THE DOOR FLEW open, sending my hair back in a whoosh.
“She …” Cade’s words stopped, a smile appearing on his alluring lips. “Well, hello there, little mouse.” He looked over at Stiff approvingly. “You brought me a present?”
There was that damn word mouse again. Did I look like a rodent or something?
Stiff snickered, and I stiffened. Did he think I came to play?
“No,” I said with every bit of authority I had, pulling my arm away from Stiff’s. “I know I’m a little early, but we have a meeting at seven.”
Cade’s eyes lit with recognition. So now he remembered me.
“Trixie?” He sounded dumbfounded.
God, the years had been good to him. He was hot then and sexy as hell now. The universe was a nasty son of a bitch. He had the same jet black hair as when we were kids except longer, almost down to his shoulders, with a slight wave to it. The five o’clock shadow around his lips looked like maybe it could be a ten o’clock, instead. The dark scruff only added to his defined features.
His eyes. God, his eyes. They were the things that got all the girls, including myself, to bend to his will. Blue, but not just any blue. No, his were a cobalt blue that reminded me of a beautiful Japanese vase I had seen once.
Venturing down farther, I saw a leather vest with a black T-shirt underneath, spanning across his wide chest. The patch of President was in bold white letters stitched into the fabric with several other patches lining either side. His bare arms may not have had fabric covering them, but they were covered from wrist to under his shirt with tattoos that looked intricate in their design. Bottom line, I thought he was gorgeous in school, yet now, sexy hot didn’t even cut it.
I blinked, coming out of some sort of daze, and pushed my confidence back into gear full force. “It’s Trix. We have a matter to discuss,” I reminded him as he stared, looking at me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, appearing to take me in just as I did him. “And you checking me out isn’t solving that.” Hypocrite? Yep, that’s me.
Sure, my perusal of him was perfectly fine, but him … I shook my head. Smartass mouth rears its ugly head.
“May not be solving your problem, babe, but the view is spectacular.” His voice was even deeper than over the phone. Sexier. Smoother. While good over the phone, it happened to be so much better in person. No, Trix. Get your money and get the fuck out.
I tried not to let the blush creep up my neck. I knew it did, anyway, from the heat I felt.
I cleared my throat, gaining his attention back up to my eyes from my tits. “Nanette. I want her so I can get my money.”
My traitorous body had other ideas besides the cash, though, as arousal punched me in the gut. I willed the quivering between my legs to stop with little success. If anything, with each second I stood in this man’s presence, the feeling became more intense. Thank Christ I wore a padded bra, or my nips would be raging through my shirt.
His pink tongue swept across his plump bottom lip. I watched each painstakingly slow inch. Brief flashes of that tongue on my body, my neck, my breasts coursed through my head. It took me back to a time when his touch encompassed me.
I broke my gaze from him, not wanting to go there. I couldn’t go there.
“Why don’t you come in?” he coaxed, opening the door wide in invitation.
Stiff chuckled beside me, and my gaze swung to him.
“What?”
His head shook almost knowingly. I wish I knew what he did.
“Nothing. In ya go.” The heat from his hand on the small of my back guided me into the room, him following.
Two men sat in front of a large wooden desk with stacks of papers, a computer, and a phone on it. Their eyes instantly prowled me up and down, my skin prickling from all the attention.
I received male perusals at work all the time. Sirens was a strip club, after all. Regardless, from the way their eyes scanned, I felt devoured. The room was filled with a dominance that pulsated off the walls, bouncing around the space in waves: darker, rawer, more … manly. The smell was heady. It wasn’t just the two men; the power came from all four of them together in this confined space. I didn’t know if I should be intrigued, turned way the hell on, or if I should run for my life.
“Who do we have here?” asked a man with pepper hair streaked with salt and a matching beard that fell down to his chest. Even sitting in the chair, I barely had to look down at him, which set me on edge.
“This is Trixie,” Cade announced.
My head snapped his way. “Cade, I told you my name is Trix,” I ground out, surprising myself with the retort. Normally, I kept myself in check, but being in this man’s presence short-circuited my brain, making my sass go on a rampage.
A deep laughter filled the air. “Yeah, Cade,” salt and pepper man teased while the other two men hid their amusement. Still, they did nothing to hide the fact that they were openly checking me out.
“Damn, Spook, how long has it been since someone called you that?” said another man who had light brown hair that was totally unruly, like he’d either just gotten out of bed or had run his hands through it a thousand times.
Cade’s eyes were on me, penetrating me with his glare. He took a step forward, and I took a step back, unsure if that look boded well for me.
My awareness of my surroundings came into focus, and unfortunately, I saw the room only had one door. The window was high, so I wouldn’t have enough time to get out. Internally, I sighed. I knew better than to leave home without my gun.
“I fucking told you, the name is Spook.” His body pulsed, and I felt it down to my core, shaking me a bit. However, I held firm, not moving another inch or flinching. My stubborn ass wouldn’t back down even if he could hurt me. Truth be told, he’d already hurt me worse than anything physical he could manage.
I held up my hands, palm up, surrendering, my bracelets falling down my arms and scraping my skin. This was his rodeo, and I needed him calm to get what I needed.
“Sorry. To me, you’re Cade. That’s how I remember you. I don’t know you as Spook.” What happened to the boy I’d been with in high school? This definitely wasn’t him. No, he was all man now, and I needed to be mindful of that. “I’ll do my best to call you Spook. Where in the world did Spook come from, anyway?”
The men in the room didn’t hide their full-out laughter. Cade cut them off with a furious glare.
“That’s a story for later. Out,” Cade barked at the men, who got up, shaking their heads, and left the room just like Cade had ordered. The door shut with a click that echoed in the space like a loud warning buzzer.
As his eyes penetrated mine, it took every bit of steel in my spine to keep myself from shrinking under their intensity. I met his stare, not giving an inch. The heat in the room crackled like electric wires were attached to both of us, drawing us together. I tried to fight the pull.
“Trixie.” The one word rolled off his tongue, but not in the anger he gave the guys when he ordered them out of the room. This was different. “I’ll always be your Cade.”
My stomach fell. I stood here fifteen years later, in a room alone with Cade. The boy who had crushed me as a kid, who still had a fucking hold on me that I hadn’t been able to let go of and we were only feet apart. Thoughts of the past bombarded me.
His penis touched my entrance while he hovered over me. I could feel the tip pressing into my unused body. I closed my eyes as Cade pushed in farther, pain searing through me as he moved. I said nothing, though, trying to hold back the whimpers in my throat. Sex was supposed to be fun and feel good, or so my friends had told me. This didn’t. Not at all.
“You’re so fucking tight, so fucking good.” His words felt nice, giving me the extra nerve I needed at that moment to keep going. I wanted to make him feel good.
His body stilled, his eyes slicing into mine with confusion then understanding. “Fuck, you’re a virgin,” he growled.
I blushed. I had kept it from him. I’d heard the stories of him from other girls. I knew he wasn’t a saint, and for once, with Cade, I wanted to be a sinner. He made me feel, and I needed that, craved it.
“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me?” Intensity flashed in his eyes, scaring me a little.
“Just do it, Cade,” I told him as he looked perplexed, like he didn’t know what he should do.
I grabbed his hips and gave them a squeeze, answering the silent struggle in his head.
“It’s gonna hurt,” he told me, closing his eyes like it would pain him to see me hurt. It only made me care for him that much more.
We had been seeing each other for six months. He hadn’t pressured me into sex, but I knew he wanted this. I wanted this. I wanted to be closer to him in any way I could.
“Do it,” I repeated, and then he thrust inside me hard.
The pain shot through my gut, and I cried out, unable to contain myself.
Cade put his hand over my mouth to muffle my wail. “Trixie, you can’t scream.”
I knew I couldn’t. We were at a party at one of his friend’s houses. No way would I let anyone see me like this.
I got control of myself as he pushed in and out of me, the pain not leaving. If anything, it became more intense. I kept my eyes closed, hoping the pain would subside.
“God, you’re so fucking good. Most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
Tears welled up, both from the hurt and from his words.
“This feels so damn right. So damn perfect.”
Unfortunately, I wanted it to be over so the pain would stop. Either Cade didn’t notice I hurt, or he didn’t care. I hoped for the first, but I wouldn’t stop him. No, I had wanted this for too long.
After several more drags in and out of my body, Cade stopped while I continued to fight back the tears. His face fell into the curve of my neck between my ear and shoulder. He glided his nose across the sensitive skin as his breath came down hot, tingling all over. I could feel his breaths deepen as if he were breathing me in. He gave me a soft kiss there before he rose, his eyes on mine.
“You okay?” His concern relieved me, but I didn’t want to sound like a naive idiot.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I lied, just wanting him to get off me so I could go to the bathroom. Surely, there was more to this sex thing than just this. Right?
I didn’t get a chance to find out with Cade, because after that one night, after he held me for hours, whispering stupid shit I never should have fallen for, he left. He hadn’t left school or life. No, he left me. I was a ghost to him. Not even in existence. He looked right through me. I turned out to be nothing.
The burn from the moment hit me hard. Some things in life you didn’t get over. They shaped you into the person you were today. That was one of those moments for me. The moment I swore I would never let any man get in my head again. Including now.
Head in the game, Trix.
“Listen Ca—I mean, Spook. I just need Nanette. Then I’m out of your hair.” I moved to the side of the room as he went to the front of his desk, leaning his ass on it and crossing his arms and ankles. An air of confidence beamed off of him. I had to admit, the appeal wasn’t lost on me. He was hot, the dangerous, live-on-the-wild-side kind of hot. His legs were so damn long, his muscles flexed under the worn jeans. I felt the heat in my body rise.
His eyes bore into me with a wicked promise gleaming inside of them. His promises meant nothing to me, though. They were only words where he was concerned.
“This Nanette, you say she works for you?”
“Yeah, at Sirens. She dances and is a waitress.”
His brow quirked, and a slow, easy smile came across his lips. “You own Sirens?”
He said the words like he didn’t believe me, and it caused my hackles to rear up.
“Yes, I’ve owned it for five years.”
I built Sirens from the ground up, working my ever-loving ass off to make it a success. My father taught me a lot about business, and I took all of that knowledge and turned it into something I loved. I proved to myself that I could do it. Sirens was mine through and through, and it was also the only reason I’d put myself through the aggravation of seeing Cade again.
“Well, isn’t that something?”
My temper rose at his condescending tone. “What the fuck does that mean?”
He held up his hands, palms out. “Put in the claws, wildcat.”
I would do no such thing while he talked about my business. I refused to take any shit from anyone about it.
“It just surprises me,” he finished.
I crossed my arms over my chest, mimicking Cade. His eyes flickered to my now exposed cleavage, and another smile creeped on his lips. I rolled with it, tapping my foot in angry bitch pose.
“And why would that be?” I snapped.
While he stroked the whiskers on his face, my mind instantly wondered what they felt like. Were they rough or soft? Would they leave a burn in their wake?
I stopped tapping my foot as I got lost in the thought.
“Back in the day, you were so innocent, so mild mannered.”
Oh, hell no.
All thoughts of his beard flew out the window. “We are not talking about the past, Cade. I want Nanette, and then I’m gone.”
He lowered his voice. “Trixie, I’ve been in that pussy of yours. Let’s not pretend I haven’t.”
I rolled my eyes and looked up to the ceiling, hoping for patience. When it didn’t come, I aimed my glare at him. “You were in it once. One time. Don’t mistake that for knowing anything about me now.” Then I felt the urge to be a bit catty. “You better remember that taste, because that shit won’t ever happen again.”
“Didn’t know I was offering,” he said as a comeback, pissing me off. He’d always been good at comebacks. Damn him.
I let out an exhausted breath and released my arms to let them hang at my sides. “Can I just get Nanette so this shit can be done, and I’ll be gone?” None of this was getting me anywhere, and I had already been here much longer than I cared to be.
He uncrossed his ankles and rose to his full height. His demeanor was a strong, all-encompassing aphrodisiac. Shit.
He licked his bottom lip again then ran his hand over his beard. It shouldn’t have been seductive, but it was, so very much. I really needed to get the hell out of here. “One thing you need to know, Trixie.”
I ground my teeth at the name yet kept my mouth shut. My body may have been pulsing for him, but I refused to give him any more.
“You want something from me, something from my club, you pay for it.”
“How much?” I asked, figuring by the time this was all over, I’d only get about four thousand back of the six plus Nanette owed me.
I kicked myself in the ass for giving in. All of this was my own damned fault, but at least I could take it out of Nanette’s ass by putting her on a pole.
“See, that’s the thing. There are three ways you can pay.” Great, now I had choices.
I raised my brow for him to continue.
“Cash, blood, or pussy.”
“Well, blood and pussy are off the table, so again, how much?”
He snickered. “Same smartass mouth I remembered.”
My blood boiled. He remembered? You’ve got to be shitting me. He didn’t even remember my name on the phone. I didn’t need to hear any of his memories from then, because he clouded and tainted all of mine.
“Ca …” I shook my head. “Spook, seriously, I need to get to the club. You want a cut of the money? How much?” Unease crept in hard and fast. Bad idea. I should just leave and be done with it. Forget the six grand and forget Cade. Forget all this bullshit. Two things stopped me, though. One, no one stole from me; and two, my personal assistant Jett’s words rang through my head: “It’ll set a precedence with the other girls, and they’ll think they can walk all over you.”
Fuck, I couldn’t let it go. I needed to call Nanette out on her shit. Dammit. I hated when my back felt up against a wall.
“Too bad your cash isn’t good here. So that leaves you with two options: blood or pussy.” He grinned that sexy half-grin of his that made my panties damp. Fuck, it had gotten better over the years. He’d damn near perfected it. “Since I don’t want your blood, I’ll take your pussy.”
“I’m not fucking you.” Confidence wailed in my voice. Not happening. The only way he’d get between my legs was if he used the jaws of life. Been there, done that, and burned the fucking T-shirt.
He moved so quickly he came at me in a flash. I pressed my back to the door, his body so close his chest brushed my nipples through my shirt, sending tingles of warmth throughout my body. He placed his hands on the door at either side of my head, boxing me in. I tried not to panic as I evened out my breathing.
“Trixie,” he whispered, the scent of cigarettes coming off his breath, and I inhaled deeply.
I looked directly into his eyes, resting my head on the door and giving myself a slight bit of distance. Just as I suspected, his eyes pulled me in, the warmth and lust rolling around them in a swirl. I tightened my hands into fists as they itched to reach up and touch him. I fought the urge with everything I had.
“Thought you were hot fifteen years ago.” My stomach curled at his declaration. “Now, baby, you’re off the fucking charts.”
I tried to move farther away, but he wouldn’t allow me. So, I retorted, “Thanks, but that doesn’t get me my cash back.”
He pressed his hips against me, his steel erection hard, long, and thick against my stomach. My pussy quivered. The whore wanted him badly. The arousal kept gaining and gaining on me even when I tried to make it stop.
“I fucking want you,” he practically growled.
I hated to admit it, but I wanted him, too. However, I had too much respect for myself.
“That’s nice, but get over yourself.”
“I’m gonna be over you, under you, and in you,” he vowed, easing down to my lips.
I tilted to the side as his lips touched my cheek. Not going to lie, the small touch, along with his sexy as hell words sent fire racing through my veins. I wouldn’t show it to him, though. Hell no. Regardless, his words—holy hell, I’d never had a guy talk to me like that, and judging from the slickness between my legs, my body liked it a whole hell of a lot.
He shifted back, the sexy, panty dropping grin back in place.
I looked him square in the eye and said, “You couldn’t handle me, Cade.” Sparks exploded in his eyes at the use of his name. “I’m all grown up now. Your sly smile, magnetic eyes, and words aren’t gonna get me to spread my legs for you. You had your shot and blew it. That’s on you.”
The grin grew full-out, almost as if I were throwing down a challenge, and he liked it. Absolutely not my intention.
“I get what I want, Trixie.”
“It’s Trix, and as much as I want my money, this”—I pointed between the two of us in the small space I had—“ain’t happening.”
Cade pressed me harder to the door, his entire masculine body against mine, squeezing the air out of my lungs. I could feel the definition of his chest on my breasts, his thick thighs against mine, straining and rock solid. I gulped, holding on to my bravado with all my might. I could do this. I would do this.
He brought his hands to the sides of my face, and in a flash, his lips came down on mine hard, wet, and insistent. I put my hands on his rock of a chest to push him away, but he didn’t budge, even with my hefty shove. Instead, his lips devoured me. This wasn’t a kiss. No, it was more like a brutal, all-consuming, and rough assassination of my lips, and I gave every bit of it back to him.
My tense body began to soften as Cade’s magical mouth moved, and his tongue flicked across mine. The taste of tobacco blossomed on my tongue, and instead of pushing him away, I caught myself clutching his shirt, instead.
Snap out of it! I broke the kiss unexpectedly, ducked down under his arm hastily, and backed away from Cade to the other side of the room.
“Get back here,” he demanded.
I shook my head and swiped my hand across my swollen lips, the smell and taste of him warping my senses.
“I’m not doing this. I’m not some fucking whore you can have just because I need something from you. No offense, but I’ll forget about the damn money and deal with the bitches at work. What I will not do is fuck you.”
I’d find another way to get Nanette. I already had Ike get his guys on the case. I trusted Ike with the job because my father gave me the skills to know how to make judgment calls on people. Another reason why the circle of people around me stayed so small. The only thing he’d learned so far, was Nanette’s father had passed away and the bank was close to taking the house.
Cade’s eyes flared. I didn’t know if it was from anger, annoyance, or both. Regardless, I didn’t want to stick around to find out.
“I’m leaving,” I told him as he stood near the door, his hands in fists at his sides. “Move out of my way,” I ordered.
He didn’t budge. Asshole.
“Come by tomorrow.”
The randomness of the sentence caught me momentarily off guard.
“What?”
He crossed his arms over his massive chest, the tattoos bulging from his muscled flesh, sending another shot of lust through my system. Why the hell did that one move seem so damn hot to me?
“We’re having a party tomorrow. Your girl shows up, you can take her.”
I raised my brow, placing my hand on my hip, not believing him for a second. “Just like that?” I asked, snapping my finger on the last word.
He chuckled. “We’ll go with that.”
I knew he wasn’t going to. If I came back, he’d do anything and everything in his power to get me in his bed. I didn’t want to test my willpower when it came to him. Any other man, not a problem. But not with Cade. I wouldn’t tempt it.
“Let me out.” I refused to reply since he wouldn’t like the one I’d give him.
He pointed at me with a look that said I had better listen. “Your ass better be here tomorrow at eight. If it’s not, I’m coming to find you. And, baby, I won’t be happy.”
I jutted my hip out, my hand on it. “And I was put on this planet to make sure that you’re happy?” I laughed, but it was in no way humorous. “No, Cade. Now move out of the goddamned way,” I ordered.
He opened the door behind him and stepped to the side. I surged toward it, needing to get the hell out of his space and get some fresh air.
He grasped my arm, halting me, and I turned toward him. “I mean it, Trixie. Your ass better be here tomorrow. That’s the only fucking reason I’m letting you go right now. Eight.”
He crushed me to him like I weighed nothing, smashing his lips to mine and taking me with vigor, sucking the air from my lungs. The hot, deep, and quick lick of his lips as he pulled away, followed by his sexy growl, had me feeling like I was floating.
I shook my head to clear the fog. Cade smirked, the same one he had when we were kids, and it still made my belly flutter, but the man who had just kissed me was nothing like the boy I had known.
I turned and hightailed it out of there with absolutely no intention of ever stepping foot on this ground again. And I needed a damn shotgun to shoot every damn butterfly that entered my belly.
Rushing down the long hallway, I went into the first big room I entered earlier. Stiff and the two men who had been in Cade’s office sat at a table, each nursing a beer. Their attention immediately came to me.
“Where’s the fucking fire, mouse?” Stiff asked.
I stopped, turning toward him. “Do I look like a fucking mouse? Do I have four legs or a tail? No, I don’t. Don’t fucking call me that again.” I glared, and Stiff’s rumbled laughter filled the space.
Yes, he actually laughed.
“You’re feisty.” He didn’t know the half of it. “Spook not give you what you need?” He wiggled his eyebrows in suggestion. “I can help you out.”
Stiff was attractive—don’t get me wrong—but seriously?
“No. I have a vibrator at home that never lets me down. Y’all have a nice life.” I flipped my hand up in the air dismissively as I stomped out of the door. I needed to get to work.