by Ellen March
It was a reasonably short drive through a tangle of twisting lanes before they arrived at the Orangery. The directions were easy to follow. Cato glanced up at the huge place and then around the grounds. There was ample foliage, several cabins, and a mass of trees. He thought it resembled a holiday camp with an expensive house taking centre stage.
Hopping out, he grabbed his sister’s holdall and started hauling it toward the main house.
She didn’t budge.
Usually she was chatty, launching a non-stop verbal assault that would fry his brain. However, for the duration of the short drive, she’d remained silent. He knew she was fretting over the future.
Finally she set foot outside the car, ever so slowly, and they entered the lobby. Savannah was dragging her feet and lurking behind him, still sulking. They were standing in silence, taking in their surroundings, when a door opened and a large, dark-haired male moved towards them.
Cato sucked in his breath and puffed out his chest. He couldn’t deny the man was seriously hot. He was a massive mountain of bulging muscle.
Micah’s dark gaze took them in. Charu had mentioned that the cleaners would turn up in the morning, and he glanced at his watch. It was rolling on for noon. His attention turned to the scruffy, overweight woman. “And you are …?”
“None of your business,” muttered Savanah irritably, without looking up. She was still annoyed at her brother for abandoning her so callously.
Eventually she raised her head to wrap her gaze around a dark-haired apparition, convinced she’d died and gone to heaven. Did men this sexy actually exist? She had always doubted it but couldn’t deny she was finally looking at one.
Micah arrogantly considered her and raised one finely arched dark brow. She was a mess on legs, yet there was something provocatively earthy about her. Surprise registered on his face when his shaft wavered and grew. He couldn’t believe he was getting a hard-on looking at her. “Then I suggest you leave.”
“I know what I’d like to suggest,” she mumbled beneath her breath, even though her pussy was gasping for relief, wanting what he could give. But, she guessed, handsome as he was, he’d have taste and wouldn’t look twice at her.
Micah didn’t miss the lustful stare from her male companion. “Unless, of course, you’re here to do the cleaning?” He swept a scathing gaze over her. “Are you?” For the first time he felt unsure of himself.
She shot him an evil glare. “Cleaner?”
Cato rolled his eyes and let her loose. He knew how his sister would react.
Savannah advanced. She resembled a rabid hedgehog, every inch of her primed and angry. Her eyes flashed and her breath hitched—each one was a struggle. She stopped right in front of him, straining her neck to look him in the eye. He was very tall.
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” Her finger jabbed his chest, bouncing off the solid steel of muscle.
“Your worst nightmare, you keep hammering those nails into me,” he snapped.
“Really?” Savannah wasn’t fazed, but as she glared up into his dark eyes, she wondered if she’d been dropped into the ocean. The colour reminded her of every shade of the sea in its most vivid intensity. These eyes were wild, deep, and so incredibly lush.
Afraid to look down, she concentrated instead on her temper. Because he was one seriously sexy guy. Even his lips beckoned, and she licked across hers and swallowed.
Micah tried to keep his anger fuelled instead of giving in to the reaction that was exploding though him. Hot, sweet loving sprang to mind. Again he spared a glaze of interest over her.
She epitomised everything he disliked in a woman physically. Her straight hair hedged around her shoulders whilst her body called to mind images of old art. Sexy, swollen, voluptuous women draped over chaises longues. His eyes dropped to her breasts, their scrumptious roundness that he suddenly craved to hold and suckle on.
Savannah continued her assault on him. “Well, let me tell you, I’m no cleaner.” Jabbing another finger against his chest, she suddenly found it clamped in a large hand. He towered above her, and his stormy blue eyes blistered over her furious face.
“I told you to quit hammering those nails.”
Wearing an amused smile, Cato leaned against the dark panelling. His sister didn’t need any help. Instead he blatantly admired the dark Adonis attempting to go up against her.
He might be good-looking, but he didn’t have common sense.
“I don’t take orders off you; now let go.” She tried to yank her hand out of his steely fingers.
“I will, once I’ve shown you the door. Now, out!” He started to walk towards it, all but dragging her with him.
Micah noticed the blond man remained leaning casually against the wall. His face was serene, whilst a smile hovered over his lips. He wondered why he didn’t help the woman.
He would soon find out.
Savannah latched onto his hand. Her teeth bit in deep whilst her leg came back and she released a vicious kick against his shin.
Micah yelped in shock, trying to shake her off. But she hung on with the tenacity of a pit bull. Christ, he was expert in mixed martial arts, yet he was fighting with a she-devil. “Will you get off me, woman?” He snatched at her hair, tugging hard till she released her rabid hold.
A thin line of blood dribbled down her chin and her eyes burned black over him. Micah dropped his gaze to her lips, and he experienced the strangest urge to suck on them. Then shook his crazy thoughts away. He released her, stepping back to examine the bite. He wondered if he’d need a tetanus jab.
“Lady—and I use that term loosely—you either walk out or I pick you up and throw you through the goddamn door!” he yelled.
Savannah faced him defiantly, hands on her wide hips. Then she pushed her shock of hair back, reached out, and beckoned with both hands. “Come on then, asshole, just you try it.” She was spitting mad. This was so not what she’d expected in her new home.
A door opened and Micah glanced towards Charu, slinking towards them. “What’s going on here?” She paused and glanced among the three, then noticed Micah cradling his hand. She arched a quizzical brow.
“These,” he indicated with his head, “are just leaving, aren’t you?” Micah’s gaze burned over the woman, who still hadn’t moved.
“Like hell I am. Now back off,” Savannah threatened, her blood still boiling. Along with another emotion when she stared at his lips. Then made the mistake of looking down, and a red flush stained her face.
Micah knew she’d spotted his lazy lob and cursed beneath his breath. He didn’t know what it was about this feral female, but she was hitting all his buttons.
Charu had a strong feeling about this woman. “Can I ask what you’re doing here?”
“Moving in.” Savannah’s gaze swept the giant of a man, tossing him a chilled glare at his snort. “As the new owner of this club.”
***
Micah sat in the vast kitchen, examining his injuries. A dark bruise was already colouring his leg, whilst he’d washed the blood off his hand and was busy sticking a plaster on it.
He was livid. No, he was more than that; he was killer-furious that the spitting wildcat had gotten the better of him. Also that for some unknown reason his libido was reacting to her. Micah put it down to the fact he’d had no sex since arriving a few days ago.
He’d soon got into the swing of things, his duties first and foremost to turf out unwanted trouble. His biggest problem had been dodging the frisky Charu. No way could he forfeit his bet by bedding her—much as he wanted to. He’d even resorted to locking his bedroom door at night. To stop temptation and Charu from raiding his body.
Micah decided his reaction to the insane woman was because he was being forced to abstain from sex. That it was his first taste of a dry season. That was all it could be, he reasoned. No way did he go for scruffy, overweight women. His women were always immaculate, dressed to the height of fashion.
Also, above all, head turners.
<
br /> A wicked smile tugged at his lips. She was a head turner all right, but for all the wrong reasons.
When the slight blond man walked in, he looked up. Micah gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. Rightly or wrongly, he’d already decided he was gay. He had that pretty boy look about him.
A knowing grin rocked over his classically fine face. “I’m Cato,” the man said. “The woman you just tangled with is my sister, Savannah.” Sitting down opposite him, he indicated his plastered hand. “She’s a crazy bitch when she loses her temper.”
The news was no surprise to Micah. They were like chalk and cheese, totally different. “Is she always so hostile?”
“Only when pissed off.” He smiled as he observed his sister’s adversary. “She’s with the dark-haired woman now. They’re discussing this place.” He’d also unashamedly eavesdropped and heard about the policy of hiring only gay male employees. Cato eyed Micah speculatively.
“So how come she’s suddenly taken over the club? No one mentioned a new owner.”
Cato shrugged. He had to admit the man was hot. He debated making a pass, then thought of Callum and felt ashamed. “Discovered it was left to her, a godmother she didn’t know about,” he explained briefly as if it were an everyday occurrence.
“Are you both going to be staying here?”
“Why?” His interest was suddenly piqued, Callum temporarily forgotten.
Instantly Micah followed his train of thought and gave a slow, raspy sigh. “It’s a simple question, nothing else.” He didn’t want the man to think he was coming on to him.
“No, just Savannah, although she’s going to get upset.”
“Why?”
“We’ve never been apart, so expect tears and tantrums,” Cato said, then cricked his head. “You’re not gay, are you?” He hadn’t missed how defensive he’d been, and it wasn’t that he was in a relationship.
A small smile tugged at Micah’s lips. He shook his head. “Don’t say anything. That’s how I got my job—part of the requirements.”
“Yeah, I heard. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” He pointed at his hand. “How’s it feeling?”
“Not as hurt as my pride,” admitted Micah with brutal honesty. He also knew that if he kept his position he’d be seeking payback somehow.
Chapter Five
Savannah felt a deep, instinctive dislike for the woman before her. Apart from the fact that she embodied everything she’d always wished she could be. Yes, the mistrust went deeper. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she’d always relied on her perceptiveness, and it was on red alert as she sat opposite her.
The smile that filtered over Charu’s sugar-pink lips didn’t reach the frost of her eyes, which went to work on her, probing and invasive. She crossed a slim pair of legs, revealing a slice of bronzed thigh.
Savannah’s thoughts drifted back to the dark-haired man, the one it appeared worked for her. He was rude, ill-mannered, and far too sexy for his own good.
For his own safety she needed to remove him, or her enforced virginity would be at an end. Or at least that’s what her alter ego called slut said. Savannah herself didn’t have the nerve. Not that it would happen, because a guy like that would never be desperate enough to consider her.
Yet, never in her life had she seen a man that exuded his almost primal pull. He was pure male. Her thoughts crept back to the woman in front of her. Savannah would bet anything she was sniffing around him.
“I was surprised to discover Kitty had any living relatives.” Charu wasted no time going in for the kill.
“She didn’t.” Savannah enjoyed the shock that spread over the woman’s elfin face. It was too narrow around her chin, she decided, giving in to her inner bitch.
“Then how have you inherited it?”
“She was my godmother.” Savannah didn’t miss the frown that creased the woman’s forehead or the glint of something that looked like frustration. “I was named in the will and then months later … voilà.”
Charu held on to her frozen smile as she tried to stop her anger from running away. That was one possibility neither of them had thought of. If only that damn solicitor hadn’t tracked her down …. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but I run this place. I’m the manageress. Kitty was merely a sleeping partner, so to speak.”
“Sleeping permanently now,” said Savannah in her usual outspoken manner. “And as to running this place, it appears you haven’t been doing the best job.”
Charu’s face fell, her chin rose, and she wondered just how much this woman knew. “It’s the recession.”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Savannah, determined to know exactly what went on at the club. “So, can you tell me the type of clientele that comes here? What sort of place this is?”
“We have strippers here nightly. Then there’s Charlotte, the regular burlesque dancer. She’s a favourite with the crowd.” Charu paused, studying this mess of a woman. “And the clientele? Mostly male, unless they fetch a partner.”
Savannah tried to keep the shock from her face. She hadn’t expected that news. “And …?”
“Obviously the chalets out the back are for those that wish to stay overnight.”
Savannah digested this information. “So, it’s an upmarket knocking shop?”
“I wouldn’t call it that, but sexual dalliances do go on. Discreet, of course.”
“What about staff and Godzilla that I met earlier. What does he do?”
Charu gave a feral smile. “Micah is our security. He only started a few days ago. As for the rest, they come in nightly. The only ones residing here are yourself, Micah, and of course me.”
“Yeah, well, forget the man mountain, he’s out. I want him gone.”
“But he’s only just started.” Charu wasn’t letting him slip through her fingers. She intended to get to the bottom of him. Literally.
“Good, then, he hasn’t got used to the place,” replied Savannah. Tilting her head, she gave the woman a challenging stare.
“But it will mean getting a replacement, and that could be difficult.”
“Why?” Savannah knew bouncers or doormen weren’t hard to come by. She waited expectantly, correctly guessing the woman was either screwing him or wanted to. That only made her more determined to get rid of him.
“We operate a strictly gay policy here. No man’s allowed to work if he’s heterosexual.”
The words sailed over her. She couldn’t believe that he was denied to womankind. Then she thought of Cato, and guessed he’d be trying to pull him. “But why? And surely there are lots of gay bouncers?”
“It was one of Kitty’s weird rules that she insisted on. Obviously, as she was the owner, we had to go along with it. As to gay bouncers, yep, but try finding one on short notice.”
Savannah paused. He was still going.
Yet now that she knew he was safe from her carnal cravings, she calmed down. “Well, as I’m the new owner, we can forget that rule. From here on in, we go for heterosexual. So what time does this place open for business?” She tried to come across as confident, but wasn’t looking forward to seeing strippers. Savannah tried to hide her naïveté. She might be streetwise, but that didn’t extend to anything sexual.
Apart, she reasoned, from her trusty vibrator—Eveready.
“Around nine. It closes when the last one leaves.”
“Really? And yet it’s losing money?”
Charu merely pursed her lips and rose to her feet. “Is there anything else you want to know?”
This was all new to Savannah, and she wasn’t sure what she should be asking. Instead she decided to take a step at a time—try not to come across as thick. “Not yet, except … where will I be staying?”
“In Kitty’s old room.”
Savannah followed her, dragging the holdall, and tried not to scowl at the sight of Charu’s small hips swaying seductively. Shit, hers swung like a giant pendulum.
They reached a door, and Charu pushed it open. “This is i
t. I’ll leave you settle in and send Micah up.”
“Who?” She’d already forgotten his name.
“The man you want to fire.” With a slash of pink lips and the thinnest veil of hostility, she closed the door.
Savannah stared about the large bedroom. It looked as if time had stood still, with its old-fashioned furniture and patchwork quilt. She dropped her bag and hesitantly tiptoed around. Picking up a small, framed photograph, she stared at the face. Savannah wondered if this was the elusive Kitty.
A slight woman stood on a beach, a wide smile on her thin face. The wind blew through a shock of dark hair and bounced around her narrow shoulders. She looked happy and carefree. A glint flickered in her eye as she faced the camera.
Savannah wondered who had taken the shot.
It didn’t matter now, because she was dead. She placed the picture back on the dressing table. Glancing around the room, she was surprised to find no other photos. It was if anything personal had been removed. Odd. Savannah also wanted to discover more about her godmother, the connection between Kitty and her parents. There was so much she needed to know.
Moving to the bed, she sniffed at the sheets and was relieved to find them fresh, with no odour of moth balls. She’d been half afraid that the last body to lay in there had been her godmother’s.
Savannah crossed to the window, pulled the curtain back, and stared out. Disbelief spun over her face that this place was actually hers. She darted a glance over her shoulder, waiting for someone to run in, shouting, “Joke!” It was too surreal, too much to take in. One thing she was certain of: she’d get this place working, drag it out of debt and move it onto the ladder of success.
Even if she didn’t have a clue about running a club.
In business, she reasoned, as long as what came in exceeded what went out, they’d be pounds in. Much like her diet, she admitted with a lingering sigh.
A soft tap sounded at the door, interrupting her thoughts.
Turning, she watched as it slowly opened and Micah filled the doorway. Savannah was sure he’d grown—he was a giant of a man—and she roasted him with her gaze. She feasted on him, from the top of his cropped dark head across his hooded eyes and the sexy dusting of whiskers that grazed his chin. She snuck down farther. He was a perfect male specimen of hard muscle.
