Chapter 3
Hope counted back from thirty, and the moment she hit zero, the music sounded. Adam began his descent onto the stage from the rafters. She couldn’t see him, but they’d rehearsed the entrance often enough that she could envision him clearly. She counted back again from thirty, and right on cue, her hydraulic platform started upward from beneath the stage. Strands of flash paper on invisible wire lit up around her, creating a mass of swirling fire.
Once upon a time, all this magic had fascinated her. A levitating man, a woman cut in half and then miraculously put back together; it left her awestruck when she was a child. Since working as Adam’s assistant though, all of it had lost its glamour. Or maybe she’d lost her enthusiasm for magic long before then. Life had a way of slowly replacing everything that was mystical and beautiful with stark reality and cold, hard truths. Now, all the things she once found magical were nothing more than trickery and sleight of hand.
Adam touched down just as the last of the fiery streamers disappeared and she forced a bright smile on her face for the audience. The show was officially underway, and she began to prep him for his mystical, mid-air escape from a straightjacket. It wasn’t so mystical though, given that he’d dislocated his shoulder multiple times as a child and he could now simply slip it in and out of its socket at will.
With the task complete, she looked out over the audience, discerning the skeptics from the spellbound as Adam was hoisted up to the ceiling. If she put extra emphasis on keeping the skeptics distracted with her long legs and cleavage throughout the show, they were less likely to be focused on debunking the illusions. In fact, in her experience, they wound up just as satisfied with the show.
But as she glanced around the room, reading postures, expressions and unconscious movements, she saw him. He was standing there at the back of the large theater, just like he had been the night prior. He was watching her, she was sure of it, even at this distance. Though she couldn’t make out his details clearly, she could feel his eyes on her. She would have dismissed it like she did every other gaze in the room that was eyeing the bare skin her skimpy costume exposed, but she couldn’t. Or worse, she didn’t want to dismiss it, so much so, that she almost missed her cue as Adam freed himself and the straightjacket fell to the ground amid a cacophony of applause.
Damn it. The man was arrogant and insufferable, and he was driving her to distraction.
She forced her gaze away and shoved every thought of him from her mind. She pulled the thick, heavy chain from the box at the back of the stage and walked back to where Adam stood.
“For this next act, I’ll need a volunteer from the audience,” he announced. “Is there anyone who would come up here with my beautiful assistant and I, and verify for me—and for everyone else—that the chain I’m about to wrap around the lovely Ava’s neck is, indeed, precisely what it looks like?”
Nearly every hand in the room shot into the air, but it was only one hand that caught her attention. He was already starting forward, striding confidently down the center aisle. A hush fell over the crowd as row after row saw him making his way to the stage. To the best of her knowledge, he’d never participated in any act or show that had taken place at his hotel, so why now? Did he know the real reason she’d turned him down the other night, that it was her body’s own response to him that had sent her running in the opposite direction? Or did he have such a flawless track record with women that he wouldn’t tolerate a single blemish?
He ascended the stairs before she could think about it any further and he strode toward her with the same confident gait.
“Mr. Cade Stryker, ladies and gentlemen. We are lucky enough to have our gracious host help us with our performance this evening,” Adam announced, encouraging a round of applause.
The man seemed unperturbed by Adam’s introduction and the audience’s brief ovation. He didn’t turn around to face the audience once he’d reached the stage; instead, he stood no more than a foot’s distance from her, locking her eyes in his gaze.
A split second later, Adam tapped her shoulder imperceptibly. He was worried about her reaction to the hotel owner and wanted to keep her on track. Had anything ever made her slip up on stage before? Never! There was no way in hell she’d let the giant ego standing next to her change that now.
She held the chain in her hands out to him as Adam began his speech. “Now, if you’ll take the chain from my assistant, please verify that it is, in fact, as real as it looks.”
Mr. Stryker lifted the chain, grazing his fingers along the palms of her hands as he did. She fought her body’s urge to shiver in response to the tiny ripples of pleasure that coursed through her body.
“It appears real to me,” he announced, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Excellent,” Adam told him as he took the chain. “Now, if you’ll be patient with me for just a moment, Mr. Stryker, I’m going to have you help me pull this chain right through Miss Winter’s neck.”
Everyone in the audience gasped in shock at Adam’s announcement, and they sat just a little nearer to the edge of their seats. She tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes, and plastered a shocked, slightly fearful expression on her face instead, just like what was expected of her. Adam approached her then, wrapping the chain around her neck slowly, drawing out the crowd’s anticipation. Finally, he made a knot in the chain in front of her neck, just to keep it nice and secure.
“Mr. Stryker, if you don’t mind,” he motioned for the man to stand behind her and he obliged easily. “Now, if you’ll grab onto the ends of the chain, and when I say, ‘pull’ I want you to yank as hard as you can. We want the chain to pass right through Miss Winter’s neck in one, swift motion, and fortunately, I believe you have the muscle necessary to pull this off. Don’t you agree?” he turned to the audience who cheered together in response.
She couldn’t see him, but she could feel the heat that radiated from his body and she could easily envision the hard, muscular arms the audience was applauding. She felt his hands on the ends of the chains a second later. Usually, she could feel the tremor of the volunteer’s hands lightly vibrating the chain, but she felt nothing now. Was the man not the least bit concerned he might strangle her, or worse? It was possible Adam had clued the man in ahead of time, but that wasn’t Adam’s M.O. He preferred to keep everyone in the dark to make each illusion as authentic-looking as possible. Apparently, Mr. Stryker just wasn’t the least bit concerned about her or her neck.
“One…” Adam began the countdown. “Two…” A hush fell over the audience. “Three…Pull!”
Cade pulled hard and just like Adam had said, it appeared that the chain passed right through her neck, and the crowd applauded enthusiastically.
She couldn’t help but notice that while it had looked like one, swift motion, she’d felt a change in pressure as the chain began to tug on her. Had he finally felt a split second of hesitation? Did he really think he could have pulled back then even if the trick had gone horribly wrong? That would have required quicker reflexes than she’d ever seen.
“Ava, please show the audience that Mr. Stryker has left your beautiful neck unscathed and very much still attached to the rest of your lovely body.”
She looked up at the ceiling and then turned her head from left to right, and the audience seemed satisfied.
“Would you care to inspect your handiwork, Mr. Stryker,” Adam asked, motioning to her neck.
Wait a minute. This wasn’t part of the act. She turned to glare discreetly at Adam. She’d be shooting daggers from her eyes if she could call up a little of her own magic at that moment. He just smiled serenely as Cade stepped closer, still standing behind her. She swallowed her agitation, though she’d definitely be having words with Adam after the show about this little stunt.
Nevertheless, she remained still as she felt Cade’s left hand against her bare hip, lightly holding her there. His right hand touched her then, his warm fingers trailing from the back of her neck to the front. Once there, he continued further, his fingers reaching up behind her ear while his palm pressed against the flesh of her neck. It was the most delicate, most erotic chokehold she could ever have imagined. It was over only a second after it had begun as his fingers started back the way they’d come. She couldn’t hide the shiver of arousal that raced through her body though, as it sparked a fire deep inside her.
“She’s flawless,” he told Adam and the audience in a husky tone that fanned the flames inside her, and then he dropped his hands. She resisted her body’s desperate urge to follow, to seek out his fingers. She breathed deeply instead, hoping neither Cade Stryker nor the audience had noticed the way her body had responded to him. She didn’t hear what Adam said next; she was too busy focusing on breathing deep and maintaining her outward calm. Seconds later, though, Cade descended from the stage, returning to his place at the back of the room amid a flurry of applause.
Good. With some distance between them, she could focus her attention on the rest of the show, and that was precisely what she did. She’d never admit that her eyes grazed across the back of the room repeatedly, looking for where he stood, wondering if he was staring back at her. She didn’t see him though; not once for the remainder of the performance.
It was better that way, even if she couldn’t help but to wonder why he’d left.
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