Strip Tease (12 page)

And that was a huge obstacle to
overcome.

“I guess I did. I’m bad.” Forgetting his
troubles, Nate rolled over, hovering above her with a grin on his
face. “I should be punished.”

Janelle smiled, arching her lower body
against his. “I have a feeling my idea of punishment and your idea
of punishment is two different things.”

“They might be closer than you think.”

He kissed her, losing himself in her arms,
in her mouth.

It was easier to do than face the truth.

“Are you all right Janelle? You seem
distracted.”

Janelle nodded, pushed a stray hair out of
her eyes. She smiled at Marnie, inwardly upset she let her boss see
how foolish she was. Letting a man occupy her thoughts when she
should be focused on her work wasn’t good. “I’m fine, sorry. Just
tired.”

Marnie smiled in return. “You’ve been
working so hard lately, of course you’re tired. You should leave
early this afternoon, go have some quality me time.”

“But don’t you need my help?”

“With all of your efficiency these last few
days, I think we have a much better handle on this event than we
did last year at this time. I think you’ve earned an afternoon
off.” Marnie snapped her notebook shut, then checked her cell
phone, which rested by her elbow. “Sometimes we all need to escape
from life and forget our troubles.”

“What do you do to forget?” Janelle would
love to be able to forget her troubles but they’d multiplied by
about one hundred thousand since she had mind blowing sex with Nate
last night.

God, could she have done anything stupider
than fall into bed with the sexy detective?

No, she really didn’t think so.

“Oh, sometimes I go to the bookstore and
browse the magazines. Especially the travel or home improvement
ones because with those I can daydream. Or I’ll go do a little
retail therapy and look around some of my favorite shops, maybe
haunt the mall. I don’t know, I just try and slow down my normally
hurried pace and relax for a bit. And I definitely think you need
to do that. Relax, let your mind wander. You’ve been awfully
focused lately.”

“I want to do a good job for this fund
raiser, Marnie. I want everything to be flawless.” Janelle worried
her lower lip, looking over her to do list for what felt like the
millionth time. Marnie was right, most everything that needed to be
done up to this point was handled. The remaining items on the list
couldn’t be taken care of until they got closer to the date.

Marnie laughed. “These events are never
completely flawless, let me tell you. There’s always some sort of
screw up like the lighting company not showing up until two hours
before the show, or one of the models broke her foot right as she’s
going onto the runway. Trust me, I’ve seen it all.”

“Gosh, I would freak out if any of that
happened. Did they really? What did you do?”

“Yes they did actually happen. What could we
do?” Marnie shrugged. “These are things out of our control. We have
to roll with the punches, find a quick solution and move on.”

The idea alone of anything crazy happening
on the night of the Passion for Fashion event made Janelle want to
break out in a cold sweat. She did not want to disappoint her boss.
This was her moment to shine. She’d be devastated if it was ruined
in any way.

“Janelle sweetie, seriously.” Marnie’s hand
rested over hers. “You need to calm down, take a chill pill. I can
see the panic in your eyes and the event is still a ways away.
Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Janelle took a deep breath and exhaled
slowly. She was being ridiculous, she knew it. Overreacting because
she didn’t want to face the truth of what was really happening in
her life. She didn’t want to think about Nathan Banks and what she
was going to do.

What
could
she do? Ignore him?
Pretend what happened between them last night never happened? Sure,
it sounded easy.

But the reality was, not so much. The sex
between them had been amazing, though she didn’t want to admit it.
He’d been so caring, so sweet, then rough and sexy just when she
needed him to be.

Nate had been almost...perfect. And she’d
never been able to say that about any guy she’d slept with
before.

“I think I will take you up on the afternoon
off offer, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, I don’t mind. I’ll get someone
to cover the phones and you go ahead. It’ll do you some good.”

“More than anything, I want a nap. Sleep
sounds the most relaxing to me right now.” Janelle stood, pushed
her chair back under the table. They’d met in the company
conference room to discuss the plans for the event.

“Do whatever it takes to refresh you,
Janelle. Everything will be waiting for you here in the morning.
See you tomorrow.”

Janelle left work minutes later, unable to
push the away the guilt that swamped her. Since she started working
at the agency, she’d never taken one sick day, had never arrived
late and certainly never left early. This was a major moment.

Of course, maybe it had been a mistake,
leaving hours before she was normally off. Now she was alone with
her thoughts, all of which focused on the delectable Nate.

A shiver moved through her as she climbed
into her car. The man had magic hands, magic fingers, magic lips.
Magic everything. He’d been able to bring her to climax in minutes,
over and over again, until she thought she couldn’t come anymore.
They’d literally gone at it all night long. The man had been
insatiable.

She’d been just as bad. Worse. It was almost
embarrassing, how eager she’d been for him, for his touch, his
kisses…

Tugging on her car door, she gasped when it
didn’t budge. A shadow loomed over her and she glanced up. A broad
shouldered man stood beside her car, the sun shining behind him,
casting his body in shadow so she couldn’t make out his
features.

“Seen Ginger lately?” His voice was pitched
low, very rough and a foreboding shiver moved through her.

“Who are you?” She jerked on the door handle
but it wouldn’t budge. The man had a firm hold against her car door
and he didn’t look like he was going anywhere soon.

“Doesn’t matter. Answer the question,
Janelle.”

Ah God, he knows my name. He knows
exactly who I am.
“I haven’t seen her in weeks. I have no idea
where she is.”

“You so sure about that?” The man cocked his
head, moving in closer and she scooted away. He smelled like foul
body odor and stale cigarettes. “I’ve heard you two are real close,
being identical sisters and all.”

Janelle shook her head, panic clawing at her
throat. God, what the hell had Ginger gotten herself into? “I
haven’t seen her,” she said firmly. “And she won’t return my
calls.”

It was all true. Minus the fact Ginger had
called her recently, though it hadn’t been much to count. Even to
this schmuck.

“Well, you be sure and give her this message
from Billy Diaz. He needs to talk to her. Pronto. You
understand?”

Janelle’s head jerked in response and she
tried to contain the full bodied tremble that threatened. “I’ll let
her know.”

The slimy man slapped her door twice, shot
her a creepy leer and then pushed away from the car, sauntering
across the parking lot as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

Slamming her door shut, she started the car
with quaking fingers, cursed herself for letting the horrible man
get to her. Anger simmered through her veins and she tore out of
the parking lot, eager to get home and away from all of her
newfound stress.

Damn her sister for being such a fool and
for putting Janelle in such a risky situation. All she’d ever
wanted was a normal life, to work hard and eventually find a nice
man to settle down with.

Now she had a punk thug harassing her, a cop
who made her panties melt with one glance and a sister who was on
the run from her criminal boyfriend.

Just. Flippin’. Great.

She drove home in record time, constantly
peering in her review mirror, afraid she’d find someone following
her. Just like a stupid TV movie. Thank God she didn’t see anyone.
The second she pulled into the parking spot at her apartment, she
tore out of her car like the dogs from hell were nipping at her
heels. She hurried up the stairs, stabbed her key into the lock and
turned it, slamming the door behind her and locked it with a firm
twist.

Slumping against the door, she bumped her
head against it, closing her eyes. She was exhausted. She was
scared.

Funny how the first thing she wanted to do
was call Nate and ask him to come over. As if she needed him to
make her feel safe.

He was working. And they agreed they
wouldn’t see each other unless it had to do with Ginger and his
investigation.

This did
, the evil little voice
inside her brain whispered.
One of Billy Diaz’s henchmen
threatened you, told you specifically he was looking for Ginger.
Nate would want to know. You need to call him.

Pushing from the door, she went for the
phone, grabbing his business card that rested on the kitchen
counter. She dialed his cell phone number and listened as it rang,
hoping against hope she’d get his voice mail so she’d have to leave
a message.

She didn’t know if she’d be able to stand
talking to him.

His rich, sexy voice answered on the fourth
ring. “Banks.”

“Nate?” She clutched the phone tight, her
entire body reacting to this voice. He sounded rushed, irritated
and the last thing she wanted was to bother him.

“Janelle, hey. Are you all right?” His voice
took on a hushed quality, full of concern and her heart warmed.

“Um, not really. Something happened in the
parking lot when I was leaving work.”

“What?” His tone sharpened, the concern
taking on an edgy sound. “Tell me.”

She paused, closing her eyes for a moment
and breathed deep. It felt good to talk to him, to hear the worry
in his voice. How she wanted to fool herself into believing he
cared for her.

“This strange man approached my car as I was
about to leave. He asked about Ginger. He threatened me and
demanded to know where she was.”

“Shit, you’re kidding.”

“I wish.”

“What did you tell him?”

“What could I tell him? I haven’t talked to
her or seen her in weeks. I have no idea where Ginger is.”

“Where are you right now?”

“My apartment. My boss let me take the
afternoon off. The guy must’ve been waiting for me in the parking
lot.”

“Stay put, I’ll be right there.”

“Oh Nate, you don’t have to do that.”

“Too late, I am. Don’t leave. Wait for me.
I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hung up.

Pushing the end button on her phone, she set
it on the countertop, her stomach fluttering in anticipation.

Damn it, she was behaving like an idiot. She
should be scared out of her mind, thankful Nate was coming over.
Instead, she was excited at seeing him again.

Would it be hard to look at him and imagine
what he looked like last night as he drove himself inside her? How
he tasted when he kissed her? The way he woke her at five this
morning, his head buried between her legs, his tongue lapping at
her until she came yet again?

She needed to stop torturing herself. This
was going to be hard, but she’d known what she was getting into the
minute she kissed him last night. More than anything, she needed to
get over it. What was done was done.

Like a fool, she allowed her emotions into
the situation. Something she promised she wouldn’t do.

God, she was an idiot.

Nate knocked on her door in record time, a
mere ten minutes after he hung up. She opened the door to find him
standing there, hands shoved deep inside his pants’ pockets, his
expression and stance grim.

He looked gorgeous. A faint breeze ruffled
his dark hair, causing an errant lock to drift across his forehead.
His burnished skin appeared even darker, contrasting against his
white button up shirt and his hair dusted forearms were exposed by
rolled-up sleeves. She was faint at the sight of him.

“Can I come in?”

The sound of his voice was even worse. Deep
and sexy and skittering across her nerve endings. She didn’t know
if she could stand it, having him so close.

Opening the door wider, she stepped aside
and he strode within, turning to face her as she shut the door.
“Was it Billy who threatened you?”

“No, of course not. I’ve met Billy before.
This guy was definitely not him. But he works for him, or at least
that’s what he said. He was gross, he smelled terrible.” She
shivered at the memory.

Nate paced the living room, whipping out a
small notebook from his back pants’ pocket. “Can you describe him
for me? Try to get as close as you can remember.”

Doing as best she could, she tried to
remember every detail. She hadn’t been able to see much, what with
the way he stood in front of the sun, casting himself in shadow.
She was sure he did that little trick on purpose. Nate seemed
satisfied with her description though, snapping his notebook shut
when she finished.

“I’ll call it in, let my partner know this
guy is out there. Maybe Greg could look for him in the vicinity
surrounding your workplace.”

She frowned. Nate had a partner? He sure
didn’t mention him much. “I didn’t realize you had a partner.”

Nate shrugged, guilt flashing in his eyes.
“I’ve been working on my own some nights.”

“Oh.” Odd. She had a feeling that wasn’t
following protocol. “Well, I’m sure the guy is long gone. He didn’t
seem the type who’d stick around.”

“You never know. He might be trying to sniff
out some more personal information about you. He might be back at
Billy’s club. I’m going there later. See if I can find him.”