Strip Tease (13 page)

“Okay, thanks.” She didn’t know what else to
say, what to do.

“I’m glad you called.” His voice softened
and he took a step toward her, his hand reaching out as if to touch
her.

But then it fell away, his arm hanging
awkwardly at his side. His expression shuttered closed.

Who was she kidding, that this would be
easy? That they could forget it all and continue as if nothing
happened? It was unsettling, being with him alone. In her
apartment. She was tempted to jump him, tear his clothes off and
have her wicked way with him for the rest of the afternoon.

Yeah, this wasn’t easy.

“You shouldn’t be alone.” His voice was
firm, his jaw set in grim determination.

“What, you want to have a personal bodyguard
following me until we find Ginger? I don’t think so. How am I going
to explain that to my boss? ‘Oh, don’t mind him, he’s just some guy
following me until my strung out sister is found and her mob boss
boyfriend is in jail’.” Janelle shook her head.

“Billy Diaz isn’t part of the mob.”

“Oh, whatever.” She threw her hands in the
air, frustrated. “I can’t believe this is happening, you know? I’m
trying to lead a normal life, working hard, trying to get ahead and
Ginger still comes along and screws everything up. This is the way
it’s been my entire life.”

Nate frowned. “I can’t let you wander around
alone, knowing that guy is probably following you.” Running a hand
along his jaw, he looked away. “Maybe I could put a discreet tail
on you. Have someone watch your work, follow your car, keep watch
here at your apartment.”

She didn’t want that, though the more he
talked, the more frightened she became. This was serious. The man
who spoke to her had been a genuine threat. Not some off-chance
loser looking to spook her.

“I can’t have my work know about this.” She
swallowed hard. The idea of Marnie or anyone else at the Women’s
Cancer Center discovering the truth about her sister, about her own
past, was enough to freak her out. “The minute my boss finds out
I’m a former stripper with a drug user for a sister, I’m sure she’d
fire me.”

“She couldn’t fire you, it would be
discrimination.” Ah, the voice of logic. She found it rather
irritating.

“Well then, she’d make up some other excuse,
but I’d know the truth. She’d never look at me the same again. No
one would. They respect me there. I don’t want to lose that.” It
was important to her, their respect. She’d never been respected by
anyone her entire life.

Nate watched her with those intense dark
brown eyes, his gaze wandering over her face, dipping below her
neck to linger on her chest. Her skin warmed at his blatant
perusal, remembering the equally blatant and carnal way he touched
her last night and her nipples hardened.

“Your job is important to you, isn’t it,” he
finally said, his gaze flicking back up to meet hers once more.

Nodding slowly, she noticed the subtle shift
in the air. This should not be happening. She shouldn’t have called
him. She should’ve called the police like a normal person and made
a standard report.

Instead, she had the man she wanted more
than anything standing in the middle of her living room, undressing
her with his eyes. Looking as if he wanted to devour her where she
stood.

Ah God, she should hate herself for this,
but she wanted it too.

“My job is very important to me.” She
cleared her throat, ashamed of the tremor in her voice. Damn it,
she did not want to appear vulnerable.

Or turned on. No, no, that was a big
mistake.

“Why do you think no one has ever respected
you?” He took another step closer and she could smell him. Fresh
and clean, like soap with a hint of heated, spicy man. She wanted
to close her eyes and inhale deeply, savor it.

“I don’t know.” She lifted her chin. He was
getting under her skin, looking at her with tenderness in his eyes,
asking questions no one usually bothered asking. “Growing up, my
life wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Quite frankly, it
sucked.”

“I know.” He paused and her eyes widened,
wondering exactly how much he did know. “Remember? I did a little
investigating once I discovered exactly who you were.”

“Of course, you did.” How could she forget?
So he knew all of it. The non-existent father and the mother never
around, who’d been arrested a couple of times and didn’t know how
to support her girls. The trouble her sister had gotten into from
junior high on.

“Did you know I started working at the age
of fifteen so I could make sure there was enough money to buy food?
How I forged my mom’s signature and got a worker’s permit? Did you
find out about our mom ditching us when we were sixteen and how
Ginger dropped out of high school?” She may as well throw those
bits of her past out there, instead of being ashamed of her
life.

“You’ve taken care of yourself for a long
time.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he watched her, his
penetrating gaze seeming to see right through her. “You’ve had a
lot of responsibility since you were too young to even realize
it.”

Janelle waved a hand in front of her face,
suddenly uncomfortable. “That was in the past. I’m over it.”

“I don’t think you are.” This time he
reached out and made connection with her arm, slowly stroking his
fingers along her skin, causing gooseflesh to follow in his wake.
“I think you’re resentful of your sister and your mother. The
things you’ve had to do for them your entire life have always gone
unappreciated.”

“I haven’t talked to my mother in three
years. I have no idea where she is.” She shivered, wishing he would
take his hand off her.

Wishing he would touch her more,
everywhere.

“And that bothers you, doesn’t it? You might
try to act tough and pretend you don’t care, but you do. You worry
about her. You worry about Ginger too, though she drives you
crazy.”

He was one hundred percent right. She told
herself she needed to be tough, to not care about them, since they
clearly didn’t care about her yet she still did. She always did.
Her mother told her when she was five she was a little mama, a
nurturer. At that age, it had made her proud. When she grew into a
teenager, the nickname “little mama” only pissed her off.

“What if I told you the only reason I’m
doing this is because I want to take care of you and keep you safe.
Would that please you or make you angry?” Sure fingers curled
around her upper arm and brought her to him. So quickly, she braced
herself, palms flat against his muscular chest.

Big mistake. She could feel the unmistakable
pounding of his heart beneath her palms, a sure indication he was
as aroused as she was.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I’d say thank you for your concern. But
it’s only temporary. The moment you catch Billy or my sister,
you’ll be gone.”

“You don’t have a lot of faith in men, do
you?” He slid his arms around her waist, splaying his hands across
her back. She closed her eyes, lost in his touch.

“I don’t have a lot of faith in people in
general,” she murmured against his chest.

“Believe in me when I say I want to take
care of you, Janelle. I want to make sure you’re safe. That’s why
I’m putting a tail on you but I swear, no one will find out. He’ll
be so discreet you won’t realize he’s there.” Dipping his head, his
mouth brushed hers, just once, as soft and fleeting as a
butterfly’s wing. And then he was gone, halfway across the room in
a matter of seconds.

Looking as shaken up as she felt.

“Okay.” Janelle tucked a strand of hair
behind her ear, trying to control her trembling fingers.

He smiled, the sight of it doing strange,
twisting things to her insides. The man was too gorgeous for his
own good. “Trust me, no one will see him. And it’ll make me feel
better knowing he’s there.”

His words made her heart swell.

Glancing at his watch, he headed for the
door. “I’m still on duty and I have a few things to check on. Do
not, I repeat, do
not
open this door for anyone. Stay home
tonight. I’ll let you know when the undercover guard starts,
probably sometime later tonight.”

“Hey, Nate.” She hurried toward him when he
opened the door and he stopped, turning to look at her.

“Yeah?”

She smiled tentatively. “Thank you. Thank
you for everything. I may act ungrateful sometimes, but I do
appreciate it.”

His eyes warmed, the smile still lingering
on his lips. “You’re welcome, Janelle.”

Nate shut the door behind him and she
plopped onto the couch, throwing her head back with a sigh. Her
heart pitter-pattered and her nipples still tingled. Her sex
throbbed with a slow, incessant beat.

He played havoc with her senses and her
emotions. Rough and demanding one minute, sweet and thoughtful the
next. Handsome, considerate, good in bed, he was freaking ideal.
Too perfect to be true.

There had to be a quirk, right? There always
was. She didn’t believe in true love or two people being perfect
for one another. Nobody had it that good, despite what some said.
She was too much of a cynic.

Something about the way Nate looked at her,
though. A faint possessive gleam in his eyes, as if he really
wanted to take care of her. Cherish her. Make sure she was
protected, happy and safe.

Not even her own mother had bothered to do
that when she was a small child. No one had ever protected her.

A few days with Nate and he wanted to be her
savior. And she wanted to let him. Though she knew she was risking
her heart.

For once, she almost didn’t care. For once,
she believed someone might be worth the risk.

* * * *

Rage consumed Nate as he drove south on the
freeway, toward Billy D’s nightclub. The mere thought of something
happening to Janelle at the hands of that monster made him want to
scream. Tear something apart. Beat the shit out of somebody.

Like Billy himself. It would give him
complete and utter satisfaction to pummel that asshole into a
bloody pulp. Laugh in his face. Kick him in the balls. Watch the
normally smug bastard squirm on the ground.

It would also garner him an instant leave of
absence and ultimately get him fired. Billy wouldn’t waste any time
reporting his ass.

Nate didn’t know how many times he’d been
tempted to go kick the crap out of him but thank God, he’d always
resisted. Also thanks in part to the good sense of his partner
Greg, who always talked him out of his irrational behavior.

He’d ditched Greg earlier when he left for
Janelle’s. He needed to call him.

As soon as he was finished with Diaz.

Pressing his lips together, Nate took the
freeway exit, turning right in the direction of Billy D’s. Since
he’d stopped frequenting the place, he’d heard rumors Billy was
back, hanging around as if nothing had happened. Funny how the
entire time he’d been there, he’d never seen the guy. Only Ginger
and a few of his other henchmen would run the joint.

As if Diaz had known all along Nate was
casing the place. Keeping a low profile so Nate wouldn’t catch him
involved in any of the nefarious doings that went down at the
club.

Ginger hadn’t been spotted at Billy D’s
lately. None reported at Temptations either, he’d check both
sources he had.

It was as if Ginger went up in smoke.

He secretly worried something serious may
have happened to her. He didn’t tell Janelle, didn’t want to worry
her more than she already was.

Sighing, he gripped the steering wheel so
tight, he white-knuckled it. The woman made him crazy. He wanted
her. He didn’t know why he denied it. Being at her apartment for
those few scant minutes had consumed him with need. His dick had
leapt to attention at first sight of her and when he touched her,
he thought he would lose it.

But he’d kept himself under tight control.
Had asked her questions she didn’t want to answer. Caused her to
reveal bits of herself that made some of it come together in his
mind.

The too-brief kiss still lingered on his
lips, made his entire body buzz with want.

He still didn’t know much about her, but at
least had a firmer grasp. Though she didn’t realize it yet, she
needed someone to take care of her. Treat her like the sweet and
sexy woman she was, appreciate her. It scared the shit out of him,
but he wanted to be that man.

Would she let him? She’d never let anyone
get close before, she’d admitted that. And would he allow himself?
He wasn’t one for relationships either. He hadn’t been in one for a
few years, too busy with work. Then becoming too consumed with his
partner’s death.

No one had wanted to be around him. He’d
turned into a complete asshole. Janelle had…changed him.

Nate grimaced. He was thinking like a
complete sap when he needed to focus. Like that he was pulling into
the club parking lot and was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of
Billy’s car.

Jackpot.

Parking his car, he headed for the front
doors, surprised at how many other cars filled the lot at two in
the afternoon.

There were a lot of stripper joints in the
greater Los Angeles area. It just so happened, Billy owned one of
the more successful ones, which made him a bigger target.

Of course, if he was also using this place
as a filter for his drug business, then that explained the crowd.
Users went looking for more drugs at all hours of the day.

Nate entered the dim-lit building, blinking
slowly, his eyes adjusting from the bright sun to the near black
room. Glancing at the stage, he saw a woman dancing, clad in a neon
pink string bikini, her lush body a little past limit for such
revealing clothing.

Either the quality of the dancers had gone
about twenty notches down, or Billy didn’t care what happened in
the middle of the day.