The Night Moves Boxset: (Stripped, The Hook-up, The Night Manager)

by Tarrah Anders

  “You’re that guy!” a petite redhead says excitedly as she sits down across from me.

  “Pardon?” I ask.

  “You’re that guy in Vegas! You’re in that show.”

  “Oh. Um, yeah, I used to do that,” I say, unsure how to act. I can’t deny that I danced, but I’m not doing that anymore. Something this stranger apparently isn’t aware of.

  “You brought me on stage, and you ran your hands down my body like I’ve never been touched before.” She smiles and I start to feel uncomfortable.

  “All right. Well, I hope you had a great time. If you don’t mind—”

  “You straight up made my panties so wet that I probably masturbated to that night for weeks. And here you are, in San Diego, the man of my dreams.”

  “Listen, I’m happy to hear that you had a good time.” I’m trying to be polite. “My girlfriend and I are trying—”

  “What’s going on here?” Beck stands over the table, her hands on her hips looking back and forth between the two of us.

  “She was just leaving,” I say with a harsher tone than I intended.

  “This guy, he’s amazing,” the redhead says, not moving out of the seat.

  “I’m well aware of that. He’s my boyfriend.”

  As if the redhead didn’t hear Beck, she remains in the seat gazing longingly at me.

  “You need to get out of my seat,” Beck says with anger radiating off of her.

  The redhead slowly turns and gives Beck a look of hatred. “Or what?” she sneers.

  “Or I will make you get up.” Beck stands firm.

  I stand and grab my coat, then reach around the redhead and grab Beck’s cardigan. I steer Beck to the front of the restaurant, leaving our intruder alone without another word. After settling the bill, we start walking down the street until we come to a bench where Beck sits down and puts her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking. I sit beside her and put my arm around her.

  “I’m sorry, love. Are you okay?” I ask quietly.

  “Do you know how often I have to deal with situations like that? All the girls at work, all the looks I see women give you when you’re just minding your own business, everywhere we go!” she sobs.

  “You know that none of them matter, right?”

  “I hear the girls at work talk daily about how, even though you have a girlfriend, that won’t stop them from making a move on you. All the time. I hear it almost daily!”

  “I wouldn’t let any of that happen,” I say quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.

  She sniffles but doesn’t respond to me for several long moments. She looks up at me, her cheeks rosy, her eyes red and wet. She wipes her sleeve along her nose. I lift my hand and wipe off some tears on her cheek.

  “I just want to go home.” She sniffs again.

  “Babe, let’s just go back to the hotel room and I’ll get you a bath started,” I say, as she shakes her head.

  “I want to go home,” she says firmly.

  “No. We are going back to the hotel room and we’re going to talk. We’re not ending our trip because of some chick interrupting our dinner,” I say with an edge to my voice.

  “Some chick? Some chick? Mal, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with women who try to stake claims on you. How are you not understanding this?” she cries.

  “I understand it, babe, I do. But not a single one of these women mean a damn thing to me. The only woman who means anything to me is you. You are the one I love, the one I want. No one else.” I start to raise my voice.

  “Just take me back to the hotel, please,” she replies.

  The rest of the night is quiet. When we get back to the room, Beck goes straight into the bathroom, runs herself a bath and locks herself in there for an hour. When she comes out, I am sitting on the bed, my back against the headboard with my tablet in my hands. I set it aside as she approaches her side of the bed and silently keeps her back to me as she slides under the covers.

  “Beck?” I start.

  “Not now, Mal. Not now,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

  I lean over to her and kiss her bare shoulder. “I love you, Beck,” I say and lean back. I look at her for a moment before removing my shirt, turning off the light and then climbing under the covers as well.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rebeckha

  It wasn’t fair, shutting out Malcolm. He didn’t do anything wrong, but I couldn’t help it. My insecurities were revealed and I’m ashamed of it. I cried my eyes out last night, on the bench near the restaurant, as well as in the bathtub after we got back to the room. I know this morning, as I wake with puffy eyes, that I’d rather just avoid any conversation about what happened. As I roll over and stretch my sore limbs, I look over to Mal’s side of the bed and he’s not there. I feel his side and it’s cold. After sitting up, I see that I’m alone in the room. A note rests on the table in the sitting area of the suite.

  Beck -

  Gone to grab us some coffee and breakfast. Please don’t leave.

  I love you.

  -Mal

  “He thinks that I’m going to leave,” I say out loud. I shake my head and pad into the bathroom. I brush my teeth and then rummage through my luggage for something to change into.

  I sit on the bed and wait patiently for Malcolm to return. When he does, he has his arms full: flowers, a bag of bagels, and a drink tray with two coffees. I rush to his side and help relieve him.

  “I didn’t think this through. I thought I could carry everything, but I overestimated how many arms I actually have,” he says sheepishly.

  “Mal. You didn’t need to get me flowers.”

  “Flowers help make apologies better.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. I over-reacted and let my jealousy get the best of me.”

  “It’s a human reaction. But I still owe you flowers.”

  “Thank you for the flowers and for saying what you said last night.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, the male dancers wanted to ask you out and I growled at them.”

  “You growled?”

  “I think they know that either I have a thing for you or that we’re together.” He shrugs.

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “I wanted the news of us being a thing to be more organic and not some caveman type of claim, but yeah, I’m completely okay with it.”

  “So does that mean I can get territorial?”

  “Babe, you can piss on me if you want. Better yet, don’t. That’s pretty gross!” he says laughing while dodging my hand as it reaches up to playfully smack him.

  The rest of the week in San Diego goes a lot smoother than our first night there. We talk over my insecurities and he assures me over and over again that he isn’t the kind of guy some of the girls were predicting he is. I’m not ready to head back home, but I know that next week we have our grand opening and I am likely just as nervous as Mal is.

  This club has become my project too, at least the parts I’m involved with. I have watched Jacks and Malcolm work tirelessly from the start to now. They are dedicated and eager. I have watched them rehearse with some of the dancers, listen intently to the new staff and I have brought them endless supplies for those late nights as they sit around the bar.

  The night of the opening, I find Mal pacing in his bedroom.

  “You okay?” I ask, standing in the doorway.

  “I am, just nerves.”

  “Tonight is going to be great. We have a lot of publicity for tonight, a red carpet with some of the elite of Vegas, and some great sponsorships. And you have me.”

  “I do. And that’s the most important of all.” He stops pacing, walks to stand in front of me and grabs both my hands.

  “Can I get you anything? A drink to take the edge off, a blow job or maybe a massage?”

  He laughs lightly. “That is quite the offer. But surprisingly, I’m going to decline all of them.” He smiles, releases one of my hands and then lowers himself
down to one knee.

  “What are you doing down there?” I ask, and then it suddenly hits me.

  “Rebeckha, you and I met in an unconventional way and you’ve learned to accept me for who I am, you’ve helped me make my dream come true, and you’ve made me the happiest guy in the world.”

  “The world?” I ask, laughing, only halfway serious.

  “My world. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I want to start tonight off with a bang. I want to walk into our club tonight with you on my arm as my soon-to-be wife, the future Mrs. Jane.”

  “Has anyone ever told you that your last name is very feminine?”

  “I just asked you to marry me and you’re making fun of my last name?” he scoffs playfully.

  “A last name that I would be honored to share with you. Yes! Yes, of course I’ll marry you!”

  Malcolm

  It came straight out of left field. I wasn’t planning on asking Beck to marry me tonight but, when I thought about what would make tonight perfect, her agreeing to marrying me was top of the list. I had been planning on asking her soon but then tonight became the night.

  I’ve been carrying around this ring with me everywhere I’ve gone for the past several weeks in my inner jacket pocket. As I reach in, my fist closes around the box, then I open it as I present it to her. Her hand covers her mouth, her eyes go wide, and her head nods. No sound is coming from her, but I can tell she’s overcome with emotion.

  I slip the ring on her finger, hold her hand in mine and stand.

  “I love you,” I say to her, both my hands cradling her face.

  “Ditto,” she replies, leaning into me.

  Opening night was a huge success.

  We had a packed house and everyone received the shows with open arms. Drinks flowed, guests laughed, and audiences were wowed. We had several members of Exposed Men come tonight, as well as performers from other clubs in the area, which made me feel like we had succeeded. Beck stood by my side all evening, her arm in mine, the diamond on her finger blinding everyone we came in contact with. At the end of the night, the entire staff sat together at the table and chairs on the floor, while Beck, Jacks and I sat on the edge of the stage.

  “I know everyone is tired – it’s been a crazy night – but I just want to say, on behalf of myself and management, that we couldn’t have done it without you guys. You all helped tonight become a real thing, and I can’t put into words how happy I am that each and every single one of you helped create a terrific and lasting impression on our guests. Both sets of shows were equally talked about and praised by some of the top figures in the industry. Let’s do it again tomorrow night and the night after that and so on. Now I want to have a celebratory shot with everyone and then you are all free to go.”

  “I think that the celebrating that we need to do around here is for your engagement,” Jacks says, holding up a glass, shocking everyone. “If you didn’t see the sizable rock on Beck’s finger, then you’re blind as a bat. These two fuckers got engaged earlier tonight. So along with the celebration of the opening of the club, let’s toast to the couple.” Jacks says, as half of the female staff drops their jaws. “Oh, and if you all didn’t know about them before, surprise!”

  1.5

  Copyright © 2018 by Tarrah Anders

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2018

  Tarrah Anders, LLC

  San Diego, CA

  www.tarrahanders.com

  Cover/Formatting by Tarrah Anders, LLC

  Cover Image: Deposit Photos

  These are the moments that occur before the book The Night Manager begins.

  I hope you enjoy.

  Chapter One

  Cam

  It’s been awhile since I’ve been back here in the States and I will say that the scenery here is just as great as it was the last time I visited. I’m in Los Angeles at hotel, there’s the beautiful ocean and shores of the Pacific every which-way you look out of this hotel. Instead of the sights, the wedding party has caught my attention instead well – just one person in it.

  There is one person in the wedding party that my eyes keep straying to and that is the bloke standing beside my brother. The one that I grew up with in my teens, and I can see that he’s doing what he can to avoid looking in my direction since last night.

  I had arrived from Sydney an hour before the rehearsal dinner was to begin. My mother had to stop and decided to take her sweet time getting the perfect gift at the bottle shop for the happy couple. Of course, her style of choosing was looking for the most exy bottle, but beggars can’t be choosers. ‘Ma was nervous, she hasn’t met Rebeckha and she’s trying to make a good impression.

  Regardless of what I tell her about how down to earth Beck is, ‘Ma isn’t hearing it.

  The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was outdoors on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and the reception was in the hotel down below on the beach.

  I’m currently sitting at the wedding party table at the reception with a few of Beck’s friends, who are friendly enough but I’m waiting for Janae, the bartender at the club my brother and Jacks own and my new best friend to bring me some plonk. Since she’s skilled in the trade, I told her to bring me whatever she deemed as necessary for tonight to which the raven-haired, tattooed beauty clapped her hands together and ran off to the open bar. That was twenty minutes ago.

  My eyes drift back to Jacks as his head tilts back and a hearty laugh comes from his mouth. Jacks, Mal and two other good-looking blokes are having a laugh and it is taking everything in my power to not just stare at them. I avert my eyes and glance around the room. I see a mixture of young and old, with a few children – who are currently tearing up the dancefloor.

  Since my brother was a male dancer prior to owning his own club, the majority of guests are all within the adult entertainment industry, but you wouldn’t guess it from the way everyone is holding themselves. The perception of the public is that these kind of dancers are trashy and full of plastic - that is not prevalent with anyone that I’ve seen today or at Mal’s club.

  I continue to look around the room to avoid staring at Jacks and see my parents talking to two beautiful women. My mother is laughing with her hand on the arm of one of the women, while my father appreciative nods his head in what I’m sure is active listening.

  “Here, I hope that you like this.” Janae places a tumbler in front of me as she takes her seat.

  “What is this?” I question with my finger tracing a line in the condensation on the glass.

  “A twist on lavender tea.”

  “A twist? What’s that mean?” I ask picking up the glass and sniffing the contents.

  “Vodka,” she smiles.

  “And the open bar just happened to carry the ingredients?”

  “Yes and no. There is a restaurant on the other side of this hotel, I checked in with them about a few of the ingredients. The bar here had three of the five items that I needed,” she says proudly.

  I take a small sip and my throat warms with the sweetness as the liquid travels. I take a larger sip and smile.

  “You’re a God send. We’re going to be best friends forever.” I gush.

  “You can thank Martha Stewart for this one. That woman is a magician.” Janae takes a sip of her own drink. I point to it in question and she smiles.

  “This is a hard lemonade with a splash of fruit. Nothing too special, just gives you a nice buzz, but if you drink too many of them, you’ll get shit-faced and wake up in somebody else's hotel room,” Janae wiggles her eyebrows.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I say quietly.

  “What’s that?” Janae nudges me. “Who do you have the hots here for?”


  “Oh, no one.” I say looking away avoiding eye contact with her.

  “Bull. Who is he? Or her? I love playing matchmaker,” she bounces in her seat eagerly.

  “It’s not something that will ever happen, so there’s no point.”

  “There’s always a chance. Moreover, have you looked in the mirror? Girl, any man, or woman would be stupid to turn a blind eye to you.” Janae cheers on.

  “Not when the bloke has known me since I was an awkward teenager.” I return.

  Janae looks around in contemplation as she scans the room for whomever she thinks I could be talking about. When her eyes land in the general direction of Jacks, my heartbeat picks up and I attempt to not look overly nervous.

  “I mean, he’s one of the sweetest guys around, definitely a looker and I’ve heard he’s got the moves.” Janae’s eyes zero in on Jacks.

  “Yeah.” I reply tautly before taking another sip of the drink.

  “Alright, so the game plan is this-.” Janae starts.

  “Nope. No game plans.” I shake my head quickly.

  “Honey, drink up. You need some liquid courage. You’re both part of the wedding party, so let’s get a big wedding party dance going and then as the others eventually leave, we’ll get you and Jacks to maybe dance to a slow song or something. I’ll whip him up some hard lemonades and maybe, just maybe you guys will learn that now that you’re an adult, a beautiful grown woman that you are available to … meet his needs - whatever those may be.” she shrugs with a smirk while pulling her phone out and starts to type on the screen .

  “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bad influence?” I laugh.

  “All the time!” Janae laughs as she stands up, heads to the DJ booth and then back to the table area to grab a few of the other girls and the guys to drag them to the dancefloor, just as the DJ announces the wedding party is going to start the night off right.