Pixie Dust (Karli Lane #1) (32 page)

“Great. Meet me at my place right before ten.”

“Will do baby! Hey, be sure to dress extra slutty tonight. I’m taking you to my favorite place. Only super hot people make it past the front door!”

I stood in front of the mirror thinking about my outfit. I settled on something I saw at the mall last week. I sprinkled some fairy dust over my head and was instantly clothed in a yellow draped neck mini tunic dress with t-strap metallic stilettos. Yep, this one will definitely make Eri proud.

She arrived around ten with a busty platinum blonde. Tom’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth as I invited them in. Erica nodded to the woman beside her.“Karli, this is Audrina. She just got cast in that topless review where they flash a bunch of lights onto the women’s bodies. Audrina, meet Karli.”

Audrina looked me up and down while I was doing to the same to her. She looked really familiar but I couldn’t quite place her. She was heavily made up, wearing a jeweled neck fuchsia mini dress. Her nails and shoes matched and her spray tan was probably about two shades too dark. She fanned her nails and said, “Yes, we’ve already met.”

“We have?” I asked.

“Yes, at a club. You were monopolizing all of my favorite lover’s time.”

I thought about it for a minute until it hit me. The leggy blonde that Chad blew off. “Ah, at
Voyeur-Gasm
, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” She replied acidly.

“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.” I said, returning her tone. “And I wasn’t monopolizing anyone’s time. Trust me honey, he’s all yours.”

“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up.”

I gave Erica a sour look before asking, “Where are the rest of the girls?”

“They’re going to meet us there. Roxy is dating one of the bouncers so she wanted to get there early to secure a room for us.”

I grabbed my keys and purse and ushered the ladies out into the hall while I locked my front door. “C’mon Tom. You’re in for a wild ride.” His shift was almost over and I wasn’t about to wait for the changing of the guards. “You should probably call Joel and have him meet us there.”

Wow, you’d think he was new in town with the way he was gawking at us. “Yes, Ma’am. I have a feeling he’s going to
love
being on the job tonight.”

“Uh huh. I bet. Let’s go.”

We all piled into my car and headed for the club. We saw Roxy waiting for us at the front of the line. “Hey bitches! Ready to get your drink on?” She looked at Tom. “Who’s the big guy?”

“He’s my bodyguard.” She gave me a confused look. “Don’t ask.” I warned.

The entrance tunnel to the club had a gold mirrored mosaic of changing lights, fog and sound. It was the preamble of the exciting experience waiting inside. This place came equipped with state-of-the-art lighting as well as a pulse-pounding sound system which was currently blasting techno music. The synchronized fireballs shot out above the dance floor, captivating the audience below. A forty foot wall of water provided the ultimate backdrop for the go-go dancers while the main dance floor was surrounded by a body of water. The dancing fountains struggled to keep up with the sea of glistening bodies.

Roxy grabbed my hand pulling me further inside. “I got us two cabanas.” She yelled over the music. “C’mon they’re up here.”

We followed her upstairs and were met by Amanda and five other people that I didn’t know. Tom joined us a minute later after making arrangements with the bouncer to let Joel in once he arrived.

“Karli, who’s your friend?” Amanda asked.

“This is Tom. He’s running security tonight. Don’t ask.” I looked at the people sitting around enjoying their drinks. “Who are your friends?”

“Guys, this is Karli from my work.” She nodded her head towards each person from left to right as she introduced them. “Karli, this is Kim, Leah, Scott, Tanner, and Tynesha.”

Tanner gave me a very appreciative once over as he moved towards me. I couldn’t help but return the gesture. His pretty college boy look was definitely turning some heads around here. “Hi there Karli. It’s very nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Um, sure. A vodka and cran would be good.”

“Coming right up.” Man, he had a sexy smile.  

One drink turned into many as time flew by. Bass thumped deep in my body, commanding me to move on the dance floor. The girls and I were surrounded by gorgeous frat boys, each of them trying to rub up against us as much as possible, hoping to convince one of us to go home with them. Tanner was doing a really good job holding my interests. We danced together for hours, rhythmically moving and swaying to the music. He pulled me closer, whispering all the naughty things that he’d like to do to me back at his place. God help me, but I was tempted. It felt so good to escape all the drama that has been controlling my life lately. He pulled me into the cabana, closing the curtains behind us. I caught a quick glimpse of Joel who looked very uncomfortable with the whole situation. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he would be reporting every bit of my behavior to Vance but I didn’t really care at the moment.

He sat down on the plush red couch, pulling me into his lap. “So Karli, why don’t we get out of here?” He started kissing my neck and stroking my sides making it really hard to turn him down.

My body trembled when he started sucking on my earlobes. “Um, look Tanner, I don’t think that’s the best idea. I drove my friends here and I really can’t leave them stranded.”

“You’re in no condition to drive.” He continued kissing a path down to my collarbone, leaving goose pimples in his wake.

“No, but my bodyguard can.” I replied.  

He pulled back from me. “Why do you need a bodyguard anyway?”

“It’s a really long story.”

“I have plenty of time.” He moved to the other side of my neck while his hand moved up to my right breast.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” I gasped from the heat of his touch.

He pulled back again, flashing me his pearly whites. “It’s all good baby. Talking is overrated anyway.” My reflexes were a little slow from all the alcohol, so I didn’t even realize what was happening until he was already kissing me. I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on me the second his lips touched mine. I was horrified at how
wrong
this felt. What is the matter with me? I have a hot, uncomplicated, normal human guy
who wants me. He may as well have been a hideous troll based on the freezing effect his kiss had on me. I pursed my lips, quickly pulling away from him. I jumped out of his lap and smoothed my dress into place. “Whoa, what’s wrong beautiful girl?”

I backed away, opening the curtains. “I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me.” I looked back at Joel before returning my attention to Tanner. “I gotta go.” I swung around, grabbing Joel by the arm and yanking him down the stairs. “I need you to take me home. NOW.”

Erica and Roxy caught up with us on the way down. “Wait guys! Can you give us a lift?” Erica asked. “We are way too blitzed to drive. My car’s at your place anyway. We can just crash in your living room and I’ll drive Roxy back to get her car later.”

I looked at both of them and could easily see they were in no condition to get behind the wheel. “Yeah, let’s go.” The three of us stumbled into my apartment twenty minutes later as Joel assumed his normal guard dog position outside my door. I went into my bedroom and grabbed some pajamas, blankets, and pillows. I threw everything on the couch. “Here. Take what you want. I’m going to bed.” I peeled off all of my clothes and crawled into my wonderful new bed.

I woke up with the distinct impression that someone was watching me. I saw movement in the corner of my room and had to stifle a scream. I tried to make sense of the shadows but it was too dark to see anything. I sprang up in bed and turned on my lamp. Nothing was there. WTF? I checked my window which was still locked, then put on my robe and tiptoed down the hall. Erica was fast asleep on the couch and Roxy was on the floor beside her. I opened the door to talk to Joel. “Hey, have you been out here the whole time?” I whispered.

“Yes, with the exception of a quick piss break about an hour ago.” He replied. “Why?”

“Oh, it’s probably nothing.” I replied. “I just thought I saw someone in my bedroom a few minutes ago, but it must have been my imagination.”

“Do you want me to check it out?”

“No, my window’s locked. There’s no way someone could’ve gotten in with you on guard out here and the two sleeping in the living room. It was probably just a dream.”

“Okay, well let me know if you change your mind Ms. Lane.”

“Thanks, I will.”

********************

The second time I awoke, I was lying on top of a warm, male body. Oh shit!
What did I do?
I replayed last night’s events in my head and couldn’t figure out who this block of muscle belonged to, or how he got in my bed. I looked up shamefully, hoping to God he wasn’t awake yet. Vance. Phew! Wait a minute, what the hell?

There was a light knock on the door before Erica poked her head in. “Hey K, we’re---” She looked at Vance and smiled. “Oops, I didn’t know you had company. Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that Rox and I are taking off.”

Vance woke up and pulled me into him, smashing my naked breasts into his equally naked chest. “Good morning Erica.” He kissed my shoulder. “Good morning beautiful.”

“Morning.” We both said in unison.

“Okay…..well, I’ll let you two get back to what you’re doing.” She winked at me. “Don’t worry; we’ll lock the door behind us. Toodles!”

“No, wait…we weren’t doing
anything
!” I shouted, but she was already gone.

He moved my hair aside and kissed the curve of my neck. “Would you like to change that?”

I rolled over, pulling away from him. “What the hell are you doing here anyway?”

 “Joel called me.”He replied. “He was concerned about you…..said that you went out last night and had a lot to drink. Apparently, you were talking nonsensically about someone being in your room.” He scooted closer to me, resting his large hand on my bare hip. “I thought maybe your brain was sending you subliminal messages because you
wanted
someone in your room.”

Oh shit, could that be true? I gave him a dirty look. “Well, how convenient that you have full access to my house so you can come take advantage of a drunk girl.”

“Oh please, Karli.” He rolled his eyes. “If I wanted to take advantage of you, I would have jumped on the many opportunities you gave me while you were groping me in your sleep.”

“I was
not
groping you in my sleep!” I insisted. Crap, was I?

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, you can deny it all you want but it doesn’t change the truth.” 

I huffed in frustration. “Whatever. Look, will you just get out of my room so I can get dressed?”