"You've never been hungry then," she countered, "or you'd understand."
Al looked at her, wondering what her life had been like, the hellish existence of being an unwanted child. He may have grown up in a household with violent people, but at least it was never directed at him. He'd always felt his parent's love.
Their meal came then, and she still ate at a frantic pace, not looking up. His eyes met Kim's and he could tell she understood. He made a mental note to ask her later what she knew. He wanted to know everything about the woman sitting next to him.
Chez Vous, situated on the third floor of a casino, was jammed, but they were let in right away as Al nodded at the bouncer. Neon lights and black-lights within turned his shirt bright white, along with Kim's dress.
"Baby, you're hot tonight!" Tony said loudly as Kim shimmied to their table towards the front of the dance floor.
"I can prove that," she flung back, over her shoulder.
He came from behind and grabbed her around her waist and led her to the dance floor.
Al and Dani followed, sat at the table and he ordered ginger ale for her and vodka for himself.
"Do you like to dance?" she asked.
He smiled. "Not to this stuff. I'm more of a slow dancer."
They watched the dancers until a slow tune came on. "Shall we?" he said.
He took her hand and, once on the dance floor, pulled her quickly, tightly to him. Her arms went around his neck, and she felt the electric draw of him. The whole of his body was hard, the chest, the arm muscles, and thighs. As they danced, his hand came on the small of her back, then her derriere, while he moved against her. She felt his erection start then and his lips kissed her neck, moved and kissed from the bottom by her shoulder to her ear.
"Mmmm," he breathed in her ear, "you are too delicious. I might have you for dessert."
The hot breath and murmuring sounds coming from him started a new sensation in her, a sizzling feeling from her toes to her head, one that settled between her legs.
Her breath came out in a long sigh, as she gave into him, gave in to the stir of her emotions.
But too soon, the song was over, and he led her to the table with his hand resting on the small of her back.
The rock music started, and Tony asked her to dance. "Is it all right?" she asked Al.
His eyes closed a bit as he gestured towards the dance floor.
Tony put her at ease, as they danced, with his jokes and one-liners. She laughed, then shimmy and shook, twirled around, and felt the pounding beat of the song within her. When they were done, he gave her a quick hug.
But when she arrived back at the table, Al stared at her coldly. "Have fun?" he asked, looking from Tony to her and back again.
"My friend," Tony began, "don't be looking at me like that. I'm not stealing her." He went by Kim, bent down and gave her a long kiss. "I've got all I need right here."
"Let's get some air," Al said, grabbing Dani's hand. He led her out of the crowded place. He punched the elevator key, and they waited.
But when the elevator opened, and they started down, he pushed the stop button.
A muscle in his face moved, and his eyes were steely gray, as he looked her up and down.
She didn't know what to say, so she just said nothing and returned his gaze.
He took a step, gathered her in his arms, and pushed her back against the elevator rail. He grabbed her buttocks, and she felt his hardness. His lips roved her neck again, up to her cheek, then to her lips. Pushing her lips open, his tongue moved in her mouth, exploring, tasting, as she trembled.
Breaking the kiss slightly, as his mouth hovered above hers, he whispered, "Are you mine?"
As his tongue rolled on her lower lip, she said faintly, "No...I mean...I don't know."
Pressing his hips against hers, he began to move rhythmically against her.
After peeling down the front of her dress, his hand came up and felt the warmth, the softness of her breast. Moving his palm over the nipple gently, he heard her sharp intake of breath. Then, as he moved the bud between his fingers, he heard it again.
"You're mine," he said softly, while he drew back and looked into her eyes. His hand still moved casually on her nipples.
She felt the heaviness again between her legs and by instinct she brought his hand there, and closed her eyes at the sensation as his hand probed, smoothed. It was intimate. She felt safe, secure.
But he moved his hand back to her dress and pulled it up. Stepping away, his eyes roamed over her, making sure she looked fresh, unsullied. Taking her hands in both of his, he kissed them, one then the other.
"Someone will want the elevator," he said finally. And he pushed the up button.
After changing clothes, Dani paced back and forth in her suite that night. Al brought her to her door around midnight, kissed her on the cheek, and left her alone. She knew she couldn't call Kim, as she and Tony might be together. But she needed to talk to someone. Plus, she was hungry, so the employee lunchroom seemed like a good bet.
When she arrived, and filled her tray with desserts, she looked around for anyone she knew. The big heavy-set man everyone called Teeny sat looking morose, so she walked up and flashed him a smile. He grunted and rose as she sat at the table.
"I'm Dani. Please, sit. I just wanted to introduce myself."
"Yeah. Nice meeting you. Heard that was some dance last night you did. Good for business. Really good."
She smiled before she took a bite of brownie. "I just didn't know what to do. That damn shoe broke, so I just winged it."
"Yeah. The boss thinks you're doing a really good job."
"Nat you mean?" She finished the brownie and started on the cheesecake.
"No sweetheart. Al's the boss. There ain't no other boss."
She nodded with her mouth full. "What was his father like?"
"Sal? Yeah, that would be Salvador Scaletti." He was quiet for a minute. "Those were the days."
"You mean so many killings?"
"Nah. I mean the respect. People got no respect anymore. Enough to make you puke. Oh, sorry. Forgot you was eating."
She laughed. "It's okay. Tonight Al said I was going to get fat."
He looked skeptical. "You need more meat there. A guy needs something to hold on to, know what I mean?"
"I guess. Are you married?"
"Nah. Never met the right dame I guess."
"What was Al's wife like? I've heard she was pretty sheltered."
"Oh Clary? That was her nickname. Yeah, he met Clarice a few years back. She was...different I guess you could say."
He continued, "Al told me she saw the world a different way than we did. At first I thought she was just a ditsy dame, you know? But after I knew her for a while, I could tell what he meant. Like just something simple like swimming. She'd have a blast just playing with a beach ball or something."
"He must have loved her very much."
Grunting, he nodded. "I hate to even tell about when she died. He was so bad, wouldn't get up out of bed for days. I had to slap him before he'd even get dressed."
"You slapped him? Did he slap you back?"
"Nah." He looked at some distant spot and she saw his eyes starting to fill with tears, and tried to think of a different topic.
"And Al's mother?"
"Oh, he was just a baby when she died. She starved, what do you call that thing?"
"Anorexia? When someone doesn't eat right?"
"Yeah. Sal always blamed himself. But you can't force a person to eat when they don't want to. Boy...you sure can put those desserts away."
"I love the food here," she replied with a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.
"Yeah, it's a pretty nice set-up. Too bad someone's on the take. I know the boss is getting really mad about it."
She nodded and drank the rest of her water. "I wish I could help."
"He's sending in a mole."
She looked at him questioningly.
"Someone he trusts t
o work on the inside."
Nodding, she got up and held her tray. "It was so nice meeting you Teeny. Please let me know if there's anything I can ever do for you, okay?"
"You got it sweetheart. Same goes for you."
But when she arrived back in her suite, the inevitable light was blinking on her phone. She'd forgotten to take it with her again.
"What?"
"It's Dani."
"Where have you been?" he said irritably.
"I'm sorry Al. I forgot to take the phone. I was in the lunchroom talking with someone."
He was silent for a minute. "Are you alone right now?"
"Yes." She sat on the couch.
"Tell me what you're wearing. And don't leave anything out. I want it all."
She laughed. "Well, the bra and panties are white with a little lace. My shirt is white, my pants are hip-hugger jeans, and I'm wearing boots."
"Okay. Take it all off."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"But why--"
"Don't worry, I won't come down. You're totally alone, right?"
"Yes."
"So put the phone down, take it off, then pick up the phone again."
She put the cell on the table and stripped everything off. "Okay," she said, as she smiled, "what next boss?"
He laughed softly. "Go into the bathroom. To the full-length mirror."
"Okay, I'm there."
"Now, what do you see?"
"My hair needs brushing."
"What else? Talk to me."
"Well, my bust line is good, my stomach is pretty flat, and I have long legs. My feet are bare."
His voice grew softer. "Touch yourself. With your free hand. All over. I can wait."
Hesitantly, her hands roved her breasts like he had done earlier and she closed her eyes, remembering him. The heaviness descended between her legs, and she gasped without realizing it.
"Open your eyes," he said.
"It's like an ache," she said faintly.
"A good one or a bad one?" His soft voice wrapped around her brain.
"A good one...but there's no relief."
He was silent for a minute. "What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked her finally.
"I thought I'd relax by the pool," she replied, as the spell was broken. "Is that okay for me to do? I never remember what employees can and can't do."
"Yes. No problem. I'll just get out my binoculars."
*****
Kim was about to peak, when he quit thrusting. "Don't stop," she whispered, "please."
Tony pushed himself up by his arms. "I think I'll quit for a while."
But he made no move to pull out, just looked down at her, grinning.
"You're such a tease," she told him, "you know I'm just about to go to outer space and you stop like that."
"It just makes it better. We found that out last night. Besides, what do you say?" He kissed her, with his lips lingering on her mouth and his tongue thrusting in and out of her.
"Please," she whispered frantically, "now."
He lowered himself, and kissed her neck then slowly began moving with her. "I love your hair," he said softly, "and your little wiggling ass in that goddamn mini-dress. You turned me on. I had a hard-on the whole night, now you have to pay." Again, he stopped, laughing this time.
"Okay," she said loudly, "I'm putting out a hit on your ass. I'll hire me a hit man to get you."
He quickly turned over and brought her on top of him. "Ah, that's what I need. Your hair all over me." But he still didn't move inside her.
"Bastard."
"Bitch."
"Come and get it. If you can, that is."
That set him off and he thrust deep within her, again and again, until both of them were spent.
Chapter 9
Matt checked in. "Base, ten-eight on two."
Candy checked in after he did. "Base, ten-eight on two."
"Base out."
The two guards walked slowly down the casino hallway, checking everything from stairwells to partially opened doors along the way.
"Had a 390 earlier," he told her.
"What else is new?" she replied, "Once a drunk, always a drunk. Anyone I know?"
"That little piss-ant Smithson."
"Christ, not him again. Did you have to wrestle him down?"
"Nah, the wife was with him this time. She convinced him to leave."
"Poor thing. You gotta feel for her being married to a degenerate gambler." She opened the stairwell door, looked up and down then they started back down the hallway.
"Man, my feet are killing me," Matt said.
"Yeah, I hear 'ya. Mine are about swelling out of these shoes I'm wearing." But, suddenly, she put her arm out and stopped him. "Hear that?"
"No. Wait, yeah...where's it coming from?"
The screaming grew louder, and they drew their guns. "It's room 210," she whispered.
They approached the door, and he stood on one side as she stood on the other.
"Base," he said into his clip on radio, "We have a 415 on floor two. Need additional back-up. Room 210."
The manager of housekeeping hurried up to them seconds later, having been well drilled on this type of situation, and handed them the passkey.
Matt knocked loudly. "Hello? Do you need assistance?"
No one answered, while another scream sounded.
Candy nodded at Matt while he used the passkey and opened the door a bit. "Hello?" he said again. They went further into the dark room, still with guns drawn.
"No, you can't!" a woman's voice screamed. In a flash of white, she ran past them towards the stairwell.
Candy holstered her gun, and ran after her. "Foot pursuit out of room 210," she gasped into her radio. She caught up with Dani, who was trying to open the stairwell door. Pulling her back, Candy said, "Wait! What are you doing?" Then to Matt, "It's Dani," she yelled.
Teeny trudged up the hallway towards them. "What's the deal?" he asked Matt, while they both walked towards the stairwell.
"Don't know," Matt said.
He saw Candy wrestling with Dani.
"Dani, hey!" Teeny yelled. Then as he finally reached her, he grabbed her arm.
She turned and pulled with all her might, and punched Teeny in the eye. She looked wild and her eyes were glassy now, as Teeny cursed and stepped back.
Candy shook her. "Wake up!" she shouted. "Dani!"
Dani slowly came around, looked here and there as if to assess her situation. She was aware now that she stood in the hallway with just her white nightgown on. Then her eyes rested on Teeny.
"Oh," she said with her hand on her mouth. "Oh my God."
"Hey kid, you got a knock-out right punch," he said as he massaged his temple.
"Base, ten twenty-two last transmission," Candy radioed in.
Too late to stop the reinforcement guards, so she signaled them at the end of the hall to stop.
"You checked the room?" she asked Matt.
"Yeah. Nothing there."
Candy put her arm around Dani, and led her back to the suite. She thought the dancer still looked a little out of it, while she led her to the bed.
Dani fell asleep immediately, and Matt stood in the doorway. "What do we tell Scaletti and security?"
She sighed. "The truth. What else? Call security now, but wait until morning on him. He'll go ballistic."
And, the next morning, he did. His eyes were flashing grey as he questioned Robert the head of surveillance who sat in front of him at his penthouse desk.
"What the hell happened last night?"
"From what I can surmise, she had some sort of nightmare. When the guards let themselves in, because of the screaming, she flew past them towards the stairwell. Candy caught her, but she just wouldn't come out of this trance she was in. Teeny walked up and she decked him. Then she seemed to realize a little bit where she was. I brought the recording. You can see for yourself."
They played the scene. Scaletti watched inte
nsely, as a half-wild Dani ran past the guards. "There, stop it," he said. "Teeny grabbed her arm, you see that?"
"Yeah. They were all just trying to calm her down."
After the recording was done, Al sighed.
"Any orders for future episodes?" Robert asked.
Al looked at him with hard eyes. "I am to be called immediately. Understood? Call down and tell Robinson for the guards. Tell your crew also."
"Yes, sir."
After he'd left the penthouse, Lefty and Teeny came in Al's office.
"So let me see your shiner," Al said to Teeny.
"'ey boss, she did a good job." His eye was a bright purple color.
They both sat, and Al said, "What were you doing on the second floor at that hour in the morning?"
Teeny shrugged. "Just hikin' around, boss. You know I like to check things out, make sure everything is okay around here, stretch my legs, you know?"
Al smiled, but then it faded. "Eyes will heal. But sometimes, people don't."
"She'll be okay boss," Lefty said, as he unfurled several newspapers in his lap. "Get a load of this." He plopped the first one on the desk in front of Al. "The Tattler says 'Where is Scaletti?'" And the picture was one of Dani dancing with Tony.
"And the others?" Al said tightly.
"About the same thing. There was more than one photographer here." Then he grinned. "She's gettin' popular. Here's one you might like."
Al looked at the picture and smiled. He was holding Dani on the dance floor and their bodies were tight together, almost intertwined. "Send the editor a dozen yellow roses," he said absently. "Where is she now?"
"We checked. Kim's with her in the lunch room."
"Send a dozen red roses to her. No, make it two dozen. A standing order every three days. And have the card say 'call me.'"
"Okay, boss," Lefty laughed, as they got up to leave.
"And Teeny," Al said, "as always, thanks for your patience my friend. I appreciate it."
"Think nothin' of it, boss," the big man said, smiling, "she's a real pip."
Romance in Vegas - Showgirl! Page 7
