Den of Desire (11 page)

Joe watched him walk away, his lips forming a grim line. Why was he looking for Mara? Could David be the man who left the picture? Was David the one who was watching them?

He glanced down the hall at a member of his staff. Crossing the distance, he made sure to keep David in his sight.

“Keep an eye on him tonight,” he instructed his employee evenly.

“Sure thing, boss.”

Joe moved through the crowd to the backstage door. He wasn't sure if David was the one doing this, but if he was, Joe would make sure that he was very sorry.

One way or another, he was going to find the person who was screwing with them.

No matter what he had to do.

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Chapter 16

Joe stared at Mara, who was laying beside him, a sheet covering her naked body. Just looking at her made his cock harden. He wasn't sure he liked the power she had over him, but one thing was certain—it wasn't going away.

No matter how many times he took her, he only wanted more. Never in his life had he felt this way about a woman. And, to be honest, he wasn't sure that he was ready to now.

She stared up at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought.

He couldn't blame her.

It wasn't every day that a person learned someone was watching their every move.

After a quick stop at her apartment to pick up clothes, he'd brought her here. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of staying. In all honesty, he couldn't say he was either. Thank God his grandfather was in Florida with Ellen for the week. Explaining Mara's presence, even for a short time, wasn't something he was ready for. But he couldn't let her go home knowing that someone was stalking her. Her apartment wasn't safe, and that meant that her staying here was the only option.

The protectiveness he felt for her worried him. Things were getting too intense. Words like relationship, commitment and dating were definitely not something he was ready to face. Still, the more time he spent with her, the closer he came to just that.

She let out a long sigh.

“What are you thinking about?” he inquired softly.

She rolled onto her side to look at him, cradling her cheek in her hand. “Who's doing this to me, Joe? Who's watching us?”

The consternation on her face created an unwelcome tightening in his chest. “I don't know, but I promise you that I will find him,” he vowed earnestly.

Her eyes narrowed. “You think it's a man?”

“You don't?”

She looked away, refusing to meet his gaze. “It's just ... I saw you with that woman tonight,” she admitted.

“What woman?”

She nervously wet her lips. “She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit.”

Realization dawned. “You mean Andrea? She's just a member.”

He watched her hesitate for a moment before she spoke. “You seemed close,” she observed.

A slow smile crept across his face. “Are you jealous?” he prodded.

Even in the dim light, he could see her face flame with embarrassment.

“No ... I just meant...” She trailed off.

He reached over to stroke her cheek with his hand. “She's just a member, Mara,” he repeated.

Her eyes met his, and she smiled.

“So, what about you? No old boyfriends who might be lurking around?”

She shook her head. “No,” she replied.

One side of his mouth tilted up. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

Shadows passed over her face as her expression turned serious. “My last boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend,” she confessed.

“Ouch,” he replied with a wince.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I guess I wasn't adventurous enough for him.”

A wry smile slid across his face. “I think we've definitely proved that's not true,” he chided.

Her lips curved into a shy grin. “I guess that you have shown me the joy of giving up control.”

“You guess?” he challenged.

She threw back the sheet to climb on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips. “So, what about you? Do you ever give up control?” she inquired.

When his hands reached for her hips, she captured them, pulling them high over his head.

“Mara...” he said, starting to stop her.

She silenced him with a long, sensual kiss. When she pulled back, the intent look on her face stopped him from further protest.

“Are you willing to give up control?” she asked.

One eyebrow arched. “I think I proved that the other night.”

She leaned down, her lips coming dangerously close to his, but just out of reach. “Feel like proving it again?” she questioned.

He chuckled, a low deep rumble low in his chest. “What did you have in mind?” he countered.

The side of her mouth quirked up. “I've found that it's best not to ask questions when you're the student,” she explained against his mouth.

“Is that what I am?”

Her tongue traced the shape of his lips, dipping seductively into the corner. “Tonight, it is.”

She rubbed her breasts against his chest as her mouth moved over his. When he started to move his hands, she stopped him.

“Uh-uh. No touching until I say,” she commanded.

“Exploring your dominant side?” he prodded.

Her grin tickled his lips. “You said I needed to experiment,” she reminded him softly.

“That I did.”

Her tongue traced a path of fire across his throat, stopping at his nipple. Lightly, her teeth grazed the tip, making him curl his fingers into fists to keep from grabbing her. Full lips moved across his stomach, making it flutter uncontrollably. When she reached his penis, he thought he might explode with need. His cock hardened at the feel of her breath wafting over it. Her tongue snaked out to tease the head, making him squeeze his eyes shut. As her lips closed around his shaft, he fought the need to come. Watching her head bob up and down brought him closer and closer to a conclusion he wasn't ready for.

“Mara...” he muttered.

She raised her head and stared at him, her eyes glittering with lust.

Reaching over, she grabbed a condom from the nightstand. He heard the packet rip open seconds before he felt her slide it over his length. Straddling him, she hovered, her hands on his chest. She rubbed her pussy against his cock, which jerked in approval. He gripped the headboard as he felt how wet she was.

“Mara...”

Slowly, she slid onto him, taking him fully. Rising over him, she rotated her hips in a circle before sliding down. When she did it again, his cock barely parting her folds, he wasn't sure he could take much more.

“Mara, stop teasing me,” he warned.

She tilted her head to the side. “Too much?”

Her cocky expression shredded the last bit of his control. In one swift move, he flipped her onto her back, driving into her with a force that left them both breathless.

* * * *

Mara stared up at him, his broad shoulders outlined in the moonlight.

“You like to play games?” he challenged.

“I...”

Before she could finish, his hand slid between them to find her clit. His thumb rotated over it in slow, maddening circles. All thought vanished as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. She arched her hips to entice him, but he didn't move, buried inside her to the hilt. Her body ached for him to move, to give her what she needed. But he remained still, except for the movement of his thumb. Each time he brought her to the brink, only to stop before she could climax. A sweat broke out on her forehead as her body strived for a release he would not allow.

She knew what he was doing. He was proving to her that he was in control. He always had been. No matter what games she wanted to play, he had the power to give her what she wanted or deny her.

“Joe...”

He turned to kiss the side of her cheek, his eyes lit with devilish amusement. “What do you need?” he asked.

She let out a huff of aggravation that made him smile.

“You know what I need,” she replied, her frustration evident.

“Say it,” he instructed.

“I need to come,” she admitted.

He rose up over her. “Okay, baby. No more games.”

With that, he gripped her hips, pulling her up to meet his thrusts. She closed her eyes at the exquisite sensations that were spreading through her body. Looking down, she watched him moving inside of her. Her gaze drifted over his naked chest, which glistened in the dim light. When her eyes met his, her climax washed over her, making her cry out. In seconds, he followed her, his head falling forward as he let out a hoarse groan.

In that instant, she realized that all of her careful planning to avoid falling in love with this man had been in vain. She was already there, and no amount of lying to herself was going to change that.

She was in love with Joe Gates.

She could only hope that it didn't destroy her.

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Chapter 17

Joe stared at the manila envelope sitting on his desk. It had been two days since Mara showed him the photos. Two days of her living in his house, sharing his bed. The thing that worried him the most about their current living situation was that it felt ... comfortable.

Nice, even.

All these years he had done everything he could to avoid this exact situation, and now that he was here, he wasn't sure he wanted it to end. Sleeping next to her, showering with her, talking to her over breakfast. They were things a man like him shouldn't enjoy.

So, why did he?

Even now, he was looking forward to seeing her at night. God, he was definitely losing it. His feelings for Mara weren't the only problem. After an exhaustive interrogation of his staff, he was no closer to finding Mara's stalker than he had been two days ago.

With time ticking like a loud clock in his head, he was left with little choice but to tell Cal the truth. Cal was one of his oldest friends. No matter what the risk, he owed it to his friend to tell him the truth about what was happening. So he had placed the call that could potentially seal his fate and hoped for the best.

The back door opened to reveal a slightly dampened Cal. He shook his head, several raindrops dancing around him.

“Damned New Orleans rainstorms,” he muttered as he shrugged out of his jacket. He took a seat in front of Joe. “So, what's up? I left an extremely willing woman at home because you said you had to talk to me. This had better be good.”

Joe hesitated for a moment before pushing forward. “I didn't want to bring you into this, but I thought you should know,” he admitted.

Cal's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. “Well, don't keep me in suspense, man. What is it?” he asked.

He sighed heavily. “Someone's been watching Mara.” After a minute, he continued. “Photographing her.”

Cal's eyes widened. “Photographing her?”

His lips formed a grim line as he nodded. “Whoever it is has been taking pictures from inside the club.”

His face fell. “What are you talking about?”

Joe slid the envelope across the desk. He watched as Cal opened it. Shock washed over his friend's face as he stared at the pictures. After a few seconds, he raised his head to look at him.

“How do you think they got in?” he inquired.

Joe ran a hand over his face as he shook his head. “I don't know. I've questioned the staff, checked all the exits, but I can't find anything.”

Cal set the envelope down on Joe's desk before leaning back in his chair. “So, who do you think could have done it?”

“I'm not sure. Maybe a member who has a thing for her,” he suggested.

One eyebrow quirked up. “How can you be so sure that she's the one they're watching?”

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Cal raised a hand for a moment before dropping it. “All I'm saying is there are a lot of female members that might have developed a fixation on you. I personally don't see the draw, but it's not impossible.”

Joe thought of his earlier altercation with Andrea. Was it possible? Was the person who left the pictures for Mara warning her to stay away?

“It can't be,” he murmured.

Cal chuckled. “I swear, man. You're the only guy I know who is completely oblivious to female attention.”

His eyebrows bunched together in frustration. “It's just not...”

“Possible?” Cal offered him a wry grin. “Don't tell me that you don't know that half the women out here have a thing for you? Hell, I saw Andrea out there the other day, and she chewed my ear off about it for half an hour,” he said.

He shook his head. “I don't know what's going on with Andrea,” he confessed.

Cal's mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding? She's wanted to jump you ever since she became a member,” he explained.

Joe shook his head. “Andrea may be a little extreme, but I can't imagine she would do something like this.”

Cal tilted his head to the side, one eyebrow arched. “You'd be surprised at what people are capable of. Look at what happened with Zoe and Talbott.”

Joe ran a hand over his face. He didn't want to think about what had happened. He would never have believed that Alex Talbott was capable of the things they had told him about. And Zoe ... He still couldn't believe what she had done. She was the worst. He had seen her around the club many times. He'd always thought she was a little off, but he never would've believed that she was capable of murder.

Could it be true?

Could Andrea be the one watching them?

“Look, man, all I know is you need to be careful. We can't afford to have another incident, not with the campaign starting up. It's risky enough that I'm still financing this place.”

Joe leaned back in his chair. “Your dad's really going to go for it this time?” he inquired.

Cal let out a low huff of aggravation. “Are you kidding? All I hear anymore is ‘next stop White House,'” he replied sarcastically.

Joe smiled. “You're not a fan, I take it?”

His eyebrows rose. “Oh, I'm a fan of him being President, I just don't want to take the ride with him. It seems like the perfect family needs a little polishing, and my dad has decided he's the man for the job.”