by Lia Slater
She adjusted the light to dim and tried to relax. Private dances always made her nervous. Sure, she had a bouncer outside the door if she needed him, but there was always a chance she could get overpowered by some loony pervert.
In this case, it seemed the culprit was just a horny college student, but she still felt uneasy. Thoughts of Poppy putting her hands all over Kade’s body whirled through Ava’s mind. She supposed this was what Poppy felt like when the whole Jarred incident happened.
There. Now they were even. No more feeling guilty. Yeah, right.
“Lily.” Kade’s voice filled the room, and Ava spun around to see him walking through the
doorway, the top of his head almost touched the frame.
“What are you doing in here?” An annoying sense of relief overcame her. What did this man have that made her crave his mere presence?
“I saw you come in here. I was curious.” His eyes focused on the stage she was now standing on.
“What are you doing?”
“Somebody’s paying for a private dance. He’ll be here any second.”
His eyes narrowed and his jaw twitched. “He’ll have to find someone else.” He shut the door behind him and locked it.
Her heart fluttered with desire and fear at the same time. “You can’t do that. I’ll be fired and you’ll be arrested.” She covered her breasts with her hands, but that didn’t stop the goose bumps from rising on her skin.
“You were going to quit anyway, and I’m not scared of that pussy of a bouncer.” He walked up to the stage and plucked her hands away from her trembling bosoms, which were just below his eye level.
“Who said I was quitting?”
“Me.” His mouth parted and licked at her already aroused nipple.
A sizzle of fire careened down her core. “Kade, this isn’t a good time.” Her voice shook. “Really, I mean it. Why don’t you go find Poppy again?” Ava said the words but found herself running her fingers through his hair, breathing in his masculine scent. The idea of seeing him with another woman after the night they’d had together left a bitter taste in her mouth. Even if he was a jerk, he was her jerk...for as long as he was in town anyway.
“I’m allergic to weeds,” he murmured against her breast and then lightly blew on it. “When am I getting my private dance?” His hands slid up her thighs and wedged underneath the sides of her gstring. “With this thing off.”
The rattling of the door handle broke the sexual tension building up inside her. “Hold on a minute,”
she yelled.
“What’s going on in there, Lily,” Jarred’s voice boomed from the other side of the door.
“I’m having a personal problem.” She smiled at Kade. “Just give me a few minutes.”
Kade snickered and tugged her panties over her thighs and down her legs.
Jarred banged on the door. “Christ, Lil, why didn’t you use the goddamn bathroom for this shit?”
“Sorry. It’ll only take a second.”
Ava couldn’t control her quivering body. Or her mind, for that matter. She was jeopardizing her job, her only means of survival, for a moment of pleasure. Extreme pleasure if it was anything like the night before. But still, it was only a temporary fix. Kade would leave soon, and she’d have to deal with the aftermath of what yet another man had left behind.
“I’m going to need a little more time than that.”
He climbed back up her body. His tongue extended to lick her navel and then a spot between her breasts before reaching her lips.
“Sorry. If we’re going to do this, we need to skip the foreplay.” Never in her life did she think she’d say those words. But since meeting Kade, she’d done quite a few surprising things.
He smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her off the stage and to the loveseat.
There was more banging on the door, making Ava feel naughty and more sexually aware than she’d ever felt before. “Unzip your pants and sit down,” she whispered into Kade’s ear.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a fake drawl and then did as he was ordered, adding the extra step of slipping a condom over his hard length. She watched him with enthusiasm. The thumps on the door becoming meager background noise as the sound and sight of him preparing for her held all of her attention.
“Come here,” he said too loudly.
Jarred pounded harder. “Is someone in there with you?”
Ava lowered herself into Kade’s strong arms and straddled his lap. Their time was limited so she grabbed his cock and helped guide it into her wet pussy.
He thrust his hips upward, and tiny pulses of bliss tingled down her thighs and into her belly. The orgasm had already begun and she didn’t want it to stop. Tightening against him, she pushed off his cock and sat back down on him fast and hard. Kade threw his head back against the cushion behind him. His fingers dug into her hips, and she knew he was losing control. She smiled at the power she had over him and continued sliding her body up and down his thick shaft, squeezing and sucking him into her tender walls.
“I’m getting a key, Ava,” Jarred shouted, sounding furious.
Ava braced her hands on Kade’s shoulders as a burning fever built in her womb, coiling and tightening, surging through her thighs to her toes.
“Kade, I’m going to come.”
His grip on her hips loosened, and he brought his hands up to cradle her warm cheeks. “What did he call you?”
Overwhelming liquid heat poured through her, and she clenched down on his cock. Her body reeled from the sensation, but she held back a moan. Exhaling a long pent-up breath, she let herself relax as she nuzzled against his neck.
The euphoria didn’t last long. He grasped a stiffer hold on her face and forced her to look at him. His confused, angry gaze quickly yanked her back to reality.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him but didn’t really want to know.
“Is your name Ava?” His voice cracked.
She nodded. He’d heard Jarred, but she didn’t see any reason at that intimate moment not to tell her lover her real name. “Yes, it’s Ava Lureau,” she whispered and kissed his unresponsive lips. He stared blankly at her for a moment before picking her off his lap and setting her to the side. She watched him as he zipped up his pants and cursed under his breath.
No way. She was not going to put up with this crap again. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’m not a person who can be thrown away with the trash. I’m a human being, for God’s sake.” She stood up in front of him, but he wouldn’t respond with words or eye contact. “What is it? It’s not a fantasy anymore now that I have real name?” She watched for his next move, hoping his stone hard expression would lessen. “Say something,” she said softly, changing her tone. “Please.”
He scooped her panties off the floor and threw them at her. “Put ‘em on,” he grumbled and walked to the door.
Ava slid them on and wished she had more to cover herself with. She scanned the room for her teddy and saw it hanging by the door.
Kade picked it off the hook, scrunched the seethrough gown in his hand, and tossed it at her.
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “This whole thing was a huge mistake. I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what? That you were a selfcentered dickhead?” Ava shot back at him. “You’re so hot and cold, I don’t even know if there’s any warmth in that body of yours. Why did you come in here anyway? Did Poppy turn you down? Is that it?”
She was on a roll of fired up adrenaline and couldn’t stop. “She’s a smart girl. More than I gave her credit for. She knew a pompous ass when she saw one. Me?
I shoved away my doubts about you and just let you have your way with me. What kind of fool am I?”
Kade’s light turquoise eyes felt like they were cutting a hole in her heart from across the room.
“You should’ve listened to your intuition, Ava,” he said in a low voice and walked out of the room without looking back.
She wanted to run after him and
slap his smug face. If she weren’t a survivor, she might consider crying. But he didn’t deserve her tears. No one did. She slipped her teddy on and clasped it shut. Just in time.
Jarred stumbled into the room breathing heavily with a key in his hand. “Not your boyfriend, huh?”
He threw the shiny piece of metal toward her. It glinted against the dim light and landed at her feet.
“Get in the office. Now. We need to have a talk.”
After a moment of consideration, she nodded and followed Jarred to the owner’s office. She’d screwed up and there was no doubt in her mind she was going to be fired. Although being alone in a room with Jarred for any reason was currently on the bottom of her list of fun things to do. She might as well get it over with. At least that room had windows so she wouldn’t be completely separated from the rest of the club.
She stepped into the doorway, and he pointed at the folding chair in front of the desk cluttered with papers, a laptop, and a few smut magazines. “Sit.”
“I’d rather stand.” She took another couple steps in, only far enough for him to close the door. She heard it slam shut behind her, and before she knew it, she was hauled against the hard wood. His chest pressed against her breasts, and his hands held her wrists above her head.
Tattered blinds hung halfway down the window that looked out to the rest of the club, not letting Ava see if anyone was watching. What had she gotten herself into now?
“Look at me, Ava,” he said into her ear while crushing harder against her. His body wedged between her legs, spreading them apart. Shit. Now she couldn’t shove the palm of her hand up the bridge of his nose or knee him in the groin. But, goddamn it, if he tried to stick his tongue down her throat, she was going to bite down with all of her might.
“Let me go, Jarred. If I’m fired, I’ll get my stuff and leave.”
“I want to know what you did with your boyfriend in that room.” He leveled his cold, damp lips to her jaw line and licked a path down her neck.
She squirmed against him, sickened by his unwanted touch. She had vowed she’d never let another man hurt her like Zack had. And now here she was at the hands of yet another abuser. “I’m going to scream if you don’t let me go.”
“Go ahead. Nobody gives a shit about you.” He held tighter onto her wrists, and his slimy tongue dipped into her ear.
“No!” she screamed, using the only weapon she had left—her voice. “No!”
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled against her cheek as his knee rode higher against her crotch. “No one’s going to save you. You’re just a whore, opening her legs for any lucky son of a bitch who walks through the front door.”
He mashed his lips against her mouth, and she prepared to bite down.
But a knock on the door made him pause. “Go away. I’m busy,” Jarred shouted to person on the other side.
“Hel—” Ava began to scream but was silenced by Jarred’s hand over her mouth. With his other, he scrambled to grab both of her wrists again. But he failed.
Her hand was free, which meant she had a weapon. Remembering her self-defense instructor’s advice, she shoved her palm as hard as she could upward toward his nose.
Chapter Four
Kade shook his head as he unlocked his hotel room. Why did Lily have to be his target? It didn’t make any sense. She had blue eyes, not green. What the hell was Zack Moreno trying to pull?
“Hey,” Poppy called out from across the street.
“Hey, you!”
He turned to see the blonde standing outside the club door wearing that same skimpy outfit she had on earlier. What now? She waved her arms frantically with a panicked look on her face, making Kade take notice.
Cars honked as they sped past. Some slowed and stared at the woman in distress with her fuzzy boa whipping about in the cold wind. Kade hurried across the street, dodging and swerving around the mess she was creating.
“It’s not a good idea for you to stand out here like that,” he said when he reached her, not really sure why he cared. He was saying and doing a lot of unexpected things since Lily—no, Ava crawled under his skin and lit a match.
“Lily,” she started to say, with chattering teeth.
“Get inside,” he ordered. “You’re freezing.” He reached for the door handle, but she stopped him, moving in front of it. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Go look in the office. She’s in there with him.”
Her voice was calm, but her eyes were narrowed and serious.
“Show me where.” He pushed her out of the way and opened the door.
The rugged looking bouncer who always sat by the front door stood from his chair and faced Kade.
“Arm’s up. Spread your legs,” he ordered.
“We just did this,” Kade said but took the stance anyway. He understood the need to protect the women who worked at the club. Who knew how many scumbags walked in here on a daily basis?
Hell, Kade was one of them.
The man patted up his legs while Poppy slipped by them, retreating through a door by the stage.
“Where is she?” Kade called out to her, but she didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. What the hell was going on here?
He scanned the rest of the room, looking for any signs of disorder, but everything and everyone was just as it was when he left. Well, except the bouncer named Jarred was nowhere in sight. The man had fury written all over his face when Kade had passed him on the way out. Unfortunately, Kade had been too distracted to put two and two together. The son of a bitch better not have hurt her.
“I need to talk to the owner,” he said, thinking that was his best chance of finding Ava and protecting her from whatever danger she was in.
“Owner’s not in,” the bouncer said, patting under Kade’s arms. “But you can find his brother in the office. Last door on the right. The room with all the windows.”
“Thanks.”
Kade weaved through the maze of purple tables and clear plastic chairs until he reached the first window of the office. Ava’s muffled shouts made him stop in his tracks. He dipped his head down and
peered through the small space under the blinds, but couldn’t see anything other than a cluttered desk. Where was she? His body tensed as he walked to the door and listened. Nothing except the blaring music from the nearby speakers and the thumping of his own heart. He brought his hand up and knocked twice.
A man’s voice answered on just the other side, followed by Ava’s cry for help and the sounds of a scuffle. Oh, shit. He needed to get in there. He had to save her.
His pulse quickened as he brought his foot up and kicked the door once and then again. It swung open just in time to see Jarred holding his bloody nose with one hand and backhanding Ava across the face with the other.
She fell to the floor, and Kade reached for his gun that wasn’t there. It was probably for the best since he believed any man who struck a woman deserved to die.
Kade helped Ava off the ground. Once she was standing, she pulled her arm away from him and looked at him as if he’d been the one who had hurt her. An unwanted feeling of guilt bit into him. He may as well have been. He’d taken advantage of her and left without a second thought. When would he learn?
She rushed out of the room, and Jarred made a move for her. Thinking quickly, Kade shoved him full force against the desk, sending papers flying.
“Stay the hell away from her. If I find out you even glance her way, I’ll kill you.”
“Fuck you,” Jarred said through the blood running into his mouth. “Tell her she can be a whore somewhere else. She’s fired.”
“She quits.” Kade gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Men like Jarred needed to be put in their place, but it wasn’t worth sticking around to fight with the loser. He needed to find Ava to see if she was okay.
****
More angry than frightened, Ava heaved the dressing room door open. She wasn’t leaving without her clothes. Not when she had so few of them to begin
with. God, her entire life was in a constant upheaval, and she was sick of it. When was it going to get better? When were men going to stop trying to control her?
Poppy walked out of one of the stalls, and her mouth dropped open. “Did he hit you?” she asked as if it were a shock.
“Not until after I broke his nose.” Ava stopped in front of the blonde, letting her get a good look at the red mark Jarred had left on her face. Her entire left cheek was throbbing in pain. “He was going to rape me, Pop.”
“I don’t believe that. Jarred would never go that far. You probably just antagonized him.”
“Believe whatever you want, but just be careful, okay?” It was no use trying to warn a woman like Poppy—someone who had blinders on that read thisway to love and happiness all pointing to Jarred. Ava gave up after not getting so much as a blink as a response. She walked to the stall where her clothes hung.
Poppy followed. “Are you leaving?”
“I’m not sticking around here to find out what Jarred does next. He’s an animal.”
“Is that guy going with you?”
“No,” Ava answered with more force than she had intended. “I’m sure he’s going his separate way.”
“Really? Seems like he cares about you.”
Ava held back a laugh. “Kade cares for no one but himself. Trust me. He’s no better than the likes of Jarred.”
“I’m insulted.” Kade’s voice echoed into the stall where she stood, now completely nude as she prepared to dress in her street clothes. Poppy rolled her eyes at Ava. “Good luck,” she said and left.
Ava held her breath. Knowing he was so close made her ache for contact. Even though she despised him. Even though she knew he’d break her heart over and over until she finally got smart and told him no. How the hell was she going to turn off her own blinders?
A large shadow on the floor told her he was walking toward her. He stopped outside of the stall and leaned against it, staring her down. “You don’t think much of me, do you?”
She turned, letting him see her in full view. She’d rather have him staring at her breasts than scoring her with those intense eyes. “Have you given me a reason to?”
