NorthernPassion (14 page)

Leesa spoke first. “No matter how many times I come up here,
the view always amazes me. This is such a wondrous city.”

“I would have been just as amazed from the ground,” Kimberly
retorted. “Heights freak me out a little.”

“I know.”

Kimberly bristled. “And you suggested this anyway?”

“Yes.” Leesa stared out at the view, almost unmoving.

“You’re such a bitch.” Her words were full of venom as she
searched for a reaction that never came.

“I make no apologies for the way I am. You could always have
refused. Besides, it’s a good place to meet. I doubt that anyone else from the
community will be coming up here anyway.”

Kimberly paused. Leesa was right. No one but tourists came
to the Eiffel Tower. If nothing else, they wouldn’t be seen together by anyone
who mattered. “No one else even came into Paris today.” Their community was on
the outskirts of Paris, but it was self-contained. There was practically no
reason to venture into the city unless you worked there and the people who did
generally left first thing in the morning, not midday as the two of them had.

“That we know of. Anyway, we need to talk about what to do
next. I told you those Comforts aren’t who we think they are. They saw Geneva’s
sister.” Her voice was strained, almost frantic. “Desiree chased her. They even
had a small altercation in the sub-basement of the agency.”

Kimberly spun around to face Leesa in shock. “What? What was
she doing there anyway?”

“Apparently she needed some research for her new business.
The one she is supposed to be starting.”

Kimberly narrowed her eyes. “And you believe that?” She cocked
her head. “You said you had it all figured out.”

Leesa took a few steps away. “Don’t talk to me directly.
Someone might see us.”

Kimberly snapped her head back around and played with the
telescope in front of them. She didn’t put any money in it but she feigned
using it anyway. “How do you define small altercation?”

“Apparently both of them can fight. As in karate-movie
trained how to fight. What husband-wife team can do that? What woman would
sprint after someone down flights of stairs and chase them into a dark,
unfamiliar basement?”

Kimberly shrugged. “I dunno. You never know about people.
Maybe Greta imagined it.”

“So, you think the bouncer imagined getting his ass kicked
too?”

Kimberly flinched. “Good grief. This isn’t some spy novel.
This is real life. No one cares about this shit but us. No one really cares but
you. You’re the one who cooked up this crazy plan to get Geneva sent back home
anyway. You and her sister.”

“Greta and I had a mutually beneficial outcome in mind.”

“Sure you did. Great for the two of you. She gets the
woman’s boyfriend and you get the husband. None of us counted on all of the
other people who might be hurt. No…” Kimberly practically hissed the last word,
“killed.”

Leesa didn’t appear to even be the least bit flustered. “Let’s
just call it collateral damage.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “You agreed
to help. And clearly someone does care. That Comfort couple, or whomever they
are, are putting their noses where they don’t belong.”

Kimberly contemplated this new information. “What makes you
think that? I still say coincidence. Maybe Desiree really is trying to start a
business here.”

“Don’t be naïve,” Leesa said. “Do you have any idea how hard
that is to do and how long it takes? And if it were true, it would be a helluva
coincidence they picked the one market research firm Greta is visiting on the
same day, checking on it, no doubt for her lover. She’s supposed to have moved
away. I supposed it’s also a coincidence Desiree and her husband defended
themselves like ninja warriors, right?

“She wasn’t supposed to be there.” Leesa mumbled her words,
not really speaking to Kimberly now.” She and that man were supposed to lie low
and stay out of sight.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Kimberly said,
shrugging. “I don’t even believe I let you talk me into getting involved in
your scheme. I fail to see why I should continue to help you get rid of Geneva.
You’re already in deep shit. This was supposed to be fun. Sex with no strings.
A more fulfilling sex life. No one said anything about any of this. What if
something else goes wrong? How many people are going to get hurt? Personally, I
have no desire to go to jail. Neither a French nor an American one.”

It was Leesa’s turn to get too close. Her face was red with
fury. “Don’t get it twisted, Kimberly. You’re in just as deep as I am. We all
are. We need to make sure the Comforts don’t do any more snooping around.
There’s too much to lose.”

Kimberly’s mind raced. How had things gotten so bad? She bit
her lip, slowly stripping the skin away. “This is some stupid shit, do you know
that?”

“Greta has to hold up her end of the bargain and stay out of
sight for a bit. At least until I can get Martin to agree to send Geneva back
stateside.” Leesa’s face was tense. She seemed distracted, looking out over the
city and Kim wasn’t sure Leesa knew she was there.

“I hope he’s worth all this. Tell me again why?”

Leesa gripped the side of the observation platform so hard
her knuckles were turning white. She sighed. “We want Geneva to be so
distraught Martin will send her back stateside. To her family or something. I
don’t care where.”

“She doesn’t seem distraught to me. She seems to be
adjusting just fine.”

“Something will break her. Rejection is a terrible thing.”

“I’m confused, Leesa.”

“I’m going to need you to keep up. She was in love with
Derek. He didn’t love her.”

Things weren’t getting any clearer for Kimberly. “So—”

“He couldn’t tell her he loved her sister. We made it look
like he was dead so they could be together—”

“And if you get her sent home then you will have Martin all
to yourself.” Kimberly crossed her arms in front of her. “And how do you know
Martin will want to be with you if she’s gone? He seems to be into his wife.”

Leesa shrugged. “Maybe. But Martin needs things. Affection.
With her out of the way, he’ll need someone to take care of his needs.”

“You do know fucking you doesn’t mean he loves you? All it
means is that he’s fucking you.”

Leesa’s head whipped around. “Don’t you say that. Don’t you
dare say that!” She spat her words at Kimberly. “I know he wants more from me.
When we’re together—”

“What, Leesa? He says you’re beautiful? Martin does that to
whoever he’s sticking his dick in at the moment. He told me I was beautiful the
time I fucked him. It’s the Passion Club he loves. Those words? They’re just
what he does.”

Leesa seethed with anger. “Don’t you dare demean what we
have!” Her voice rose above the whistle of the wind. A few people turned to
stare in their direction.

Kimberly was shocked by what she saw in her friend’s face.
What had first been just an interest, a wish, had now turned to an obsession.
Kim knew it was not realistic to think she could reason with an irrational
person. And Leesa was more than irrational. She was crazed. Kimberly also knew
she was stuck. Leesa was the one who made the deal with Greta. Leesa had the
idea she could make Martin love her if Geneva was gone. But it was Kimberly who
had cut the brake line. She couldn’t back out and she couldn’t walk away. She
was as guilty as the rest of them. Guiltier even. A heavy sigh escaped
Kimberly’s lips and was carried away by the wind. “We need to get the Comforts
away from the Passion Club and Geneva before it’s too late.”

Leesa nodded, her face lighting up. “Clearly.” Their eyes
locked. “Two more won’t matter.”

Kimberly cleared her throat. The others had been an
accident. “He was supposed to have been in the car alone.” She was already
numb. “Piece of cake.”

I CanCan

The huge windmill atop the Moulin Rouge cast shadows on the
waiting people in the early evening light, making everyone appear fabulously
dressed and mysterious. Desiree felt like a princess as she stepped from the
car. Sam held the door for her and she smiled, taking the hand he offered to
help her to her feet. She teetered a bit on her shoes as their eyes met.

There was mischief in his smile. “Good to know I still have
the ability to knock you off your feet, Mrs. Comfort.”

Just the thought of him calling her that still made her
breath catch in her throat. Whatever the next assignment was, it was going to
be hard for her to go back to being just Sam’s girlfriend, even if this was all
make-believe. “It’s the shoes, Sam.” The lie slipped from her lips as easily as
wet noodle. “This is a nice surprise.”

“We might as well do something corny and very touristy while
we’re here. And I get to see much boobage.”

“I know you didn’t just say boobage.” She took his arm as
they surveyed the crowd outside the famous cabaret. It didn’t bother her one
bit he seemed to be excited about the prospect of seeing a few topless dancers.
“The Moulin Rouge isn’t exactly known for its lap dances.”

“That’s fine. Actually, I was referring to the way your
dress hugs your curves. I don’t care about the boobage on strange women. Just
yours.” Sam’s gaze swept over her.

Desiree clutched Sam’s arm tighter. “Good answer.” And it
was. She knew his words weren’t entirely true but they made her feel good
nonetheless.

There were lots of cameras slung around necks. Almost all
the people waiting were foreigners, just like them. As they approached the
entrance, Desiree counted at least six different languages being spoken, none
of them English. No matter where they were from, the crowd was abuzz as they
waited for their adventure to begin. Even though it was well past its heyday as
a legendary cabaret powerhouse, the Moulin Rouge still drew crowds of tourists
to Paris’s eighteenth
arrondissement
for two shows almost every night.
People from all over the world wanted to see where the famous Josephine Baker
had made a name for herself. Back then, the cancan the club became famous for
was racy, today, it was just a spectacle for tourists. For Desiree, it was
romantic. She had been looking forward to their evening all day. She planned to
do her own version of the cancan for Sam later.

Of course they didn’t wait in line. Desiree held back as
smile as they made their way past the waiting crowd. Some girls fell for candy
and jewels, but not Desiree. A romance-filled evening did it for her every time
and Sam had no shortage of them up his sleeve. A bouncer ushered them through
the red velvet rope barricading the entrance to the club. Her cheeks burned as
a whisper went through the crowd. Sam didn’t mind waiting. He just couldn’t stand
lines. Or crowds.

He leaned down and put his mouth so close to her ear,
Desiree could feel the moisture from his lips. “They’re probably trying to
figure out which American celebrity you are. They’re going to start calling you
Beyoncé any minute.”

Desiree swatted at him playfully. “More likely, they are
about to get rowdy because we jumped the line.”

“Don’t worry about them. I got you tonight.” He put his hand
in the small of her back, guiding her into the building and toward the stairs
to the semi-private area reserved for VIPs and dignitaries.

There were only four other couples seated in their area.
Each of them had a booth fully separated from the others. Desiree eased into
the chair the waiter pulled out for her and noticed they had returned a velvet
rope to the entrance of the alcove they were seated in.

“If I want to, I can make our area totally private,” Sam
said, motioning toward a small button near the back of the booth. “And then we
will be able to see out, to view the show, but no one will be able to see
inside.”

“And why would we want to do that?” Desiree already knew the
answer to her question. The breath caught in her throat as she thought about
the possibilities Sam had in mind. Not only would their dinner and show be
semi-private, but they would have an almost unparalleled view of the show. Almost
everyone else in the place would be looking up at the stage and with the
privacy screen, no one near would be able to see them at all. Her breathing
quickened and she squeezed her knees together to try to contain the tingling
between her legs. Just the thought was delicious.

The people in their section would be at eye-level with the
performers and were slightly separated from everyone else, with their own
private exit. In the rest of the building, people were sitting much closer
together, with unrelated parties sharing tables. Sam and Desiree had a table to
themselves.

Sam slid into his seat and smiled. Desiree melted. “Thank
you for this,” she said. He’d obviously put a lot of thought into their
evening.

“No need to thank me. You should experience the best France
has to offer. I knew you’d enjoy this. Maybe you will show me how much?” There
was a glint in his eye. The lights dimmed and he lowered his voice. “The show
is going to start. I’ve already ordered your dinner.”

“I promise I’ll show you my appreciation later.” Romance and
mystery was a major turn-on for Desiree. She grinned. It was all she could do
to contain herself. They had things to talk about anyway.

Sam must have read her mind. “After the emcee talks, the
show will get louder. We’ll be able to talk then.” Any music would easily cover
their conversation. Desiree waited. Although Sam was sexier than ever and the
night promised to be magical, they still had work to discuss. She would like to
believe Sam was just being romantic, but Desiree knew part of the impetus for
their night out was the possibility a listening device had been installed at
their house. They couldn’t be too careful after their encounter at the agency.

The show was in full swing after about fifteen minutes.
Finally, Sam leaned into Desiree. His breath was hot in her ear. As he opened
his mouth to speak, Desiree slowly closed her eyes and then opened them again,
enjoying the feel of Sam so close to her. Slight fluttering took over her
chest.

Sam rubbed his chin with two fingers. “Have any idea why she
ran? Clearly, Greta didn’t expect to see you in that office and she didn’t
believe what you told the receptionist.”

A sinking feeling took over Desiree. Sam was in work mode.
She sighed. “People who are hiding something do strange things.”

He nodded. “True, but what do you think she was hiding?”

She shrugged. “A better question is, what is she was hiding
that not only made her lie about moving away, but take off running and then
have someone else try to protect her by attacking an unarmed woman? Think about
it. She knew I was looking for her and wanted to not be found bad enough she
was willing to have bodily harm done to me because of it.”

There was a slight lull in the music. “Clearly, they don’t
believe who we say we are. If they did before, our cover is now blown.” He
wasn’t really talking to Desiree at this point. Instead, he seemed to be
thinking through the options.

Desiree sat back in her chair. She wanted to know what the
big secret was too, particularly why someone had tried to use force to stop her
from connecting with Geneva’s sister. More than that, though, she wanted to
enjoy her night with Sam and was not ready to let that slip away as they put on
their work hats, at least not yet. “It may not necessarily be blown, but she
knows something is up. It’s obvious she has something to do with the other
man’s disappearance.”

The dancers on the stage broke into another number, gyrating
and lip syncing to a soundtrack all in French. They were topless, but without
American-style boob jobs. The majority of them had bodies very much like
fourteen-year-old boys. Sam barely seemed to notice. He had the look on his
face that meant he was trying hard to focus. Desiree watched the pulsation at
his temples as he clenched his teeth together.

She used to like when he got like this. It usually meant Sam
was well on his way to a breakthrough that might make their assignment very
exciting, but a breakthrough wasn’t what Desiree was looking for tonight. As
she watched, she couldn’t help it, but disappointment was setting in quickly.
Sure, they had a few loose ends, but tonight was not supposed to be solely
about work. She ran her fingers across his temples.

Sam jumped in response. “I’m sorry. You know how I get.”

“I do know.” As she spoke, she reached over and pressed the
privacy button. If she didn’t do something, all of the romance would be sucked
out of the evening. The door slid shut, making a swooshing sound as it closed.

Sam looked around quickly. “What are you doing? Our food
hasn’t even come yet.”

“I’m distracting you.” Desiree stood halfway up and leaned
her body across the table. “And I’m not hungry anyway.” She put her hand on the
back of Sam’s head and pulled him to her before he had the chance to protest.
He tried to resist her kiss at first, but he quickly melted and in no time
returned her passion. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to experience the
full depth of Desiree’s kiss.

“I’m guessing this means you don’t want to think about work
right now?” Sam was breathless.

Desiree kissed him again. “Not with as good as you smell. We
can think through all that stuff after the show.”

“No food, either?”

“The only thing I am hungry for is you.”

Sam needed no further prompting. He reversed his seat,
sliding beside Desiree. She shivered as he ran his hand up her thigh and thrust
his finger into her. “You’re a bad girl, Dez.”

Desiree gasped.

“You forgot something again, huh?”

“Who me? I think I’ve given up underwear altogether.” Her
faux coyness was only half believable.

“I believe I like straightforward Desiree. It’s sexy when a
woman takes what she wants.” Sam moved his fingers in and out of her, adding
another. She arched her back to meet his hand.

“A woman?”

“No, just you. This lack-of-undergarment thing could be bad
for us. How am I supposed to ever concentrate on anything again with that type
of knowledge? I’ll forever be wondering if you forgot them.”

Desiree moaned. “The only thing I want you to concentrate on
right now is me.” Her words came in gasps as she struggled to speak in-between
his thrusts.

Sam moved his thumb to her nub, moving his fingers faster
now, trying hard to stimulate Desiree both internal and externally. “You drive
me wild, Dez. I have a hard enough time as it is.”

She spread her legs wider, allowing him access, gasping for
breath as she tried to answer him. “I know what you mean, Sam.” Her voice
became low and gravelly. “I think I’m falling in love with you.” The feeling
rising in her was almost unbearable. He was driving her crazy.

Desiree waited for his response. If he had one, he kept it
well hidden. She realized it was hard for him to let go and hadn’t really
expected an admission of love. Sam liked control. Being in love and control
didn’t go together, at least not for Sam.

He leaned in to kiss her, thrusting his tongue into her
mouth with the same rhythm he moved his hands. Tingling rippled through her
nipples now as his scent took over her body. “I want you to come, Desiree,
right in my hand and then I’m going to bend you over and fuck you right here on
this table.”

Tension mounted quickly. His response was not ideal but
appealing nonetheless. She couldn’t take much more of this and wanted to come
just as badly as he wanted her to. “Fuck me, please. I need you inside me.”

Sam needed no more persuasion than that. “I love it when
you’re wet like this.” He withdrew his hand from her parts and smelled it. “You
smell good enough to eat, Desiree.”

“Please no,” she begged. “Not today. Don’t make me wait. I
want to feel you explode.” Sam was driving her crazy. Desiree turned her body
so her back was to Sam and braced herself on the table. “I want you to fuck me
from behind.”

“Say that again.” He moaned. “Since when did you become such
a dirty girl? I think I like what you’re learning on this assignment. As long
as I continue to benefit, it’s all good.” He put his hands on her hips, lifting
her backside slightly in the air, then thrusting deep inside her. He stopped
when their pelvises met and they both savored the feel of their bodies against
one another.

Desiree leaned on the table, looking through the window at
the performers beyond. She could hardly focus, but she made out the form of a
thin topless woman on the other side. She sang her heart out and gyrated as she
balanced an elaborate green and gold headdress half her height. Desiree
believed the woman couldn’t see her, but this gave the illusion they were being
watched. “You think she’s enjoying the show?” Desiree’s breath came in gasps.

Sam increased his rhythm. “This the best show in town.”

“I think I like feeling as if I’m in a public place.” Her
body tingled with excitement.

“I know I do. As long as it’s with you.” Their bodies made a
slapping sound each time they met. He gripped her hips with a hand on each
side, pulling her into him as much as he was thrusting forward to meet her.

“Touch me.” Desiree almost whispered as her gaze locked on
the dancer at center stage. Sam gladly obliged her. He reached around Desiree,
locating her clit, gently running his finger over her sensitive spot as he
continued his rhythm.

She spread her legs a little more for him, finally breaking
her gaze away from the dancer. She closed her eyes, pushing her hips back
toward Sam while trying to move closer to his fingers at the same time. She
heard Sam moan. “Slow down,” she pleaded with him. Desiree wanted this to last
as long as possible even though that was not reasonable, not in this public
place.