Taming the VIP Playboy (11 page)

“No, Cam will just want to know what our course of action is,” Justin said.

Nate slid closer to her and took her hand in his. Feeling his support made her heart swell and she knew she was falling for him.

“Carlos and I had an affair while I was dancing on the tour and he was a judge. I was careful to never talk to him about the competition,” she said. “And he never actually scored an event I competed in.”

“How did the affair start then?” Justin asked.

“Does that matter?” Nate asked.

“Why don't you go and call Cam? See what's keeping him,” Justin said.

“No. I'll keep my mouth shut. Just don't badger her,” Nate said.

“I'm not,” Justin said. “So?”

“We met at a kids' dance class. The tour sponsors dance workshops at each city we go to in order to introduce competitive ballroom to kids. He and I were partnered in a five-city gig. After the first day, he invited me to dinner and we just had a lot in common.”

“How long did the affair last?”

“Just those three weeks,” she said. “As soon as I went into the ballroom after sleeping with him, it felt wrong. I told him it didn't feel right and the next week he revealed to the judging board that we'd slept together and that I had seduced him to help improve my scores.”

“What did the board do?”

“Suspended both of us. Carlos was demoted to a regional judge. I thought we could work together for an appeal and approached him to ask him to recant what he said and just talk to the board on my behalf…I thought that was why he'd come to the club tonight.”

“But that wasn't the case,” Nate said. “He wants help from her.”

“Let her tell me,” Justin said. “What does he want from you?”

“He didn't say. Actually I'm supposed to meet him in two days' time to tell him my decision. He really wants a job with the dance school in the marketplace you guys own. He's hoping I can influence the decision. He implied that if I don't help him, he'd come after us for money.”

“What did he threaten?” Justin asked.

“To hurt the club's standing in the neighborhood. If I don't help or pay him he's going to stir up a lot of bad publicity.”

“Okay,” Justin said. “Let me think about this. Did anyone else know about your affair?”

“My partner Ivan.”

“Did he see the two of you together?” Justin asked.

“He had dinner with us when Carlos asked me out.”

“Why didn't you ask him to vouch for you?” Justin asked.

“I did. He wrote a letter but they said since he was my partner, they couldn't count on him telling the truth,” Jen said. “Ivan was pretty upset because my being suspended effectively shut him out as well. That was another reason the board didn't accept his version of the story. They said he'd say anything to stay in the competition.”

Justin nodded. “Courts of law are different. I'll need a sworn statement from Ivan. Would he give us one?”

“I'm sure he would,” Jen said.

“I also want to talk to anyone who was at the workshops you conducted.”

“I can get you the names, but we only have two days,” she said.

“We'll get this together in no time. I'd like to talk to the cops about setting up a sting and having Carlos arrested for trying to blackmail you.”

Jen sat back against the seat and glanced over at Nate. “What do you think about that?”

“I think it's brilliant. It will shut Carlos up and get your good name back.”

“That's my thought,” Justin said. “Once Cam gets here I want to see if he agrees to us using the club for the setup. We can control it a lot more if he does it in the club.”

“Control what?” Jen asked.

“Who is there to witness him threatening you,” Justin said.

“Who is threatening Jen?” Cam asked as he walked down toward them.

“Carlos Antonio. And he's threatened the club as well,” Justin said. “I'll catch you up on what I've learned.”

“Walk with me,” Cam said. “It's been a long night and I need a drink… Nate, you don't mind if I help myself, do you?”

“Not at all,” Nate said.

His brothers disappeared into the galley and she turned to face Nate. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

“You're welcome. I didn't like that guy from the moment I met him,” Nate said. “Why not?”

“He just seems too slick.”

“He is that,” Jen said. “Not at all like you. I think I thought he was this older chivalrous guy and all the time he was playing me.”

“I'm not playing you,” Nate said.

“I figured that out in your office,” she said. “I'm not playing you, either.”

J
en wasn't really sure what to say once she was alone with Nate. His brothers had left after working out a rough plan that involved her calling Carlos to the club in the morning. Now it was a little after two a.m. and Nate showed no signs of being tired.

He was wound up and raring to go. Looking for a fight but not with her, for her. The times in her life when she'd needed someone on her side had been rare and she'd always had Marcia, but this was the first time she'd relied on someone who wasn't related to her by blood.

She wanted to pretend that was no big deal and that having Nate on her side didn't mean the world to her. But it did. It meant more than she wanted it to.

“Do you want to spend the night here on the boat or should I take you home?”

“I'd like to stay with you tonight,” she said.

“I'd like that, too. Did you call your sister and let her know what was going on?” Nate asked as he handed her another glass of wine.

“No. I don't want to upset her in the middle of the night. I did text her to let her know where I am, though.”

“My brothers would be pissed if I didn't tell them what was going on,” Nate said.

“She will be, too, but she can't do anything right now and I know she needs a good night's sleep. She's going up against Riley's father in court tomorrow.”

“He's a lawyer?”

“Yes. And each time she faces him, it's important to her that she does her best and wins as much as she can.”

Nate shook his head. “I get that. Must make it hard on her to see him all the time.”

Jen nodded. “The worst part is he still wants to be with her. He just doesn't want to be a dad. Can you imagine that?”

“No, I can't,” Nate said.

“Have you heard back from Hutch about the anniversary party?”

“Yes, he's coming in this weekend and you'll have a chance to meet him and work with him.”

“I have a few ideas that I think he'll like. I've been listening to his music on my iPod.”

“I know. We don't have to talk about the club,” Nate said.

“Sorry. I just want to make sure you know that all the help you and your brothers are giving me, it's not wasted.”

Nate pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. “I already knew that.”

“This has been the strangest day. I never thought that Carlos would act like that.”

Nate took another sip of his wine and moved around on the bench until he was stretched out lengthwise, and then pulled her close to the side of his body. “Comfy?”

“Yes.”

“Good. It's hard to say how someone will react. I had the same thing happen with Daisy.”

She tipped her head up to look at him. The night sky was beautiful, clear and filled with stars. The half moon was moving toward the west but the night was still nice. After the turmoil brought on by Carlos, this was exactly what she needed.

“Daisy was my fiancée.”

“I didn't know you were married…”

“Never made it to the altar. She was looking for a Yankees player who didn't get injured so when I did, she moved on to the guy who took my place.”

Jen shook her head. “That's the most… I'm angry, Nate. She wasn't worthy of you.”

He laughed and hugged her close. “No, she wasn't. But I couldn't see it until it was too late. We all fall into relationships like that.”

She thought about that. Even Marcia—her smart sister—had fallen for a guy who wasn't everything she'd thought he was. “Why do we do that?”

“I have a theory.”

“I bet you do,” she said. “What is it?”

“That we find these people when we most need them in our lives. I know for me I needed Daisy when I first started playing because she gave me a reason to get away from the field. She taught me how to relax and enjoy life.”

She thought about her time with Carlos. “Carlos gave me a glimpse of what life might be after I stopped dancing.”

“But you didn't end up teaching kids,” Nate said.

“No, I didn't. I ended up teaching the rich and famous…not so different from kids.”

“Ha. I think I'll mention that to Hutch when I pick him up at the airport next week.”

“No, don't. I doubt he'll want to work with me if he thinks I called him a child.”

Nate laughed. “He will think it's funny. He's a good guy who doesn't take himself too seriously.”

“How did you meet him?”

“I met him when we were kids but that's not important,” Nate said.

“Yes, it is. I don't want to think about Carlos and what he did. It makes me feel really small and sad. Do you mind talking to me?” she asked. She'd already revealed her vulnerability to Nate tonight—there was no hiding it from him now. She needed to just lie here in his arms and forget that life wasn't perfect.

“I can do that,” he said.

He held her closer to him and stroked her hair as he talked about meeting Hutch Damien at boarding school and the trouble they both got in. She enjoyed that. It made Nate all the more real to her and that was exactly what she needed him to be.

 

Nate carried Jen to his bed and tucked her in before going back up on deck to stare out at the sea. He needed some time alone to figure this out. He didn't like the fact that he'd wanted to physically hurt Carlos. He hadn't been kidding about that.

“Nate?”

He turned to see her standing in the doorway. She leaned there watching him, her hair flowing free around her shoulders.

“Yes?”

“Why didn't you come to bed?” she asked, walking over to join him.

“I couldn't sleep,” he said. “And I didn't want to disturb you.”

“That is precisely why I couldn't sleep. I like having your arms around me, Nate. I've grown accustomed to you.”

He wanted to warn her not to rely on him. That the more deeply they came to care about each other, the more panicked he felt at living up to her needs. But he didn't.

He didn't because she chose that moment to wrap her arms around him. “Dance with me in the moonlight?”

“There isn't any music,” he said.

“I will sing for you.”

“Can you sing?”

“Sort of.”

He chuckled. “I have a stereo system on the yacht. What do you want to hear?”

“What's your favorite song?”

“Slow or fast?”

“I guess I'd say that depends on your mood,” she said.

“I love Dean Martin. I know he's not hip, but he is cool—the ultimate cool, you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And he sings the perfect songs for holding a woman in your arms.”

“I'd have to agree. Dean is a great one for romantic standards. What about a fast song?”

“‘Shine a Little Love'…ELO.”

“Jeff Lynne is the best. Let's dance to ELO.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. We need something that will make us forget about everything. That's the power of dance.”

Nate fiddled with the iPod and the docking station and found “Shine a Little Love.” Soon the music was blasting from the speakers and Jen stood on the deck in the moonlight beckoning to him. Her hips were swaying and she drew him closer to her.

She brushed by him and touched him with each move she made, and he felt powerful and together with her. He forgot about his anger toward Carlos—and toward Jen a little for getting herself in this situation.

The night breeze blew across the deck. Jen put her hands up in the air as she twirled and clapped and sang along with the music.

“You're not a bad singer,” he said.

“Let me hear your singing voice, Mr. Stern,” she said.

He danced closer to her, pulling her into his arms and singing into her ear. She tipped her head up and looked him in the eyes.

He had no idea what he was going to do with her but tonight with the half moon hanging in the sky and calm waters all around them, it didn't really matter.

All that mattered was the way Jen felt in his arms. When the song ended, she took his hand. “Slow dance with me.”

He felt her hands make their way under his shirt. She tucked her fingers into the back of his pants and held her to him as they swayed to the sound of the breeze blowing over the bow of the ship and the water that lapped gently against the boat.

And in that moment he knew that no matter what his logical mind might be thinking, he didn't want to be anywhere else. Even with her problems and the complications that Jen brought into his life, she enriched it and gave him something he'd never thought he'd find.

“Thank you,” he said.

“What for?”

“For this. For tonight. For dancing with me even though you have every right to distrust all men thanks to Carlos.”

She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Brushed her lips over his and then held the back of his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. “You are easy to trust.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, very easy.”

Nate wanted to live up to her expectations of him but he was very afraid that he wouldn't be the man she needed him to be.

But tonight there was no need to worry about disappointing her. He lifted her in his arms and carried her back down to the master suite and laid her in the center of the bed.

“Tired of dancing?” she asked.

“No. I just wanted to make love to you.”

“I'm glad.”

He took his time taking his clothes off and then removed hers. He kissed every inch of her body and then caressed her until she was moaning his name and begging him to enter her. He was on fire wanting her so badly but he needed to savor it tonight. Needed to take her slowly so that he could wring every ounce of pleasure from both of their bodies.

And he did. When he finally thrust into her, she came in a rush and he followed her with his own climax. He thought he'd never recover from the intensity of it. He curled himself around her when they both came down and tucked her close as they both fell asleep.

 

Jen was nervous the next day as she waited inside the main room of Luna Azul for Carlos to arrive. This plan had been gone over many times and she knew all she had to do was pretty much let Carlos do the talking. Nate, Justin and Cam were all waiting a few feet away along with a couple of Miami's finest detectives. Thanks to the ceiling's design, if you stood on the far end of it the voices on the other side were clear. It had been designed in the same style as the whispering gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral.

The door opened letting in the bright Florida afternoon sun and Carlos. He walked over to her looking very confident. Now that Nate had mentioned it, he did look a little too slick for his own good.

“I see you changed your mind,” Carlos said by way of greeting.

“I haven't,” she said. “I just wasn't sure I heard you right the other night. The music was so loud.”

“Give me a break. You know what I said. If you don't agree to my terms I will make sure your new bosses know all about your past as well as making you and this club the reason why I cannot teach in Little Havana.”

“What are your terms?”

“Since you don't seem willing or able to help me get a job teaching at the dance academy, I think a hundred thousand dollars will do it.”

“For what? I don't have that kind of money.”

“No, but your bosses do. And rumor has it you are
dating one of them…Nate. I should have guessed that when I met him the other night.”

“That's crazy, Carlos. I'm not going to be able to convince Nate to give me that kind of money.”

“For your sake, I hope you can,” he said. “You cost me my job, Jen, and my reputation.”

“That's not true. You cost yourself your reputation. You asked me out and yet they blamed everything on me.”

“I did, but the panel found I was at fault as well. I was demoted to the regional circuit, if you recall…I'm not meant to live in Indiana, Jen.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. And she was sorry. Carlos had tried to make her the scapegoat but she at least had something else to turn to.

“Maybe I can help you get the teaching job here?”

“It's too late. I don't want to teach. And I won't have to. I will expect the money tomorrow.”

“I will try…”

“Better use all your wiles, Jen. Don't mess this up or you're going to be out on your ass again.”

She shook her head as Carlos turned and walked away. As soon as he was gone she walked over to Nate and the other men.

“You did great,” Justin said.

“Do you have enough to arrest him?” she asked.

“Not yet. We will need to catch him taking the money,” Detective Elder said.

“I don't think I can get that kind of cash.”

“We have it,” Cam said. “The cops will arrest him as soon as he takes it from you.”

“Great,” she said. This didn't sound like her idea of a good plan, but she knew they had to follow the
proper channels, or Carlos wouldn't be arrested. And she wanted him in jail.

“So we have until tomorrow?”

“Yes. I will get the money,” Cam said.

Cam and Justin stayed with the detectives and Nate led her back to the rehearsal room.

“How are you?” he asked when they were alone.

“Okay,” she said because she didn't want to let on how much it bothered her that she was still paying for the mistake of letting Carlos into her life.

“Don't worry about this too much. We will get him. I can promise you that. Standing outside listening to him threaten you—it was all I could do to keep from going after the guy.”

She smiled up at him.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked.

“You make me feel very cared for,” she admitted.

He nodded. “Don't forget it.”

“I won't,” she said. “I'm just sorry I brought him here to you guys.”