already started to fall for you, but after that, we stopped, didn’t we?” “So. You were still investigating me.” “And when I realized earlier this week that you were innocent, I went to my boss and told him and we closed the case.” www.samhainpublishing.com

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Something flashed in her eyes, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “That’s why I came over here Tuesday.” She rose and went to stand by the window. “So when you came over here, you knew I was innocent?” “Yes.” “So what happened? How did my brother end up a witness for the prosecution?” “While I was on stage I saw your brother and Joey walk in. I knew something wasn’t right. Plus, you were acting funny right before. When they left, I saw one of Joey’s bodyguards punch him in the stomach. I approached him outside and that’s when he told me everything. I convinced him to turn state’s evidence.” “You could have told me the truth Tuesday night. Instead, you concocted that lousy story that you were quitting to become a cop. You told a lie on top of another lie.” She was right. “I just didn’t know how to tell you.” “What were you going to do, keep on lying, find excuse after excuse not to tell me? I don’t even know you.” “I love you. You know that, don’t you?” “How do I know that? What have you done to prove to me that you love me?” In all honesty, he couldn’t think of a single thing. All he’d done since he’d met her was lie. “You can’t think of one, can you?” He saw anger, hurt and confusion well up in her eyes, and all he could do was stand there. “Get out,” she said quietly. “Ashia, please.” “Get. Out.” Jalen looked at her one last time, memorizing every detail, every nuance. He committed it to memory because it would be all he had, then he walked out the door.

“It was a mistake to get involved with him,” Ashia said to her brother, twirling a pen between her fingers.

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“How can you say that?” Aidan asked and propped his feet on the corner of her desk. “He made you happy, didn’t he?” “That’s beside the point.” Her brother had come by after spending most of the night and day at the police station to tell her about everything that had happened, but he seemed more interested in discussing her break up with Jalen. “He loves you, Ashia.” “It didn’t make him tell the truth, though, did it?” “But in the end, he helped me. He could have just let me walk away after Joey’s guy sucker punched me and come back later that night with the cops and shut this place down. He didn’t because he cares about you. He convinced me to turn myself in because of you.” Last night after Jalen left, Ashia had crumpled to the floor in a cascade of tears, wishing she’d given him that second chance. No. A third chance. She felt like someone had wrapped a fist full of love around her heart and wouldn’t let go until she succumbed to what he offered her. She’d picked up her phone several times to call him, but chickened out in the end. Aidan got up, came around her desk and pulled her up. “Ashia, when you find a person to love who loves you just as much in return, you don’t let it go. Yes, it’s hard. People make mistakes. They lie. It’s never perfect.” “Dad used to say that, didn’t he?” “Yep.” He stooped low to look in her eyes. “Deep down, you know he loves you. What are you waiting for?” Her mind flashed back to the stories her parents used to tell her about how they met and recalled the second chance her mother had given her father. If she hadn’t, Ashia and Aidan wouldn’t be here today. Her parents had been in love for over twenty-five years. Did she have the courage to give Jalen another chance? Could her life end up just as happy as her parents’? She heard the music ending for the last set and the cheers from the crowd. But then she listened to the familiar melody of Tyrese’s “Signs of Making Love” echo over the sound system. “Why is that song playing? Crimson was the last performance.”


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Her brother smiled at her and pulled her toward the door. “Come on.” Aidan guided her to the back of the club, her heart in her throat, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. She vaguely heard the DJ telling the crowd that it was the Midnight Panther’s last performance and it was going to be something special. Jalen. “What is he doing here?” she asked. She’d assumed that since his undercover operation was over he wouldn’t be back. “Just watch.” And she did, mesmerized by the movement of his hips, his confident prowl on the stage. She’d never seen him perform like this. The ladies screamed and yelled and he gave them everything. When the last song started, his eyes connected with hers and never left. She watched as he seductively took off each piece of clothing from his body. By the time the song was over, she didn’t even realize that her feet had carried her forward until she was standing in front of the stage. The crowd grew quiet around them when Jalen stepped down and stood before her, dressed only in his G-string, smiling. Where had she ever gotten the idea that she could live without this man in her life? She looked into the soulful depths of his hazel eyes. For the first time, Jalen was completely there. The true Jalen, no lies, no pretense, and she realized that she loved him even more than she had yesterday. Ashia became painfully aware that the silence around them had turned to whispering. She took Jalen by the hand and led him back to her office. “Why’d you come back?” He took her in his arms and held her tightly. She felt safe and protected, but most of all, she trusted him. “If I have to come here every weekend and prove to you how much I love you and to earn your trust again, I’ll do it. I love you, Ashia.” Her heart swelled and she grinned. “How do you think Detective Carson will feel about that?” “I won’t tell him. I’ll just keep wearing my mask.” He laughed.

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“I love you, too, Jalen.” “We’ll take it slow, okay?” Ashia knew there were still some things they needed to work out. It wouldn’t be easy, but if she had the slightest opportunity to experience the love her parents had, she was damn sure going to try.


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About the Author To learn more about Lyric James, please visit www.lyricjamesbooks.net. Send an email to Lyric at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! Newsletter group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Lyric at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ItsLyrical.

Look for these titles by Lyric James Now Available: Thoroughly Tempted

What if “the one who got away”…didn’t?

Anticipation © 2007 Patrice Michelle Deidre Nelson has never forgotten the man who stole her heart so effectively a decade ago. When circumstances bring her back to Ventura, Texas to look after her parents' B&B, she prepares to face Jonas Mendez, the sexy wrangler-turned sheriff, with growing anticipation. Deidre’s engaging smile and seductive gaze has haunted Jonas for ten years. But life’s cruel ironies pepper his past, leaving him guarded and wary. He vows to keep his interaction with Deidre strictly professional while she's in Ventura. But when vandalism at the B&B turns life-threatening, Jonas finds himself intimately involved with the one woman he has always wanted but never touched. As a decade of built-up anticipation becomes reality, suddenly the line between protector and possessor begins to blur.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Anticipation: Once she’d locked the door and walked down the stairs to stand beside Jonas, the air around them grew strangely quiet. He slid his hands around her waist. She relished every second of his warm palms touching the bit of skin below her tank top as he easily lifted her up on his horse. Deidre tried to sit sidesaddle, but Jonas squeezed her waist. “You’ll have to sit astride, darlin’, or it’ll make for an uncomfortable ride.” She squirmed nervously at the idea of sitting astride in a skirt. “I really should go change clothes—” Before she could finish, he gripped her hip with one hand and slid his other hand up her calf, pushing her skirt up until her thigh was bared. “Lift your leg over.” At his soft command, she did as he asked and moved her right leg over the horse’s back. Without a word, Jonas swept up on the saddle behind her. “Comfortable?” She tilted her eyebrow, casting a quick gaze over her shoulder.

“Not quite,” he whispered in her ear. At the same time, he used his thighs and hips to slide her body forward until her bunched skirt was all that sat between her pubic bone and the saddle horn. Molding his chest to her back and his thighs around her hips, he put his arms around her waist and unwound the reins from the top of the saddle horn. “Now I’m ready.” The sensation of the hard horn between her thighs and the cowboy’s muscular body surrounding hers sent her heart rate soaring. Deidre gripped the top of the saddle horn and let out an edgy laugh. “Just don’t gallop, ’kay?” Jonas urged the horse into a walk toward the trails behind the B&B. “We’ll take it nice and slow, I promise.” As they entered the darkened woods, Deidre shivered at the change in temperature. Even though the evening sun slanted through the canopy of trees, bathing her skin in ribbons of diluted golden warmth, the forest’s shade brought an exciting coolness in contrast to Jonas’ body heat radiating against her back. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensual combination. “Does this trail lead to the Mendez property?” she asked. “Mmm, hmm.” His chest rumbled against her back as he rubbed his nose along her neck. “Do you want to know how many times I’ve thought about you?” She jerked her eyes open, surprised by his question. “How many?” His left hand spread across her exposed thigh and his fingers tightened around the bare flesh. “I’ve lost count.” Jonas’ sincere admission caused the butterflies in her stomach to stir in haphazard abandon. Earlier today might have been about emotional limitations, but tonight was about confessions, she realized. “I’ve never forgotten you.” He gripped her thigh harder. “I never cheated on her.” Deidre understood the anguish in his voice. She placed her hand over his, her heart tripping at a rabbit’s pace. “I know. Your integrity was one of the things I admired so much about you.” His body tensed behind her. “I’ll never say the words ‘will you marry me’ again.”

The vehemence in his words told her just how much his ex-fiancée’s betrayal had hurt him. Deidre’s heart went out to this strong, self-contained man. Even though his statement tore her up inside, she admired him more for being honest with her upfront. Running her hand across his warm one, she laced their fingers together and let out a soft sigh. “We’ve both had our share of disappointments in life. I just want to feel your arms around me. I don’t have any expectations beyond that.” Jonas brushed her hair to the side and buried his nose against her neck. “I’m sorry, Deidre. You blew me away the moment I saw you again after all these years. There needs to be pure honesty between us.” “No expectations, Jonas….just anticipation,” she said at the same time the tiny niggling voice in her mind dared to rear its ugly head. I hope I haven’t built you up in my mind to be a bigger-than-life, beyond exceptional lover. But the throbbing ache between her legs reminded her that the man definitely knew how to leave her wanting. “Anticipation,” he said in a husky tone as he laid the reins across Admiral’s neck. The horse continued to plod along without guidance as if he knew the trail well. Deidre’s pulse thrummed when he placed his hands on her legs then slid her skirt higher, exposing her thighs completely. He cupped his fingers along the bend of her legs and began circling his thumbs on her muscles just above her knees. She bit her lip to keep from moaning at the sensations rocking through her. As he moved his hands higher, massaging her muscles in small circles, tiny tremors started in her inner thighs and slowly wound their way to her sex. With a low growl rumbling in his chest, Jonas shifted his weight forward in the saddle, forcing her body fully flush against the saddle horn until she literally rode the hard surface. Each dip and sway of the horse’s movements caused her mound to rub and bump against the saddle horn. Agonizing friction built and ricocheted through her sex, tensing her lower muscles. Deidre tightened her thighs around the horse and swallowed a moan. “I feel your tension. I know you’re holding back. I want to hear your excitement,” Jonas said at the same time he gripped her inner thighs and forced her legs open wider. His action no longer allowed her to stop the constant pressure against her sensitive parts.

Deidre began to pant then gasp each time the horse’s movements made her body meet the molded surface. Jonas moved his thighs behind hers, keeping her sex flush with the horn. The sensation of his hard cock pressing against her backside made her want to whimper. “Your sweet ass rubbing against me is a helluva cock-tease,” Jonas said in a husky tone. His hands slid up her rib cage until they covered her breasts. “Do you feel how much I want you?” As his fingers brushed across her hard nipples, exquisite pleasure shot through her breasts and down her center. Deidre let her head fall back on his shoulder, shutting her eyes tight. The heat radiating from his hard erection seeped right through their clothes. She’d never been more stimulated. “Yes, and it’s definitely mutual,” she managed to babble out while a multitude of arousing sensations battled within her. The horse had slowed, but each step became a sensual punctuation to the built-up emotions roiling inside her. Her panting turned rampant as her sex began to throb, ready for release. “Jonas… I’m…” “I know, sweetheart. Let go. I want to hear your scream,” he said at the same he slid his fingers forward and pinched her nipples hard.

A glass of wine sends them back in time. But only one of them remembers who they are.

The Enchanted Inn © 2007 Pam Champagne It's bad enough that a wrong turn in a snowstorm forces Gina to take shelter at an out-of-the-way inn. Her ex-fiancé Luke is stranded there, too. The man she left when she caught him in bed with another woman. A glass of wine at dinner, and Gina wakes up in a bed with Luke by her side. It's the same inn, but it's the year 1778 and Luke insists his name is John. And he says she's an indentured servant, Rachel. Gina has to quickly learn primitive tasks like dip candles and cook without a microwave. While John is delighted that his normally reserved lover has become a wildcat in bed, her outspoken opinions could put them all in danger. For Gina, it's like a second chance with Luke. But when an innocent mistake turns their newly discovered love upside down, Gina realizes how big a mistake she made when she left Luke. Gina never gives up hope of going back to her own time, and she's determined to take John with her—whether he wants to go or not.

Enjoy the following excerpt for The Enchanted Inn: She took the plunge. “My name is Gina Locke and you’re Luke Harding. Ruth McPherson sent us here on Christmas Eve, 2006. Don’t you remember? We were sitting in the living room, drinking her homemade elderberry wine.” John studied her face for a long moment then threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Do continue. I did not know you were a weaver of tales.” Gina choked back tears of frustration and rose to her knees to grasp his shoulders. “This is not a story. It’s the truth.” She fought the urge to shake him. “Come here.” John tugged her close. “That knock on the head must have been a bad one.” Gina sighed. “You don’t believe me?”

“Shall I tell you what I believe? You hit your head and had a dream. When you woke, you clung to the dream as reality.” He kissed her forehead. “We must be patient. Your memory will return.” If only yours would. Gina huddled closer, lapping up his caresses and murmured phrases of concern. Still, his concern didn’t calm her fears of remaining in the past. If John remembered who he was—that he’d been her lover in another time—she’d be willing to accept her situation. One thing was certain. There was no way John was going to listen tonight. So she sighed and said, “Perhaps I’m dreaming right now. How old am I?” “Four and twenty as of last month. Now be silent and kiss me.” She turned her head away to escape his lips, now feathering her cheek. “What is wrong?” Gina heard genuine puzzlement in his voice. “I don’t feel like having sex with someone who doesn’t trust me…who thinks I’m…I’m daft.” God, it seemed so strange to use that word. “Try to understand,” he coaxed. “I’ve been with you at this inn for three years. One morning I wake to find a different person inside the body of the woman I love. We must become reacquainted.” Gina couldn’t argue that his reasoning wasn’t sound. For tonight, she’d put her problems in the closet. Looping her arms around his neck, she captured his lips. For an instant, he grew rigid at her aggression before his mouth opened to her questing tongue. Within seconds, their raspy breathing sounded loud in the otherwise silent room. Gina tugged and yanked on John’s clothes, never losing lip contact. He tore his mouth away. “Wait. I will do it.” Gina bit back a smile at the haste with which John stripped off his clothes. She pressed against him as he slipped in bed and gasped at the thrill of pleasure that shot through her. His body sliding against hers started a tingling in her breasts that worked its way down to her toes. She kneaded the knots in his back until he relaxed. Luke always had loved that. There wasn’t an ounce of softness on his body. Feeling his cock against her stomach, she reached between his legs and ran her hand over its smooth sheath. “Hmmm…like silk.”

Hands on her shoulders, he pushed her away. “Rachel! What are you doing?” “Don’t you like it?” she whispered, trailing kisses across his chin to his mouth. She swallowed his next words. Her tongue slipped between his teeth. John groaned and tightened his hands on her arms before sliding them around her back. His erection grew in her hands. Yet, it seemed he didn’t know the first thing about pleasing a woman and had no clue what a woman could do to please him. Gina wouldn’t have been satisfied with the sex life John and Rachel must have had. Probably a quick slam-bam process. God, she was confused. Right now, all she wanted was a release from her worries. Since she was stuck in this godforsaken century with no home and no money, she sure as hell was going to enjoy herself with a man who, if by some horrible twist of fate turned out not to be Luke, was his double. A sob tore at her throat. Please, Luke, remember me. John pushed her to mattress and thrust his knee between her legs. “I will have you now, Rachel.” She giggled. How formal and how rude. “I don’t think so. We’re not through playing.” He drew back. The last candle flickered and died. She couldn’t see, yet sensed his gaze on her face. “Play? Whatever do you mean?” Gina drew his hands to her breasts. His sudden intake of air sounded like he’d been sucker punched. She held his trembling fingers and brushed them over her hardened nipples. He didn’t need any more tutoring. “That feels so good, John. Don’t stop.” He played with her breasts, making her wetter. She ran her hands up his chest and tweaked his nipples. His cock twitched. Snaking her hands down his belly, she grasped it and gently pumped its length, eliciting a drawn-out groan. If only she could take him in her mouth. Poor John. He would more than likely run back to the stables as if the devil were after him. She wanted to laugh, remembering he’d called her a lusty wench. Obviously, he didn’t know the meaning of the word.

Then a thought struck her as fast as a bolt of lightning. Could the real Rachel be back in the present in Gina’s body getting it on with Luke? No, that couldn’t happen. This was Luke in bed with her. She had to believe that or she’d crumble. She jumped as a jolt of pleasure-filled pain shot through her. John had grown bold and captured a nipple between his lips. He sucked. For such a big man, everything he did was gentle. Tonight she didn’t want gentle. She wanted to forget and lose herself in the moment. ***

John wiped beaded sweat from his forehead. Who was this pliant woman stroking him as if it were an everyday occurrence? What had happened to the woman he had come to love? Rachel had never been this passionate. Would never have handled his manhood with such boldness. His concerns vanished as lust overtook him. He ran his lips across one nipple. Her moans of pleasure excited him, brought him to his limit of stimulation. Grasping her hips, he pulled her under his body and settled between her spread thighs. He took a deep breath and resisted the temptation to plunge himself to the hilt. Rachel did not care for frantic coupling. Tentative as always, he ground his teeth in frustration and slowly pushed into her moist warmth…and almost died with joy. Rachel was moister than she’d ever been. Proof that she wanted him with equal fervor. He pushed again, gaining another two inches. He hesitated and rested his forehead on hers, willing his body to remain under his control. She would be angry if he was too rough. Suddenly, the woman beneath him raised her legs and wrapped them high around his waist. The new position opened her wider and drove him over the edge. All rational thought fled. He thrust hard with no thought of her discomfort until he was fully embedded. He breathed like a hard-ridden horse. “I’m sorry,” he gasped. “Did I hurt you?” Expecting to hear cries of protest, her words shocked him. “Don’t stop. Please.”

He was nearing the brink of explosion and strove to please the lady. He captured her cries with his mouth, his manhood swelling when clenched by her feminine muscles. He rocked his body a few more times and emptied his seed deep in her womb. She continued to squirm underneath him. “Rachel?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “What are you do—” Her lips sought his in a wrenching kiss. Stunned, he held on tightly as she spasmed around his shrinking manhood. He could not believe that he grew hard again. Unable to control the need to couple for the second time, he pushed to his knees. Her legs slipped off his back. He grasped under her knees and pulled her tight against his groin, working her hips back and forth. With the second explosion, he collapsed. “Rachel, by all that’s sacred, you are going to kill me.” “Don’t,” she protested when he started to roll away. “Stay inside me.” Totally confused at this turn of events, John stayed put. He was shrinking and knew he’d soon slip out of her moist center. His heart thumped wildly. “Are you all right?” “Hmmm…” she murmured. “That was good.” This woman may look like his love, but she was not his Rachel. He was no doctor, but he did not think a simple bump on the head would turn a proper lady into a wanton woman. He frowned, unsure of his feelings. Rachel was the woman he wanted to marry. A wife to bear his children. God-fearing women did not behave like this. No matter how much he loved their coupling this night, did he want to marry a woman such as this?

Samhain Publishing, Ltd. It’s all about the story… Action/Adventure Fantasy Historical Horror Mainstream Mystery/Suspense Non-Fiction Paranormal Red Hots! Romance Science Fiction Western Young Adult www.samhainpublishing.com

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