Jezebel (9 page)

Shane didn’t bother
with watching the floozy scurry off. He had
bigger
fish to fry.

Properly sauced, Celeste was
in her element.

She flirted outrageously
with anyone who found themselves lucky enough to cross her path. She
wooed them, charmed them with witty banter and plied them with sexual
innuendo. And when they fell under her spell, begged for some kind
of commitment, mostly the overnight kind, she moved on to the next.

This was
her scene and she had complete control of it, even Shane. Celeste
smiled. She’d
made
him
long before he’d
started
dogging
her
trail
. In
truth,
he
was part of the reason why she’d flirted so outrageously.

Unfortunately,
many of her admirers couldn’t take no for an answer,
particularly a set of handsome number runners with ties to the Jersey
Shore. Taking on both of them was tempting, but to her overt
consternation they paled in comparison to Shane.

In her mad dash to elude
them and her confounding attraction for a man she would be best to
avoid, she ran into someone less appealing.

I
nstantly
recognizing the woman in white
,
Celeste stiffened. The last time she’d heard hide or hair of
Beatrice Gerard, she and her all-colored troupe
had
board
ed
a
freighter
bound for
Europe, taking Celeste’s fiancé, Ralph
,
with her.

Not yet
seeing her, Beatrice held
court
over
an
entourage of
a
half a dozen
or more. El
egantly
dressed in an evening gown with dramatic split sleeves,
h
er
exaggerated
movements caused the white silk to slide open
and
resemble
the wings of a moth.

Aside from Beatrice’s
finery, Celeste noted every single person in the woman’s
entourage. Thankfully, Ralph wasn’t one of them and
for
that
she
breathed a sigh of relief. After all these years, she still wasn’t
ready to come face to face with her former beau.

“
Is that you, Celeste
Newsome
?
Oui,
c’est toi
.
Ma Cherie
,
come here and give me a proper welcome.”

Beatrice
motioned for
her
.
She even had
the nerve to open and close her hands as if Celeste were a babe.

Was Beatrice privy to the
events from five years ago
?
W
as
this exuberant display simply a show
of
sympathy for
the
jilted fiancée left behind?

Celeste
strangled the bourbon bottle she’d pilfered from Hiram. S
he
absolutely
hated
pity
partie
s
.

But who
said she had to come alone?

CHAPTER six

Celeste
glanced
over
her shoulder and met Shane’s gaze. She even hit him with one of
those thousand-watt smiles that advertising
bigwigs
used to peddle
everything
from Coca-Cola to
RCA phonographs
.

Poor thing
.
He
bought
it
hook, line and sinker
,
practically
li
ghting
up like a billboard in Times Square.

Confidant she had him on the
end of her
line
,
Celeste
crooked
her finger, reeling him in. Everyone and everything faded into the
background as he stalked toward her.

Get a
grip, sister!
You
just charmed a dozen men without feeling a thing. This big bruiser
smiles at you and you get all fuzzy in the brain.

“
Care to do me
a
favor
,
lover
?”
she asked somewhat breathless when he finally stood over her.

“
Ask away
,
”
H
e
said i
t
in
such a
trusting manner, Celeste almost felt guilty
as she looped her arm through his
.
A jolt zipped up Celeste’s spine. His arm felt harder than a
rock

“
No time to explain,
D
addy
.
”
A
lready
in motion, with Shane in tow, Celeste stroked his arm. Of course, if
anyone
had
asked her
later if she’d meant it as a way to comfort him or to get her
kicks she might have been hard pressed to give an answer. The man was
made of steel! “I just want you to meet some friends
of mine
.”

“
You’re
going
to pay for this,
”
Shane snarled, but allowed her to pull him into her con.

“
Now
is this
any
kind of way to treat an old friend…” Beatrice’s
gaze jumped from Celeste to Shane. A consummate performer her
expression didn’t slip, her smile remaining precocious and
bright. “Speaking of friends, who’s
yours
?”

Afraid
Shane would
ruin her ruse, Celeste
rushed
through introductions
,
“
T
his
is the one and only “Sugar” Shane Brennan, the prize
fighter.” Celeste paused, allowing a rapture of ‘
ooh
s’
and ‘
aa
hs’
to filter around the table. “He’s training for a bout at
The Garden.”

The only
one who looked unimpressed was Beatrice.
“So…how
long have you
two
been
an
item
?”

“
Not long
.
”

Beatrice’s gaze jumped
back and forth between them. Celeste stiffened. Had she seen through
her little white lie? Expecting to be called on the carpet, Celeste
found herself confused by the other woman’s laughter. “And
here I thought you would still be carrying a flame for Ralph.”

Celeste laughed a little too
brightly even for her own ears. “Ralph is old news.”

Beatrice
cocked her head and eyed Celeste a little too long for comfort.
“
Interesting,”
she said, edging closer. “I assumed you two would try and
rekindle things.”

Even if
she desired it, would Ralph take her back? Was she up to even facing
him again? The very thought of it made her insides churn.
Even
her knees filled with champagne.

Slightly wobbly and
ashamedly lightheaded, she leaned into Shane. Thankfully, he seemed
to sense her quandary because he slid his arm around her waist and
took on her full weight.

She couldn’t still be
in love with Ralph could she?

Thankfully,
Beatrice changed the subject.
“Europe
was absolutely fantastic,
”
she
said
.
“
Everyone
welcomed
us
with open arms
and
I
wish
we could go back, b
ut
it looks like
we’re
staying.
Most
of us have
signed
up
for Mike Todd’s
The
Hot Mikado
.”
Beatrice’s eyes widened as if hit by an idea. “Countess
Vaughn has volunteered to host a welcome
home
party for the entire troupe. You should come
,
”
Beatrice
looked at Shane, “both of you.”

A
ready refusal on her lips
,
Celeste
opened
her mouth.

“
When, where and what
time?” With one simple question, Shane turned
her
misery into a two-bottle fury. That’s how many bottles of
scotch
Celeste
would need to cool off from his overstepping reach.

“
Thursday
a
fter
next. And
don’t worry about the time
.”
Beatrice leaned in as if imparting a secret. “I
t
’
s
an all-nighter
.
”

“
Well,
we
’d
love to stay and chat, but Trudy needed some help getting ready for
her
performance,
”
Celeste said providing them with an escape.

Beatrice’s
eyes widened in surprise and Celeste almost rolled hers. How the
woman missed the three-foot twin marquees out front advertising
tonight’s performers was beyond her. Still, Celeste allowed the
woman to play the ingénue. “Trudy’s performing
tonight,
c’est
vrai
?”

Celeste nodded. At this
point, any more verbal confirmation could result in jail time.

“
What about you,
Celeste? Are you booked? The last we heard you had an audition with
MGM. Ralph swore he’d see you on the big screen one day.”

Reminded
of the audition she blew by showing up so drunk she couldn’t
execute her trademark triple spins, beads of sweat peppered Celeste’s
upper lip. Suddenly yearning for a bottle of Wild Turkey and a quiet
corner to curl up in, she
slipped from Shane’s arm
s
.

She didn’t get very
far. Possessed of lightening quick reflexes, he clasped her hand at
the very last moment. Once again, Celeste gasped. Deliciously warm
and strangely comforting, his touch caused her demons to scurry for
cover. In turn, her confidence returned in spades.

“
I lost the part,”
Celeste replied with a breezy lift of her shoulders as if movie roles
came a dime a dozen and not once in a lifetime. “But there will
be others.”

Shane
didn’t give the other woman the opportunity to pry further. To
both of their surprise, he placed two quick pecks on Beatrice’s
cheeks then exchanged
polite
farewells
with promises to meet up again at her welcome home party.

Celeste
would savor Beatrice’s deer–in–the–head
lights look until the cows came home. So much so, she didn’t
care where Shane led her. With each step, she gulped in fresh air and
her head started to reel with clarity. For the first time in a very
long time, she liked the feeling.

Somewhat lightheaded, she
even allowed him to back her into a narrow hallway beneath the
stairs, leading to the second floor. The space provided a modicum of
privacy and an intimacy she’d been running from all night.
Overwhelmed, Celeste tugged on her hand.

To her
relief and mild disappointment, Shane let her go. Well, not exactly.
He blocked any hope of escape by placing his hands against the wall
at her back. She should’ve felt threatened or even pissed at
his audacity. Unfortunately her libido, fueled by a half a bottle of
top shelf bourbon, sang its usual tune. Her body temperature and
pulse increased exponentially. Her breasts felt heavy and that secret
place between her legs became moist and sticky.

Unable to
help herself, Celeste reached out and slid her hands over his
shoulders. He was so rock solid and masculine, he made breathing
difficult. Although he’d been a gentleman all night, he looked
like a man who took what he wanted. The thought of him taking her,
made the little button between her legs throb and the tone of her
voice dip to a seductive level. “You got me, Daddy. Now what
are you going to do
?”
she asked, proud her voice didn’t
quake
like her insides.