Who Wants to Be a Sex Goddess? (15 page)

“Well, I'm not going to try it,” said Loubelle. “I feel perfectly fine with the way I am. What about you, Ariadne?”

Andy shook her head. “Not me.”

“I doubt if any of us would qualify,” said Evelyn. “I believe she only recommends it to women who are blocked by their own sexuality.” She smiled at Loubelle. “And it doesn't make them nymphomaniacs—”

“Perish the thought,” said Loubelle, growing pink.

It was odd listening to Evelyn and Loubelle talk about sexuality and nymphomaniacs. Jeannie was the only one of the three that seemed to want more from her slave than just friendly attention.

“Do you mind if I ask?” said Andy. “Why do you come to Terra Bliss?”

“Well,” said Loubelle. “The first time, I came with a friend who was too embarrassed to come by herself. I don't really know why I keep returning, except that I enjoy the company. It's sort of an extended girls' night out.”

“A time to rejuvenate,” added Evelyn. “I'm not looking to flirt my way anywhere, but I enjoy the camaraderie of other women who are attempting to expand their horizons. It's inspirational.”

Jeannie snorted. “Camaraderie—girls' night out—We're here for one reason.” She pushed her chair back and stood up. “Because we're getting old.” Her voice caught on a sob. She grabbed her bag, squeezed past Loubelle, and was at a run by the time she reached the door.

“Oh, dear,” said Loubelle. “Should one of us go after her?”

Evelyn shook her head. “Just give her some space. She's volatile, but it won't last. She'll come around on her own, and act like it never happened.”

“I really can't believe that Dillon started a fight with Demetri,” said Andy, looking around. “Maybe we should ask him.”

“You can ask him later. I think the less said at this point, the better.”

Andy knew Evelyn was right. She'd seen people at nearby tables sneaking peeks at Demetri and whispering.

When Dillon returned to serve dessert, Andy said quietly, “I want to talk to you.”

He leaned over to place a plate of shortcake and peaches before her. “I'm really busy tonight.”

Andy felt as though she'd been slapped. Was he giving her the brush-off again? What was with him? “About the fight,” she said.

Dillon sighed. “All right. Meet me out front after tonight's talk.” And he was gone.

She suddenly didn't feel much like dessert and was relieved when after a few minutes, Loubelle and Evelyn said they were ready to leave.

They had just walked into the hallway when Andy heard someone calling her name. Katherine Dane came down the stairway, waving her hand. She was dressed in another off-white pantsuit that complemented her slim figure and contrasted with her straight dark hair.

“Ariadne. I'm so glad I caught you. A moment, please.”

Loubelle and Evelyn promised to save her a seat and went into the auditorium.

Andy waited, wondering what the business manager could possibly want with her. Unless Galena's check had bounced or Dillon had ratted her out after all. She put a smile on her lips and waited until Ms. Dane caught up with her.

“How are you enjoying the retreat so far?”

“Fine,” said Andy. “Very nice.”

“Good. I was surprised to see you in class this morning. I had no idea that you were interested in meditation.”

“Well, sure.” She couldn't very well tell her that it put her to sleep.

“The reason I stopped you is that I'm beginning my special morning meditation group tomorrow. I'd like you to participate in it.”

Andy blinked. “Thank you, Ms. Dane, but I thought it was only for a select group.”

“Katherine, please.”

“Katherine,” said Andy.

“It is. We only accept six or seven people per session, but Dr. Bliss and I were discussing it yesterday, and we both agreed that you could benefit from the experience.” Katherine smiled, pleasant but not warm. “It meets at six
A.M
. every morning. A little early, but an exhilarating way to start the day. What do you say? Can I count you in?”

Andy couldn't really say no after that buildup. So much for her morning swim. And after the way Dillon had acted at dinner, it didn't look as if she'd be sleeping late with him.

“Well…”

“You'll be amazed at how meditation can jump-start you on your way to self-fulfillment.”

I'd rather be jump-started by my slave,
thought Andy, but she couldn't very well turn the woman down. She seemed so eager to have her in the group. And besides, the information in Mac's file had said that she'd also been one of the chosen few. Maybe she could learn more from participating. At least if she tried to reenact Mac's activities, she might discover why she'd left in such a hurry.

Come to think of it, Imogene Southwaite had also taken the class. Though during a different session. Probably a coincidence, but it was somewhere to start.

“I'd love to.”

“Good. Wear something comfortable. Six o'clock in the Spa. See you first thing tomorrow morning.” Katherine walked briskly down the hall, hailing one of the high priestesses who was just coming in the front entrance.

 

The auditorium was packed as Andy guessed it would be. Dr. Bliss, who seemed to be the only person in Terra Bliss not called by her first name, always drew the largest crowds. Andy found Evelyn and Loubelle and sat down. There was an empty seat on the other side of Evelyn.

“Still no Jeannie?”

Evelyn shook her head. The lights began to dim, and there was a last minute scurry of latecomers rushing to find a seat.

Dr. Bliss walked to the podium and enthusiastic applause broke out. As always, she was regally attired, tonight in silk hostess pants and tunic. A heavy gold necklace circled her neck. Gold bangles tinkled on her wrists as she moved to adjust the microphone.

“Jump-starting the New You.”

They were very into jump-starting everything, thought Ariadne as she watched the light sparkle off the doctor's earrings. She knew she should be listening. There were some serious things that she'd been meaning to change in her life. Starting with men. But from the moment the lights dimmed and Dr. Bliss walked onto the stage, she found herself watching the doctor instead of listening to her advice. And when the house lights came back on, Andy was only vaguely aware of what Dr. Bliss had said.

Evelyn and Loubelle decided to go look for Jeannie and left Andy to go in search of Dillon.

He was sitting on the steps outside the Pantheon and looking grim. Andy hoped she wasn't the cause.

He stood up, and they walked in silence until they came to a bench and Dillon gestured for her to sit down. He sat down beside her. Andy tried not to think about how close he was and what it was doing to her—that little tingle that started low and began to build just from being near him. She scooted away so that she could see his face.

“Did you instigate a fight with Demetri?”

“What do you think?”

“No. Anyone caught fighting is dismissed. The girls told me. I can't see you losing your temper and jeopardizing everyone's job.”

“I didn't lose my temper.”

“So…”

“You're beautiful in the moonlight,” he said and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

A tingle of desire rushed through her; she tried to ignore it. “What happened?”

“There's really not much to tell. After I left you this afternoon…” He ran his finger over the curve of her cheek. “I came across Rusty and Demetri having an argument outside the dorm. Demetri sucker punched him and was about to beat him senseless, so I intervened.” His finger left her cheek, traced her lips, her chin.

He was going to drive her nuts. “So you did give him that black eye?”

Dillon shifted closer to her. “I didn't hit him. He lunged at me and I reacted. He ran straight into my arm. Forget Demetri.” He slipped an arm around her, lifted her onto his lap.

“You blocked his attack, then back fisted him.”

He nuzzled her neck. “That's what I said.” Nibbled her earlobe. He pulled back to look at her. “Is this going in your exposé?”

Andy was confused for a moment; then she remembered. Right, she was a reporter. “It might. But I won't use anyone's real name.”

“I guess I'm grateful for that.”

“So what was the fight about?”

“It seems someone snitched on Demetri for taking gifts from his goddess. Demetri accused Rusty. And, as they say, the rest is history.”

“Is Rusty okay?”

“They took him to the infirmary. His face is messed up, but he'll do. JoJo gave him the night off.”

“Are you all going to be fired?”

“I don't think so. There were plenty of witnesses. We'll just have to wait and see.”

“I'd hate it if you had to leave.”

He smiled at her. A brief flash of white in the darkness. “Not nearly as much fun investigating without the perks of a slave, huh?”

“Not nearly.”

He angled his head to kiss her. “Unfortunately, you're going to have to hold that thought. I need to get back to the dorm. I told JoJo I'd keep an eye on things. Make sure there are no further confrontations until Demetri is history. Sorry.”

“That's okay. I admire a man who takes responsibility. Besides, Katherine Dane just asked me to join her meditation group. It meets at six o'clock.”

“During dinner?”

“Before breakfast.”

Dillon groaned. “So much for your morning swim. Come on, I'll walk you back to your cabin.”

T
he first thing Dillon heard when he returned to the dorm was Demetri's voice coming through the open door of the canteen. Great. The asshole was holding court. From boy toy to babysitter. Life just kept getting better.

With a sigh, he strode down the hall and stepped into the canteen.

There was a sudden lull in the conversation.

Demetri was sitting with one hip on the table, holding a beer can in an arrested gesture. Louis and two other guys were sitting on the couch across from him. They glanced up at Dillon, then looked away. He didn't care. At least Rusty wasn't among them.

He walked across the room to the fridge and pulled out a beer. He popped the top and threw the tab in the trash without ever once looking in Demetri's direction.

But he felt Demetri checking him out before he turned his attention back to the others. “Yeah. Well. I won't be the one fired tomorrow. You can bet your sweet asses on that one.” His voice was self-assured, filled with bravado.

“If you think it's gonna be Rusty, then you're full of shit,” said Louis.

Dillon sauntered toward one of the empty chairs.

“And it won't be Dillon,” said Louis. “There were witnesses. They'll tell what really happened.”

“Big deal.” Demetri drained his beer can and tossed it toward the recycling bin, just as Dillon walked past him. It missed his chest by inches. He didn't flinch, just continued to the chair and sat down.

“Yeah, it is a big deal,” said Louis. “I've been here four summers and I've seen it all. I know who'll be here when the dust clears, and it won't be you.”

Demetri smirked at him and popped the top off another beer. There were two unopened cans sitting on the table beside him. Dillon wondered how many he'd already drunk.

Demetri pointed the new can at Louis. “Listen, punk, nothing's gonna happen to me. I know things.”

Dillon stretched back in his chair and yawned.

Demetri bristled.

“You're so full of shit.” Louis sat forward on the couch, his knuckles white where he held his beer can.

“What things?” asked the guy sitting on Louis's right. He was one of the newbies. His eyes were round with curiosity.

“Like how they've managed to become a multibillion-dollar enterprise in such a short time.” Demetri held the kid's eyes for a second.

And the kid played right into his hand. “How did they?”

Good. Dillon would love to hear what he had to say.

“They're successful because of good management and Dr. Bliss's charisma,” interrupted Louis. “It's no secret. Women want validation, and she gets them to think differently about themselves, to see themselves as empowered.”

Demetri snorted. “Yeah, by castrating men, the bitch. We're not called slaves for nothing.”

“She doesn't call us slaves. Just the women that have been here before. We even call ourselves ‘slaves.' It doesn't mean anything. It's just a joke.”

“It's no joke.”

Louis rolled his eyes and flopped back on the couch. “It is to anybody but a Neanderthal.”

Demetri smirked and flopped his wrist at Louis. “Yeah. To pretty boys like you and Rusty.”

Louis jumped to his feet. “I like women. I love women. They don't have to be a threat.”

But often are,
thought Dillon,
real threats.
He willed Louis to sit back down. He did.

“Yeah, well, while you're flitting around waiting on your old bag, the bosses are doing more than opening up her potential.”

Louis jerked forward. Dillon stopped him with a look.

The two newbies were staring. Their heads had been shifting between the two men like spectators at a Ping-Pong tournament. In the momentary lull, one of them said, “Like what?”

Demetri shrugged and looked sly.

Louis made a disgusted sound and got up to get another beer.

Dillon wondered if Demetri was just a bragging Neanderthal, or a Neanderthal that actually knew something questionable about Goddess International practices. And if he did know something, was it something that would help Dillon nail a murderer?

“You don't know anything,” retorted Louis, sitting back down with his beer. “You just like to hear the sound of your own voice. And if JoJo finds out about the things you're saying, you won't just be fired; he'll probably kill you.”

Demetri slammed down his beer and heaved himself off the table.

Louis flinched involuntarily, and a nasty smile spread across Demetri's face.

Dillon stood up and stepped between them. “I agree with Louis. I don't think you know jack-shit.” He waited, silently instructing Demetri to turn his anger on him. Even if the outcome did get him fired.

Demetri swayed back on his feet, the effects of the beer finally catching up with him. “You're the one that doesn't know jack-shit.”

Oh, great, they had stooped to playground theatrics. “So tell me and then I'll know. What do they do that the rest of us don't know about?”

Demetri grabbed the beer can off the table and drained it. He tossed it toward the garbage can. It missed and rolled along the floor. “I'm not telling. But you'll see what I mean when I'm still around tomorrow, and you and Rusty are gone.” He snatched the unopened beer from the table and strutted out of the room. “Bye…pretty boys.”

“God, I hate him,” said Louis. “I swear, if he gets Rusty—or you—kicked out, he'll be sorry.”

“Just stay out of his way. People like that have a way of hanging themselves in the end.”

“I hope you're right.”

“I'm right.”

Dillon waited in the hall until Louis went to his room, then crossed the hall to his own. He didn't feel like sleeping—unless he was sleeping with Ariadne. And that was definitely out for the night. Rusty hadn't returned from the infirmary. And Dillon wanted to make sure he went straight to bed.

So he paced the small square, laughing at himself for having gotten into such a ridiculous situation. From covert operative to dorm mother. It just kept getting more absurd. And then there was Ariadne. He couldn't seem to get enough of her, and yet he knew she was lying to him.

With any luck he'd have the preliminary report on her background by tomorrow. And her new meditation class would give him a secure time to retrieve the message. It was going to be a bitch having to crawl over the wall every time he wanted to communicate.

And even if she did check out, he'd still have to decide whether to let her continue her work and risk her stumbling on to the murder conspiracy, or to advise her to get the hell out. If she didn't check out…There were two possibilities. And both were onerous. One, she was another agent. Or two, she was a spy for Goddess International and he might have to take her down with the others.

He hated that scenario worst of all. Because it meant that Goddess International had somehow found out they were being investigated, his cover had been blown, and she was here to bring him down.

And that he couldn't allow.

 

Dillon heard Rusty come in around two o'clock, waited until he heard his door close, then lay down for a few hours' sleep. But even then he couldn't rest.

His waking mind was filled with questions. Why was Demetri so sure Katherine Dane wouldn't fire him? Which one of them killed Imogene Southwaite? Where was Miranda Houston?

His dreams were filled with Ariadne, and they were no more restful.

He was up at five-thirty. Took a couple of laps around the compound just to keep busy. Twice, he passed security guards making their rounds. They seemed to be upping their patrol of the grounds. Because they'd discovered the break-in? They usually were more discreet.

When he saw Ariadne walking toward the Spa for her meditation group, he veered into the trees, out of view. When the guards passed by again, he started up the fallen tree.

It was a harder climb not having Ariadne waiting at the top, silently urging him upward. Her presence had made it essential for him not to fail. This morning, he was on his own. And though he knew he could do it, he didn't have the same sense of accomplishment as the day before.

Once, his foot slipped and the tree bark left a burning scrape down his calf. His heart lurched, but he pulled himself back to both feet and carefully climbed the rest of the way up.

He hated his infirmity. Before the accident, he could have taken the tree at a run, swung down the other side without thinking. Now he was lucky not to break a few bones in the process. He felt like a lumbering ox getting down the other side and was thankful that Ariadne was not here to see him.

As soon as he hit the ground, he flipped his phone open and began walking uphill, waiting for a signal to appear.

He was nearing the lake when the power surged and a message alert appeared on the blank screen. He opened it. And saw the words he was hoping he wouldn't see. No reporter by name A. M. Still checking. More to follow.

For a moment he couldn't breathe; then nausea settled into his stomach. He read the message again, then snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.

He walked out to the boulder that overlooked the lake. The water was as smooth as a pane of glass. A window. Slowly he sank down and sat with his arms cradling his knees, looking out over the calm of the water as turmoil built within him. He closed his eyes.

God damn him for the fool that he was. He'd just been taken. Again.

 

Andy sat in the meditation session thinking about Dillon. Wondering if he was going to be fired. Trying not to think about how she would feel once he was gone.

Maybe she could intercede for him. Katherine seemed to like her.

A better use of her newfound friendship with Katherine would be to talk her into letting her use the phone in the business office. Surely they made exceptions, people had lives to deal with.

The image of the bus ride popped into her head. The flurry of last minute cell calls right before they entered the gates of Terra Bliss. People had been using their cell phones. She'd heard them talking. There was cell reception here. Just not within the walls of the retreat.

She fought down a wave of excitement. Why hadn't she thought to take her cell to the lake? She might already know where Mac was. If she hurried, she could make a quick trip over the wall between meditation and breakfast. Then maybe she could relax.

A buzz of anticipation made it difficult for her to sit still, but she had to because Katherine was making the rounds of the room and was heading her way.

Andy quickly concentrated on emptying her mind. A hopeless possibility. Katherine whispered something in her ear and continued to the next person. Andy had been too busy pretending to meditate to catch what she said. Probably more stuff about her soul, or enlightenment, or whatever.

Though she should be grateful to Katherine for suggesting she join the group, because maybe in emptying her mind, she'd cleared enough space for the idea about the cell phone to come in.

This meditation stuff might be a good thing after all.

 

Dillon knew he was going to be late, but he couldn't seem to move. Didn't care to. But he would, because it was his job. He pushed himself to his feet, suddenly feeling incredibly old. He took a last look at the lake, no longer the Eden it had been, but just a lake.

He didn't pay much attention to where he was going. It didn't matter that brambles and branches scratched at his bare arms and legs. He didn't retrace the path that he and Ariadne had used. He didn't want to see it again.

And that turned out to be a good thing, because he would have run right into her as she jogged up the trail.

He shrank back into the underbrush.

Meditation must be over, but why was she here now? She should be sitting over a plate of eggs and toast—and he should be serving her coffee. Well, he'd take the repercussions of that later. Provided he was even here later.

And suddenly he was so angry, he could have choked the life out of her. But he forced himself to stay put. Watched her hurrying up the path, looking neither left nor right, until she was out of sight.

And then he followed.

He knew where she was going. And sure enough, she stopped at the lake, climbed out onto the boulder he'd just been sitting on—the same boulder that they'd made love on the day before.

He pushed the thought away. It was obvious she wasn't thinking about it. He watched her pull something out of her sweatshirt. Caught the glint as she opened her cell phone.

He crept closer. He needed to hear that call.

 

Andy looked out across the lake as she shifted impatiently from foot to foot, waiting for the Sim card to engage. Praying that her phone would pick up a signal. Held her breath until bars started crawling up the side of her screen. Yes! Punched speed dial and sighed with relief when she heard the phone connect.