Under the Boardwalk

by Carly Phillips

  He’d been in this business long enough not to fall into the trap of guilt. He only hoped his buddy Quinn could hold out, too.

  “Bye,” she said with a wave.

  “See ya.” He glanced down. Only then did he notice she’d left a card with her handwritten phone number on it along with the gratuity. He pocketed the paper in his back jeans pocket.

  Across from him, Maria seethed with jealousy, and Connor wondered how to best use this unexpected show of emotion to his advantage.

  With full appreciation of what fate had shown him, he turned his attention to Maria. “I’m all yours, sweetstuff. What can I do for you?”

  • • •

  Quinn stretched out at a booth in the lounge across from the baccarat tables, Damon beside him. His boss liked to monitor the big gamblers, and this view gave him ample opportunity. Damon’s woman of the week, this time a busty blonde, hung on to every word he said, but all the while Damon surveyed his domain. And Quinn watched Damon. It was a scene Quinn had repeated nightly since being let into the casino owner’s inner circle.

  He hoped it wouldn’t last much longer. Quinn was sick of living out of a hotel room. He missed his small house on the beach and the freedom to do what he wanted, when he wanted, without people looking over his shoulder. Most of all, he missed Dozer, his mixed breed who was currently residing with Al Wolf, director of the youth center. He hoped Dozer was behaving himself and not slobbering all over the kids, or else Wolf would… Holy shit.

  Quinn’s thoughts trailed off as the woman who’d promised him she’d return to Vermont strode into the room. Even with some outward changes, Quinn would recognize her in a heartbeat. She made her way into the casino, hips swaying, newly cut hair bouncing against her shoulders, and those green eyes darting around the room, something he recognized as pure nerves showing through.

  Since tackling the professor in her dark suit two days ago, he’d bet she wasn’t used to her new look or sexy clothing. Neither was he. Under any other circumstances, he’d enjoy the view, but not tonight. He was furious, and when her gaze met his and remained, he refused to look away, forcing her to hold his stare or blink first.

  She held her own.

  She’d promised to get her ass on a plane. She hadn’t. By walking in here, she’d shown she wasn’t scared of the repercussions. She should be, Quinn thought as he rose from his seat.

  But before he could intercept Ari and prevent Damon from seeing Zoe’s twin, Damon put a hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “Is that the woman you were talking about?” Damon nodded toward Ari.

  “That’s her,” Quinn muttered.

  As if Damon’s date sensed competition, she hung on more tightly to his arm.

  The fact comforted Quinn, while he tried to figure out what to do about this newest complication. “I thought she was leaving, but don’t worry. I’ll get rid of her.”

  “Let’s see what she wants first,” Damon suggested.

  Quinn watched through gritted teeth as Ari strode up the three steps to the bar and greeted them with a wide smile. Thank God Damon preferred blondes, Quinn thought.

  “Hi.” Her gaze encompassed both men and Damon’s date.

  “What are you doing here?” Quinn asked, to hell with preliminary niceties.

  She shrugged but didn’t flinch at his angry tone. “I thought I’d check out where my sister works.” She motioned around the room with one elegant sweep.

  “Worked,” Quinn reminded her. “You wanted to see where your sister worked.”

  She lowered her gaze, the confidence in her demeanor not as strong now. “I’m just not used to thinking of Zoe in the past tense.” She drew a deep breath. “But you’re right. I wanted to see where my sister worked.” When she looked up, her grin was nowhere to be found.

  A punch in the gut would have been a gentler way of hurting her, Quinn thought. But if she trusted him at all, which she had no reason to do, she’d play this game through. In the end, she would see her sister again.

  “So now you’ve seen. Don’t you have a plane to catch?”

  Damon stepped forward. “Tsk, tsk, Quinn. That’s no way to speak to a beautiful lady.”

  Damon’s arm candy started to whine, but Damon cut her off by pulling cash out of his pocket. “Go play,” he ordered his companion.

  The blonde whose name Quinn hadn’t bothered to learn treated Damon to a kiss on the cheek and sashayed off.

  Ari raised an eyebrow Quinn’s way. “I’d appreciate an introduction to your friend.” Her sultry gaze settled on Damon.

  Unlike when she’d convincingly lied to Quinn, now he detected traces of nervous energy as Ari made a show of fingering her purse and tapping her foot.

  She was scared. Of Damon, he hoped, because that would mean the professor did indeed have the brains Zoe credited her with. And then Quinn could count on her to behave, at least while she was in the casino.

  “Yes,” Damon said from beside him. “I believe introductions are in order.” He oozed charm. Slimy, not-to-be-trusted charm.

  “Ariana Costas, I’d like you to meet Alec Damon. Mr. Damon owns this casino, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years.” Or in Vermont. “Damon, this is Zoe Costas’s twin,” Quinn said pointedly.

  Damon smiled. “I thought I noticed the resemblance. Nice to meet you, Ariana.”

  “Same here.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve heard so much about you, Mr. Damon. Not from my sister, since we… we hadn’t been in touch in awhile, but my mother talks about you often.”

  “Only good things, I hope?”

  She nodded. “That’s another reason I came by. I wanted to meet you. To thank you in person for lending my mother money when she was in need.” Ari held out her hand and Damon took it.

  “My pleasure.” He released his grasp, his astute gaze raking over Ariana’s body. “Your mother was a hard worker and a very talented dancer.” He inclined his head. “Do you share her ability?”

  She laughed. A full-blown, light and airy sound. Quinn’s groin immediately tightened. Damn the woman, anyway.

  “No. I’m sorry to say I have two left feet.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.” His gaze traveled the length of her body, beginning with her long legs and remaining on her cleavage before finally landing on her face.

  She did her best not to squirm, but failed. Still she faced Damon head on. “Thank you again for helping my family. And it was nice meeting you,” Ari said, all but ignoring Quinn.

  “The feeling’s mutual. And…” Damon paused. “I’m sorry about your sister. Zoe was beautiful inside and out. She worked hard and we at Damon’s valued her.”

  Ari tipped her head. “That means so much.”

  “Quinn, why don’t you show Ms. Costas around the casino.” The suggestion was nothing short of an order.

  Despite Damon’s civil veneer, Quinn didn’t want her staying around unchaperoned. Quinn would follow his order with pleasure. Not just to find out what the hell was behind Ari’s agenda, but to get closer to the sultry beauty for reasons he didn’t want to name.

  Putting his arm around her waist, he led her down the stairs and away from Damon. She was smaller than she looked, and her waist fit snugly against his body, feeling too good considering he wanted to throttle her.

  He left the casino behind, entered the hotel lobby, and steered her directly to the office area and a vacant hallway. He paused only long enough to unlock the door and nudge her in. Entering his private domain, he slammed the door shut behind him and locked them inside.

  He turned on the light before folding his arms across his chest and facing Ariana. “Well?”

  “Well what?” She batted her eyes and forced the most innocent look she could manage.

  It had to be forced considering she must be quaking in her stiletto pumps. “Does this look like Vermont to you?” He gestured around the state-of-the-art office, with its new computer, expensive desk, sophisticated phone system, and both audio and video bugs recording everyth
ing that was said.

  She shrugged, taking in the sterile environment where he spent many of his days. “Not particularly. My office is a lot more musty and not as bright.”

  He closed his eyes and counted to ten. She was baiting him on purpose, and she was more like Zoe than he’d given her credit for. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  “Where’s my sister?” she asked.

  “She’s missing. I thought the police told you that.”

  “But you-”

  “Told you to get on a plane and go home.” Quinn needed this record of their conversation for Damon’s viewing later, but he’d never consider any place in this casino a safe place to talk freely.

  His room upstairs was different, since he swept it regularly for bugs. He refused to be watched when he was alone, and Damon knew it. But Quinn was smart enough not to take Ari anywhere near his bed.

  Stepping forward, he backed her against the wall, bracing his hands over her head. Ariana sucked in a shallow breath, but her gaze never left his.

  He bent his head close. Almost cheek to cheek, he inhaled her fragrant scent and felt the womanly heat emanating from her body. Apparently Ari was on edge, because she trembled and a faint sigh reverberated from her throat. He feathered his lips over the exposed skin on her neck, and that little taste made him hungry for more. Shifting his attention to her mouth, he touched his lips to hers. Their chemistry exploded.

  He kissed her and she kissed him back, proving she was as greedy as he for intimate contact. Knowing she wanted him, too, he slipped his hands to her waist, holding her in place against the wall. And when she didn’t fight that move, he slid his thigh between her legs, bracketing her in place. All the while his tongue tangled with hers and he learned the depth of the hidden fieriness she kept inside.

  This woman excited him on many levels. She was complex and intelligent, with equal parts spunk, attitude, and vulnerability. It was the vulnerability that had driven her away from her family, and it was a part of what enticed Quinn so much now. He wanted to know her, contradictions and all.

  Temptation beckoned. No one would blame him if he tossed her on the desk and acted out the fantasy replaying in his mind since the moment they’d met. Even Damon would merely applaud. But Quinn would blame himself. And she deserved better.

  He swirled his tongue inside her mouth one last time, let himself feel her fingers tugging at his hair and in his scalp, before breaking the kiss. His breathing came in shallow gasps. Desire clawed at him, begging him to continue what he’d started, but he lifted his head and looked into her heavy-lidded eyes.

  He swallowed hard. “We can’t talk here,” he whispered. “This place is bugged,” he said in a murmur nobody else listening could possibly detect.

  “So unless you’re interested in finishing what we started, you don’t belong here.” This time he spoke loud enough for anyone to hear, for the benefit of Damon’s hidden bugs.

  She ducked out from under his arms and glared at him with wounded eyes. But he could see from the almost imperceptible nod of her head that she got his message and his act for the camera.

  “I don’t answer to you,” she said.

  “Maybe you should.”

  She bit down on her well-kissed lower lip, pausing in thought. “I think you’ve got a point.”

  The hair on the back of his neck prickled in unease. “In what way?”

  She leaned against the wall, her pose all the more seductive thanks to that hot kiss and the need still pulsing inside him. “Hire me,” she said.

  “Repeat that?”

  “I said, hire me. Give me a job here.”

  Quinn couldn’t believe she’d ask for something so stupid. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”

  “Because I want to get closer to people who knew my sister.” Her voice softened and her gaze grew moist.

  Too bad for her, he couldn’t afford to give in to emotional blackmail. Besides, only a chump wouldn’t figure out that she wanted entry into the casino so she could snoop around. “Sorry, but no.”

  She shrugged, which had the effect of lifting her glimmering cleavage for view. He wondered if the skin there tasted as good as her neck and lips just had.

  “I’ll just ask Damon, then,” Ari said. “He seems like an agreeable enough guy. He hired my mother and my sister, and he did tell you to show me around. Besides, I think he liked me.”

  “Your boobs aren’t big enough for him to like you,” Quinn muttered under his breath.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said through clenched teeth. He wasn’t thinking with his head. Not the right head, anyway. Those breasts might not be big enough for Damon, but they made Quinn’s mouth water and his hands tingle with longing. She was a distraction he didn’t need.

  He didn’t want her anywhere near the casino, Damon’s operation, or him. Which meant he had a problem, since she’d already proven she’d do as she pleased. But Quinn hated being backed into a wall and he continued to grind his teeth in frustration. “What are you good at?”

  “What do you want me to be good at?” she asked him.

  He stepped forward, stopping until they were inches apart again. He already knew how well she kissed, how hot she made him, and how perfectly her body fit against his. The woman was playing with a man on fire. “You already told Damon you can’t dance.”

  “There’s plenty of other things I’m good at.” Her eyes flashed determined sparks.

  “Name one.”

  “I already proved I’m a good kisser, but I don’t think that’s what you had in mind.” She cocked her head to one side, as she continued to tease and test his restraint. “I also have decent moves with my hands.” She waved her delicate fingers in front of his face.

  Visions of those hands roaming over his body caused an intense burning in his stomach. “Such as?”

  “I waited tables in college and I can serve a mean drink.”

  “And what about your job, Professor?”

  “I already took a leave.” She placed her hands on her hips, as if daring him to argue.

  And when her eyes darted from his for a split second, long enough to convince him she wasn’t being completely honest, he wanted to. But since this damned independent woman would do what she wanted, he had no choice except to go along. “Fine. Your shift will be seven to midnight. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night around six. Be ready.”

  “I can drive-”

  He shook his head. “I plan to keep an eye on you. In fact, expect to have me by your side the entire time.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again.

  “Good thinking. Because I’ll be watching you. And that is nonnegotiable.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ariana paced the floor while watching the street from the bay window in her family home. She didn’t want Quinn coming here anymore than she wanted him watching every move she made. He made her nervous. Not to mention his kiss was so potent it ought to be illegal.

  She lifted her fingers to her lips. They’d continued to tingle all last night and through this morning. The memory of his mouth on hers and his strong thighs between her legs kept her aroused. They’d been combustible together, Ariana thought. No man had ever made her want with such ferocious intensity. And the heat in his gaze when he broke the kiss told her he’d wanted her, too. Unfortunately, he had an iron will and his desire wasn’t quite as strong as his need to have her gone.

  She was lucky he’d agreed to give her a job-a spur-of-the-moment idea on her part because she could think of no other way to return to the casino. Of course she intended to find Zoe, but there was more calling her back to Damon’s than the mystery surrounding her twin.

  Her first night there had been enlightening. Despite the fact that she’d been uncomfortable in the tight clothes and the emboldened persona she’d adopted, Ariana had been given a glimpse of her twin’s more exciting life. From how men looked at her, to Quinn’s intense sexual reaction, Ariana had sl
owly discovered what it felt like to be bolder and untamed. And although she hadn’t expected it, she’d enjoyed the experience too much to just walk away. Especially since she’d found a way to get information as well as an understanding of all she’d missed out on in her past.

  Demanding a job from Quinn had been a spontaneous idea born of necessity-even if it meant following Quinn’s rules.

  She could have defied him and shown up at the casino, but he’d threatened to take her keys if she did. She believed him, which made no sense. How could she trust anything he said or did when his office was bugged, her sister was missing, and Quinn, who claimed to know the truth, wasn’t talking?

  At least not yet. Ariana needed time to work on him some more. So she waited for him to arrive and instead of focusing on how she’d accomplish that task, she was bothered by a more nagging question. One instilled by her past. What would this enigmatic man think of her strange family, all of whom were holed up in the kitchen, huddled over floor plans, conspiring to… Lord only knew what.

  The answer to that question hit on a deep, raw insecurity she’d lived with since childhood, when children-girls especially-were cruel. She’d sought her escape in college and then in Jeffrey, hoping that if he fell for her first, he’d accept her family later. She’d been wrong.

  She thought she’d buried those memories when she moved away. Funny how quickly they came back now. The sight of a black truck pulling up to the curb cut off her thoughts. She ran for the door, intending to meet Quinn outside and avoid a family meeting completely.

  “Ari, wait.” Her mother’s voice stopped her from leaving the house unseen.

  Drat. “Can it wait? I’m on my way out now.”

  Elena shook her head. “The family’s about to make a huge investment and we’d like you to approve. Besides, I want to know all about your trip to Damon’s. You were so busy on the phone all day, we had no time to talk.”

  Ariana was too used to the Greek guilt to take her mother’s words to heart. Today Ariana had a genuine excuse, since she’d been busy arranging the leave of absence she’d already told Quinn she’d taken. She’d also had to explain her sudden disappearance to her friends and colleagues, all things she wasn’t ready to discuss with her mother.