Virgin Dancer (7 page)

"All right," Jade croaked, beaten. "I'll do anything as long as you don't hurt Caleb." She took the phone and stuck it into the back pocket of her jeans. "But Alrik told me in clear terms that he didn't want a relationship with me, not even an affair. How can I …"

"That's your problem," Ascobar said. He knocked against the screen separating the back seat of the car from the driver, and they stopped. One of his men opened the door for Jade, and she stepped out to the pavement, her knees shaking. She was standing right in front of her apartment building. They had driven her home, and she hadn't even noticed. Of course they knew where she lived, too. They would be watching her every step from now on.

"Call me. And don't wait too long," Ascobar said before the driver closed the door. "If you should tell anybody about our little agreement, including Alrik, your brother is dead." He was smiling again.

*****

The next evening, Jade was back at the club, still having no idea how to manage to talk to Alrik. Knowing that he'd make her leave the moment he saw her, she decided to have a drink first, watching the crowd on the dance floor. Alrik was nowhere to be seen. The fear of losing Caleb drove her to extreme measures. She had called him, straining to conceal the fear in her voice.

This time, she was glad that Caleb had a hard time guessing other people's emotions. She didn't want to frighten him when it was unnecessary. To her utter relief he had sounded all right, but he had confirmed that a man he didn't know had visited him; a nice man in a suit who had wanted to learn all about his search engine project.

"Even if he's nice - if he returns, simply don't speak to him, Caleb. He's a stranger, and we don't know yet if he's a friend," she said before bidding her brother good-bye and hanging up. She couldn't say more without scaring him, and she knew that Caleb wouldn't be able to escape anyway if someone intended to kill him. Shivering, she suppressed the tears pricking her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on her task.

Soon, she would dig up something about Alrik that would satisfy Ascobar, and he'd leave them alone. The realization that she might bring Alrik into danger with her betrayal weighed heavily on her conscience. Maybe she could find a way to warn him when her ‘deal’ with his declared business partner was finished. All her instincts told her that he was one of the good guys, but after all, what did she know about his world? She hardly knew him and she couldn't be sure if he was trustworthy - especially when the life of her little brother was at stake.  

She was wearing an elegant, tight black dress tonight, with long sleeves but a low neckline that showed off her long, slender neck to her advangage. Usually, she couldn't afford such beautiful clothes, but Marc, one of her neighbors - gorgeous but, unfortunately for the female population of New York, gay - went to a school for fashion design and often used her as a live fitting model. In return, she was allowed to borrow any of his creations when she needed something special to wear.

"You look like a million dollars, babes," Marc had said when she left for the club. She hadn't confided in her other friends, not telling them that she’d returned to see Alrik. Naturally, they had pestered her with questions after the night of her birthday, but she had just smiled mysteriously, not telling them what exactly had happened. If they believed that she'd finally had sex with a man, so much the better. She hoped that they'd leave her alone now.

Still searching for a clue how to get through to Alrik, she coincidentally glanced up at the ceiling and saw the row of surveillance cameras installed there. Security would report anything unusual that happened straight to Alrik, at least that was what she assumed. Jade stopped dead in her tracks as an idea began to form in her mind. Suddenly, a wide smile spread across her lips. Being a virgin didn't mean that she didn't enjoy causing some trouble.

If her plan worked, she would get His Majesty out of his ivory tower in no time. If not, it might lead to being thrown out onto the street, or would get her in trouble with the police, at worst. But it'd be well worth the fun. Not knowing why she felt so daring tonight, she pulled out the pins that kept her hair swept up, and combed it through with her fingers until the curls fell freely down her shoulders. Then she straightened her shoulders and marched right over to one of the black basalt blocks where one of the strippers was dancing. The curvy blonde wasn’t wearing more than a bra, a thong and killer heels.

Jade looked up to the dancer and lightly tapped against her leg, screaming at the top of her lungs so the woman heard her over the music. "I'm the new dancer," she shouted, pleased by the woman's surprised expression. "Mr Larsson just told me to take your place. He says you can take a break and have a drink on the house, sweetie," she added, giving the dancer a smile. The blonde stared at her for a few moments, and Jade held her breath. If the girl chose to call security and have her assertion checked, she'd never be able to carry on with her plan. But then the dancer slowly slipped down, walking away with an offended glance. Jade quickly took her place and began to dance on the block.

At first she moved very slowly, but as the trance music changed to an upbeat dance song, she quickly caught the rhythm and started to walk around the pole, seductively swaying her hips with the beat. Dancing was something she felt very confident about, and she managed to turn the first male heads in no time. Swirling and shaking her body, she thought about her choreography at first, but after a while just let go, letting herself just flow with the music. After a while, she recognized that more and more men around the dance floor were watching her - some of them shyly in awe, others with blatant want in their eyes. She began to shove herself up and down the pole in slow circles and enjoyed seeing jaws dropping.

Never in her whole life had Jade enjoyed herself that much. It felt so damn great not being a good girl for once. The way she moved her body, playing an ancient, sensual game, made her feel sexy and incredibly feminine, surrendering herself to the power of awakening desire, to show them what they could never have. Growing bolder, she began to touch herself seductively, running her fingers along her neck and down her cleavage, just stopping before she reached the tip of her breast. Then, slowly, she began to pull down her dress, revealing one bare shoulder …

Unexpectedly, the music stopped. There was some tumult on the dance floor, and a loud roar made her turn her head.

Her golden giant was coming to her, walking with long, angry strides while the crowd parted before him like the Red Sea. For a second, she caught a glimpse of his Viking ancestry in his wild, furious expression as he reached the block and grabbed her ankle. For a few seconds, he simply stared into her eyes, and what she saw in them - a mixture of fury and raw, unveiled hunger - made her wince. She cried out in surprise when he pulled her down with a single, almost violent movement, and she landed right in his arms. Without a word, he carried her away, heading to the elevator. Jade didn't even dare to move. She had never seen anyone so angry. He looked as if he'd be able to kill somebody. Behind them, the DJ had turned up the music again, breaking the awkward silence. Some people clapped and shouted something obscene, and she buried her face against Alrik's black shirt, deeply embarrassed.

He bellowed something in Swedish to the surprised guard before the elevator doors closed behind them, and they were alone.

"What were you thinking?" he growled as he set her down on her feet before typing in his code. Slowly, the elevator began to move. "Why did you come back? And most of all, how could you dance … like
this
in front of the whole club?"

"Why, didn't you like it, Alrik?" she hissed back. "Obviously you must have watched me very closely through the cameras, or you wouldn't even have known. Your watchdog down there probably saw me the moment I entered the club. He told you that I was here, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," he said through gritted teeth. "And I told him to send you away, should you try to enter the elevator again."

"Oh, I expected that," Jade said. "How charming of you, after all you did to me. You … you tied me up on your fucking bed, naked, before you told me to go home. Today, you talked me into joining you on a ferry trip, kissing me and telling me charming stories of your home in Sweden. God, maybe you made it all up, secretly laughing about the naïve girl who offered you her virginity. You were playing with me."

"No, I didn’t!" he growled. "All I told you was true. As for my behavior, I apologize. But I can assure you that I had my reasons," he answered, averting his eyes. "Jade …"

"Then why shouldn't I have some fun, at least?" she spat at him. "I had so much fun tonight, I might even consider a career as an exotic dancer. I'm quite good at it, don't you think? Did you see their jaws dropping …?"

She never finished her sentence. Alrik grabbed her around the waist and drove her against the wall, covering her with his tall, hard body. The elevator came to a stop when Jade's back hit one of the buttons. There wasn't even enough time to breathe before his lips crushed hers, his tongue claiming her wildly as he shoved up her dress and placed her long, slender legs around his hips. Moaning, Jade began to kiss him back while she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on to him, succumbing to his strength.

He kissed her almost violently at first. He was marking her as his possession, wiping out the memory of all the men that had stared at her in the club, and of every man who had ever touched or kissed her before. She loved every second of it and let him overpower her for a while before she began to play with his tongue, wanting him to be her own just the same. She grabbed his hair and pulled at it, surprised by its silken softness as she ran her fingertips over a high cheekbone, the angular line of his jaw and down his long, muscular neck. When she reached the collar of his shirt and unfastened the top button, he groaned, kissing his way down her throat and along her collarbone.

Whenever she was with Alrik, his presence seemed to turn her into a passionate, instinct-driven creature, and she clung to him desperately. The helpless fury and fear that had torn her inside since Ascobar had started to blackmail her rose to the surface and turned into the desperate need to feel alive, surrender herself to the man in her arms. Even if she was powerless to prevent what had been happening to her lately, at least this was something she could control. She wanted him to take over her body, fill her and make her forget everything but his strength, the feel of his naked skin on hers.

 She hadn't realized that he had pulled down her dress over her shoulders, and he continued doing so while his lips wandered over the swell of her breasts, teasing and kissing. Her arms were pressed against her sides, entangled in the tight sleeves of her dress. The helpless position made her feel like she was tied-up again, and she trembled with delight. The memory of being shackled and bound to his bed had driven her mad since the night they'd met, and the thought of what could have happened had made her run her hands over her aching body - in a feeble attempt to feel his touch on her skin again.

She cried out when he freed her breasts and covered them with hot, lingering kisses, worshipping them with his mouth. Closing her eyes, she basked in the feel of his mouth closing around a tightened peak, and she arched her back, shoving herself deeper into the delicious, hot wetness as he suckled on her. It left her breathless. Every touch of his lips, his tongue, sent a flash of need through her body and left a liquid, pulsating sensation between her thighs. Helpless with desire, she began to rub herself against him, feeling the hardness that strained to be freed, to be touched …

Cautiously, she unbuttoned the top of his jeans and slipped her hand down his flat abdomen. When her fingers closed around the rigid, throbbing piece of him that moved against her hand, she released a shuddering breath. His deep sound of pleasure was almost more than she could bear. He felt amazing in her hand, large, hard and naked. Instantly, the yearning to have him inside of her, parting her, thrusting deep, overwhelmed her. "Now," she whispered, burying her face against his chest as he raised his head from her breasts to kiss her again.

He lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Not here," he said hoarsely. "Not like this." Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment, breathing heavily while he hit the button. The elevator started to move again.

As soon as the doors slid open, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her into the penthouse, heading straight to the bed. Gently laying her down, he pulled her dress all the way down and threw it to the floor, followed by her bra and panties. Only then did he pause, towering over the bed as he devoured her with his eyes.

"You are incredibly beautiful," he said simply, as if it was a matter of fact. "All I want to do is tie you to this bed and never let you go."

"Alrik," she whispered, his name sounding like a plea on her lips. Then his clothes were gone, too, and this mountain of a man was everywhere on her body, wrapped all around her. His weight pressed her down into the mattress. It was a delicious feeling, and she gave a protesting moan when he lifted himself up on his elbows. Suddenly, his lips were on hers, and their tongues mated in a sensual dance. She rubbed herself against his lean, hard body, craving to be stroked like a cat. The feel of his large, strong hands on her skin was almost more than she could bear. He returned to caressing the soft mounds of her breasts, rubbing them up and down leisurely. She writhed under him, wanting more. Every time he passed her nipples, he gently squeezed them between his fingers, and she moaned in sheer delight. Then his lips took the place of his hands, and she felt his fingers between her legs, parting her damp, hot folds.

"God, woman, you're wet," he murmured as he caressed her upwards; his thumb moved to circle around her center of pleasure while he slowly inserted a long finger into her heat, pressing deeper.

"Alrik!" she cried, clawing his shoulders. "I need you, now. I … I want it."