Velvet Shadows

by Aubrey Rose

  She shook away the unexpected rush of desire and pulled open the nightstand’s drawer. A slender purple vibrator rolled to the front.

  “Lay down and bend your knees.”

  Scooting into the center of the bed, she lay down and raised her feet to the mattress, bending her knees. He took her hips and pulled her toward him, almost to the edge of the bed. The motion spread her legs wide, displaying her pussy in a brazen offering.

  “God, how I’ve missed this.” He leaned toward her, inhaling deeply and tracing her slit with his tongue. Velvet moaned. Her pussy throbbed and melted. He flicked her clit. She jerked her hips, crying out softly. It felt so good!

  “Do you like that? Some women like it more than intercourse. Are you one of those?”

  His tongue danced over her clit, stroked her folds and circled her opening. He parted her with his thumbs and thrust his tongue into her cunt. She cried out, arching into the torrid kiss. Licking her was one thing, but this… He thrust deeper, anchoring her in place with his hands.

  She heard the familiar buzz before she felt him slip the vibrator into her throbbing passage. Mindlessly clawing the comforter, she accepted the new stimulation. His warm mouth settled over her clit, while he slid the vibrator in and out.

  Tighter and tighter the pressure built. Her back bowed, dragging her hips off the bed and she shattered. Her inner muscles clenched the vibe as tingling pleasure coursed through her.

  “Very nice.” He slowly withdrew the vibrator and reached for his jeans. “I was going to have you suck me. I don’t think I can wait. I want this more!” He shoved two fingers into her slick passage illustrating his destination.

  With his fingers still buried in her pussy, he withdrew a condom from his wallet and opened it with his teeth. He left her momentarily as he rolled the rubber into place.

  She watched him, aching for the fullness of his thick cock. He wasn’t the only one who’d waited eleven years.

  He positioned himself against her opening, then moved his hands to her hips. “I’ve wanted to be inside you for longer than I can remember.”

  He thrust his full length in one forceful lunge. Velvet cried out, surprised by the intense pressure. He was much bigger than… He slowly pulled back, robbing her of every thought but him.

  “Jesus, you’re tight. I’m not hurting you, am I?”

  A criminal wouldn’t care. Trevor’s concern thrilled her. “No. You feel wonderful.”

  Hooking her legs over his arms, he grasped her waist and thrust with hard, deep drives that ricocheted through her entire body. He strained against her, filling her completely. Velvet arched and moaned. Each stroke intensified the heat, renewed the twisting tension.

  She wanted his mouth on hers, his fingers gliding over her skin. She wanted everything all at once. But his position forced her to focus on the steady penetration of his cock.

  “Come for me, baby. I want to feel you come. Touch yourself. Do it now!”

  Obeying his throaty command, she rubbed her clit until her body burst into orgasm, squeezing his throbbing shaft in rhythmic ripples. He groaned and jerked violently within her. The condom caught his hot seed. He stayed arched over her for a long time, his cock gradually softening. Discarding the condom in the wastebasket beside the nightstand, he crawled onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.

  She molded herself to his side, her leg flung over his.

  “Regrets?” he whispered after a peaceful moment of cuddling.

  She chuckled. “You didn’t tie me up.”

  He laughed, then kissed her tenderly. “I’ll invite Captain Jack next time. He loves to have his women completely helpless.”

  “I look forward to it,” she responded sleepily.

  Chapter Ten

  Velvet looked at the small square building and shuddered. Constructed entirely of nondescript brick and cement, The Snake Pit had all the aesthetic appeal of a prison.

  “Clayton is sure about this?”

  Trevor nodded. “Yeah. The number on the matchbook belongs to Derrick Wryston, and according to public records, he owns this bar.”

  “It’s not even noon. Do you think it’s open?”

  “I say we find out.” He pushed open the driver’s door and got out of the rental car.

  They’d driven directly from the airport. Their luggage was still in the trunk. Velvet understood his anxiousness. Jamie’s trail grew colder with each passing hour.

  The front door creaked as Trevor pulled it open. Velvet followed him inside. There were no windows. The long, narrow bar, the tables and chairs, even the walls were black. Poster advertisements and a massive mural provided the only color in the room.

  Velvet studied the mural in morbid fascination. A woman lay sprawled on her back, a thick snake draped across her naked body. Its head rested against one breast, the forked tongue flicking her nipple. Velvet rolled her eyes and started to look away when she noticed the snake’s tale.

  “Oh-my-God,” she muttered. The snake’s thick body wrapped around the woman’s thigh and its tale impaled her pussy.

  “She won’t be here until tonight.”

  The man’s words drew Velvet’s attention away from the obscene mural. “She? That’s a real person?”

  The speaker stood in the doorway leading to an office or storeroom, his features shadowed by the light behind him. “That’s Viper. She dances tonight, but if you want to see her act, you’ll have to make an appointment.”

  Stunned beyond words, Velvet glanced at the mural, then returned her gaze to their host. He moved away from the doorway and into the narrow space behind the counter. Early thirties, Velvet judged, rather young to own a bar. His dark hair had been clipped short in back and on the sides, left longer on top. Dark and thick-lashed, his gaze stared back at her cautiously. He had the high cheekbones and square jaw essential to modeling. What was his connection to Depalma?

  “Do you have a dancer named Star?” Trevor walked toward the other man.

  “Who wants to know?”

  “Velvet Arceneaux,” Velvet said quickly. “We used to work together.”

  “Velvet? Is that your real name?”

  She smiled and stepped up beside Trevor. “It may sound like a stage name, but I’ve got a birth certificate to prove it.”

  “Star is indisposed. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Could you have her call me? I’d really like to see her while we’re in town.”

  “Sure.”

  He passed her a napkin and she wrote the name of the hotel where they planned to stay. “I don’t know our room number, yet. We haven’t checked in.”

  “Are you the owner?” Trevor managed to sound casual.

  “Yep. My pride and joy.” He chuckled.

  Trevor paused. Velvet waited for him to ask about Jamie, but he said nothing more.

  “Well, thanks.” She slid the napkin across the bar. “We’re only going to be in town a few days, so please have Star call me.”

  “Will do.”

  She waited until they were on the road again before she questioned his decision not to mention Jamie.

  “This whole thing feels set up.”

  “What do you mean?” She unfolded a map across her lap. Their hotel was near Sea World, so she searched the map for the tourist attraction.

  “He wasn’t surprised to see us. He accepted it all without batting an eye.”

  Glancing at his chiseled profile, Velvet thought back on the owner’s response. Derrick had been rather nonchalant about their arrival. “You think we’ve been lured here? But why? Who benefits from our snooping around?”

  “I have a feeling we’ll find out as soon as Star calls.”

  “What should we do?”

  “Expect a trap. Be ready for it.”

  Star had already left a message for Velvet when they arrived at the hotel. Trevor shot Velvet a knowing look, his suspicions obviously compounded by the ease with which things were unfolding. He heaved their luggage onto the bed as
she secured the privacy latch on the door.

  “Let me make a few calls before you contact Star. We need a safety net.”

  Velvet wasn’t sure what a safety net entailed; still, everything was progressing too smoothly. After hanging up their clothes and stashing her toiletries in the bathroom, she meandered to the window and gazed out into the sun-drenched afternoon. Above the rooftops in the distance, a roller coaster dipped and curved against the bright blue sky.

  Was Jamie out there somewhere? Why hadn’t she contacted anyone? Speculation only tightened the knot of anxiety twisting through her belly, so Velvet turned from the window. Trevor was still talking to Clayton. At least she presumed Clayton was on the other end of the phone.

  “He’s going to catch the first flight down.” Trevor tossed his cell on the bed and ambled toward her. “I’d like to wait until he arrives before you call Star, but it would be too suspicious.”

  “I’ll put her on speaker. Grab a pen in case you want to tell me something while I talk to her.”

  Velvet waited until Trevor gathered pen and paper, then called the number the desk clerk had given her.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Star. It’s Velvet. I’m so glad the Snake Pit guy was able to get a hold of you.”

  A tense sounding laugh came over the phone. “Most folks just call him Snake. Trust me, it fits.”

  “How are you feeling? Snake said you were indisposed.”

  “Indisposed as in knocked up and unable to dance.”

  Velvet glanced at Trevor. He stared at the phone thoughtfully, analyzing every nuance of Star’s speech. “Well, congratulations or I’m sorry, whichever is more appropriate.”

  “A little of both. I’m looking forward to the baby, but the timing couldn’t be worse. So, how did you find out I was in San Diego? Did Tony send you down here to check up on me?”

  “Mr. Depalma and I aren’t on a first name basis. I’ve only met him a couple times. You sent Jamie Lynn’s wallet to her apartment. I’m her landlady, remember?”

  “Then she is missing. Damn. I was hoping she’d just gone home.”

  Trevor scrawled on the tablet and turned it toward Velvet.

  “When was the last time you saw her and what was she doing in San Diego?”

  A moment of silence followed. Was Star being coached as well? Velvet pictured Snake standing beside her, handing her questions on a notepad, and had to bite back a smile.

  “You aren’t going to want to hear this.” When Star finally spoke, her voice was tense. “She’s mixed up in some pretty bad shit.”

  “She’s my friend, Star. I need to know what happened.”

  “She showed up at the Den with Snake one night and --”

  “The Den? I thought the bar was called the Pit?”

  “The Devil’s Den. If you thought the Snake Pit was wild, you should see the Den. It’s an underground club, by invitation only. You wouldn’t believe what goes on there.”

  Velvet shuddered, remembering the lurid mural. How could anything be more obscene? Snake had said they needed an appointment if they wanted to see Viper’s act. Maybe she performed at the Devil’s Den.

  Trevor nudged her, pointing toward two new questions.

  “Snake’s real name is Derrick Wryston?”

  “Yeah. Why is that important?”

  “It isn’t. I just want to make sure we’re talking about the same person. So Derrick, or Snake if you prefer, brought Jamie to the Devil’s Den? When was this?”

  “Two or three days ago. I’ve been organizing the private parties at the Den since I started showing. Shocked the hell out of me when Jamie showed up. I didn’t take her for the fetish type.”

  “The Devil’s Den is a fetish club?”

  “Among other things. Did you come down here just to talk to me?”

  Velvet looked at Trevor. How much should she confess? He quickly wrote, ‘tell her’.

  “There was a matchbook cover with Derrick’s phone number on it in Jamie’s wallet, so I knew there was a connection.”

  “What did Snake tell you?”

  “I wanted to talk to you before I mentioned Jamie.”

  “Smart girl.” Star cleared her throat. “Snake told me Jamie got pissed off and left. I don’t believe him.”

  “What do you think happened?”

  “I think she escaped.”

  Wetting her lips, Velvet avoided Trevor’s gaze as she went on. “Escaped? Was Snake holding her against her will?”

  “He was training her.”

  Velvet suddenly felt very naive. Training her for what? “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “The second time she came to the Den, she left her wallet behind. I didn’t tell Snake I had it. When he told me she’d run off, I knew he was full of shit. How did she run off without any money, credit cards, or even her driver’s license?”

  “Did you call the police?”

  Star laughed. “And tell them what?”

  “Can you get me into the Den?”

  “You don’t want to go there. It’s definitely not your scene.”

  “I don’t want to participate. I want to talk to some of the people and see --”

  “No one at the Den is going to tell you anything. It would be a waste of time.”

  Trevor told her to end the call.

  “If you hear anything, please let me know. I’m really worried about her.”

  “You should be. She’s in way over her head.”

  Velvet flipped the phone shut and looked at Trevor. Guilt and regret twisted his handsome features. The sorrow glowing in his gaze made Velvet’s chest ache.

  “What happened in Seattle?” She was almost afraid to ask, but that’s where all this began. She was certain of it.

  He walked across the room and stared out the window, tension evident in every move. “Jamie was raped when she was thirteen.”

  Velvet had suspected there was abuse in Jamie’s past. Beneath Jamie’s innocent façade she had sensed something unapproachable and jaded. Sadness. There had always been an underlying sadness in Jamie.

  “How did it happen?”

  He shook his head. His expression darkened like a gathering storm. “My father was a cop.” A mirthless laugh escaped his chest. “Is a cop. Retired or not his nature certainly hasn’t changed. They threw a huge party when Dad made captain. One of his fellow officers kept sneaking Jamie beers. It was all great fun until he coaxed her into her bedroom and raped her.”

  His bitterness intensified with each sentence. Velvet went to him and lightly stroked his back. He didn’t react to her touch. His gaze fixed unseeingly out the window, his expression tormented.

  “I found her several hours after it happened. Curled up on her bed sobbing hysterically. That bastard…”

  She didn’t rush him, just rubbed his back and shared his pain.

  “He raped her, and sodomized her, then raped her again.” He suddenly pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest. His body trembled and his hand tightened reflexively in her hair. “She had to be hospitalized to repair the damage.”

  Anger surged through Velvet with nauseating intensity. She knew what came next, what had to have happened to leave Jamie emotionally decimated. “The guy got away with it?”

  Trevor paused. His deep, heavy breathing the only sound.

  “Dad reported the rape. The animal was not only a cop, but the Chief of Police’s son. Dad had to choose between the Brotherhood of Blue and the honor of his daughter. They promised to take care of it internally if he would drop the charges.”

  “Take care of it internally? What the hell does that mean?” Velvet pushed away from him. Tears gathered in her eyes, her throat burned.

  “I was as furious as you are. I was also powerless. Dad tried to justify it by convincing Jamie a trial would be worse than the rape. That regardless of what the courts did to her attacker it wouldn’t change what he’d done to her. He vowed to get her the best counseling and --”

&nb
sp; “What a bunch of horseshit! I’d have walked away from your family, too.”

  “I tried to convince her to come live with me. Dad wouldn’t allow it. Then she met Lars when she was sixteen.”

  Velvet crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her hands against her chilled skin. Leaning her shoulder against the window frame, she braced herself for more tragedy. “Who was Lars?”

  “Lars was the twenty-three-year-old brother of one of Jamie’s friends. After the attack, Jamie withdrew emotionally. She retreated into a shy nearly child-like shell. Dad said she was finally acting her age. It scared the hell out of Mom and me.”

  “What attracted Lars to a withdrawn little girl?”

  “A devastatingly beautiful exterior. Lars took one look at Jamie and started a campaign to seduce her. After he got his hooks in her, she was lost to us. They flaunted their sexual relationship. Jamie made sure Dad caught them in the act more than once. She was seventeen when she dropped out of school and moved in with him.”

  “Is sixteen even legal in Washington State? Couldn’t Lars have been arrested?”

  “The age of consent is sixteen, but the sixty month clause would have applied. Because he was more than sixty months older than Jamie, it should have been sexual misconduct in the first degree. But Lars threatened to go public with the rape, to bring a civil suit against my parents and the police department if they interfered.”

  “This is so twisted.” Her tears escaped with the sweep of her lashes. “Jamie jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Lars was --”

  “Lars was a manipulative bastard who mistreated her just as badly as the fucker who raped her. She came home one night and found him in bed with one of her friends. When he suggested Jamie join them, according to Lars, she did. But when he woke up the next morning, Jamie had packed up her clothes and left. That was the last we’d heard of her, until I spotted her picture in a magazine.”

  “Oh God, we have to find her. I… She can’t…” A sob tore from her throat and Trevor pulled her back into his arms.

  “We’ll find her.” He caressed her hair, resting his chin on top of her head. “Even if I have to lay siege to Hell and steal her back from the Devil himself.”