Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  “Are you two enjoying yourselves?” Kandi asked.

  Skye responded in a loud, breathy tone. “Oh yes.” Eddie snickered. “I just can’t get enough.” Catching her own sexual innuendo, she elaborated to save face. “Of this place. I just can’t get enough of this place. Like the whole place. Not just the elevator…because…that would be a weird thing to…say.”

  Eddie squeezed her hip, and interrupted her with a kiss, letting her off the hook. He’d just banged her silly and found it hard to contain just how arousing that was. “It’s a great place you have here.” His accent was back — he didn’t even care if it was the right one. “We’re enjoying ourselves…thoroughly.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Kandi answered, none the wiser to the shenanigans she’d just walked in on. “It’s a pleasure to have you two here.”

  “A pleasure…indeed.” Eddie smiled. If only she knew how loaded that statement was.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Hold on.” Kandi raised a finger, pausing their conversation as she lifted her cell phone to her ear.

  The elevator made two more stops that took longer than necessary as a tourist group filled in the space and went from floor to floor. The noise from the chaos made it hard to make out what Kandi was saying, but Eddie and Skye overheard their names quite clearly as she aimed her emotionless stare their way through the extra people.

  Skye leaned in and whispered in Eddie’s ear. “We’re caught. Oh my God, I knew it. We’re caught. There must be another camera.” Skye looked up, then all around while paranoia settled in. She wondered if their offense was enough to have them searched and thrown in the back of police car.

  Eddie leaned in like he was peppering a kiss on her neck. “Calm down. We’re fine.”

  When the last of the extra guests exited the elevator, Kandi’s conversation became clearer. “Yes. I’ll just see if the Windsors would be interested. Give me a minute and I’ll be down there to help with Mr. Davenport.”

  A sigh of relief from both Eddie and Skye was muffled by the sound of the elevator doors opening on their floor.

  “I have a client due in any minute and we’ll be treating him to the headliner show tonight at the VIP table. Would you two like to join us?” Kandi asked. “Everything is comp’d, of course.”

  Eddie held the elevator door, letting Skye exit first. “Well, we did have plans…” he began, not wanting to sound too eager, “but I think we can switch things around. It might be nice to stay in. What do you think, sweetheart?”

  Skye gave the idea thought, playing the role perfectly, “Well, we were interested in seeing more of the amenities and offerings of the hotel before we talked to a broker about the timeshare option.”

  Kandi’s eyes widened. There was a bonus in this for her if she got them to commit to at least a conversation with the broker, a nicer payout if they actually signed a contract. “Oh! I didn’t know you were interested. That’s great, I can help you with that. Just let me know what you’d like to see and try out, and I’ll get you set up with one of our guest assistants to discuss the ins and outs. Sound like a plan?”

  “That sounds perfect, Kandi,” Eddie said, offering her a folded hundred-dollar bill. “Count us in for tonight. Perhaps you can bring an itinerary of sorts for us to peruse, maybe starting with the…spa?”

  “Sounds perfect. I’ll put you down,” Kandi said, all but jumping and clapping her hands. “I’ll book a spa package for tomorrow around…oh, say…eleven? All comp’d of course.”

  “Of course. How kind,” Skye answered. “Eleven sounds perfect.”

  Eddie stepped off the elevator fully, and they tossed up a quick wave as they ventured off to their room, the doors closing on Kandi.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Your people cleaned up on the floor tonight,” Cane said as he approached Charlie.

  “My people?” Charlie sensed Cane’s irritation and had a pretty good idea who her people were, but she didn’t like it when he was right about people and wanted to make him work for it.

  “The Windsors,” Cane added as he stood next to her, watching over the casino floor. “One hundred fifty thousand. In just a few hours.”

  “We see people walk out of here with far more than that. I think you’re being paranoid. When you place big bets, you win big payouts, O’Reilly.”

  “Seems they had a bit of an identity crisis too, but I missed most of that,” Cane admitted. “I’ll figure it out, though.”

  “Of course you will. It’s what you do.” She turned and patted his chest. “That’s why you’re the security dude and I’m the hostess. I keep them entertained and you keep them honest.”

  “They did enough entertaining on their own,” Cane sneered. “Elevator.”

  Charlie’s jaw dropped. “You watched them…you know…on the elevator? What’s with you watching…that. Do you have a camera in their room?”

  “No, it’s illegal to have it in their room, or I would. And no, I didn’t watch them. One of guys caught them on the camera.” Cane was obviously disappointed. “Unfortunately, that douchebag is good at this shit.”

  “Good at what?” Charlie was intrigued and thoroughly enjoying just how bent out of shape Cane was over this couple. “So, you did watch them get it on in the elevator if you know he’s good at it. You sound jealous.”

  “Jesus, Charlie. No. Not good at…that. Good at…being…a con. He’s a hustler.” Cane shook his head. The idea of this guy, Windsor, or whatever his name was, getting away with anything made his skin itch. “He stood just right — had his chick block the view. He knew what he was doing. He was taunting me while he finger banged his chick.”

  Charlie choked on her drink. “That’s what they were doing?” She laughed. “How could you, you know, tell?”

  “Audio,” Cane said, his cheeks turning a rare shade of crimson. “I guess she…you know…was a little noisy. While that pecker head just stared right into the camera, more than once. It’s like he was sending me a message.”

  “A message?” Charlie’s brow raised. “Like he wished it was you and not the girl? Was he flirting with you, Cane?”

  “You really think you’re funny, don’t you?” Cane turned to face Charlie, making the swollen vein protruding from his forehead now obvious. “I don’t think he was flirting or thinking of me. I think he’s challenging me. Showing off.”

  “Last I checked, O’Reilly,” her voice dropped to a sultry buzz, “you had your own personal bang buddy. Is that it? You’re jealous and want to try the elevator? I’d consider it,” Charlie teased, twirling her hair while her eyes grazed over him, head to toe.

  Cane’s mouth opened, but he didn’t say a word. What could he say back to that? He knew what she was doing. Charlie was trying to get in his head and distract him. Perhaps even making fun of him a bit. She knew the effect she had on him and used her powers for evil — often.

  “Well...”

  “Well, what? O’Reilly? Is that a no?” Disappointment filled her words as if she was starting to lose interest. “That’s fine. Probably would have sucked…” she hung on that word just long enough to make her point, “anyway. Boring, really.”

  “No. Not at all. I mean, it wouldn’t have sucked. I mean sucking is…good.” Cane washed his hands over his face in frustration. “Damn it, Charlie. I know what you’re doing. One, I’d gladly fuck you every which way to Sunday in an elevator — every fucking day, if you’d let me. Just not here. We work with the people on the other end of that video feed. Pick a different elevator. Two, stop changing the subject. You have a couple regular cons up there in one of the suites. For free, I might add. And they are stealing God knows what — identities, money, jewelry.”

  “Can’t you do your magic and turn off the cameras anywhere you want or need to? I mean,” she ran a finger down his chest, watching it rise and fall over each hard peak and valley, “I thought that was your…thing.”

  Cane shook his head at her. “My thing is keeping this place safe and free of people
like that asshole Phillip Windsor. And you better be in that elevator over there,” he nodded to the private elevator that led to the VIP levels, “as soon as you’re done with Henry Davenport tonight.”

  Charlie’s breath caught like she’d forgotten how to breathe. Before she could reply with anything but her shoulders back and chest firmly pressed against Cane’s, her phone rang, but she didn’t seem to hear it.

  “You going to get that?” Cane muttered.

  “The elevator…yes…later.” Stuck in a stupor, it took her a minute to catch on to what he was saying or recognize the buzzing and ringing in her hand. “Oh shit!” she shouted louder than was probably polite.

  Embarrassed, and clearly aroused, Charlie caught the call just in time. “Oh. He’s here?” Charlie straightened and brushed her clothes with her free hand like they had been already been rumpled in the little tryst she and Cane had been discussing.

  Pleased with the effect he’d had on her, Cane all but beat his chest in satisfaction. He’d worked her over and hadn’t even touched her. A good sign he was about to have a very happy ending now that Davenport had arrived. Cane’s mood had gone from a broody bullshit tantrum to a place full of horny butterflies and rainbows, all because of a dickhead in an elevator. Shit. Maybe this was the plan all along — this douchebag Philip was playing him. Somehow, this was all orchestrated by him. Cane would let it slide, though. The payout was going to be worth it.

  “Okay,” Charlie said into the phone. “Go ahead and see him up to the penthouse, Kandi. Let him know I have him booked for VIP at the show tonight and I’ll be up to make sure the room is to his liking and escort him down.”

  “Davenport?” Cane felt like a bucket of cold water had just been tossed his way after hearing Charlie’s side of the phone call.

  “Yep. He’s here.” Nerves overcame her for a moment; it was evident in her voice. “This is the biggest whale I’ve had and he asked for me personally. I hope I live up to whatever he heard about me.”

  “You’ll be fine. You’re good at your job,” Cane assured. “Keep your phone handy while you’re with him.”

  “Why? Booty call to the elevator?” she flirted.

  “Yes and no. I was thinking more along the lines of safety — in case you need me.” Cane wasn’t trying to scare her, but he didn’t want her to be too lax either. Cane was unable to dig up anything on the guy and still didn’t have a file on him. To soften the edge she was now wearing, he gave her something else to think about, “Then the elevator.”

  Charlie landed a jab to Cane’s eye-candy bicep and walked with him to the elevator. “Nice, O’Reilly. I’ll be fine. Check in with you later.”

  Arms crossed over his chest, Cane remained at the elevator watching her until the doors started to close. With her ankles crossed, she leaned against the back wall of the elevator, a hip cocked in a sexy display and her head to one side as she tossed up a slow and saucy wave until she was gone.

  As the numbers began to ascend, Cane stood staring at the gold tone doors, not ready to walk away from the woman who wasn’t even on the other side any longer. That feeling his gut seemed to want to cling to was ever present, and the burn was nagging at him. For some reason, Cane couldn’t help but feel like he’d just sent Charlie up to meet with the devil. Alone.

  ***

  Checking her appearance in the reflection of the mirror-like gold wall in the elevator, preparing to meet her largest client yet. No matter what she did, or how prepared she really was, nerves were nagging at her. Despite the speed of the elevator, this felt like the longest ride to the penthouse. Cane was getting in her head.

  His intentions were well placed, but sometimes Charlie felt smothered. It wasn’t entirely Cane’s fault; he was just doing his job. Though it was hard to do at times, she had to separate the job from the man. The job hovered over her and watched her every move and the moves of anyone and everyone around her. He was a protector. Her protector. She was his job.

  The man, however, equally protective, but the motivation was different. It came from some broody alpha place of possessiveness. Charlie would be lying if she said she hated that. Despite all she’d been through to land her in protective custody, stripped of her freedom in every way, she didn’t mind Cane O’Reilly being around every corner and always on her heels.

  Charlie craved her independence again. She wanted freedom to live however she desired at any given moment. To make love to a man without the boundaries her psyche forced, so her heart could be limitless. She wanted to live without the walls her past built so high around her that she couldn’t even face her lover. Cane. Would she want more from that man, should she be able to face her demons and overcome them? Who knows? The question was really irrelevant at the moment. Her hand had been dealt, and a monster had robbed her of everything she’d spent her life building — until Cane. It was like he was her do-over and Anson Deveraux couldn’t reach them. They’d beat him.

  Pulled from her thoughts at the sound of the ding as the elevator came to a stop. Charlie did one last turn to check her appearance before the doors opened to the penthouse level. She pushed down all of her wandering ideas about life on the run with Cane and centered herself with a quick you can do it pep talk as she stood outside the penthouse door. Nerves weren’t typically an issue when dealing with clients, but for some reason, today was a different story.

  This guy had more money than anyone she’d met to date — a lot more. He’d also asked for her personally so someone in his circle, who was still a mystery, had obviously recommended her. For some strange reason, that had her on edge. Something was rolling deep in her belly, triggering her instincts, making her near fearful. It didn’t happen often, but on occasion, she dealt with bouts of post-traumatic stress, though she always found a way around it. Going through a checklist in her head, she weighed every potential trigger so she could face it and conquer — she couldn’t knock, much less walk through that door until she did.

  It took a moment longer than she’d hoped, but when she landed on the last item on the list in her head, she paused. Are you safe? She pondered that for a moment. Was she? Of course, she was — Cane saw to that and was probably watching her at that very moment through the security feed on that floor. There wasn’t an inch of that hotel and casino where he couldn’t see her, couldn’t find her if he needed to. That gave her the much-needed confidence she needed to push down the unsettling feeling she had been evaluating.

  The man on the other side of the door represented power, and that was what scared her. She had become a victim because her attacker had taken her power away and held it in his hand for so long, stripping her of everything, albeit temporarily, that made her strong. Every now and then, she struggled with that idea, but despite being rich and powerful in his own right, the man on the other side of the door did not have the kind of power or desire to strip her of hers as Anson Deveraux had.

  Guilt replaced the anxiety as she thought how unfair it was to lump Henry Davenport in the same category as a notorious serial killer simply because he was a powerful man. A deep breath escaped Charlie as she let all the anxiety go, and even the guilt. She had figured out the source and worked it out. Now, she could move on. That was what being a survivor was all about — knowing how to conquer your fears and live.

  Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door opened, startling Charlie. “Oh, Kandi. I didn’t realize you were still up here.”

  “Oh, I was just…um…leaving,” Kandi said, straightening her skirt. “I was…uh, helping Mr. Davenport…with…stuff.”

  Charlie’s brow raised. “Stuff? Everything okay, Kandi?”

  With a quick swipe of her bottom lip, Kandi smiled. “Oh, sure. I was just giving him ideas. You know, things to do while in Vegas. He’s never been here before.”

  Charlie noted the mussed hair and crooked buttoning of Kandi’s shirt. She’d been helping him all right. Charlie was going to have to deal with Kandi fraternizing with a guest later. Right now, Davenport and ke
eping him happy was her priority — in this case, happy appeared to come in the form of Kandi if her appearance had anything to say about it.

  “Okay, then,” Charlie said. “I’m going to go ahead and take care of Mr. Davenport and his entourage while he’s staying with us. I’d like it if you would direct anything related to me and take over the Windsors and the others. Did you comp rooms for the people he’s traveling with?”

  “Oh, I don’t mind helping with Mr. Davenport at all,” Kandi panicked. “He doesn’t have an entourage, though. Just him. We seemed to…hit it off.”

  “I’m sure you did, Kandi, and I’ll remember that should I need any help with anything…specific,” Charlie answered. “Can you head back downstairs and make sure our other VIPs are taken care of…” Charlie winced at her own choice of words. “I mean…have everything they need?”

  Disappointment settled in the form of a curt nod as Kandi stepped on the nearby elevator, the doors closing behind her.

  Charlie let out a sigh and shook off the confrontation before stepping inside the penthouse. Her heals clicked against the marble foyer floor, past the booming fresh floral arrangement perched on a round table beneath a lavish chandelier. This level used to impress her, but it was nothing more than another room to her now — a big room — that was shiny and grand and bigger than any place she’d ever lived. But still, just a hotel room all the same.

  The foyer opened to a large open living space bordered with floor-to-ceiling windows from one end to another that boasted a spectacular one-hundred-eighty-degree view of the Las Vegas strip backed by the mountains in the distance. That’s where Charlie found Henry Davenport with a drink in his hand, looking over the city of sin, the one they say never sleeps.

  “Hello, Mr. Davenport,” Charlie started, Davenport with his back to her still. “I hope you find the penthouse suitable and to your liking.”

  The man stood still, not a word, just a simple, barely-there nod.