The douchebag sitting beside her leaned in again, this time touching her arm, and I struggled to stay in performance mode. All I wanted was to rip that prick limb from limb while warning him to stay the fuck away from my woman. However, I was a professional, and years of training kept my expression engaging and my showmanship firmly in place. Although, I may have stomped down the steps and up the aisle a little harder than necessary.
Stopping in front of Anna, I held out my hand. She looked like a deer in headlights for a moment, before looking around frantically as though trying to find a means of escape. I didn’t fight the wicked grin that stole over my face when she realized I had her cornered. Her choices were to take my hand or be a spoilsport and deny my request. I knew she wouldn’t do that because it wouldn’t look good for the hotel if an employee refused to participate. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in mine, and I nearly sighed at the feeling of rightness that traveled up my arm and warmed my chest. I helped her to her feet but didn’t move back so she was almost plastered up against my body.
I contemplated taking advantage of our position to steal a kiss but then decided I didn’t want our first kiss to be in front of an audience. Not only because there was a very real chance she might slap me, but because I was fairly certain that if she responded with a fraction of the desire I felt for her, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop.
Just being near her had my cock swelling, and her gold wrap dress—which clung to her fantastic rack and made her legs look endless—was only making it worse. Luckily, I wore loose pants on stage so that I had a free range of motion. Hopefully, it would hide the state of my arousal from the seven hundred or so eyes glued to me.
I led her back to the steps and up onto the stage. “Are you ready?” I asked, and she glared at me before smiling at the audience and nodding. “Step right in here,” I instructed before helping her into the box. Before shutting the door, I muted my mic and whispered instructions to Anna. Once she was secured inside, I rotated the box a few times and moved it around to show there was no trap door. Finally, I grinned mischievously and shouted, “Abracadabra!” The audience chuckled. “I figured I might as well go totally old-school,” I joked.
I opened the front door to show them an empty box, then stepped inside and pushed open the back one. The audience applauded, and I bowed before shrugging and giving them a wink. “See? Simple or not, it’s all magic, right?” I shut the rear door and winked at Anna who’d gone through the center section, similar to a people-sized doggy door. She’d stood on nails that acted as footholds and when the door had swung open, she’d been hidden by the front one. Then I went around to the front and shut it as well. Normally, I would reopen the doors and show that she had returned, having crawled back through the smaller door. However, this time, I latched the front door, walked around to the back, and secured that one as well. Including the small escape door. As I sauntered around and headed downstage, I lifted my chin to Amy, and she jogged over to me. I whispered for her to take the box to my dressing room, and she gave me an odd look but did as she was told and wheeled it off stage.
“Okay, okay, back to the fancy stuff,” I announced with a crooked grin. “Thanks for indulging my nostalgia.”
I proceeded to end the show with a finale that proved why I was considered one of the best in my field. The audience went wild, and I took a final bow before jogging off stage. Ignoring everyone who called out to me and stepping around anyone who got in my way, I was filled with a single-minded purpose. When I reached my dressing room, I put my hand on the knob but stopped before twisting it. Drawing in a deep breath, I attempted to calm down so my control wouldn’t snap. The action calmed my heart rate somewhat, but it didn’t do anything for the steel rod fighting a battle with my zipper.
Finally, I opened the door and stepped into the room. The shouting and banging coming from the large, red container drew a chuckle from my lips. Quickly, I flipped the lock on my door, then stalked over to where my woman was waiting for me. I licked my lips in anticipation as I lifted the latch and set my tigress free. She tumbled out and right into my arms. I couldn’t have planned it any better. Anna opened her mouth, probably to continue yelling, but I didn’t give her the chance before slamming my mouth down over hers.
2
Anna
When I fell out of the pitch-black box I’d been locked inside for the past twenty or so minutes, I was angrier than I could ever remember being. It was rare for me to lose my temper, but the sexy magician riled me up unlike any other. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was about him that rubbed me the wrong way except the fact that I couldn’t get sex out of my head any time I looked at him. Which was a big shock, considering how I felt about celebrities.
He hadn’t even done anything to annoy me...until now. It had felt like forever in that small, dark space, but I held on by reminding myself over and over again that Julian only had one more trick to go before he ended the show, so I wouldn’t be stuck in the box forever. The last thing I’d expected when I regained my freedom was to find myself in Julian’s spacious dressing room. I’d been doing my best to avoid him ever since I started working at the Lennox, and I’d been smart not to trust my reaction to him. Because here I was, letting him kiss me senseless after the stunt he’d just pulled.
I allowed myself to enjoy the feel of his lips against mine as our tongues tangled together for another minute before I pulled away and hissed, “What in the world were you thinking by pulling me out of the audience like that and leaving me trapped in a box all by myself without any way to get out?”
He ran his hand through his dark hair, dropping his head low to stare at the floor while he got himself under control. When his gaze met mine again, the passion in his green eyes was tempered by guilt and concern. “I’m sorry. My mind was so focused on being able to stop you from running in the opposite direction before I could get close that I didn’t stop to think about how you might react to being boxed in until I could get back to you. Are you okay?”
I was tempted to teach him a lesson by telling him I was claustrophobic or something, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not when I still had the taste of his kiss in my mouth and felt the slight burn his dark scruff had left behind. “I’ll be fine, but you can’t go around kidnapping me just because you want to talk to me.”
“That wasn’t the only reason,” he growled.
I threw my hands up in the air. “You’re not making any sense. What else could have made you do it?”
He yanked me close, and I pressed my hands against his rock-hard chest to regain my balance. “That asshat who was sitting next to you.”
Asshat?
What asshat?
“Oh, do you mean Mike?” I rolled my eyes. “He’s just the co-worker who got stuck with the assignment of taking me to see your performance.”
He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Trust me, Anna. The asshat didn’t feel the least bit stuck when he was sitting next to you in the audience.”
I pushed against his chest, and my heart raced when his hold on me tightened before he dropped his arms and took a step back. “You’re being ridiculous. You don’t even know Mike.”
“I don’t need to know the man to recognize he wants you.” Julian’s fists clenched so tight at his sides that his knuckles whitened. “I saw how he looked at you, the way he tried to get close.”
“I...you...I…” I sputtered, trying to wrap my head around the possibility that he’d been jealous enough of a co-worker I barely knew to have me hauled off the stage in a locked box. When it felt as though my brain might actually explode, I demanded, “I’m leaving. You’re not going to follow me. And you’re never ever going to lock me in a box again. Got it?”
“I’ll let you go...for now.” He stalked over to the door and flipped the lock. Before he opened it, he murmured, “In the future, there’s no need for anyone to accompany you to one of my shows. You’ll watch from my private box, sweetheart.”
I didn’t trust myself t
o speak, so I kept my lips pressed together as I squeezed past him to get through the door. The sound of his masculine laughter rang in my ears as I stormed off. I kept replaying what had just happened in my head and was furious again by the time I reached the security office. I stomped my foot in frustration when Knox Dawson’s secretary informed me that he wasn’t back from his wife’s concert yet.
She kept her eye on me as I paced back and forth while muttering under my breath and gesturing with my hands. A few minutes later, she made a call and told me it would only be another fifteen minutes before Knox returned. I practically wore a hole in the carpet in front of Knox’s desk waiting for him. I was beyond worked up again when Knox finally walked into his office.
Spotting Addilyn, his wife, with him, I realized what had taken him so long. The blues singer was glowing with happiness, and I had a feeling from her puffy lips and mussed hair that it wasn’t just because she was eight months pregnant. I wasn’t surprised since I’d learned early on in the friendship we’d been building since I’d started working at the Lennox that her husband couldn’t keep his hands off her.
Offering her a small smile in greeting, I not-so-patiently waited while Knox got her settled on the couch across from his desk. After sitting down in his chair, he asked, “What’s the problem, Anna?”
“Julian Storm!” I paused in front of his desk and planted my hands against my hips as I glared at Knox. “You need to do something about that, that…jerk face!”
“Calm down, Anna,” Knox said patiently. “What did he do that has you so worked up?”
I started pacing again, the frustration bubbling up again. “I’m not worked up,” I insisted, feeling my cheeks heat as I thought about how I’d reacted to Julian’s kiss. “He doesn’t have any effect on me.”
“Okay,” Knox agreed. “What did he do to upset you?”
The tone he was using irritated me even more. It made me feel as though he was placating me when he should be hunting Julian down after the stunt he pulled. “He kidnapped me! He was supposed to make me disappear for the show, but then the box was moving, and when it opened up, I was locked with him in his dressing room!”
My blush intensified as I thought about how much further Julian could’ve taken our encounter. My cheeks felt as though they were on fire, so I fanned my face with one hand.
“While I can understand why you’re upset, I’m afraid this isn’t a security issue,” he drawled as he leaned back in his chair and tapped the fingers of one hand on his desk. “Therefore, not my problem.”
I couldn’t believe he just said that. Stomping my foot on the ground, I argued, “Of course, it’s a security issue! He can’t just go kidnapping women from the audience. Someone is going to call the police…and…and…” I knew there were a ton of reasons what he’d done was wrong, but I was having a difficult time coming up with them. “It’s a publicity nightmare!”
Addilyn snorted, and I swung my head in her direction. “I disagree,” she chirped happily. “I think it’s marketing gold.”
The pregnancy hormones must’ve gotten to her brain because she wasn’t making any sense. “Pardon?”
She nodded and grinned. “If word got out that the incredibly sexy and talented Julian Storm was kidnapping women and locking them in with himself, the audience would be sold out every freaking night.”
I should’ve been jotting down notes because improving attendance at the Lennox’s shows was my job, but I was too busy being horrified by the idea of Julian kidnapping someone else.
“What?” Addilyn gave her husband an innocent look after he growled. “Seriously, he’s gorgeous, and women fall all over him. We should capitalize on that.”
What.
The.
Heck.
“Women...um...throw themselves at him?” I didn’t know why I was so surprised, considering my reaction to him, but I was horrified by the possibility of not being the only woman he’d kidnapped from his stage. “Does that mean this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this?”
She shook her head and frowned. “Not to my knowledge. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him with a date.”
Her answer was more than I could’ve hoped for, and I barely refrained from heaving a deep sigh of relief. But when I caught Addilyn smiling at me, I twisted my lips into a grimace and threw my arms up in the air. “This is crazy! You’re crazy! It doesn't matter how hot he is; he can’t just go around snatching women and making out with them in his dressing room!”
And the next time I saw Julian, I was going to make sure he knew it...before he decided to pull the same stunt with another woman.
3
Julian
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and stared at the door where Anna had just disappeared out of. Trapping her in the box and ambushing her in my dressing room probably hadn’t been the best idea, but I was having a hard time feeling guilty about it. I’d finally been able to get my hands and mouth on her. She tasted sweeter than I imagined, and one kiss would never be enough.
She’d started to respond before she shut down, giving me even more confidence in my determination to make her mine. It also confirmed what I’d known since the first moment I saw her; we were made for each other. Now, I just had to get her to admit it. Which meant tracking her cute ass down and forcing her to talk to me. Then I could do all the very dirty things I’d been fantasizing about for a month.
Unfortunately, I had another show to prepare for. However—I glanced at my watch—I had time to visit someone who should be able to help. As long as he didn’t decide to be a pain in the ass and force me to go on a merry chase for Anna. All for his own twisted amusement.
I stalked to Knox’s office and Darby, his secretary, blushed and smiled when she spotted me. She always seemed to have this reaction around me, and while I knew I was considered easy on the eyes, I was surprised she hadn’t gotten over being starstruck in the year I’d been performing at the Lennox. I returned her smile and lifted my chin toward Knox’s closed door. “He in?”
Darby nodded and pushed the intercom button. Before she could say anything, Knox’s gruff voice barked, “Tell whoever it is to go the fuck away.” A feminine giggle followed his instruction, and I rolled my eyes. Obviously, he was in there with his wife doing the kind of things I was hoping to be doing to Anna very soon. But I didn’t have time to wait for him to finish his...activities.
This time, I reached over, hit the button myself, and spoke without waiting for him to answer. “It’s Julian. We need to talk.”
There was a long pause, and I was about to hit the button again when he finally said, “Fine. I need to talk to you anyway.” After another minute, the door opened and Addilyn waddled out of Knox’s office. She winked at me, and I was grateful she was facing away from her husband because I liked my face just the way it was.
“I know quite a few women who would love to be kidnapped by you, Julian,” she teased. “If you’re interested.”
I shook my head firmly. “There’s only one woman who has captured my attention.”
Addilyn’s smile grew and she canted her head, looking at me with sparkling brown eyes. “I had a feeling that was the case.” Then she twisted—as much as she could with her very large stomach—and glared back at Knox. “Don’t be an ass.”
His eyes narrowed on his wife, and I chuckled but swallowed it when his scowl turned on me. I wasn’t afraid of Knox unless it involved his wife. Then he became a scary motherfucker no one wanted to mess with. “Get in here,” he snapped.
I walked in and slammed the door behind me, then stood in front of his desk with my feet planted apart and my arms crossed over my chest. “I need your help,” I stated.
Knox leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “And I need you to stop kidnapping women from your audience.”
I rolled my eyes. “No problem. Now, I need to find Anna, but I have another show in an hour.”
“Just like that? No more kidnapping?”
<
br /> I started to agree but stopped when I realized it would be a lie. “I didn’t say that.” If snatching Anna was what it took, I wouldn’t hesitate. “The audience thing was a one-time occurrence”—I narrowed my eyes on him—“and I’m pretty sure you know that, so stop busting my balls and let’s get back to finding Anna.”
“Why exactly would I help you stalk one of our employees, Storm?” His face was deadpan, but the glint in his eyes hinted at his amusement with the situation. My hands balled into fists at my side to keep me from leaping over the desk and strangling the jackass.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t take advantage of the security resources here when you were chasing down Addilyn.”
“It was different. She was my wife,” he rationalized.
I snorted and eyed him drolly. “I’m not sure it counts when you had to get her drunk to marry you, and she ran to get an annulment right after you said ‘I do.’” I grinned and needled him a little further. “You’re a walking, talking cliché, man.”
Knox glared at me and grunted, “Doesn’t matter. My ring was on her finger, and that’s where it stayed.”
“And as soon as you stop wasting both of our time, I’ll be putting one on Anna’s.”
Knox contemplated me for a few moments, his eyes searching my face. He must have found what he was looking for because he grabbed a slip of paper and scrawled something on it before holding it out for me to take.
I glanced down to see a web address and a string of letters and numbers. “Our security feed is on an airtight, secured network. But that address will take you there, and the password will get you in.” He speared me with an intense look and added, “There is a log of anyone who accesses the site. If I think for a second that you’ve given it out or even lost this information, I won’t hesitate to have Drew lock your ass up. No matter how much our wives enjoy your show.”
Vegas, Baby: Complete Series Page 42
