Avery curtseyed to the professor upon entering and took her seat on a wingback chair next to his wheelchair. He was parked in front of his tank of exotic fish and tapping on the glass to tease his pufferfish, a large bulbous one named Leo. He barely glanced at her and whispered something to the butler.
The butler made a motion toward Avery, but the professor said, “That won’t be necessary. See to it we’re not disturbed. I’ll ring you when it’s time to go to the greenhouse.”
The greenhouse.
Since Orson Leach lived on the top floor, he was naturally able to indulge his orchid growing hobby. Avery had never done the greenhouse before. Last year, the professor had them up at his country home up in Westchester County, and the year before, they were on his yacht sailing down the East River.
She barely sipped her tea and went through the motions of showing Orson her ideas for the following season. “I’ve decided to go with the man is an animal theme. I’m worried that other designers will steal the trend.”
She and Kerry had been working around the clock to recreate the special effects that Ivanna had started, but she didn’t have all the materials. Luckily, her order of hawk feathers arrived last minute.
“It’s too theatrical,” Orson complained. “Memorable, yes, but once everyone’s doing it, what will you do next?”
“I’ll let everyone do it next year, but I’ll be the talk of the show this year. Only a few of the models will premiere the look because my assistant was injured in a mugging.”
Orson flipped to the sketch of Jason and his crown of porcupine quills and glanced across the room at Jason. “Why isn’t he decorated?”
“The quills were backordered and we just got them today,” she said. “I had him dress in the classic, debonair Clark Gable style you crave.”
“Cary Grant,” the professor reminded. He lowered his brows and hissed, “Your attitude is showing.”
She wanted to flip him the bird. He always ruled by fear, but somehow, with Jason sitting on the other side of her, she could pretend she was fearless—at least until the “show” began.
“I prefer you to wear a swimsuit.” Orson backed up his battery-powered wheelchair and commanded his digital assistant gadget to fetch the butler.
Avery glanced at Jason who gave her a thumbs-up. Maybe he thought she won a point by being insubordinate, but he didn’t know the professor’s cruelty.
The door opened, and the butler’s white gloved hand issued in two people.
Larry Leach and Tatiana Renzi.
Jason straightened up in his seat, leaning slightly forward. He was evidently surprised, and because he’d been frisked at the door, he was without weapons other than his bare hands.
Avery swallowed her surprise at the attractive brunette who lived across from Mrs. Bonet. She most certainly got around, from parties in Larry’s social circuit to the Brooklyn model stash house.
Her presence just raised her higher up on the suspect list. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was also the psychologist who put Jason on stress disability.
“My dear Avery Cockburn,” Larry said, wagging his finger at her. “You’ve been a bad girl, bringing a cop into this. Were you hoping he’d make an arrest?”
She swallowed hard, and her words caught in her throat. She hadn’t thought Larry would be involved. He’d always stayed out of the way before. Why would he risk arrest? Unless he was sure he could do away with Jason.
Jason’s hand went to where his gun would have been.
Larry laughed and flicked back his suit jacket to show the gun tucked in his waistband. He rested his hand on it. “Are you a good cop or a bad one? It’s too late for you to make that choice. You shouldn’t have come.”
Jason pressed his lips and made no response.
Larry whipped around and glared at Avery. “You screwed this up big time. Does he know what you’re doing to him?”
“He’s aware.” Avery kept her gaze straight on Larry’s feral eyes. “I refuse to play these games any longer. I’ll make you a deal. Find someone else to entertain your father. I’ll quit the fashion business, and Jason will stop looking into your affairs.”
“Too big for your bra, aren’t you?” Larry yanked her from the chair, squeezing her wrist hard. “You shouldn’t have brought the cop, but he’s your problem. As for the show, it must go on.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” Avery protested. “I’m allergic to orchids.”
“Go with Miss Renzi. You will be modeling swimsuits and plastered with orchids.” His smile widened, full of teeth, like the leer of a hungry wolf.
“Come,” Tatiana commanded.
Avery glanced at the professor for direction, but he did not meet her eye. His gaze was drilling through Jason with an expression of raw dislike.
They hadn’t expected her to bring a cop.
Too bad.
Avery remained quiet until Tatiana led her into a bedroom. One wall was floor-to-ceiling mirror, and a large flat platform bed sat in the center of the room. A simple black-and-white cross-over swimsuit lay on the blood-red bedspread. Beside it was a pair of stilettos.
“What’s the point of me wearing that?” Avery asked.
“Don’t ask any questions.” Tatiana made a brushing motion at the corners of the room.
Of course, they were monitored.
Avery examined the swimsuit. The black part was a thong bikini. A white V-shaped halter stretched from below the crotch, over the breasts, and tied around the back of the neck.
“Fine,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Tatiana snatched the skimpy suit from her. “Take off your clothes and wait for me in the bathroom.”
“I’ll disrobe inside the bathroom, if you don’t mind.” Avery strode toward the en suite bath.
Tatiana’s hand was like a cobra’s strike. She clawed Avery’s wrist and stopped her in her tracks.
“I will examine you and dress you. Stay still.”
How demeaning.
Avery hadn’t been treated like this since she was a model, when many hands prepped her before a show. Even models put on their own clothes, although alterations and adjustments were done without regard to whether she liked being touched or not.
She was a human mannequin.
But here? This was a private show.
“I don’t need a handler to put this on.”
Tatiana put her finger over her lips and made a shushing sound. Again, her eyes darted to the corner of the room.
Avery resigned herself to being woman-handled. This would be over in two hours. If Jason was right, and the Leaches were responsible for the dead models, then they could all be busted and she would finally be freed of the lecherous professor’s private shows.
Tatiana ran her fingers through Avery’s hair and removed several barrettes. Next, she unzipped her dress. Sliding her fingers underneath Avery’s bra strap, she felt around, then dropped the dress to the floor.
Creeps chilled Avery’s skin as Tatiana unhooked the front of her bra and examined the underwire. Wordlessly and efficiently, she peeled off Avery’s panties, and ran her hands down both bare legs before removing Avery’s pumps.
She poked her fingers into the shoes and turned them over before placing them on the floor next to the bed.
Avery concentrated on memorizing everything she could about Tatiana. She could be considered a beauty, with a lush lower lip that protruded more than the upper. Her chin had a slight cleft, and her cheekbones were strong, but not out of proportion to her prominent nose. The face would have been masculine had she not possessed large sultry and seductive eyes. Dark-brown and heavily lidded with thick lashes underneath the long graceful arches of her thick eyebrows.
“Step into this.” Tatiana dangled the swimsuit in front of her.
Avery lifted one foot, and the other woman bent over to guide it into the thong. Should she hit the woman? Or kick her? But supposing she overpowered Tatiana, she was still inside the professor’s house. She lifted her fist
, but Tatiana lifted her eyes.
Lamely, Avery opened her hand and swept her fingers through her hair. “You shouldn’t have removed the barrettes. Now my hair won’t stay out of my face.”
“I told you to stay quiet.” The woman could play prison guard at a concentration camp.
Avery stepped her other foot into the thong and stood still, not helping Tatiana one bit while she pulled the black bikini bottom up and adjusted the back in her butt crack.
The white halter was attached at her crotch and lay upside down in front of her. Would those tiny strips be enough to cover her breasts?
Should she even care?
The professor had seen everything before.
Seen, but never touched.
For that, she should be grateful.
A pair of white wires were sewn on the inside of the halter, running up the legs of the V-shape. They looked like earbud lines and didn’t appear stiff enough to add structural support.
“What are those?” Avery asked.
Instead of barking “quiet,” Tatiana said. “It’s exactly what you think it is. No more questions.”
She picked up the legs of the halter and stretched them from Avery’s crotch, over her breasts, and tied the ends around the back of her neck.
The material was stretchy and glittery, and the breast portions barely covered her nipples.
This wasn’t the most fashionable swimsuit, but if she was wearing a wire, she would have to watch what she said.
After strapping on the stilettos, Tatiana turned Avery around from one side to the other to examine her. Her eyes seemed focused on the white V, and Avery guessed she was worried if anyone could see the wires.
She spritzed Avery’s hair and fitted her with a black-and-white bias headband. Avery wondered if there were other electronics inside the headband, but obviously, she now knew to stay quiet.
Tatiana obviously wanted better sound quality for her recording than what she’d get from remote cameras. But who was she working for?
The professor already had enough blackmail material on Avery to keep her quiet. As for Harvey, could he be gathering information to betray his father?
Tatiana finished by touching up Avery’s makeup. She threw her a sheer white coverup and motioned her to the greenhouse.
Avery stepped into the steamy sauna-like atmosphere surrounded by hundreds of orchids. The sweet and pleasant fragrance of the myriads of orchids infused the air.
Without a word, Tatiana steered her to the center of the small greenhouse, then turned and marched out, leaving Avery alone.
Her eyes darted around the dark-green and variegated foliage and the faces of the orchids staring at her. There was no sound except the dripping of water.
Where was Jason, and what had they done with him?
Chapter Forty-One
Jason stared down the barrel of a handgun. “This isn’t what I signed up for.”
“Change of plans,” Larry said. “Avery thinks she’s playing games, bringing a cop. A fucking cop. Does she think she’ll get away with it?”
“Don’t tell me you’re surprised.”
“We had a two-minute warning when Tatiana spotted you two coming up from the garage.”
“Well, I’m here, and I’m the model,” Jason said. “When’s the show starting?”
He hated the fact he’d let Tatiana spirit Avery away. He had a rule when doing a sting. Never get separated from his partner.
“Did you promise to do everything Avery asked?” Larry held the gun steady.
“I did. Now, can you put that away? I’m not going to do anything to give you the excuse to shoot me.” Jason kept his hands relaxed where Larry could see them.
“I’ll have it ready and handy,” Larry said. “I hate to have to dispose of two bodies.”
“Wouldn’t be much of a problem as long as you don’t shoot us.”
“Don’t force me to shoot you,” Larry said. “Hands behind your back, and no tricks.”
If Avery wasn’t a prisoner, Jason would have already disarmed Larry and cuffed him, but he had to play along until he knew what Tatiana was going to do. He lowered his hands, and the professor wheeled behind him and cuffed him.
“Dad, go ahead,” Larry said. “I’ll escort this fool to the greenhouse.”
Jason waited for Larry to turn his back, but he never did. He kept the gun pointed at Jason while his father wheeled out of the library.
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Jason said the classical line.
“I can shoot you and get away with it. You’re in my house. Castle defense. Plus, you and Avery came willingly to a sex party. Accidents happen when you’re having fun.”
“Not likely,” Jason said. “No one will believe I was having fun.”
“Sure they will. I’ll tell them we were having a foursome.” Larry’s leer grew on his slimy face. “Me, you, Tatiana, and Avery. We fucked every combination, sandwiches, buffet style, train, and you used meth to enhance your performance.”
“Like you did to Garm and Longshanks, and who knows how many other male models you screwed.”
“Meth heads might fuck like the devil, but they don’t last long without refills.” Larry gestured with the gun. “Go. We’re meeting in the greenhouse.”
“Why? Is there a king-sized bed there?” As soon as he got to the greenhouse, Jason was going to get control of the gun, kick Larry’s ass, and take Avery from the premises. He was right. The Leaches were responsible for the models’ deaths.
And then it hit him. The bodies were marked.
Tufts of feathers.
Threaded porcupine quills.
What if Avery had prepped them for the parties?
Led them to their demise?
Larry opened the greenhouse door, and Jason spotted Avery alone, standing in front of a bed surrounded by plant stands full of orchids.
“Ave—” He didn’t finish. Someone jabbed him with a syringe. A rush of energy shot through him, and stars shattered behind his eyes.
“And now, the fun begins,” Larry announced, uncuffing Jason.
It should have been his opportunity to turn the gun on Larry, but Jason’s entire body shook like he was having a seizure of flashing lights coupled with the most incredible feelings of expansive strength and sexual desire.
He shoved Larry aside, and in three steps, he tackled Avery and landed with her on the bed. He was so aroused his dick would fall off if he didn’t bang her until kingdom come.
“Stop, Jason, stop.” Avery pushed Jason’s greedy lips from her mouth. She writhed beneath him and dug her knuckles into his throat. “He gave you a shot of meth. You’re high as a fucking kite. Get a grip.”
“All I want is to make love to you, but you’re right. Have to get you out of here.”
“Not before you have sex with her,” Larry commanded.
Avery heard the whirl of the professor’s wheelchair behind a one-way mirror hiding him from them. His pants were unzipped, she was sure, and he was getting ready to masturbate to the show.
“This is entrapment,” Avery whispered to Jason. “They have videos. I’m wearing a wire.”
“I want to fuck you before the meth wears out.” He lifted himself off her and threw off his suit jacket.
“Jason, get a grip. They’re watching.” Avery could see Larry skulking behind a clump of orchids.
“Avery, get with the program,” Larry ordered. “I should have told Tatiana to give you a stronger dose. Or do you want coke?”
Oh, shit. She was also supposed to be drugged. Was this how Saul’s brother died? Performing sex for the professor’s enjoyment?
“You two are taking too long,” Orson’s thin, reedy voice piped up from behind the one-way mirror.
She’d better start acting fast. Tatiana must have forgotten to inject her.
“Oh, my, I’m so hot!” She threw her head back on the bed and cupped her breasts, being careful not to dislodge the wires. “Jason, kiss me. Fuck me good.”<
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His expression was confused, but his control was overwhelmed by the rush of dopamine to his brain. He smashed her lips with a crushing kiss, and she could feel him unzipping his pants.
She muttered while Jason’s tongue passed around her mouth. “We’ve got to get them to confess. Tatiana wired me. Maybe she’s not working for them.”
“How?” He groaned as he backed off from her.
“Follow my lead.” She squeezed her nipples and writhed on the bed.
“You mean fuck you for real?”
“No,” she hissed. “Get them to admit they did this to Garm and his friend.”
“They’re watching,” he whispered. “I want to make love with you.”
“Not in front of their cameras.” She nibbled his ear and clawed at his back, jerking and twerking to keep the show going. “They’re going to use the video to blackmail you.”
“Then why the hell are we dry humping?” He growled through gritted teeth while fondling her breasts.
“Watch it. The wire is on the two lines below my boobs. The key is not to get me naked. They’ll complain, and then we can get them into an argument.”
He sucked on her earlobe and felt the wire underneath the bathing suit.
Reassured that the line was there, she wondered where the mics were located. Over her nipples? Possibly.
“Hey, will you get her naked and fuck her?” Larry yelled from behind a stand of orchids. “My dad can’t hold out that long.”
“Is he masturbating?” Jason whispered while slipping his finger down the patch of material covering her crotch. “Wow, you’re actually turned on?”
“By you. But I’m scared.” She palmed the hard beef stick underneath his pants. “Next time they nag, Orson’s going to be really frustrated. He wants to come.”
“Is this what you usually do? Have sex with the male model?”
She didn’t answer. This was the part she’d left out.
He bit her neck and sucked his way to her ear. “Well? You lied, didn’t you? You told me all I had to do was strip for him.”
“It all depends on their mood,” Avery said. “Last year I only had to give Brando a blow job.”
Triggered by Love Page 30
