Vindicated (22 page)

“We need to talk, Karly.” The quick flare of anger in her eyes said he’d overstepped his mark. He’d come here to smooth things over, not make them worse.

“So now you want to talk. Well, tough shit, Mackenzie. You missed your chance.” She retreated to her bedroom. He followed her down the hall but stopped short when she slammed the bedroom door in his face.

He placed a hand on the door and leaned his forehead against the cool wood. This pint-sized woman had him questioning all of his principles in the space of a week.

“I hate you being pissed at me,” he said.

His confession was greeted by silence. A few seconds later, she jerked the door open, nearly bowling him over upon her exit, and stormed down the hall with a duffel bag in her hand. She grabbed a pink hoodie and shrugged it on while scowling at him. With a harried jerk, she opened the front door.

“I’m leaving. My cab’s waiting downstairs,” she said. “You have to go now.”

Feeling like a scolded puppy, he trudged after her. Even with his long legs, he had to hustle to keep up with her as she ran down the stairs, duffel bag thumping along behind her. At the first landing, he took the strap from her hands and threw it over his shoulder. She gave him an exasperated glare and kept going. Finally, at the bottom of the steps, he grabbed her arm and made her look at him.

“Where the fuck are you going in such a hurry?” he asked.

“I’m stripping at a bachelor party,” she replied.

“What. The. Fuck?” He couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d told him she was pregnant with an alien baby. While he tried to process her words, she walked away from him. “Whoa, whoa. Hang on a sec.”

“I don’t have time for you to catch up, Mackenzie,” she said. Her hand was on the cab door when he snapped out of his shock. He put his hand over hers, preventing her from opening the door.

“The meter’s running,” the cabbie said, earning a glare from both Karly and Randy.

“You can go,” Randy said to the cabbie and handed him a five-dollar bill from his wallet. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go, Karly.”

The drive to the bachelor party teemed with uncomfortable silence. Karly sat against the passenger door, arms wrapped around her waist, while he tried to get rid of the unpleasant taste in his mouth The idea of some strange guy getting an eyeful of Karly’s perky tits and sweet onion ass set his teeth on edge. The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he became. Why it bothered him, he had no idea. And that pissed him off even more.

“You’re not going in,” Karly said once they arrived.

“The fuck I’m not,” he replied. “You can’t go into this without someone to watch your back. It’s just not done.”

“Right. I forgot you’re an expert at this kind of thing.” She yanked her duffle bag out of the truck before he could help her.

He’d played bodyguard for several strippers over the years. It was an easy gig. Most of the time he sat on his ass, bored out of his skull, while the girls did their thing. Once in a while some drunken bastard tried to cop a feel, and Randy would step in to reiterate the rules. It had been all about business and easy money, but he hadn’t cared about any of those girls. Not like he cared for Karly.

“I’m coming with you, and there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me,” he said. She might not want him there, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to leave.

Chapter 43

A beautiful historic hotel on the city’s north side played host to the bachelor party. The groom-to-be and his pals had rented out the top floor suite and adjoining rooms. Their raucous shouts and laughter echoed through the halls and into the room where the girls dressed in preparation.

Randy watched Karly standing in front of the mirror, all legs and perky tits, in the hottest little number he’d ever seen. Her hair flowed in long ringlets down her back, the sides swept up with barrettes. The bands of her garter belt peeked from beneath the hem of the short skirt, and the merest scrap of white silk panties peeked out from beneath when she bent over to straighten her stocking. She was a walking wet dream.
His
walking wet dream. As she turned in front of the mirror, his throat went dry and his fingers clenched with the need to touch her.

She turned to face him while smoothing the skirt over her hips. Her lips trembled. He slid his gaze over her from head to toe and back up again, and swallowed hard to choke down the knot in his throat.

“Do I look okay?’ she asked, voice quavering.

“You look fucking hot,” he answered sincerely, dragging his gaze over every inch of her curves. “But then, you always do.”

“I think I’m going to puke.” She turned back to the mirror where their eyes met again. All the color drained from her face. She sprinted toward the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. A few seconds later, the toilet flushed, followed by the sound of running water. When she came out, she avoided his gaze.

“You don’t have to do this, Karly. We can leave right now, if you want.” His fingers curled with the urge to grab her by the hair and drag her to safety. “You’re not cut out for this.”

“You mean, I’m not hot enough or sexy enough?” Her frown cut him. “Just because you’re not attracted to me, doesn’t mean other men aren’t.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m crazy attracted to you. You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” He clenched the back of his neck with one hand, squeezing the tense muscles. “It’s just not you.”

“It’s five hundred dollars,” she whispered as she fiddled with the top of one stocking. “Five
hundred
dollars. Do you know what I can do with that money? I need this.”

“Fuck the money. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t.”

“I want to do it. I
need
to do this.” She grabbed her purse and crossed the room to stand in front of him. Her eyes blazed with determination and resignation as she dug into the purse and came up with a one-dollar bill and some change. “You don’t get it, do you? This is all I have.” She thrust the money into his face. “This is it. There isn’t any more. I’ve only eaten once in three days. I’ve got debt up to my eyeballs. And there’s Emma.”

Her voice broke, and his gut clenched at her despair. Her pain became his pain. He felt it when her shoulders sagged under the weight of it. If only he could make it better, somehow protect her from all the worry. He’d do anything to see her sunny smile again. He craved it like a man dying of thirst in the desert.

Lifting her chin, she threw the money back into her purse then clicked it shut. “I’m a big girl, Randy. I don’t need you to give me a lecture. I didn’t ask you to come here. If you want to leave, then go.”

He took her chin in his hand and turned her face up to his, sliding his thumb across the soft skin of her lips, fighting the urge to kiss some sense into them. When his gaze locked with her eyes, their remarkability caught him off guard. The irises were soft gray like a dove’s wing, startling against the thick fringe of her lashes.

“I don’t want you to regret this tomorrow,” he whispered. “And I think you will.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” The plush lips curved into a smile, more confident this time, and she turned to enter the bachelor suite through the adjoining door. He watched her go with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Get a fucking grip, dude,” he muttered beneath his breath. “You’ve done this a hundred times with a dozen different girls. This will all be over in a couple of hours, and you can get the hell out of here.”

The minute she passed over the threshold, every male in the room homed in on her like vultures circling prey. The other dancers seemed tired and dull next to Karly’s exuberance. The strawberry blond hair, swinging hips, and school-girl outfit made a scintillating combination. Like a pro, she circled the room, trailing fingertips over chests and arms with the bright smile he’d come to cherish, a smile meant for him, only this time it was aimed at someone else.

Most of the men were in their mid-thirties with beer bellies and wedding rings on their fingers. Karly circled in on a clean-cut young man wearing a dress shirt and necktie. The dude’s eyes lit up when she shoved him back into a chair and straddled his lap with a toss of her hair. She was good, Randy thought. Too fucking good for his comfort.

“Careful, stud, your fangs are showing,” Cheetah, the woman in charge, brushed behind him, her heavy breasts grazing his back. He’d played bodyguard for her girls plenty of times and knew she ran a class act. It should’ve made him feel better but didn’t. Neither did the dollar signs in her eyes as she watched Karly. “She’s a natural, isn’t she? Great eye contact for a virgin. I have to say I’m impressed. I can get her more work if she’s interested.”

“She’s not,” he replied, eyes glued to Karly, and gently nudged the woman to the side.

Cheetah laughed and shook her head, moving back into the party.

Karly circled the young man’s chair and began to slowly untie the knot of her blouse. His face flushed bright red. Although his hands rested on his thighs, his fingers twitched like he wanted to touch her. Randy tugged at his shirt collar, feeling choked. Karly dropped the shirt to the floor, revealing a lacy white bra and the upper swells of her breasts. She turned her back to the guy, hooked her thumbs into the waistband of the skirt, and tugged it down with a flirty glance over her shoulder. The skirt crumpled and slipped to the carpet at the precise moment Randy’s control snapped.

Chapter 44

It was easier than Karly thought it would be—the men were respectful and happy to have the rapt attention of a few pretty girls. She singled out the young man with a tie because he looked nervous. They shared a smile before she slid into the routine Josh had shown her. They’d spent all afternoon practicing it, and she had it down to memory. As she untied the white blouse and eased it off her shoulders, she closed her eyes to absorb the beat of the music, sinking into the oblivion of the sultry rhythm.

After a deep breath, she hooked her thumbs into the skirt and slid it down her thighs inch by inch, the cool air whispering between her bare legs and belly.

“That’s it. We’re out of here.” A rough hand curled around her bicep and almost yanked her off her feet. She turned to find Randy glaring down at her with fire in his deep-set eyes. He flung his coat around her shoulders and dragged her across the room.

“Wait. What the hell?” Confused, she stumbled after him.

“Hey, what are you doing? Let her go.” Her subject rose from his chair and reached for Randy’s arm. The angry light in Randy’s eyes set the guy back a few paces. He towered over all the men in the room and, by his fierce expression, itched to throw a punch at one of them.

Randy pointed two fingers at the man. “She’s done here. Stay the fuck out of this.” His grip on her arm tightened to the point of unpleasantness, raising her to her tiptoes as he dragged her into the adjoining room. “Grab your shit and let’s go.”

“Will you at least tell me what’s going on?” Confused, she stood frozen in the center of the room as Randy stuffed her things into her duffel and shouldered the strap.

“Put these on.” She had worn blue jeans and a sweater to the hotel. Randy threw them at her. “Do it. Now.”

His chest swelled with each breath. He held the last one before exhaling. A muscle ticked in his jaw. The man could be intimidating when he chose, and this was one of those times. She wasn’t afraid of him, though, especially when he was in the wrong.

“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.” She lifted her chin and glared at him, arms crossed over her chest.

“So help me God, Karly, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here if I have to.” His chest heaved with emotion, his eyes blazed, and she believed he would do it. He lowered his voice to a gentle whisper that curled her toes. “Just do it, baby. I’ll explain later.”

The door flew open, and Cheetah stormed into the room, eyes ablaze. “What the fuck, Randy? That was completely unprofessional.” She turned to Karly with frazzled irritation. “We aren’t finished here. You were barely out there fifteen minutes.”

“Get out, Cheetah. She’s done.” Randy took a menacing step toward the woman. “This is none of your business.” They glared at each other for a long moment before she stepped back and nodded.

“Fine. But I’m not paying her,” Cheetah said with a wave of her hand as if shooing away a fly. “And you won’t be getting any more work from me.” The door slammed shut behind her.

Karly stared at Randy, cheeks flooded with the heat of anger, the breath heavy in her lungs. His broad shoulders turned in her direction, and his unapologetic gaze leveled on her with uncomfortable intensity. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills.

“You had no right to do that,” she said, her voice low and trembling.

With a heavy sigh, he said, “I said I’d watch your back, and that’s what I’m doing.” The tenderness in his eyes grew as he bent his head over hers and tugged her to him, folding her into his arms. “I’m protecting you from yourself. From doing something you’re going to regret.” The beat of his heart thumped beneath her ear as he held her tight. When he spoke, his voice brimmed with emotion. “You are so much more than this, Karly.”