Crash and Burn (17 page)

Beth stood on her toes to whisper in Daniel’s ear. “She’s getting off on this.”

Daniel shifted uncomfortably in place and tilted his head down to answer her. “They aren’t all forced in to this life. Some actually do it because they like it.”

“I can’t imagine wanting to bare yourself to strangers like this.”

Daniel shifted again and cleared his throat. “I hear it’s a favorite fantasy for some women.”

Now it was Beth’s turn to be squirm. She didn’t want to admit it, but being in this room and thinking about being naked and adored in front of all these men aroused her more than she would ever have thought. Lucky the lights stayed low, she thought as she felt a flush of heat rise over her face and spread through the rest of her body. She licked her dry lips and attempted to answer him, only managing a croaky, “oh”. What could she say after that revelation? An image of herself standing naked in front of Daniel flashed through her mind. Her core temperature blasted off the scale when she pictured his eyes glazed with passion for her.
Stop!
With reluctance she turned her attention back to the stage, where a drummer began a pulsating rhythm, the girl swaying to its beat. The spotlight shifted to the side of the stage and a man appeared. He was tall, muscular and gorgeous, and wore tight leather pants with a leather bolero vest. In his right hand he carried a large whip. The handle was thick and black and shaped like a large phallus. He flicked the leather coil toward the audience before aiming at both sides of the girl.

Oh shit!
Beth felt for Daniel’s hand and squeezed.

The performer raised his hand and Beth held her breath. The room fell into silence. Daniel tightened his grip on her shoulder, sending waves of heat through to her very core.

The first crack of the whip caught Beth’s attention, her eyes unblinking as she watched it snake across the woman’s breasts, leaving a thin pink slash before removing the offending piece of cloth. Wetness flooded Beth’s panties as she swallowed, anticipating the next flick of the whip. It felt as if she was on stage and not the performer.

Crack!
Again it flicked out, removing the cloth over the girl’s mons. Now the girl was exposed completely. The scent of her arousal assailed Beth’s nose, inflaming her growing desire and ramping up her own body’s desire to find release from the tortuous tension building inside her. Discreetly she peeked at Daniel, wondering what he thought of this erotic performance. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him readjust the bulge in his pants and realized she wasn’t the only one affected. With the third crack of the whip, her eyes flew back to the stage and she bit back another gasp.

The strips of cloth that had been the girl’s only covering now lay in shreds on the floor. The crowd hooted and whistled, but Beth didn’t hear a thing except the beat of the drum and her own heartbeat thundering.

The man tossed the whip to the back of the stage, behind the girl. He stood in front of her and slowly circled her naked body while she continued to stand perfectly still, no expression showing on her pale face. The spotlight softened and flames erupted from lanterns surrounding the stage. The smells of sandalwood and patchouli wafted over the room and mixed with the cigarette smoke, creating a thick haze.

He picked her up and laid her down on the lounge chair, posing her with her arms above her head and her legs apart. He stepped back, exposing her body on full display to all. As he leaned over and covered her breasts with his hands, Beth gasped. He explored the girl’s body, sliding his fingers up and down, then he moved farther along her body, kissing her mouth before trailing back down to her breasts. The girl moaned as the man continued his exploration with his mouth, finally stopping at her labia. He turned to the audience and smiled as he showed them his tongue. The crowd went wild. Laughing, he turned back to the girl, licking his way through her entrance as she thrashed her head from side to side and cried out her release. He shifted between her parted legs and rubbed against her groin in time to the drums. She arched into his exploring hands as he mimicked entering her.

Beth closed her eyes as a moan escaped from her open mouth. She felt every touch, every lick and every sliding movement as if it was happening to her. Her whole body tingled with heat. She was on fire.
Oh God—I have to get out of here!
She shifted out from under Daniel’s arm and tugged his hand. “I have to go… I can’t stay and watch any more of this.”

She saw Daniel checking out the door and at the bouncer, who was engrossed in watching the couple on stage. “Okay, we’ll make our way out slowly, so as not to draw attention.”

Luckily most of the patrons were seated, facing the stage, when she and Daniel made a quick, quiet escape out of the door and up the stairs. Once they were back in the street, they ran hand in hand back down the half block to the hotel. Inside the room, Daniel slammed the door shut with his foot. Their hands were still joined when Beth stared up into his face. She trembled. His eyes seared hers with a heat she’d never felt before. She was still caught up in the intoxication of the show and her body moved of its own volition. Daniel shifted closer as she reached up to kiss him. But this was no tentative kiss. It went from zero to a hundred in a millisecond.

Beth opened her mouth to his invasion as he took charge. He’d been holding on by a thread ever since she’d emerged from the bathroom in that amazing disguise, and after that wild show they’d just witnessed, he was at detonation point. He wanted to hold back, but the way she made those erotic little moaning sounds into his mouth, control was a thing of the past. He pushed her up against the wall beside the door, trapping her with the heat of his body. The musky scent of her arousal was heady as she lifted a shapely leg and wrapped it around his thigh.
Holy shit!
He had to have her.
Now
.

He slid his hands underneath her top and skimmed over her silky skin. She shivered at his touch and it fired him further. Moving his hands higher, he was relieved that no bra delayed contact with her enticing breasts. Her moans increased when he scraped his palms over her puckered nipples. He almost lost it right there as he moved his hands to her buttocks and pulled her closer to his erection.

Oh yeah, this is what you do to me.

He pushed the crotch of her panties aside with his fingers and delved into her folds. She was hot, wet and ready. He felt her hand as it scraped over the front of his jeans and unzipped them so fast it sounded as if the denim had ripped. With his free hand, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a condom, ripping the packet open with his teeth. Beth snatched it from his hand and rolled it onto his erection, inch by slow inch, driving him insane with her featherlight touch on his hard cock. He couldn’t wait any longer. His body was on fire. He lifted her up to just the right level and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He ripped the crotch out of her panties before entering her, groaning at the feel of her tight, hot pussy. This was no sweet and romantic lovemaking. It was raw and primal and neither of them could stop.

“Yes… Oh yes…” Beth’s moans became shrieks as he pounded in to her once, twice, then some more. Her cries of release set off a mind-blowing climax of his own that went on and on until he felt like he dissolved into liquid onto the floor. He kissed the side of her neck as she nestled her head on his shoulder and sighed. Not wanting to lose contact with her, he tightened his hold as she held onto him, and moved them both to the bed, laying them both down, arms wrapped tightly around her.

Beth lifted her head and pulled off the wig. She ran her fingers through her sweat-streaked hair and tried to move away. Daniel tilted her chin and looked into her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Beth pushed his hand away and sat up, turning her back to him. “I’m fine.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She shuffled her bottom a little bit farther away from him, crossing her arms in front of her. She leaned forward, rocking slightly.

Aw hell!
He should have known he was coming on too strong. She obviously wasn’t ready for that level of intensity. Intensity? Hell, inferno more like it. He wasn’t sure he was okay yet either. Reaching over, he lightly touched her shoulder, careful not to surprise her.

“Beth?”

She shrugged his hand aside and released her arms from their vise-like hold of her middle and let her legs slide to the floor. “I’m all right, okay!”

She shook her head and covered her eyes with her hands. Why on God’s earth had she done that? Embarrassment filled her. She’d never lost control like that before. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t get any more involved with Daniel, but
holy moley
, it’d been amazing. No one made her tingle all over like that. No one but Daniel. How could she face him now? How could they go back to all business and find whoever was trying to kill them?

The weight of the bed shifted as Daniel sat up and zipped his pants. They’d been so impatient, they were still dressed. Beth’s singlet top was all askew, her skirt hiked up to her waist.
Ewww.
She needed a shower, but was reluctant to stand in her current state. She moved her legs back onto the bed, pulled the covers over herself and lay back on the pillow, turning her head away.

“You’re not okay, are you? I’m so sorry, Beth. I’m not usually that out of control. My only excuse is that you seemed to want it as much as me. Am I right?”

Beth sighed and turned to look at him. He really did fill out a shirt well, and his penetrating brown eyes were intensely beautiful staring at her, waiting for her response.

“Call it momentary madness? I don’t know. I’ve never been to a strip show before. Do people always react that way to one?”

He reached for her hand and stroked her palm gently with his index finger, sending quivers through her body. “Maybe, but in this case I think it had more to do with how we reacted to each other. That hasn’t happened quite that way before. Not to me anyway.”

“Oh,” she said softly, lowering her gaze to his strong fingers as they continued their lazy exploration of her hand. A small thread of hope wound its way around her heart, but then Daniel pulled his hand away and walked to the other side of the room.

“Let’s try to get some perspective here. We’re attracted to each other. We like each other, and nature took its course.”

The thread fell away as quickly as it had formed, disappointment thudding into her chest.
So nothing has changed.
She bit into her bottom lip to stop it quivering as she waited for the bravado to kick in to defend her fragile feelings. “And it wasn’t the first time, so don’t beat yourself up about it. We’re grown-ups here, no big deal. That’s what you mean, right?”

“Not quite. I think we could have something really special going for us, but I think we need to be mindful of the situation we’re in. We shouldn’t get too involved right now when all our focus should be on finding out who’s following us. We can’t be distracted.
I
can’t be distracted. I can’t keep you safe unless I have total concentration.”

“So what are you saying…the fun’s been had, let’s move on?”

“No, I’m saying this was amazing, but we should slow down so we can keep our heads together. After this is over, who knows?”

In other words, he was letting her down easy. Wasn’t that the classic line—‘now’s not the right time’? Okay, so if that was the way he wanted to play it, fine. Beth pulled the sheet up around her body and stood, wrapping it around herself. She needed to get herself together, and she needed some sleep. Tomorrow promised to be another stressful day, trying to get off this wild goose chase and make some progress. Maybe he had a point about not getting distracted. All right then, she’d play it cool.

“Fine. I agree. No more sex until we finish. I can handle that. Now excuse me while I go to the bathroom and get ready for bed—to sleep.”

She waddled to the bathroom with as much dignity as she could muster and shut the door. When she emerged some time later dressed in her ‘granny’ pajamas and with her hair wrapped in a towel, Daniel had gone. A note on the dresser told her he was checking out a lead and for her to get some sleep.
Great. Fat chance
. Especially now she was worried about him being out there on his own. The noise from the street was pretty bad too. She didn’t really have a choice though, so she toweled off her hair, climbed between the sheets and rested her head on the pillow. Five minutes later, she slept.

Chapter Ten

Out in the crowded street again, Daniel blended with the tourists. He’d taken one of the baseball caps and pulled it down over his forehead to shield his eyes. He pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck. Walking with his head bent, he kept his eyes straight, holding the crowd in view. He didn’t want any surprises, not when they’d remained undetected since leaving Canberra this morning.
Shit, was it only this morning that we left Canberra?
As days went, this must’ve gone down as one of the shittiest ones he’d ever experienced, except for Beth. Just thinking her name had his cock hardening all over again. He could still taste her. Getting out of that room and away from her was the only option he’d had. Things were getting too complicated for comfort and he needed the space to get his head together. So did Beth.

Sure, the sex had been great. More than great. It had been so intense he’d nearly lost sight of the big picture. But sex wasn’t all that was happening here. He’d better focus solely on the job of protecting her, even if he had to make her hate him. And she might just do that by the time this was over, because he planned to keep her with him twenty-four-seven from now on. Once he got back to the hotel, they’d be joined at the hip. She would hate that but tough shit
,
she’d just have to live with it.

A small park came into view where there were several benches filled with people sitting down drinking and laughing together. Even though what they were doing was illegal, it was better than having a bunch of druggies shooting up in full view, so Daniel ignored them. He walked past a group of teenagers all wearing the uniform of sports logo pants, black T-shirts and woollen caps. How they tolerated those caps in the December heat was beyond him, but fashion made people do strange things. He thought about those spiky heels Beth wore to the club and how they showed off her amazing legs. Oh yeah, not all fashion was bad.