Haunted on Bourbon Street (6 page)

He laughed. “I don’t know about that. Our schedules just seem to be clashing. However, I managed to free my calendar for tomorrow night. Are you up for dinner and maybe a little jazz music?”

“Sure, sounds great. I’m working until two, so any time after that I’m free.”

We settled on six p.m., meeting at my apartment. I looked around, wondering where Ian would sit. The bed was the only surface in the room, leaving the other option the floor. Wonderful. Instead of indulging in the nap I’d been hoping for, I grabbed my keys and went in search of Pyper.

***

Pyper wasn’t at the café so I rapped on the club door, hoping to be heard over the faint music pulsing inside. I waited and then knocked harder. On my third try the club door swung open mid-knock.

“Oh, hello,” I stammered, staring into Kane’s chiseled face.

“Jade.” He smiled, and his curiosity pushed at my consciousness. “You’re not here for the auditions, are you?”

I frowned, eyeing my dusty threadbare jeans. What was with these people? Did I look like a stripper? I smoothed my hair. More than a few locks had fallen out of my ponytail. I opened my mouth to protest then noticed Kane’s cocky smile and a fair amount of amusement clinging to him. “Funny. Is Pyper here?”

He chuckled and waved me in. I glanced around, taking in the blue, crushed velvet walls, chairs and love seats I hadn’t noticed before. Things looked different in the daytime. Even the ceiling was done in velvet.

He stepped beside me and guided me with his hand on the small of my back. Electric heat ran up my spine, causing me to shiver. I could almost feel his ego swell as pleasure ran through him. Damn it. He’d felt that. It was all I could do to keep walking and not run for the door. “Have a seat. I’ll grab you something to drink. Pyper might be a while,” he said.

I sat at the bar, watching Kane glide behind the counter.

“What’s your poison?” he asked.

“You don’t have Guinness, do you?”

“Guinness?” He raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know—the Irish pub beer?” I tapped my fingers on the bar. “What? It’s been a long week.” And my wine sat untouched back at my apartment.

“Nothing. I just don’t know many women who drink Guinness.” He reached into a small refrigerator and pulled out the dark bottle. “In a glass?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

He popped the cap and handed it over. I grabbed it and turned around, checking out the scene on the stage in front of me. A group of five women stood listening intently to Pyper.

Kane came out from behind the bar and sat next to me, his own beer in hand.

“Drinking on the job?” I asked.

“One of the perks to being the owner.” He raised his bottle in a mock salute.

I couldn’t argue with that. Nodding, I touched his beer with my own and drank.

We sat in silence, our attention on the stage. Pyper seemed to be giving some sort of instruction. Intrigued, I leaned to the right, trying to see past one of the girls blocking my view. Kane’s musky scent filled my senses. My world tilted. Reaching out, I grabbed onto the closest thing. Kane’s thigh. His muscles tensed, and I wanted nothing more than to run my hand higher along the firm surface. My eyes met his. The deep pools of melted chocolate made me bite down on my lower lip. His eyes shifted at the movement and just when I thought he would lean in…

“What’s goin’ on?” Piqued interest invaded my senses.

The spell broken, I jumped, snatched my hand back and turned my attention to Pyper as she came to a stop in front of us.

“Love the pink,” Kane said in his normal tone, apparently unaffected by whatever had just happened.

She smiled. “I thought you might.”

“Jade was waiting for you.” He got up and left without saying another word.

“What’s that goofy look about?” Pyper asked.

“Huh?” I tried to put my face into a neutral expression. “I don’t know. Just out of my element, I guess. Sorry to bother you while you’re working, but I was hoping I could get a look at the furniture.”

“No problem, you’re not bothering me. My assistant has this under control.”

I grabbed my beer and followed Pyper to a door at the end of the hall. After unlocking it, she flipped the light and ushered me into a room reminiscent of Aunt Gwen’s attic. A tiny walkway had been forged through the clutter of cardboard boxes and old furniture. Dust covered every possible surface, making my nose twitch.

“All of this has been left by past residents?” I asked in disbelief.

“As far as we know. Most of it was here when Kane bought the building.”

Kane. Just his name sent my stomach into flip-flops.

Stop that. You are not interested in a strip club owner.
Too bad he was so damn yummy.

“Jade?” Pyper waved her hand in front of my face.

“Hmmm?”

“Did you hear me? I said, feel free to take anything you want. We’re planning to donate it anyway.”

“Oh! Thanks.” I moved around the room, inspecting the old furniture. The place was packed with everything from antique settees to metal folding chairs. Moving slowly, I selected a small writer’s desk, an old couch destined for a slipcover, and a lamp base in desperate need of some paint. I needed a chair for the desk, but decided to hold out for something a little more comfortable.

“Jade, check this out!” Pyper called from the back of the room.

I picked my way through the mess and followed the direction of her pointed finger. In front of me stood the most beautiful, thick, honey oak headboard I’d ever seen. Intricately carved wooded vines trellised from the center out to the edges. I ran my hand over the tiny blossoms nestled in the clusters of leaves and let my guards down. Love and joy radiated from it. “What flower is this?”

“Bougainvillea. You see a lot of them around here.”

“It’s perfect.”

“I think you’ll want those, too.” Pyper pointed to two matching nightstands.

Grinning, I nodded.

She pulled out her iPhone and dialed. “Kane, I need you to come to the storage room.” She huffed in exasperation. “No, we’re not trapped under anything heavy. Just get your butt in here.”

My smiled faded. This stuff belonged to him. I was no expert, but even I could tell the bedroom furniture was worth a pretty penny. “How much do you think he’ll want for it?”

“Who? Want for what?” Pyper asked in confusion.

“Kane. The furniture.” I waved to the headboard. “That other stuff, the desk and couch, well it’s seen better days. I can see giving them away. But the bedroom set, just look at it.”

Pyper shook her head. “You can ask him, but I doubt he’ll take anything for it. He really wants to turn this room into an office, so the more stuff gone, the better.”

“I’m here. What do you want?” Kane said from right behind us, sounding irritated.

Pyper smiled, unleashing all of her charm on him. “Kane, darling, we need you to flex those bulging muscles and help us move some stuff up to Jade’s place.”

He rolled his eyes. “Your charms don’t work on me.” However, he smiled, and I sensed amusement entering his energy.

“Wanna bet?”

His smile turned into a grin. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.” He glanced at me and nodded.

I waved, feeling like an intruder.

Pyper showed him the bed and night stands. “We’ll get the rest.”

“We will?” I asked as I stared at the couch.

“Of course we will. Come on.”

***

Forty minutes later Pyper handed me an ice pack as I sat on my couch.

“You poor thing. Don’t feel bad, I trip all the time. Let me see it.” She gently pulled my hand away from my head. “It doesn’t look too bad, considering you face-planted the corner of your desk.” She ran a finger along the skin above my eyebrow.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry.” She rummaged in her purse and pulled out a small bottle. “Here, take a few of these.”

As soon as I downed the pills and a glass of water, a shirtless Kane walked in, carrying my desk. I’d left it on the second floor landing after tripping and almost knocking myself out. I cleared my throat. “Thank you,” I croaked out.

“No problem.”

Shifting the ice for a better view, I watched Kane. I just could not tear my eyes away from that chest. The view was more than enough to make me forget about my throbbing head. My hand twitched, aching to touch him, and I yelped in pain. “Oh, shit! That hurt.”

A shadow blocked the sun shining in through the window. I gazed up into Kane’s worried expression. He placed a pillow at the end of the couch. “Here, lie back.”

I did as he said, speechless once more from the heart-aching view.

He took the ice bag from me and gently laid it on my head. “Just relax. We’ll take care of the rest.”

I gave him a weak smile, not trusting my voice.

For the next hour I entertained myself by watching Kane, still shirtless, and Jeff, a club bouncer, move in my furniture and put together my bed. All kinds of Kane fantasies were entertained as his rippling muscles flexed under the weight of the headboard. That bed had some serious potential, and I had plenty of material to work with. I’d been having vivid sex dreams every night for the last four nights. My libido was definitely in overdrive. My mind had formed a particularly fascinating scenario involving caramel when Kane stood up and announced they were finished.

“Already?” I sat up.

Kane glanced at his watch. “Already? We’ve been at this for two hours.”

“Right. What do I owe you?” I reached for my purse.

“For what?”

“The furniture and your time. Jeff’s too.”

“Didn’t Pyper already tell you that stuff was free?” To my disappointment, he pulled his shirt back on.

“Yeah. But it’s such nice stuff. I should pay you something for it.”

Kane stood with his arms folded and shook his head.

“Well, for your time then.” I pulled my wallet out, intent on not letting this go.

“I’ll collect later.” Kane said with a wry grin. “As for Jeff, you can just give him a tip. He’s already on the clock for the club.”

“That isn’t right! He’s been doing my work, not yours. Let me pay his hourly wage.”

Kane shook his head again. “No. I was going to get him to clean out the storage room anyway. It doesn’t matter if it goes up here, or if it goes to the restoration place.”

I stared at him. Was he for real? “At least let me take you to dinner sometime as a thank you.”

“I’m counting on it.” Kane walked away, signaling to Jeff it was time to go.

“Wait!” I pulled out forty dollars and pressed it into Jeff’s hand. “Thank you both so much.”

Jeff looked at the cash, then at me, then to Kane.

“Take it,” Kane said as he opened the door.

Jeff smiled and nodded, following Kane.

“Thanks again,” I called as they left.

Immediately, I pulled out fresh sheets and went to work on making up my new bed. When I’d finished I topped it with my favorite down comforter and added poppy red and coral pillows for color. Standing back, I felt the lure of crawling into my new sanctuary. But my stomach growled. Loudly. I hadn’t eaten since my break at the coffee shop and couldn’t put it off any longer. I pulled my phone out and ordered a small veggie pizza.

With twenty minutes to wait, I showered and was draped in a robe when I heard the knock.

Grabbing my wallet, I raced to the door. When I opened it, my jaw dropped, and instinctively I cinched my robe tighter.

“Dinner’s ready,” Kane said, sweeping past me with the pizza box and a paper bag.

“Uh…”

He handed me the box and pulled me to the couch. “Sit.”

“How—”

“Do you have a bottle opener?”

“On my keychain.” I pointed to my keys on the counter.

He chuckled and pulled out two beers. Popping the caps, he asked, “Always prepared, huh?”

“Swiss army knife.”

He handed me a Guinness. I smiled. I could get used to a man who remembered my beer of choice. “I found the delivery guy outside looking lost,” Kane said as he sat next to me.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Dig in.”

I wasted no time and sighed with pleasure at the first bite. “Yum.” I held out the box, offering him a piece.

He peered in. “Where’s the meat?”

“I don’t like pork.”

“I hear they have other meat options.”

I swallowed my next bite. “So I like veggies on my pizza. Get over it. It’s not like I knew I’d have company”

His eyes roamed over me. “So I see.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Didn’t he have naked employees needing his attention?

“Supposed to?” He pursed his lips. “In a matter of speaking, maybe. But Pyper has it under control. Besides, it isn’t busy right now.”

“Damn. She works all the time. When does she sleep?”