A Different Trade (13 page)

When Clint entered the Tiger's Paw this time, the entire place felt different than it had on his last visit. While there were fewer customers at the moment, the intensity at each table could be felt like a thick haze that stuck to his skin. Every breath he pulled into his lungs was tinged with exotic scents and flavors. Some of those came from the food that was being carried from the kitchen, but the rest drifted out from the pipes and cigars that were the stock-in-trade of any opium den.

The women who approached him weren't familiar. That didn't stop them from wrapping themselves around Clint's arms and rubbing his back while purring into his ear. “Welcome to Tiger's Paw,” one of them said in a thick Chinese accent. The other woman spoke a different language to him, which wasn't nearly as interesting as the way she chewed on his earlobes between every other word.

“Where's Jade?” Clint asked.

“Not here,” the first girl replied. “We take care of you just fine.”

“I want to see Ki Dhang.”

The second girl laughed while snaking her hand between his legs. “She thinks you want him instead of us,” the first one explained. “I think you or Ki Dhang are not like that.”

It wasn't easy to disentangle himself from the women, and many parts of him didn't want to succeed, but Clint managed to do so anyway. Holding the first one at arm's length, he said, “I'm not here for entertainment. I want to see Ki Dhang and I want to see him now. It's important.”

When the second woman tried to press against him again, the first stopped her with a sharp stream of Chinese words. Shrugging, the second woman wandered off to find someone else to seduce.

“Mr. Dhang is very busy,” the remaining woman said.

“Tell him Clint Adams wants to talk to him about someone who might be looking to stick a knife in his back.”

“He does not like to be misled,” she warned.

“I'm not misleading anyone. Just go and tell him.”

“Very well. It's on your head.”

Even though he wasn't about to give in to the advances of those women, that didn't stop Clint from enjoying the view as they walked away. Their dresses were so tight that they could very well have been painted onto their bodies, and both women knew exactly how to move within them. Less than a minute after the first woman had disappeared from sight, she returned to motion for Clint to meet her near the bar.

When he was close enough, she said, “Mr. Dhang will see you. This way.”

She took him upstairs once again to the second floor. Ki Dhang sat at the same table where he'd been gambling the first time Clint had met him, but on this occasion he sat alone. There was a plate of noodles in front of him and a cup of hot tea in his hand.

“Minh says you have something important to tell me,” Dhang said as Clint approached his table. “Something about a traitor among my men. Know that I do not take such threats lightly.”

“I would think not,” Clint replied. “Especially when it's someone who seems to be fairly close to you.”

“And who would that be?”

“The old man who sat in that chair the last time I was here,” Clint said while pointing to the spot where the angry man had been on his previous visit.

Ki Dhang scowled. “No matter what insults he may have hurled at you, that does not give you the right to make such an accusation.”

“This doesn't have anything to do with the fit he threw when I came to see you last time. I've been insulted by much fouler mouths than his.”

“He is Chow Sun. Does this name mean anything to you?”

“No.”

“If you knew anything about the largest smuggling operation to cover Korea, China, and these United States, then you would not only know of Chow Sun but you would tremble at the mention of his name.”

Clint couldn't imagine trembling after hearing any man's name. Telling Ki Dhang that, however, would have surely just put them at cross-purposes. Even though there was less than a handful of others sitting at different tables on that floor, Clint lowered his voice so their conversation wouldn't carry any farther than necessary. “With all due respect, I didn't come here just to throw around empty words.”

Dhang nodded once. “Go on.”

“I was over at Miss Tasha's to pay a visit to one of the men who I had a score to settle with. He and a man by the name of Westin Voss are trying to run the man who owns the Howling Hound out of Larga Noche.”

Dhang shrugged as though he'd just been told about where a group of ants had decided to march next.

“This man I visited,” Clint continued, “told me he was working on behalf of Miss Tasha herself. Turns out that she's got a partner as well and he's the important gentleman we were just discussing.”

“Chow Sun?”

“That's right. He and Miss Tasha are working together to move some business of their own into town. Now if you already knew about this, then I apologize for stirring anything up without cause. Since none of them seemed too happy to be found out, I was guessing they were playing things close to the vest.”

Pushing away his noodles and dabbing at his mouth with a linen napkin, Dhang squared his shoulders while studying Clint carefully. “What sort of business are they starting?” he asked.

“Smuggling, for a start. They also want to bring girls in through here before sending them who knows where.”

“As slaves?”

“That was my understanding.”

Dhang snarled a string of words under his breath. Even though Clint couldn't understand them, he could tell they weren't of the friendly variety. “I must make certain of this,” he said while standing up and placing his hands upon the table.

“Can't say as I blame you.”

“If you are lying, there will be consequences.” Smiling politely, Dhang added, “But that does not mean you are to be treated as anything but my guest. You will be shown to one of my finest rooms, where you will wait in comfort for me to return.”

“Why don't I just meet you back here?”

Dhang clapped his hands together once, which summoned a pair of burly gunmen to stand behind Clint on either side. “Go and await my return,” Dhang said in a tone of voice that left no room for debate.

Clint was shown into a room on that same floor, just down a short hallway with only two doors. That room was furnished with a couple of padded chairs, an expensive-looking washbasin centered upon an inlaid table, and a bed with a canopy that nearly reached the ceiling.

“If you are thirsty,” the large man said as he pulled open a cabinet filled with liquor bottles.

“What if I feel like stretching my legs?” Clint asked. “Mind if I take a walk outside?”

“Mr. Dhang will only be a few hours.”

“A few hours?”

“You will wait here.”

“Now just hold on a second!” Clint said. Before he could finish, the man held out a thick paw of a hand.

“Your gun. Give to me, please.”

“I'm not handing over my gun.”

“Then I will take it from you.”

Clint had sized up the man in front of him after a few seconds. Maybe the Colt could be taken from him by force and maybe Clint could keep that from happening. Either way, fighting with one of Ki Dhang's men wasn't exactly a good way to get on the big man's good side. Since he was already in this far, Clint eased the Colt from its holster and handed it over.

“Now let me look for anything else.”

Since he'd come along this far, Clint raised his arms over his head.

“Wise choice,” the burly escort said.

Clint let out a strained breath. “We'll see.”

After searching Clint from heat to toe, Dhang's gunman found a knife in Clint's boot, which he took.

He then stepped out of the room and shut the door, leaving Clint to his own devices.

Although the room was quite comfortable, there wasn't much to keep him occupied for several minutes. The thought of sitting in there for hours made Clint fidget even more than he already was. When he heard the door opening again, he jumped up from where he'd been sitting and eagerly went to greet whoever was coming for him. “Oh,” he grunted when he saw the same big fellow who'd taken away his Colt. “It's you again.”

“You have visitors.”

“Mr. Dhang's back already?”

“Not quite.”

The thickly muscled guard stepped to one side, allowing two familiar but very unexpected guests to step into the room.

Stunned by what he was seeing, Clint said, “Ingrid? What the—”

The slender blonde cut him short by pressing her lips against his. Clint's eyes widened with surprise. Just behind her, Jade said a few words to the large fellow who'd brought them to that room before shutting the door in his face.

As soon as Ingrid pulled back a little, Clint picked up right where he'd left off. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

“Making sure you don't get killed,” she whispered.

Clint didn't see Jade approach him so much as he felt when she was close enough to touch him. Her exotic scent drifted through the air as her fingernails raked gently against his back. “Mr. Dhang is having a word with Miss Tasha,” she said. “This woman told him she is a friend of yours.”

Ingrid's eyes were locked on Clint's as she rubbed against him. Slowly, Clint said, “Yes. She is. I just wasn't expecting to see her here.”

“Since Mr. Dhang is conducting business with Miss Tasha, he agreed to let your friend come to help you pass the time,” Jade said.

Clint turned and finally caught a glimpse of the dark-haired Asian woman. Jade was so close to him that all he could see was half of her face before she stepped behind him. “That's very generous of him,” Clint said.

“Mr. Dhang treats his friends very well.”

“So he considers me a friend?”

Jade's hands worked to expertly massage every muscle in Clint's back. “He is still deciding on that, but I am sure you have nothing to worry about. Until he makes his decision, I was told to keep you busy.”

“And I insisted on coming along,” Ingrid said in a sensual whisper. Her eyes, on the other hand, pleaded with Clint to go along with what she told him.

“I'm glad for that,” he said. “Nobody can take my mind off things the way you can.” Then, Clint wrapped his arms around Ingrid and kissed her deeply on the lips. She tasted sweet and melted against him while nibbling on his lower lip. While they continued to kiss, Jade walked toward the table near the bed, where she poured some water into a basin.

“Sometimes Dhang uses girls from Miss Tasha's to entertain his customers,” Ingrid whispered directly into his ear. “Sometimes those customers don't make it out of here.”

Clint looked over toward the bed and saw Jade was slowly peeling off her dress. Somehow knowing exactly when his eyes were on her, she looked over and smiled while dipping her fingers into the water she'd poured. Jade leaned her head back to rub some of the water along the slope of her neck.

“What's your plan?” Clint whispered.

“Right now,” Ingrid replied while stroking his growing erection, “we need to bide our time.”

“Sounds promising.”

Jade was stark naked as she approached Clint and began stripping him out of his clothes. More than just undressing him, she moved her hands along his body and over his pockets as though she was searching him for contraband. All things considered, he enjoyed that search a hell of a lot more than the one performed by the big guard. After removing his boots, Jade placed her hands on Clint's thighs and ran them all the way up as she rose to stand in front of him.

“Mr. Dhang takes good care of his friends,” Jade said.

Clint cupped her pert breasts, paying special attention to her dark, penny-sized nipples. “How about we not talk about him for a while?”

“Good idea,” she said while taking Clint's hand and guiding it between her legs. Jade's skin was smooth as silk, but the skin of her inner thighs felt more like warm cream. She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath as Clint's fingers found the little slit between her legs. The lips of her pussy were moist, and Clint rubbed them up and down until Jade grabbed on to his shoulder for support.

Suddenly, Clint felt a warm, wet sensation below his waist. When he looked down, he saw Ingrid on her knees and licking the inside of his leg. With Jade standing slightly to Clint's side, Ingrid had to lean in from the other angle but she quickly wrapped her lips around his cock and began sucking him.

The longer Clint massaged Jade's pussy, the wetter she became. When he slipped a finger inside her, she gripped his shoulders tightly for support as she started moaning in her native tongue.

Ingrid was vigorously bobbing her head back and forth, devouring his cock while cupping him in one hand. She only came up for air once, and then she ran her tongue up and down his rigid shaft.

Before long, Jade stepped away from him and set herself down on the bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress with her legs hanging over, she lay back and used both hands to spread her pussy lips apart. Clint may not have known the exact words she was saying, but he could recognize the pleading tone in her voice. After helping Ingrid to her feet, Clint approached the bed. Jade watched them both with hungry eyes, rubbing herself as Clint drew closer. She then propped herself up on one elbow, reached out, and guided Clint's stiff cock to where she so desperately wanted it to go.

Clint took hold of Jade's legs and drove into her. Both he and Jade let out satisfied moans, and when Clint buried himself just a bit deeper into her, Jade gripped the expensive blankets with both hands and arched her back. As Clint fell into a steady thrusting movement, Jade wrapped one leg tightly around his waist while allowing him to open the other leg just a bit wider.

As this was going on, Ingrid kept busy as well. Clint felt her press against his back and then start to gently run her fingernails up and down his body. Next, he felt her hair brush against the side of his face as well as the wet touch of her mouth against his ear.

“If she gets the signal from Dhang's men,” Ingrid whispered, “she'll kill you.”

Clint felt a rush of anxiety when he heard Ingrid's voice. However, the blonde's whisper was nowhere near loud enough to be heard above the creak of the bed and Jade's steady grunting as Clint pumped into her. In between his own breaths, Clint half grunted and half whispered, “Signal?”

Wrapping her arms around him from behind so she could rub his bare chest, Ingrid said, “Don't know exactly, but if she gets it, you won't leave this room alive and neither will I.”

Clint looked back just far enough to kiss Ingrid on the lips. He continued pumping between Jade's legs as he whispered, “I'm unarmed.”

“Don't worry about that. Just be ready.”

“You, too.”

“I'm always ready,” Ingrid said. She then rested her chin on Clint's shoulder and said, “I feel left out.”

Opening her eyes as if she'd just awoken from a deep sleep, Jade replied, “We can't have that, now can we?” She wriggled away from Clint so she could flip over and crawl toward the opposite end on all fours.

While Clint was captivated by that sight, he was roughly turned around and shoved toward the bed until he dropped down onto the mattress in a seated position. “You're a real silver-tongued devil,” Ingrid said. “Put that tongue to work on me.” Even though she wasn't stripped bare like the other two, Ingrid was still a sight to behold. She tugged at the strings fastening the front of her loose blouse, which allowed the thin material to fall aside to reveal her nicely rounded breasts. Large, pink nipples were already erect as she gathered up her plain brown skirt to hike it up past her knees.

As Ingrid climbed onto the bed and straddled Clint's chest, Jade busied herself with the lower portion of his body. Clint couldn't see what she was doing, but he could feel her tongue flick against his erection as well as her delicate hand wrap around his cock.

Ingrid scooted forward while reaching down to grab Clint's hair in one hand. With the other hand, she pulled up her skirt a bit more to show him the Derringers that were strapped so high up her inner thighs that they would have easily been overlooked during a simple search. Once she was certain that Clint had seen the guns, she placed herself even higher up on his chest while pulling his head between her legs.

Clint was all too happy to oblige her by licking the smooth lips of Ingrid's pussy. When his tongue found the sensitive nub of her clit, she leaned back and let out a shuddering moan.

While this was going on, Jade straddled Clint's hips and took him inside her. He could feel her legs squeezing in on him from both sides as she rode him with growing intensity. She took every inch of him inside and moaned loudly as Clint started to pump up into her. Eventually, she found a spot she liked and stayed there while slowly grinding on him.

At first, Ingrid had moaned loudly even when she'd lifted herself up a bit to put about an inch of space between herself and Clint's mouth. He looked up at her, cupped her ass in his hands, and stuck his tongue inside her to drive Ingrid out of her mind with surges of pleasure. Soon, she lost herself in the moment and trembled like a leaf as she felt an orgasm sweep through her entire body.

When Clint looked up, he could see slender hands cupping Ingrid's breasts from behind. Jade teased the other woman's nipples between her thumb and forefinger, grunting louder and louder as Clint continued to thrust between her legs. It wasn't long before Jade was screaming with ecstasy and tossing her hair back and forth.

Between watching Ingrid, tasting her, feeling Jade, and hearing them both cry out in pleasure, Clint couldn't hold himself back another second. He pumped up inside Jade and exploded within her with a climax that seemed to last the better part of a day. As the girls' cries faded and the blood rushed a little slower through Clint's ears, another sound could be heard.

Knocking.

All three of them quieted down and Ingrid climbed off Clint to sit beside him on the bed. Jade remained sitting astride him, sweat trickling down her taut body, and turned toward the door. After she said something in her native language, a gruff voice replied through the door. There was one more quick exchange before Jade turned to look down at Clint.

He didn't need a translator to know that a signal had just been given.