Wild About The Bodyguard (11 page)

As the song
changed into something grungier, Chase faced two people whose wary
looks said, “
Pliers?
”

Resetting his
smile, Chase explained. “I’m renovating a house.”

Jay nodded
deeply. “A lot of money in restoring places and shifting them
on.”

“
I’m not sure
I want to get rid of this one. Not sure I ever want to finish it,
actually. I’m enjoying the work too much. Right now I’m putting
together a stained glass panel.”

Laycee perked
up. “You have an artistic bent? I have a few of my own
designs.”

Sammy was
back.

“
I’m not
artistic, as such.” Chase accepted the beer Sammy handed over
before adding, “But I like a challenge. Nothing better than piecing
things together until they fit just right.”

Laycee shifted
her gaze to Sammy, who was fake punching Jay in that monster bicep
of his. Chase worked out regularly, but he was a midget compared to
this guy.

“
When’s your
first dance, Valentino?” Sammy asked Jay.

“
Keep your
britches on.” Jay straightened an imaginary bowtie. “The crowd
isn’t here yet.”

Laycee
grinned. “You mean the screaming, fainting hoards of females who
shove big bills at your even bigger—”

“
Let Chase
get to know us a little better,” Jay cut in, “before you dazzle him
with your extensive vocabulary.”

Laycee slowly
grinned. “Mr. Wild doesn’t look like the retiring type.”

One hour and
another beer later, the joint was pumping. The area was packed,
mainly with hormone-infused females. All around, Chase heard Jay’s
name mentioned. He wasn’t into watching guys perform,
dance—whatever—but after speaking with Jay, sharing views on sports
and hearing about his commitment to law school, Chase was ready to
cheer him on, too. No tips included.

The stage
housed a pole similar to the one in Sammy’s living room. Did men
pole dance? If these hoots and hollers were any indication, the
ladies wouldn’t mind what the male dancers did so long as they
flexed big and bucked hard.

Chase was
nursing his third beer when the lights and music dipped. Pockets of
the audience began to call out as Jay appeared wearing a dapper
suit, bowler hat and umbrella. Obviously ready for the show, Sammy
wedged herself in front of Chase and wrapped his arm around her
middle. Inhaling the scent of her hair, he pulled her
closer.

She tipped her
head back to tell him over the hoots, “You are seriously going to
want to take dance classes after this.”

“
Uh, no, I’m
not.”

When the music
swelled, Jay got full-throttle into his routine. Striding down the
catwalk, he teased the girls, swinging the umbrella handle around a
wrist, throwing up his bowler hat and positioning himself so that
it landed back square on his head, no hands. The ladies went
berserk.

And then the
rain set in—a sprinkling at first, which was, in fact, illusions
created through lighting and a series of shimmering ribbons.
Clever.

After Jay
stomped around in the “puddles,” through mime he let the audience
know that his suit was wet. He ditched the jacket and signalled to
ask the crowd’s opinion before grabbing his crotch and ripping the
costume’s pants clean off. He tossed them at a woman, who jumped up
and down while draping the legs around her neck like a scarf. Then
Jay gave his all to a male bump and grind.

When the
“rain” grew heavier, he tried to put up his umbrella, which
appeared to be stuck. So, the shirt came off next. The loosened
black tie got a reprieve. Chase smothered a grin. How long would
the conservative pair of boxer shorts last?

As Jay spun
around, presenting his broad bare back to the crowd, he ditched the
shorts. The crowd exploded! Chase didn’t know if he would survive
the stampede. When Jay spun back around, the music stopped and the
umbrella popped opened at just the right time
and
place.

The curtain
dropped while applause hit the roof. These women were screaming for
a chance to show their greenback appreciation.

Then the
curtain flew back up. Jay tapped his bowler hat back in place on
his head and strolled forward. The crowd let him know they were
interested in what was stashed inside that pouch of bulging black
silk. That mother needed a leash!

Jay spread the
love around as long as ladies kept shoving bills down his front.
When the thong was overflowing, he stuffed the notes down into the
umbrella.

Chase tried to
make himself heard above the commotion. “Your friend wants to give
all this up to be a lawyer?”

Sammy was
laughing. “Crazy, huh?”

Chase looked
around again. There were a few guys here, too, but he was guessing
Sunday was ladies’ night. “I don’t mean to sound unappreciative,
but I’m not sure how many male strips I can watch.”

“
They have a
special guest coming up,” she told him.

“
A
female?”

“
Uh-huh.”

Didn’t make a
difference. He brought her closer. “I’d rather go home and get busy
with our own striptease.”

“
That dance
turned you on, huh?”

“
You
turn me on.”

Before he
could kiss her, she prised herself away and held up a finger. “One
minute. I need to visit the restroom.”

He watched her
weave through the crowd before finishing his beer and looking
around again. He’d known about this place but had never had
occasion to visit. Male strips aside, he’d had a great night. He
got a good vibe from Sammy’s friends. They were the type to watch
her back.

Hell, everyone
needed friends like that.

He was
wondering how long Sammy would be when the lights changed hue and
brightness. Frowning, he craned to see if he could spot her over
some heads. He really didn’t need to see another male torso ripple
tonight.

As he turned,
a spotlight hit the stage and that pole. The music sounded like
something from a film noir classic. A woman appeared and struck a
dramatic pose. Fishnet stockings. Rat Pack jacket. Black Fedora
hooked low over her brow. When the beat of the music changed, she
flung the hat out to the crowd. The dark shades went,
too.

Chase’s heart
shot to his throat and at the same time his jaw dropped to his
knees.

Holy
shit.
That was no stripper. That was
his
date!

As the star of
the show strutted around, knees jerking high to each beat, Chase
tossed a look around at the audience. From what he could make out
in the shadows and rebound light, every male in the place seemed
stuck in a trance. When she ditched the jacket, her shirt, and then
swiveled around the pole like a well-oiled top, Chase felt his
chest puff out. He wanted every person here to know, that was his
girl. And right now she was blowing his mind.

With every
passing second, the stirring in Chase’s loins grew. A sweat broke
out on his brow. Men respond to visual stimuli. After a show
like
this
...God
help him, he couldn’t wait to get her home.

The crescendo
of the song and her performance came way too soon. Stripped down to
a skimpy jewelled bra and thong, she whirled around the pole at a
giddy rate as applause and wolf whistles filled the room. When the
music finished and Sammy skipped off the stage, Chase acknowledged
a different feeling building in his gut. He and Sammy weren’t a
couple as such, and yet he couldn’t stand the idea of seeing men
stuff money down her crotch. With his jaw clenched, he waited for
the encore. Instead the lights faded up a little and the music
morphed into a background piece.

Next to him,
he felt a pair of eyes drilling into him.

Laycee was
grinning. “She’s pretty good, huh?”

He let out
that pent up breath. “She’s way better than good.”

Sammy was in
her tights and top again when she finally wiggled back through the
crowd and theatrically flung out her arms.

“
Ta-dah!”
She flicked her hair.
“Didja like it?”

Was she
kidding? “Yeah, Sammy,” Chase drawled, containing himself. “I liked
it.”

She hugged
herself, beaming. “Still want to go?”

Stupid
question.

After saying
goodnight to her friends, Chase took Sammy’s hand and half dragged
her out the front door. When they were on the sidewalk, he couldn’t
help himself. He couldn’t wait. He bundled her up against him and
showed her precisely how much he’d enjoyed her show.

They ended up
in her bed, naked aside from a series of condoms. After making love
the last time, Sammy felt closer to this man than she’d felt to any
person. As he held her close now, dragging his lips through her
hair, she also felt safer than she ever had in her life. Was it
because of his former profession? A bodyguard was supposed to make
a person feel secure. Protected.

Chase
certainly did that.

Closing her
eyes, she pressed in against his chest. Her palm skimmed skin that
was bedded over muscle and dusted with hair. She trusted Chase.
Trusted him enough to bare herself even more.

“
I have an
early call tomorrow,” she murmured against his steamy neck. “I
intend to impress the shit out of the producer.”

“
An
audition?”

“
Uh-uh.”

He gave her a
squeeze. “You’ll knock him dead.”

She pushed up
and, in the shadows cast by a bedside lamp, smiled down into his
face. She adored his blue eyes…the strong angles of his bristled
jaw.

“
Want to hear
some?” she asked. “The soliloquy, as they say in the biz. The part
where she’s alone.”

“
You
bet.”

Sammy sat up,
cleared her throat, and melted into the part.

Chase lay
there listening, completely spellbound. Before his eyes, Sammy
became another person...a woman desperately in love and undecided
as to whether she ought to let the object of her affection know how
she felt. The guy in question was leaving town to make his fortune
and follow his dream...most likely with another woman.

Chase didn’t
do daytime dramas. His television viewing comprised of sports
telecasts and the occasional action flick. But this performance
truly undid him. Sammy made him feel
everything
she was
feeling...uncertainty, despair, even hope. He felt her heart break
as her character said goodbye to her friend, the man she loved. It
made him dig deep and wonder how he might behave in a similar
situation.

Would he
release the woman he loved if it meant her happiness? Or would he
profess his love, hoping that she’d stay and not resent him later
for keeping her from achieving her goals...hate him for putting his
own desires first.

When Sammy
finished, Chase took a moment before he applauded.

“
That was
amazing,” he said, as she fell back against him and laughed—his
Sammy again.

“
Maybe I
should throw in a pole dance or two?”

He remembered
back to earlier that night. “How often do you do that for an
audience, anyway?”

“
That was my
public pole dancing debut.”

He searched
her eyes. How much more of this woman was there left to discover?
He couldn’t help but look forward to the possibilities.

“
All I can
say is you have remarkable talent.”

“
It’s all
about immersing yourself in the part. Which reminds me...” She
angled toward him. “Tomorrow you said we’d talk to
Ferdinand.”

He scratched
his temple. He hadn’t told her yet. “Actually, I paid him a visit
this afternoon on my own.”

Her face
dropped. “Oh?”

More than
ever, he understood Sammy wanting to absorb all she could from an
actor’s perspective, but he didn’t like the idea of her getting too
close to a suspect. Danger had a way of sneaking up behind you,
particularly if a certain member of the Green family was in any way
involved.

“
It was a
non-event,” he told her, hoping that might help. “I can’t see him
as a suspect. But he did have some information. A week after the
theft was reported, he remembers your sister and her boyfriend in
the hall. Rick was blowing a gasket.”

It took a
second for her expression to open up. “Hold on. You think Rick
stole the ring and Ann found out?”

“
It’s a
possibility.” Although he still liked the Green connection
better.

Sammy sat up
again. “If Ann had known that Rick was involved, she’d have dropped
him on his ass.”

Chase played
devil’s advocate. “Even with that insurance money winging its way
over to her account?”

Sammy’s pupils
dilated before her mouth tightened. “Ann wouldn’t lie to me like
that. Besides, keeping quiet would make her an accessory to
insurance fraud. If I was a good girl back then, Ann was an
angel.”