Good Girl Gone Bad (23 page)

Bending over, she unhooked one of the garters while wagging her ass at the rabid crowd, then rolled the stocking down her leg until the top of her boot stopped it. She unzipped the front of the leather, revealing her long shapely leg. Kicking off the shoe, the flimsy stocking fluttered to the floor after it. The men erupted wildly. Bills flew from wallets to the stage and more followed when she undid her garter belt and revealed her other leg.

Siren slipped on a pair of heels, dancing only in stilettos, a G-string, and bra. Her skin glowed with a sheen of perspiration, her smooth muscles moved in perfect synergy. She was the most exquisite female he’d ever encountered.

And during her entire dance, she only had eyes for him.

Ty gulped and yearned to have that gyrating body beneath his as he pounded into her. Like every other man in the room, he waited with bated breath for her to take off her bra. She swirled and swayed, grabbing the pole and arching her back into a C as she hung onto it. Her free hand trailed across her cleavage, down her flat belly to her hip. As she came up from her downward spiral, she reached up to the front snap of her bra.

Despite the driving beat and volume of the music, every man in the room caught and held his breath. Except one asshole. Unable to control himself, he jumped up onstage. Just as Siren leapt forward and caught him in a leg sweep, sending him on his ass, a dozen other men surged onstage. Ty leaped up and grabbed Phil, pushing her toward the back of the stage and into Micki’s frightened arms.

Then all hell broke loose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

T
y shouted to Reese to call 911. Bedlam reigned for less than ten minutes before every person, other than employees, was escorted, dragged, or kicked out of the club.

By the time Phil put on her street clothes and elbowed her way to the bar, Ty and the boys in blue had cleared out the rioters, but reporters had swarmed like vultures over road kill, in Phil’s mind, not much of an improvement. They were probably lying in wait for something like this.

Both she and Ty made every effort to stay out of camera distance. Phil smiled when Jase shuffled by, smoking a cigarette like a joint and mumbling to himself. He played the stoner well.

Micki hurried up to her, Tammy hot on her tail, and yelled over the low din, “Nice job up there, Kat. Plan on permanently filling that spot. I’ll let Bud know he needs another cocktailer.” She handed her a bulging paper bag. “Here’s your booty call for the night.”

Phil raised her eyes to Micki’s. “My take?”

“Yep, I cleared the stage for you. You get what those losers throw at you, you know.”

She’d forgotten about the wads of bills thrown onstage.

“Don’t forget, your spot is ten o’clock. By the way, I like the mask. Good gimmick.”

Micki gave her a thumbs-up, then pushed her way past several uniforms toward the old bartender.

Phil blinked. Just like that? No choice, just “you’re on at ten”?

“Are you all right?” Tammy asked.

Phil nodded. Yes, she was. She’d been terrified to get up on that stage, but seeing Ty, focusing on him, and knowing he would protect her, made it easy to dance.

“You did a great job, Kat. See you back onstage tomorrow night. Welcome to the dressing room.” Tammy squeezed her hand before she hurried past her.

Phil shook her head and groaned. Her elbow stung from her near-death experience and her feet were once again throbbing. But she’d be damned if she’d barter for a foot rub with Ty. She shivered, seeing in her mind the way he watched her dance. He had her undressed before she slid off her first glove. Candi had told her to make eye contact with one or two guys and pretend like she was dancing only for them, so they’d cough up their whole wallet. Choosing Ty had been instinctive, for a lot of reasons. She didn’t want to admit it because that would mean she had feelings for him. Feelings she desperately wished she could ignore.

The mask was a last-minute decision, one she was grateful she’d made. It gave her power and an unexpected perk. Her inhibitions flew out the window. She loved the way the men hung onto her every move. And she basked in the knowledge that Ty wanted her.

“Are you okay, Kat?” Candi breathlessly asked.

“I’m fine. Sorry you didn’t get to go on tonight.” She felt bad; Candi had a baby to feed, and she didn’t want her stealing. She handed Candi the bag Micki had given her moments before.

“Here, Candi, for Lola.”

Candi gasped and stepped back. She shook her head. “I couldn’t take that.”

Phil smiled and noticed how Candi’s eyes kept darting to the bag. “Well, I can.” She pushed the bag of bills into Candi’s huge tote. “Next time I need something, you can help me out.”

Candi’s eyes moistened and she dragged the back of her hand across her eyes, smearing her mascara. “Thanks, Kat.”

Her gaze flickered over Phil’s shoulder and in a flash her demeanor flipped. Her breasts shot out and a smile lit up her face.

Phil stiffened. There was only one person that could turn Candi on so brightly,
and,
Phil silently moaned, her, as well.

She felt his body heat behind her and her skin reacted, goose bumps flash dancing across her skin.

“Look what Kat gave me, Ty. Her tips for the night.”

“What a good Samaritan. Make sure the house gets its cut before you go.”

Phil stiffened. Slowly, she turned around. Her nipples scraped Ty’s chest. They both reacted, Phil stepping back and Ty grinning like a hyena. “The stage is back there,” Ty said softly.

“You give yourself too much credit, Mr. Masters,” Phil snapped.

“Do I?” He cocked that damn brow of his and Candi coughed behind her.

“Ty, are you ready?”

He scowled. “Ready for what?”

“You know, my place?”

His scowl deepened. “No, I have too much to take care of here.”

With a curt nod, he strode past them both. “What a jerk,” Phil muttered.

“He’s not, really,” Candi defended. “He’s just stressed right now.”

Didn’t Phil know it. Accused of murder, trying to find three missing women, one a fellow officer, all the while pretending to be someone else. Her mood softened. Okay, maybe he wasn’t
that
big of a jerk, but he was still a jerk.

“I’m out of here, Candi.”

Phil strode to her dressing room, which was not much of a perk, but at least she had her own dressing area and clean toilet. Grabbing her duffel bag, she hoisted it over her shoulder and headed out the back door.

“Hold up, Kat.”

Ty trotted up to her. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

She shrugged, turned back toward her car, and started walking. The balmy night air felt cool after the stuffy heat of the club. “Home,” she called over her shoulder.

Ty grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. “I told you I would see you home. I need a few more minutes here.”

She yanked her elbow free. “I’m not a child, and I know the way.” Emotions collided again. She’d felt Ty only had eyes for her tonight and she for him. Up onstage she’d felt a connection with him. His eyes never once left hers.

Her gut churned. Then there was Candi’s reminder to Ty about going back to her place, which had struck her jealousy bone. Phil hated that it bothered her. She wanted to believe Ty when he said he wasn’t romantically involved, but it was hard with the sexy little bombshell following him around like a lost puppy.

“Just leave me alone,” she pleaded.

Hurrying away from him, Phil jumped into her car and sped away. She needed time to think, to get a grip on her emotions. Too much was happening too quickly and she wasn’t sure who she was or what she stood for anymore.

When she pulled into her driveway, Ty was hot on her ass. Damn him! He must have broken speed records to catch up or his business didn’t take long. She jumped out of her car and ran to her front door. If she could just get in and close the door.

She pushed open the door.

“Stop playing the good safe cop,” he called to her.

She entered the house, but his words were too taunting to ignore. She whirled around, her cheeks heated. “What do you mean by that?”

Ty sauntered into the house. He closed the door and carefully locked it behind him, purposely taking his time. He smiled. He liked her this way, all hot and bothered. He was going to push her buttons all the way into the bedroom tonight.

Her chest heaved in indignation and she dropped her duffel. It landed with a heavy thud.

“I’ll have you know,” she stammered, “I’ve lied, skulked, and thieved more since I met up with you this last week than I’ve done in my entire life. Don’t give me that ‘good safe cop’ bullcrap.”

“You want to be bad. I see it in you every time you strap on a G-string.” He moved closer. Her eyes narrowed and her chest fluttered. “C’mon, Phil, admit it, it’s no fun being good.”

She backed away. “Life isn’t all about fun.”

“You’re too serious.”

He stalked closer, his nostrils flaring as her sexy scent filled his senses. “Be bad with me.”

“I-I can’t be bad.”

“Yes, you can. Bad girls have no shame. Bad girls have fun. And you were shameless onstage tonight. How did it feel?”

The pulse in her throat leaped against her skin. He ran his fingertips across her skin there. She shivered. Slipping his finger under her shirt, he nudged it down her shoulder, revealing her collarbone. He ran his fingertip across the indentation. Her nostrils flared. Her craving for this man was becoming an obsession.

“It felt good.”

“It looked good. Let me make you feel good.”

His proposition titillated her senses. She knew there were hundreds of ways he could make her feel better than good.

“I can play Kat for you,” she whispered, “all night long.”

He brushed his lips against her collarbone and she moaned. Slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her hard against him and pushed her back up against the wall. “I don’t want Kat. I want Phil. Uncensored. I want Phil’s nails in my back.”

Phil moaned again, arching against the hard heat of him. Her pussy throbbed and she wanted to rip the clothes off both of them.

Everything her parents told her ran through her mind. Bad girls were dirty, bad girls were shameless, bad girls got pregnant, bad girls were not respected, bad girls couldn’t hold their heads up, bad girls were bad, bad, bad.

But she was a woman now, a woman who could make her own decision on the definition of bad. She smiled. Ty was right, safe good cop was boring, no fun. It took too much effort. It was time to let her hair down and experience sex on her terms, with the man she chose. And she chose Ty, right here, right now.

Ty’s mouth clamped down on one of her straining nipples, and she gasped, arching against the delicious tension of his lips. He sucked through the fabric of her shirt. “Oh, that feels so good.” She didn’t recognize the throaty voice as her own.

Bad girls might be everything her parents said they were and a whole lot more, but they’d forgotten a few things. Bad girls had all the fun, bad girls had orgasms, and bad girls announced it to the world. Just like Kat. Kat was bad, she wasn’t troubled, and Kat didn’t care. Phil liked Kat.

So what if she enjoyed sex? That didn’t make her bad or good. It made her human, womanly. And for the first time in her life, she found a man who she knew instinctively would respect her sexually. He told her before he wouldn’t hurt her and she believed him. She was a virgin in so many definitions of the word.

“Show me bad, Ty.” There, she’d said it. She’d taken the plunge. Exhilaration flooded her body.

He growled. His hands pulled her shirt down, baring her naked breasts. He ravaged one, then the other. His passion for her overwhelmed her senses. She wanted more of him. She clamped his head to her, arching against him, wanting him there and between her legs. Jutting her hips against his, Phil moaned low, wanting him to strip her naked.

Ty’s hands caressed her breasts while his mouth pillaged them. His hot breath assaulted her cheeks. “Tell me what you want.”

She showed him instead, pressing her hips harder against his. He dug his long fingers into her hair, pushing her head back against the wall. His dark green eyes bore into her. His nostrils flared, his face hardened in passion. “Tell me,” he demanded.

Heat flushed her cheeks. She couldn’t
say it
.

“Say it,” he urged.

There was the good way, “please make love to me,” or there was her new bad way. “I want you to fuck me until the cows come home.” Exhilaration flooded her as the words erupted from her lips. Emancipation! She felt like she could fly.

Ty’s chest rumbled and his words titillated her beyond comprehension. “There isn’t one cow in this damn town.” He nipped at her neck, biting down on her flesh. “So you’re stuck with me for a while.”

“Wait!”

“What?”

“Do you like me? At least a little?”

His eyes burned hot and he smiled. “I like you enough.” He cupped her breasts in his hands, thumbing her hard nipples. “Now shut up and strip.”

Phil pulled her shirt off and hurried Ty along with the buttons on his. Unable to unbutton the damn thing fast enough, she pulled each side and yanked hard, sending buttons bouncing off the walls. He grabbed her against him and just when she thought he was going to kiss her, he sank his teeth into the small of her neck. She screamed. He released her and they both fought to drag the other’s pants down their thighs.

Phil kicked off one pant leg, then Ty yanked off his.

In one swift motion, Ty slipped his right arm around her waist and hoisted her against the wall. Phil slid her legs around his waist. Leveling herself, she wrapped her right arm around his neck, and with her left, pushed his boxers down.

The hard heat of his cock pressed against the soft inner skin of her thigh. Fear mingled with her excitement. For a startled second, Phil wondered if she was capable of taking him all in.

“I won’t hurt you, baby,” Ty murmured against her temple. “Just relax.” Her thighs loosened their death grip around his waist. Her hips tilted back. The broad smooth head of his penis gently pushed for entry. Her slick folds lubricated him. He groaned at the contact. Phil arched her back, shoving her breasts in Ty’s face.