Intimate Illusions [The Callens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“I don’t think so, but I’m not privy to all the ins and outs. My job is to create a fantastic light show. That’s all.”

Giggles drifted over, and Max caught sight of Ian waving his hands. “I guess I better referee.”

“You’re probably right.”

Max snagged his glass off the bar and sauntered over to the women. The closer he got, the taller the women appeared. In fact, all three were taller than his five-foot-ten inch brother. Mostly likely they were wearing four-inch heels.

His brother’s voice was louder than the rest of the men’s. Max only heard the tail end of the question. “Your story?”

He slipped in next to the beauties. Normally, the type of women that appealed to Ian did little for him, but his mom would be pissed if Ian did something stupid tonight, so he stayed close. He checked out the girls. The women were as different as they were tall. One was a blonde, another a redhead, and the tallest was a brunette. All, however, were beautiful.

The brunette answered. “Actually, this is my last gig. I’m getting too old to model.”

Ian did his wide-eyed look. “Sugar, you can’t be but eighteen.”

The woman smiled demurely. “I’m twenty-three, which in the fashion world is old. Besides, I’m tired of the pressure. I’m on the go all the time.”

“You’ve seen nothing until you run a ranch. It’s all adrenaline, packed full of pressure.”

Max needed a shovel, but he decided to see how well the brunette handled herself. “Is that so? My mom started me modeling at age nine. That meant I was taken out of school and had to be homeschooled by tutors my whole life. While it might sound like fun, I missed out on all the birthday parties and high school proms. I call that tough.”

She got Ian on that one. His brother’s face lost its cheer. “That must have been hard.”

She shrugged. “The job has had its perks. I got to travel to New York, Milan, and a host of other cities.”

Ian stepped closer. “Then why quit?”

“Like I said, I’m old.”

“Sugar, you look perfect to me.”

She smiled sweetly as if she got the compliment all the time. One song ended, and a faster one began. Before she continued, two of the men asked the blonde and redhead to dance. They seemed thrilled at the opportunity to go Western for the night.

Max held out his hand. “I’m Max Callen. Our mother is the one organizing the fashion show.”

“Devonne.” Her hazel eyes brightened. “Tell her thank you. I’ve been considering getting out of the rat race of Los Angeles and settling down in Wyoming. I wanted the chance to see the countryside, and the fashion show provided the perfect opportunity.”

He liked how in her heels, they were almost eye to eye. Ian had to look up to her, but that didn’t seem to bother him. “I hope you have the chance to see our pretty state.”

“Me, too.”

Since Ian seemed to be behaving himself, he turned to walk back to the bar.

“Do you want to dance?”

He didn’t think she was speaking with him, but in case she was, he didn’t want to be rude. He turned around and smiled. Her gaze was on him. “I appreciate the offer, but Ian here is the dancer.” Beauty queens would get bored with him in a heartbeat, especially when he stepped on their toes.

He made it back to the bar and reclaimed his seat. Jackson came over a few minutes later. “How did it go?”

“Go?” He shrugged. “Fine.”

“You didn’t stay long. They’re a pretty bunch.”

He leaned on his elbows. “How long have we known each other?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Since when do looks really matter? It’s the mind that I want.” He tapped his temple.

“I got both in Jenny.”

His sister had the brains, and she sure was pretty. “You got lucky.”

“You got that right.” His grin reached his ears. The front doors opened, and Jackson lost his smile. “We might have some trouble.”

Max turned around. Some guy with a fancy camera strolled in. No doubt he was here to get some advance shots of the models. Everyone had a right be come to a bar, but no one deserved to be hassled. The cameraman oozed his way through the crowd. It wouldn’t take him long to spot the lovely woman.

Max left his unfinished beer on the counter and ambled behind the man, waiting to see what he planned to do. The guy stopped the moment he spotted Devonne. He then circled the pack of men. Like a lion in waiting, he remained still until some opportune moment struck. Three of the men peeled away from the group, and the cameraman pounced. He shot up the corridor and his camera went wild. Flashes bounced off the wall.

Max expected shrieks, but none came. Devonne turned her back as cool as could be, but from the tension in her shoulders, she wasn’t happy the paparazzo was here. He couldn’t blame her. She’d come to Wyoming, probably in the hopes of getting some downtime, and now some strange guy was shoving a lens in her face.

Max acted on instinct. He fought his way through the crowd, grabbed the guy by the back of the neck, and turned him around. “What the fuck are you doing? These girls came in here for some peace and quiet. Give them a break.”

The guy struggled, but there was little else he could do. He didn’t stand a chance when his hands were full of expensive gear. “I’m trying to make a living.”

Max let him go. “Get out.”

“Give me a break.”

“Come to the fashion show when everyone else does.”

He lifted the camera to get off another shot when Max held his hand in front of the lens. “Where do you plan on selling these photos?”

“To the
Intrigue Sun
.”

Since his brother owned the paper, he’d make sure that never happened. “Leave.”

The guy’s lips pressed together as if was debating whether to put up a fight. In the end, he gave Max the finger and stalked off. Once he was convinced the guy wouldn’t come back, Max returned to his place at the bar.

“Thanks.” Jackson placed a fresh beer in front of him. “On the house.”

Max waved a hand. He didn’t deserve a free beer for doing what came naturally, but he didn’t want to act ungrateful, either. He drank some when someone lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He put down the beer and swiveled in his seat.

Devonne slid onto the next seat. “Thank you.”

Both acted like he was some hero. “I like my privacy as much as anyone else. I figured you deserved some, too.”

“I appreciate that. In Los Angeles, no one would have lifted a finger to stop the guy.” Her smile dazzled.

“You’ll find the men in Intrigue are gentlemen.”

She leaned back and ran her gaze up and down his body as if she was trying to decide if he were from some other planet. “You sure I can’t convince you to dance with me?”

She did seem like she really wanted to take a spin on the dance floor. Maybe she hadn’t had many takers since she was so tall. “If I step on your toes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Trust me. I got sturdy toes.”

That made him laugh. He jumped up and held out his arm. They wove their way to the small dance floor. The music changed, and he inwardly groaned. It was a slow song. He wrapped one hand lightly on her waist and held her right hand high, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. Knowing a few basic steps, he shuffled forward then moved backward, hoping he didn’t look too uncoordinated on the dance floor. Give him a basketball anytime. On the court he could smoothly dodge his opponents, but once his feet had to follow choreographed moves, he sucked.

The floor was cramped, and he kept bumping into people, which threw off his timing. Some burly guy moved at the same time Max did and their backs hit hard, pushing Max forward. His chest smashed against Devonne’s, and heat raced up his face. “Sorry, ma’am.”

“The name’s Devonne.” She smiled so sweetly his heart lurched.

Enough was enough. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her off the floor.

No sooner had they arrived back at the bar than Ian rushed over. “You quittin’ already?” His gaze latched onto the pretty model. He held out his hand. “May I?”

She hesitated a bit then stood, holding Max’s gaze. “Don’t leave.”

Now what did that mean? He knew. She was trouble with a capital
T
.

Devonne was happy to be out of the crush of humanity and back in the hotel room. Her first order of business was a hot shower, because her skin was clogged with the aroma of beer. Removing her makeup was a must do. While she’d really enjoyed herself at the
saloon
, the jet lag had caught up with her.

She undressed and stepped under the pulsating jets. Images of the Callen men flashed in her mind. Ian, the shorter of the two, had said he and Max were twins. It was hard to believe since Ian seemed so carefree compared to Max’s more reserved personality. She wouldn’t go so far to say the taller of the two was stuffy, but he did seem to hold his emotions in check, especially when he was on the dance floor. She would have loved to have a shot of his face when the song turned slow. His sharp eyes morphed into a mixture of fear and
oh shit, what do I do now?

His cool composure had disappeared the first time the moment that pesky photographer stepped into the bar.
Oh, my
. That was hero action to the fullest. She’d caught the whole event from start to finish. Max was on the little man in no time. Since the Callens were rich, he was probably used to people sticking a lens in his face and understood how a camera could invade a person’s space.

She lathered her long hair and chuckled. For someone so packed full of muscles, Max Callen sure had no idea how to use his body on the dance floor. She cut off the image the moment she pictured both of them in bed. Romance had no place in her life right now.

After she finished with her shower, she wrapped a towel around her head and stepped into her pajamas. Comfortable at last, she crawled into bed. Giggles sounded outside her door.
Uh-oh
. From the squeals, it was Tara, who everyone called Red, and Cheri. She bet neither was sober. They knocked a bit too loudly.

“Coming.”

In the last year, she’d grown attached to these two despite their constant desire to party. After this show, they’d go their separate ways, and Devonne would miss them. She opened the door and trudged back to bed. Both girls hopped up on the end.

“You left early.” No surprise, Red was a bit tipsy.

“I was tired.”

“Why? You had that hot Callen man in your arms. Are you crazy?”

She laughed. “Max is a nice man, but I don’t think he was into me.” That was one reason she liked him. He didn’t seem affected by her looks.

“Every man likes you. You’re a star.” Cheri took off her four-inch heels, tossed them on the floor, and rubbed her feet. “These puppies sure are tired from all that dancing.”

“That’s another reason why I left. We have a big day tomorrow.”

Tara leaned back. “You really going to quit the business?”

“Yup.”

Red scrunched up her nose. “What are you going live on?”

She laughed. “My boutique brings in all the money I’ll ever need.”

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. “I need to start saving my money,” Red said. “But I’d never be able to afford a boutique on Melrose Avenue.”

She was rather proud she’d saved enough for the place. It wasn’t on Rodeo Drive, but it was close. These two could have it all if they learned to save. Devonne had lectured them until her head spun, but they liked to party too much. “You know my stand on planning for the future.”

Cheri flexed her feet. “I still have a few years left before I turn into an old hag. I’ll start saving soon.”

Red sat up. “Guess what I learned about Intrigue, Wyoming?” She bubbled enthusiasm.

“What?” Devonne wanted to go to bed, but these girls seemed to need to talk.

“Everyone around here is into the ménage lifestyle. Can you imagine what it would be like to make love to two men at the same time?”

Devonne leaned back on her elbows. “You know Daryl, the makeup artist?” They both nodded. “He’s always trying to get me to try it.”

Cheri laughed. “He’s gay.”

Devonne didn’t state the obvious. “He didn’t mean with him. Remember, he falls in love like anyone else. He’s always claimed the more hands the better.”

“Mmm. Maybe we should plan on staying a bit longer.” They both giggled again.

Devonne laughed. “That would only prolong the pain when you do leave. It’s the nature of the business. We aren’t built for long-term relationships.”

Red smiled. “But if you stay, you could get some real loving. Oooh. What about those twins? They were so hot.”

“Looks aren’t everything.”

“But they’re rich,” Cheri added.

She shook her head and laughed. “I have plenty of my own money.”

“That’s because you’ve been to Milan. What I wouldn’t give to model there.”

“The stress was worse there. It took a toll on my body. I swear I didn’t sleep for six months. We were required to go to parties. No sooner would we roll in than we had to be up early for makeup or fittings.”