Author: Jaci Burton

He stroked her arm with his fingertips. She wanted to shudder, but kept a straight face.

“A woman like you needs the freedom to do what she wants. After all, it’s part of your job.”

She turned halfway to face him. “I know. That’s what I kept trying to tell him. I like people. I like talking to them. My job requires that I do it, but I really enjoy it. I don’t know.” She smoothed her hair away from her face. “I just think it was time we ended things. I’m ready for a fun new adventure.”

His lips lifted. “Are you?”

Now she smiled. “Yeah. I enjoy my work catering to all the guys. I enjoy traveling and having the opportunity to experience new things. And I love men. I don’t think I should have to be saddled with just one.” She made sure to look into his eyes when she said that last line. She hoped he bought it.

From the look of utter lust on his face, she’d guess he did. He moved his fingertips along her shoulder and collarbone. “I think you should be able to do whatever you want.”

The waitress brought their drinks and Shadoe sipped hers. Jerry downed his in two gulps, then ordered another. She supposed it would be too easy to assume she could get him drunk and he’d pour out all the information she needed.

No, he was too smart for that. But she also knew she was going to have to play this cool, not appear too eager to settle in with him.

“Thanks for talking to me. I needed someone to listen.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

She pushed her chair back. “I need to go work the room for a while.”

“Come back and see me when you’re done. We’ll . . . talk some more.”

Bingo. That’s just what she wanted to hear. She gave him a bright smile. “Thanks. I’ll do that.”

She moved along and did her thing, avoiding Spence, who hung out at the bar. She didn’t even make eye contact with him in case DeLaud was watching her.

“Hey, I saw what happened. I’m sorry.”

Ariele wrapped an arm around her.

“It’s okay. I saw it coming. I was just putting off the inevitable.”

Ariele nodded, her expression serious. “Men suck sometimes.” Then her face brightened. “But they can be fun, too.”

Shadoe laughed. “And so easily replaced.”

“One dick’s just as good as another, huh?”

Shadoe caught sight of AJ and Pax giving Ariele the once-over. “Or in your case, maybe two?”

Ariele giggled. “They are fun to play with. And so damn good-looking they curl my toes.”

“Yes, they are pretty, aren’t they?”

“Honey, they’re pretty all over.”

Way more than Shadoe wanted to know about fellow agents, but she had to play the game. “I can only imagine.”

Ariele turned to her. “Oh, you could join us sometime. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind at all.”

Ick. “Thanks, but I think I’ll steer clear of threesomes for the moment. Or foursomes. Now that I’m free, I’m going to go man hunting.”

“That good-looking dark-haired guy seems to have his eye on you.”

She followed Ariele’s gaze to see DeLaud looking at her. He winked. Shadoe wanted to gag. Yeah, he was good-looking all right. But he was dirty. And a dirty agent turned her stomach. “He is hot and he does seem interested.”

“There’s no better way to get over one man than to jump right on another,” Ariele said, then winked. “I’m on next. See ya.” She waved and moved off. So did Shadoe, who made her way over to AJ and Pax’s table.

“Nice breakup scene,” AJ said. “I nearly broke down in tears.”

She settled into a chair and smiled. “Thanks. Spence and I should win an award for it, don’t you think?”

Pax leaned forward. “I think so. And did our friend buy it?”

“Yes. He’s offered a shoulder for me to lean on.”

“Aww, isn’t that generous of him. You know he wants to fuck you.”

Leave it to AJ to be direct. “Yeah, I kind of get that, too. It’s not going to happen. I’ll have to spend time with him but put him off the sex.”

“Why?” AJ asked. “You gave it to Spence.”

She really should be insulted, but that was just AJ. “Yes, I did. But I don’t ‘give it’ to just anyone. For instance, you’re not getting any from me.”

AJ laughed. “Okay darlin’. I get it.”

Pax shook his head. “He really is an asshole. I don’t know why I like him.”

“Because I bring in all the women.”

Pax rolled his eyes. She could already tell where this conversation was going. “Did you find out anything today?”

“I made new friends,” Pax said. “Did a drug deal down on the docks. I’ll go back later and see if I can hook up with them again.”

“DeLaud went back to the hotel after he met with those guys,” AJ said. “I stayed on him for the day, then had the bellman keep watch. He didn’t leave the room.”

Shadoe leaned back. “So he’s involved with street dealers. That makes no sense.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Pax said. “Unless they’re brokers or somehow connected to the big guns, and instead of DeLaud making contact via cell or in person, he’s doing it through the middle man.”

“For now,” Shadoe suggested.

AJ nodded. “That’s what we thought, too. Either way, with all of us on him, there’s no way he can make that deal without us knowing about it.”

“I’ll stay as close to him as I can.” As close as she could stomach. She had her limits as to what she was willing to do for her job. Having sex with a man she desired was one thing. Fucking someone as part of the job? She drew the line there. But she’d tease DeLaud and hold him on a long rope as long as she could.

She didn’t linger with Pax and AJ, instead moved along to more tables, stopped and chatted with several guys, did everything she was supposed to do as a headliner.

She ran into Brandon as she made her way back toward one of the darkened corners. He slipped his hand in hers, which surprised her since he’d never touched her before.

“I saw what happened between you and your boyfriend.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. That was rough on you, I’m sure.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief. She’d been certain he was going to jump on her about causing a scene.

She shrugged. “It’s fine. We used to have blowups all the time, and frankly, I’m fed up with him.”

“He’s still here.”

“I know.”

“Want me to have him tossed?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. He can hang here if he wants to. If he causes problems, I’ll let you know.”

“You’ll need another bodyguard.”

“Your bouncers do a really good job of keeping the grabby ones away.”

Brandon smiled. “Yeah, they do. But they can’t always be by your side.”

“I’ll hire a replacement soon enough. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“Hey, just doing my job. You’re doing great out there. We’ve been packed in every night since you started, and your PR skills are top-notch.”

“Well, thank you. I’m glad your business is doing well and that I’m helping out with that.”

“You’re welcome here anytime, Desi.”

He walked away and she was relieved to have one less thing to worry about. Now it was time to work her magic on DeLaud and see if she could find out anything about this mystery man.

As she scanned the room, she noticed Spence had moved away from the bar and was hanging out with Spitfire, the talkative redhead. Seeing the two of them lean into each other and laugh, she was instantly hit with a stab of jealousy, but knew she had no right. She had to turn away, refuse to glance at him, and focus on her job. Spence was doing exactly what he should. She needed to do the same thing.

“Already got the next meat on the hook?”

She spun around and frowned at Cheri. Dressed in . . . well, what she wore could barely be considered “dressed,” since it was some diaphanous outfit that went to the floor like a nightgown, nearly see-through, and the only thing she wore underneath it was her G-string. Really, the girl knew nothing about leaving a little mystery. They gave enough of themselves out on the stage. When wandering around the club it made sense to make the men ache for what was underneath their clothes, not put it all out there for them to ogle.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Cheri rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You dumped your boyfriend and you’re already hitting on Brandon.”

“Excuse me? I am not.”

“I saw you chatting him up in the corner. Trying to get yourself a permanent position at the Wild Rose?”

Yeah, that would be her greatest ambition. Not. “Shouldn’t you be out working the customers instead of me, Cheri?”

“Stay away from Brandon. He’s not going to hire you. I’m going to be the star here.”

She’d had enough. “Fuck off.” She started to walk away, but Cheri grabbed her arm and dug in her nails. Reflex took over. Shadoe grasped Cheri’s wrist and wrenched it behind her back, whipping the woman around faster than Cheri could suck in an outraged breath. She shoved the front of Cheri’s body against the wall, using leverage to hold her there.

Shadoe knew this caused a scene, but she had to establish her own dominance here or others would walk all over her.

“Stay the fuck out of my business, Cheri. You understand?” To prove her point, she jerked upward on Cheri’s arm, enough to cause discomfort, but not hurt her.

“I got it. Ow, bitch, yes!”

Shadoe released her and took a quick step back, her body tensed and prepared to do battle if Cheri decided to launch at her.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Instead, Lance came rushing down the hall to glare at his wife.

Cheri adjusted her clothing and walked over to her husband. “Nothing. Me and Desi just had a little disagreement.”

Brandon had arrived, too, along with half the club’s male population, no doubt hoping to see a catfight.

“What’s going on?” Brandon asked.

“Just a little meeting between Cheri and me.”

Brandon shot Cheri a warning glare, then he slanted a concerned look at Shadoe. “You okay, Desi?”

Cheri squealed her outrage. “Is she okay? She damn near twisted my fucking arm off! Why don’t you ask if I’m okay?”

“Lance, bring Cheri into my office. I’d like to talk to her.”

Lance nodded and escorted a somewhat unwilling Cheri from the area.

“I’m sorry,” Brandon said, while the bouncers shuffled everyone out of the corner.

Shadoe shrugged. “Don’t be. It’s not my first girl fight. Won’t be my last. I can take care of myself.”

Brandon grinned. “I guess you can. But I’ll deal with Cheri.”

“She didn’t do anything, really. Don’t worry about it.”

But he just winked and walked away. Whatever. Cheri was his problem to deal with, not hers. She had her own agenda.

“Are you all right?”

A hand on her shoulder, and a familiar voice. Not the one she wanted for comfort, but it played right into her agenda. She turned and smiled at Jerry DeLaud.

“I’m fine. Just a tiff between me and another dancer.”

He arched a brow. “Is she jealous?”

Shadoe laughed. “I think she might be.”

He held out his arm and she linked hers through it.

“She should be. You’re one of the best dancers up there.”