StriporTreat Read online

  “Or maybe I was just killing time until you got back.” He stole her thoughts and assisted her from the car.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  His stormy gaze shot to her. The intensity shook her, reminding her that even if she did only want him for sex, he was a man with dark secrets. He had a past that kept him from writing his job history on his application. For all she knew he was wanted by the law.

  Dear Lord, she planned to have sex with a possible fugitive. Talk about stepping outside her safe and boring life.

  Sex with Gray would be every bit as explosive as mixing soda and Pop Rocks. Had she lost her mind?

  But when he took her hand, all she could think of was how much she wanted him, how right being with him felt and that maybe his past didn’t really matter so much. Only the here and now. Only the man Gray was at this moment and that man appealed. What did the past matter? This moment’s all they’d have together anyway.

  “Why would you ask that?” Gray’s fingers laced with hers.

  She blinked, retracing their conversation in her mind. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  He lowered their hands to waist level and closed her car door without answering.

  “You sounded uncertain,” she added and tried to keep her mind focused on their conversation and away from his intoxicating, spicy scent. Standing next to his powerful six-foot plus frame left her breathless. Gray’s hold tightened and she stumbled, only to have his strong hands steady her.

  “Sophia, the only thing I’m certain of is that we share some heavy duty sparks and I’m as frustrated as hell. Not that I blame you for leaving last night. Just that I wish you had stayed.” He freed his hand and a great void filled her at the loss of skin-to-skin contact. “How is Madame G today?”

  Why did she get the feeling he hid something?

  “Giving the hospital staff hell every opportunity that presents itself.”

  “The meeting with the agency?”

  “Could have been better.” She glanced at the gold watch Nate had given her for Valentine’s Day. Nate. Always so practical, so logical. She missed his logic and would love to run the club’s financial problems by him. But she wouldn’t.

  This was what she’d trained for. So what if she’d only worked on a handful of cases outside of training exercises? She’d aced every class from tax law to forensic data recovery.

  She sighed at the way the morning zoomed by without her having a chance to sort out all the problems in her aunt’s books. Just as well Gray hadn’t read her earlier steamy thoughts about the two of them. He might have offered to fulfill another fantasy and unfortunately, she didn’t have time. The male Barbie dolls should arrive in the next few minutes.

  “Want to sit with me and watch some hotties take off their clothes?”

  His brow quirked. “Just what are you interviewing these ‘hotties’ for?”

  Was that jealousy she heard amid his teasing tone? With a soft smile, she considered Gray’s broad shoulders and rigid stance. “For Strip or Treat, of course.”

  “Of course,” he mimicked, with a half grin and roll of his eyes. Definitely jealous. And she liked it. Did that make her less liberated? Possibly. But after Nate’s less than passionate response to her physically—and honestly, he’d been way too calm when she’d given the three-carat diamond engagement ring back—the possessive glint in Gray’s eyes warmed her heart. And ensured she’d never change her mind about returning Nate’s ring. She’d made the right decision.

  “Want to watch with me?” She waggled her brows, hoping Gray would say yes. She wanted, well, they didn’t have time for that. But soon. Very, very soon they would. “It’ll be fun.”

  “Somehow I doubt I’d call watching a bunch of ‘hotties’ strip off their clothes fun.”

  She laughed. “Well, there is that.”

  “How about I watch you watching them?” His heated look told her he’d be envisioning a different striptease. One starring her. After last night he didn’t have much to imagine. He’d seen all her goods.

  Her eyes landed on his truck. What would it feel like to make love in the back? To have the open sky above them as they touched? There had to be a reason they called them truck beds. The visions dancing through her head seemed as good as any.

  She and Gray, naked and entwined, could bring a whole new meaning to the term tailgate party.

  Nodding her agreement to his suggestion, she tamped down the lust building within her and headed into the club with Gray close to her side. She had to get control before she made a fool of herself. Could they even have a relationship when she didn’t know anything about his past? About his present? When she didn’t completely trust him?

  Well, she was pretty sure they were going to, but should they?

  * * * * *

  For the remainder of the afternoon Sophia watched five bumbling buffoons bump and grind on the stage. None of them qualified as worthy of being the grand finale for her aunt’s infamous Strip or Treat bash, although they’d probably do well in the amateur competition.

  She fidgeted on her chair and stared straight ahead, imagining Aunt Genevieve’s reaction when she admitted to firing Ken and having no special treat for the Halloween night audience. She couldn’t do it. Aunt Genevieve would be devastated. For that matter, Sophia was devastated. She’d botched again. Which was totally unacceptable.

  As the last applicant performed on the stage, Gray leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I don’t like any of them.”

  His warm breath tickled her ear.

  “Me either,” she admitted, still contemplating the five men who’d just stripped. Not a single one came close to measuring up to Gray. Not in physique or finesse or looks or anything.

  But then she couldn’t say that she’d have hired Ken Barnes either. Maybe she was too picky. Or maybe Gray tainted her opinion to where she couldn’t objectively judge other men.

  From the corner of her eye, she looked at him. He frowned at the man sashaying on stage and concentrated way too hard on the man’s actions. He’d acted the dominant male from the time the first applicant showed up, establishing that he considered her his woman with a few choice looks and words. Not that he needed to worry about that anyway. A couple of the applicants eyed him rather than her.

  “None of them could ever compare to you anyway,” she mumbled under her breath. At least, she thought it had been under her breath. Apparently, Gray heard.

  “To me?” His eyes narrowed and he looked uncomfortable, almost guilty.

  “I’m not asking you to strip,” she quickly assured, “so get that horrified look off your face.”

  He stared at her with a strange expression. “Do you really want me to do Strip or Treat?”

  “It would solve this particular problem but it’s okay. I understand you don’t want to.” She shrugged, trying to keep her gaze on the man on stage. “I’ll figure something out.”

  “In a way, it’s my fault you’re so worried about these goons.” His shoulders pulled back and the muscles in his neck stretched taut.

  She feigned a half-smile. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who fired Ken.”

  “He deserved a lot more than that.” Wheels turned at mach one inside his head. She could almost hear the grinding of gears. When his gaze met hers, he shrugged. “I’ll do it.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “But—” she started but he interrupted.

  “I won’t be the cause of increased stress in your life.” A determined look passed over his face. “Let me do this. I want to. For you.”

  Guilt gnawed at her insides. Did he think he had to do this because they’d almost slept together? Would sleep together? Maybe tonight. Granted, she’d pay him well. For stripping. Not for sleeping with her. He probably needed the money. Besides, she rationalized, it wasn’t like he’d show a lot more than his skimpy bartender outfit revealed. And if she didn’t have to look for a lead stripper she’d have more time to f
igure out a way to prove her aunt wasn’t committing tax fraud and laundering money. To prove that Gray was innocent of being involved with whatever problems the club had despite that late night phone call that sent her running.

  All logical arguments. Still, she hesitated.

  “Last night, in your apartment, well, that wasn’t so you’d do Strip or Treat.” She glanced at the stage. “I can see how you might think so after what I said in the bar the other day but I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  “I hope you do. Besides you can’t do Strip or Treat. You’re recovering from a concussion. Stripping might be too much excitement for you.” She squeezed his hand to let him know she was okay with him saying no and was giving him an easy out.

  “Strip or Treat isn’t until Saturday night. I have a little bump on my head. I’ll be fully recovered.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. He seemed fine. Except for the feeling she got that something had changed from the time she left him this morning. That something weighed heavily on his mind. Of course it was probably just her paranoid imagination looking for problems where none existed.

  Besides, she didn’t have a choice if she wanted Strip or Treat to be a success. She’d never find a suitable replacement by Saturday night if she didn’t take him up on his offer.

  She needed Gray to make lots of women lust after that delicious body of his.

  * * * * *

  Gray watched Sophia struggle with the idea of him stripping. Stripping.

  What had his boss been thinking this morning? Not about the fool Gray was going to make of himself. Remembering Lawrence’s chuckle, Gray amended that thought. His boss knew exactly how much he didn’t want to do this. And was going to make him anyway. Because he really was getting nowhere on the case, especially now that his two top suspects, Genevieve and Barnes, were out of the picture.

  Which is where Sophia came in. Every gut instinct told him she was his link to breaking this case. If he had more time he could avoid the strip session but apparently time had run out.

  Besides he watched Sophia’s worry grow with each nut that pranced across the stage. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to hire any of them. They all looked a bit too pretty boy. One of the jerks actually flirted with him. Him. He’d have messed the guy’s face up real good if Sophia hadn’t clasped hold of his fist and shot a warning that begged for him to let it go.

  “Gray, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t feel up to.” She didn’t meet his eyes. She was trying to give him an out, to blame saying no on her having hit his head. To let him make it her fault.

  Was that what the people in her life usually did?

  Guilt slammed into his gut. Why had he waited? He should have just told her he’d changed his mind about Saturday night the moment she got out of her car. That’s why he’d waited for her to return to the club to begin with.

  “Except for a dull headache, probably caused from my collision with my truck roof, I feel fine.”

  Her gaze jumped to where his hair hid the bump she’d made last night. Regret shone in her eyes. Her full lips twisted into a stubborn set. “No, I won’t let you.”

  It struck him that she needed him to agree. But she couldn’t bring herself to admit it because, well, why was she saying no? Because she wasn’t willing to risk his health? Or to have him do something he’d said he didn’t want to do? Or maybe she really did believe he thought she’d let him touch her to convince him to say yes to Strip or Treat. Similar to how he’d seduced her to gain her trust, to get her to tell him whatever she discovered. A quiver of something unrecognizable flickered in his chest.

  Hell, he didn’t like this. He was using her for his case, not having a relationship. He needed to quit forgetting that important distinction. Still, he stretched and dropped a kiss on her cheek. A kiss that left him wanting more. A kiss that reminded him he hadn’t provided any reprieve from his sexual frustration last night. “I think I can manage one night.” He was lying. He wasn’t sure he could manage at all.

  “I don’t want you to.” Her words said one thing but her eyes were full of unease, her tone conflicted and that unfamiliar part of him longed to erase her uncertainty.

  “But I’m going to.” For the case. Because Lawrence said he had to. That was the only reason. If it happened to ease Sophia’s burden, then so be it. Stripping on stage at a Halloween bash for rambunctious women. Who’d have thought he’d agree to do so willingly? Well, maybe not so willingly since Lawrence hadn’t given him any choice in the matter. More like, do it or else. Then a horrible thought occurred to him.

  “I can’t dance.”

  Chapter Five

  “Gray’s going to do Strip or Treat?” Aunt Genevieve looked impressed when Sophia informed her the following morning of the change in strippers for the biggest show of the year.

  Sophia tried not to cringe. “Yes, he’s going to do the grand finale.”

  “How did you manage that, dear?”

  She avoided meeting her aunt’s astute gaze. “I asked.”

  “And he said yes?”

  Eyes still averted, she nodded.

  “That’s odd. He seemed dead set against being part of the show.” Her aunt’s forehead wrinkled. “I’d have put him on stage immediately had I suspected he was willing. Actually, I tried to put him on stage. More than once.”

  “He’s only doing the show to help me out.” At Aunt Genevieve’s curious expression, Sophia hastily added, “To help you out, I mean.”

  “Uh-huh. So that’s how it is. I wondered after you asked about him the other day.” Her aunt smiled. Sophia’s heart warmed to see the apparent improvement the past twenty-four hours had made. Her aunt’s speech still slurred but without a doubt she had more control over her body with each passing day.

  “What about that fiancé of yours in Atlanta?”

  The warm feeling dissipated.

  “Nate?” Sophia averted her gaze. Not because of memories of her ex but because of what her aunt’s smile implied. Sophia couldn’t very well argue that her assumption was wrong.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, full of regret and resignation.

  Despite having rationalized all night, she couldn’t get the idea that she was using Gray out of her head. How could trying to do the right thing for one person she cared about feel so wrong in regards to another? Maybe because it was wrong? Gray didn’t want to do Strip or Treat, so why was he? She’d asked herself that a million times since he agreed. Something just didn’t click. Was that why, despite a long kiss at her doorway last night after closing the club, she hadn’t invited him in? She’d wanted to but instead disappeared into Aunt Genevieve’s apartment alone.

  “Whatever his name is.” Her aunt attempted to wave her hand but her actions remained jerky.

  Sophia focused her attention on her aunt and off the reasons why she hadn’t spent the night exploring Gray’s anatomy.

  “I broke off things with Nate a few weeks ago.” And not for one moment had he taken her seriously. He couldn’t fathom why any red-blooded woman wouldn’t want to marry him. For that matter, he was probably right. Most would love to. If not for Nate, then for his fat bank account.

  “Smart move.”

  “Not according to Mother and Father and half of Atlanta.” Sophia sank onto the bed. “They’ve threatened to disown me if I don’t come to my senses and beg him to take me back before he changes his mind.”

  An odd look passed over Aunt Genevieve’s features. “Do you want to be taken back, dear?”

  Startled, Sophia’s gaze flashed to her aunt. Her own mother had never bothered to ask that question. Although Sophia suspected her answer really wouldn’t make any difference in Eliza’s thoughts on the Nate issue.

  Nate was a good catch. She couldn’t argue with that. Nor could she say he wasn’t a good man, he was. But he didn’t excite her. Didn’t make her want to be more than she was. Worse, he didn’t make her feel like Gray did with just
the touch of his lips against hers. So, what did that mean?

  “No,” she answered her aunt since she couldn’t answer her own questions. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as Mrs. Nathaniel Fleming. I’m not in love with Nate. Never have been. I’m not even sure how I ended up engaged to him. Perhaps he asked Mother and she agreed for me.” She flinched as another thought struck her. “Or possibly Mother proposed to him and we were engaged before either of us knew what happened.”

  Which was probably hitting the nail upon the head. Poor Nate had probably been relieved when she’d given his ring back. That’s why he’d been so calm.

  “You deserve better.”

  “Better than Nate?” Sophia laughed. “According to Mother, I couldn’t possibly do better. He’s a fine upstanding Atlanta citizen. Which could be interpreted as—he has more money than Mother and Dad do. More money than King Solomon.”

  “More money than your father and a biblical king?” One dyed blonde brow arched. “He is a wealthy rascal. What’s wrong with him? Ugly as sin? Into kinky sex? Gay?”

  Kinky sex? Nate? Sophia almost doubled over with mirth. There wasn’t a kinky bone in Nate’s body. But after two nights of Gray’s kisses and the erotic dreams she experienced when she finally drifted to sleep, she wondered if there weren’t quite a few in her.

  With his salon-styled blond hair, handsome features and gold-rimmed glasses, Nate couldn’t be called ugly. Not by a long shot. Nor did she think for one second he was gay. Just overly dedicated to his business. All the man did was work. He didn’t love her any more than she loved him.

  “Nate is all business. I’d die of boredom being married to him.” She frowned. “Not that I even want to get married. I don’t. I just finished my Advanced Computer Evidence Recovery course a few months ago and I’m thinking I may ask for a transfer, move up north, find a job and experience life away from the nest.”

  “Hard to believe you work for the IRS. Seems like such a dull job to be doing other people’s taxes all day long.”