Stripped Defenseless (7 page)

She
watched him with enthusiasm. The thumps on the door becoming meager background
noise as the sound and sight of him preparing for her held all of her
attention.

“Come
here,” he said too loudly.

Jarred
pounded harder. “Is someone in there with you?”

Ava
lowered herself into Kade’s strong arms and straddled his lap. Their time was
limited so she grabbed his cock and helped guide it into her wet pussy.

He
thrust his hips upward, and tiny pulses of bliss tingled down her thighs and
into her belly. The orgasm had already begun and she didn’t want it to stop.
Tightening against him, she pushed off his cock and sat back down on him fast
and hard.

Kade
threw his head back against the cushion behind him. His fingers dug into her
hips, and she knew he was losing control. She smiled at the power she had over
him and continued sliding her body up and down his thick shaft, squeezing and
sucking him into her tender walls.

“I’m
getting a key, Ava,” Jarred shouted, sounding furious.

Ava
braced her hands on Kade’s shoulders as a burning fever built in her womb,
coiling and tightening, surging through her thighs to her toes. “Kade, I’m
going to come.”

His
grip on her hips loosened, and he brought his hands up to cradle her warm
cheeks. “What did he call you?”

Overwhelming
liquid heat poured through her, and she clenched down on his cock. Her body reeled
from the sensation, but she held back a moan. Exhaling a long pent-up breath,
she let herself relax as she nuzzled against his neck.

The
euphoria didn’t last long. He grasped a stiffer hold on her face and forced her
to look at him. His confused, angry gaze quickly yanked her back to reality.

“What’s
wrong?” she asked him but didn’t really want to know.

“Is
your name Ava?” His voice cracked.

She
nodded. He’d heard Jarred, but she didn’t see any reason at that intimate
moment not to tell her lover her real name. “Yes, it’s Ava Lureau,” she
whispered and kissed his unresponsive lips.

He
stared blankly at her for a moment before picking her off his lap and setting
her to the side. She watched him as he zipped up his pants and cursed under his
breath.

No
way. She was not going to put up with this crap again. “Who the hell do you
think you are? I’m not a person who can be thrown away with the trash. I’m a
human being, for God’s sake.” She stood up in front of him, but he wouldn’t
respond with words or eye contact. “What is it? It’s not a fantasy anymore now
that I have real name?” She watched for his next move, hoping his stone hard
expression would lessen. “Say something,” she said softly, changing her tone.
“Please.”

He
scooped her panties off the floor and threw them at her. “Put ‘em on,” he
grumbled and walked to the door.

Ava
slid them on and wished she had more to cover herself with. She scanned the
room for her teddy and saw it hanging by the door.

Kade
picked it off the hook, scrunched the see-through gown in his hand, and tossed
it at her. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “This whole thing was a huge mistake. I
didn’t know.”

“Didn’t
know what? That you were a self-centered dickhead?” Ava shot back at him.
“You’re so hot and cold, I don’t even know if there’s any warmth in that body
of yours. Why did you come in here anyway? Did Poppy turn you down? Is that
it?” She was on a roll of fired up adrenaline and couldn’t stop. “She’s a smart
girl. More than I gave her credit for. She knew a pompous ass when she saw one.
Me? I shoved away my doubts about you and just let you have your way with me.
What kind of fool am I?”

Kade’s
light turquoise eyes felt like they were cutting a hole in her heart from
across the room. “You should’ve listened to your intuition, Ava,” he said in a
low voice and walked out of the room without looking back.

She
wanted to run after him and slap his smug face. If she weren’t a survivor, she
might consider crying. But he didn’t deserve her tears. No one did. She slipped
her teddy on and clasped it shut. Just in time.

Jarred
stumbled into the room breathing heavily with a key in his hand. “Not your
boyfriend, huh?” He threw the shiny piece of metal toward her. It glinted
against the dim light and landed at her feet. “Get in the office. Now. We need
to have a talk.”

After
a moment of consideration, she nodded and followed Jarred to the owner’s
office. She’d screwed up and there was no doubt in her mind she was going to be
fired. Although being alone in a room with Jarred for any reason was currently
on the bottom of her list of fun things to do. She might as well get it over
with. At least that room had windows so she wouldn’t be completely separated
from the rest of the club.

She
stepped into the doorway, and he pointed at the folding chair in front of the
desk cluttered with papers, a laptop, and a few smut magazines. “Sit.”

“I’d
rather stand.” She took another couple steps in, only far enough for him to
close the door.

She
heard it slam shut behind her, and before she knew it, she was hauled against
it. His chest pressed against her breasts, and his hands held her wrists above
her head.

Tattered
blinds hung halfway down the window that looked out to the rest of the club,
not letting Ava see if anyone was watching. What had she gotten herself into
now?

“Look
at me, Ava,” he said into her ear while crushing harder against her. His body
wedged between her legs, spreading them apart.

Shit.
Now she couldn’t shove the palm of
her hand up the bridge of his nose
or
knee him in the groin. But,
goddamn it, if he tried to stick his tongue down her throat, she was going to
bite down with all of her might.

“Let
me go, Jarred. If I’m fired, I’ll get my stuff and leave.”

“I
want to know what you did with your boyfriend in that room.” He leveled his
cold, damp lips to her jaw line and licked a path down her neck.

She
squirmed against him, sickened by his unwanted touch. She had vowed she’d never
let another man hurt her like Zack had. And now here she was at the hands of
yet another abuser. “I’m going to scream if you don’t let me go.”

“Go
ahead. Nobody gives a shit about you.” He held tighter onto her wrists, and his
slimy tongue dipped into her ear.

“No!”
she screamed, using the only weapon she had left—her voice. “No!”

“Shut
the fuck up,” he growled against her cheek as his knee rode higher against her
crotch. “No one’s going to save you. You’re just a whore, opening her legs for
any lucky son of a bitch who walks through the front door.”

He
mashed his lips against her mouth, and she prepared to bite down.

But
a knock on the door made him pause. “Go away. I’m busy,” Jarred shouted to
person on the other side.

“Hel—”
Ava began to scream but was silenced by Jarred’s hand over her mouth. With his
other, he scrambled to grab both of her wrists again. But he failed.

 Her
hand was free, which meant she had a weapon. Remembering her self-defense
instructor’s advice, she shoved her palm as hard as she could upward toward his
nose.

Chapter Four

Kade
shook his head as he unlocked his hotel room. Why did Lily have to be his target?
It didn’t make any sense. She had blue eyes, not green. What the hell was Zack
Moreno trying to pull?

“Hey,”
Poppy called out from across the street. “Hey, you!”

He
turned to see the blonde standing outside the club door wearing that same
skimpy outfit she had on earlier. What now? She waved her arms frantically with
a panicked look on her face, making Kade take notice.

Cars
honked as they sped past. Some slowed and stared at the woman in distress with
her fuzzy boa whipping about in the cold wind. Kade hurried across the street,
dodging and swerving around the mess she was creating.

“It’s
not a good idea for you to stand out here like that,” he said when he reached
her, not really sure why he cared. He was saying and doing a lot of unexpected
things since Lily—no, Ava crawled under his skin and lit a match.

“Lily,”
she started to say, with chattering teeth.

“Get
inside,” he ordered. “You’re freezing.” He reached for the door handle, but she
stopped him, moving in front of it. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Go
look in the office. She’s in there with him.” Her voice was calm, but her eyes
were narrowed and serious.

“Show
me where.” He pushed her out of the way and opened the door.

The
rugged looking bouncer who always sat by the front door stood from his chair
and faced Kade. “Arm’s up. Spread your legs,” he ordered.

“We
just did this,” Kade said but took the stance anyway. He understood the need to
protect the women who worked at the club. Who knew how many scumbags walked in
here on a daily basis? Hell, Kade was one of them.

The
man patted up his legs while Poppy slipped by them, retreating through a door
by the stage.

“Where
is she?” Kade called out to her, but she didn’t turn around to acknowledge him.
What the hell was going on here?

He
scanned the rest of the room, looking for any signs of disorder, but everything
and everyone was just as it was when he left. Well, except the bouncer named
Jarred was nowhere in sight. The man had fury written all over his face when
Kade had passed him on the way out. Unfortunately, Kade had been too distracted
to put two and two together.

The
son of a bitch better not have hurt her.

“I
need to talk to the owner,” he said, thinking that was his best chance of
finding Ava and protecting her from whatever danger she was in.

“Owner’s
not in,” the bouncer said, patting under Kade’s arms. “But you can find his
brother in the office. Last door on the right. The room with all the windows.”

“Thanks.”

Kade
weaved through the maze of purple tables and clear plastic chairs until he
reached the first window of the office. Ava’s muffled shouts made him stop in
his tracks. He dipped his head down and peered through the small space under
the blinds, but couldn’t see anything other than a cluttered desk.

Where
was she? His body tensed as he walked to the door and listened. Nothing except
the blaring music from the nearby speakers and the thumping of his own heart.
He brought his hand up and knocked twice.

A
man’s voice answered on just the other side, followed by Ava’s cry for help,
and the sounds of a scuffle. Oh, shit. He needed to get in there. He had to
save her.

His
pulse quickened as he brought his foot up and kicked the door once and then
again. It swung open just in time to see Jarred holding his bloody nose with
one hand and backhanding Ava across the face with the other.

She
fell to the floor, and Kade reached for his gun that wasn’t there. It was
probably for the best since he believed any man who struck a woman deserved to
die.

Kade
helped Ava off the ground. Once she was standing, she pulled her arm away from
him and looked at him as if he’d been the one who had hurt her. An unwanted
feeling of guilt bit into him. He may as well have been. He’d taken advantage
of her and left without a second thought. When would he learn?

She
rushed out of the room, and Jarred made a move for her. Thinking quickly, Kade
shoved him full force against the desk, sending papers flying. “Stay the hell
away from her. If I find out you even glance her way, I’ll kill you.”

“Fuck
you,” Jarred said through the blood running into his mouth. “Tell her she can
be a whore somewhere else. She’s fired.”

“She
quits.” Kade gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Men like Jarred needed
to be put in their place, but it wasn’t worth sticking around to fight with the
loser. He needed to find Ava to see if she was okay.

* * * * *

More
angry than frightened, Ava heaved the dressing room door open. She wasn’t
leaving without her clothes. Not when she had so few of them to begin with.
God, her entire life was in a constant upheaval, and she was sick of it. When
was it going to get better? When were men going to stop trying to control her?

Poppy
walked out of one of the stalls, and her mouth dropped open. “Did he hit you?”
she asked as if it were a shock.

“Not
until after I broke his nose.” Ava stopped in front of the blonde, letting her
get a good look at the red mark Jarred had left on her face. Her entire left
cheek was throbbing in pain. “He was going to rape me, Pop.”

“I
don’t believe that. Jarred would never go that far. You probably just
antagonized him.”

“Believe
whatever you want, but just be careful, okay?” It was no use trying to warn a
woman like Poppy—someone who had blinders on that read
this way to love and
happiness all pointing to Jarred
.

Ava
gave up after not getting so much as a blink as a response. She walked to the
stall where her clothes hung.