Jericho

  I gazed down between her legs. “Fuuuck, that is better than any view out here on this lake.”

  Again, she bit her lip in concentration as she rolled the condom down over my erection. Then with a sweet, shy smile that contradicted everything else about her, she knelt down on each side of my thighs. She wrapped her arms around my head and brought my face against her breasts as she dropped down over my cock, taking in every inch of me with her tight sheath.

  I held her hips as she eased up and down over me. Her head dropped back as she impaled herself on me again and again. I wrapped my hands around her naked ass. She writhed against me, squeezing her pussy tight around me, gripping my cock like a hot, wet hand.

  “God, baby, you can just straddle me like this all fucking day and night.” My fingers dug into the smooth flesh of her ass as I ground her against me. She rubbed against me to build heat and friction around her clit. Her ass jutted out against my hands and then she slid forward again pulling my cock along for the hot, wild ride. She pushed her ass again and this time I met her backward thrust by pushing my finger into the tight round anus. She groaned with approval, and I jammed it deeper. Her movements sped up as she tangled her fingers in my hair and held me against her. I was impaling her from two directions, and she wanted more with each thrust.

  “Yes, Jericho, fuck yes!” Her fingers tightened in my hair and her head dropped against my shoulder as her pussy and thighs clenched around me.

  She was still in a shuddering daze as I held her over me and slammed into her. She held tightly to me as I moved fast against her. “That’s it, baby, take me in. Take all of me inside,” I growled. She met every punishing thrust with her sweet and willing pussy. And then my cock exploded in hard and long pulses. “Fucking hell, Roxie.” My voice was rough and low. “I can’t believe what you do to my cock. Every time feels like the first damn time.” I wrapped my arms around her, and she softened against me.

  The water lapped at the hull of the boat as the deck rocked almost in rhythm with our pounding hearts. The air out on the lake was cool and refreshing, like a spray of mint. Reluctantly, she climbed off of me, but I didn’t want to let her go. I wanted to hold her there on my lap forever.

  I watched as she sashayed over and picked up her panties off the deck. She walked over and sat down at the stern to put them on.

  I checked my phone. “We’ve still got twenty minutes. You might be wasting your time sliding those choice little lace panties back on.”

  She pulled them up and reached out with her foot, rubbing her toes along my thigh. “It’ll take that long just to get back to the marina.”

  “Damn, I guess so.” I pulled my jeans up and sat on the bench with her. “If this is the only way we’re going to get time alone, I guess I’m going to have to get a boat. The motorcycle can get us to remote locations, but it’s a lot harder to fool around on.”

  We walked back up to the seats, and I sat in the captain’s chair. The small ripples had started pinching up into curls. We had to go slow on the way back to avoid having water lap over the bow and into the boat.

  “I’m very curious—” Roxie held her hair back with her hand to keep the wind from pushing it in her face. “How the heck did you get out of the house this morning with no one seeing you? I thought you’d followed me into the shower. When I turned around and saw Trace, I nearly fainted.”

  I clamped my jaw tight and gripped the steering wheel. It was stupid. She lived with the man, and they had this strange forced relationship. But the thought of him stepping into the shower with her made me want to tear his head off. She seemed to have sensed my sudden mood change.

  “I’ve been with Trace for a year. We are living together and he expects me to be in his bed and his shower and anywhere else he damn well pleases. I manage occasionally to fend him off but—”

  My knuckles whitened. “Then you have to explain this whole damn thing to me. I need to know what the hell it is that has you bound to that asshole.” I faced her. “If I have to accept the fact that he’s touching you, that he’s fucking you in the damn shower, then you need to tell me, Roxie. Explain it to me because I don’t understand.”

  She sat back against the seat looking upset and deflated. We’d just made out like two people who were never going to get enough of each other. I knew it was true for me. I would never get my fill of Roxie. She’d already taken hold of my body, heart and soul. I hated to end the day this way. I hated the idea of her being upset with me.

  “That’s all right, baby. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me. But I’m not planning on leaving this or giving up on you anytime soon.” I hadn’t felt like this about any girl since Evie. I could still remember when the cold, harsh reality had finally hit me like a torpedo in the chest. Evie had been meant for Luke, and no matter how close we’d been growing up, her heart belonged to him and no one else. I’d been hardheaded about it all. For several years, Evie had looked at me as her closest confidante, her best friend, her unrelated brother. I just hadn’t allowed that notion to take hold until she found Luke. Sometimes, you had to get hit over the head with things to see what was right in front of you. I hadn’t needed a smack on the head this time though. Roxie was meant for me. She was not supposed to be with Trace, and I was sticking around until she figured out a way to get out from under his fist.

  “My brother, Sean, he’s one of those guys who just always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Roxie’s wavering voice was nearly drowned out by the boat motor. She stared straight ahead at the massive stretch of blue water as she spoke. “He’s never been great at keeping a job . . . or money in his pocket, for that matter. He loves to gamble.” She paused and drew her attention away from the lake for a second to adjust the hem on her dress. “But he’s a good husband and a terrific dad.” Her shoulders dropped with a sigh. The tension in her face and body was gone as she turned toward me. “You’ve only met my sister-in-law, Nancy, briefly, but she suffers from depression. I’m not talking the kind where you feel down in the dumps because you have things go badly for a few days. She doesn’t need any bad luck to bring it on. It can consume her to the point where she can’t even get out of bed. Even with medication, she can turn into this dark, shadowy figure who can barely function. Poor little Easton has to wake up every morning and wonder which mommy will be greeting him. Or not greeting him, since on really rough days she stays in bed and doesn’t eat or talk to anyone. So, Sean has to be there for him.”

  Roxie’s dimples creased with her smile. It was a sad smile, and it tugged at my chest. “He loves his dad. To Easton, Sean is Superman, Spiderman and Santa Claus all rolled up into one big package.” She took a deep breath. She’d finally tired of her hair being blown around and tied it into a giant knot at the back of her neck. The water was rough enough that she had to clutch the side of the boat to keep from getting tossed off the seat.

  “Just over a year ago, when I was still working for Trace at his casino near Reno, there was a murder in the parking lot. Some big mouthed guy who got way too drunk and lost too much money got his head smashed in. Sean was there that night too. Also getting too drunk and losing money. The guy was picking fights with everyone. Trace wasn’t there. He was at another club.”

  She sat up as something occurred to her. “That scary outlaw club was there that night. In fact, I think that’s the last time I ever saw them. Anyhow, the drunk guy came and plunked down his last twenty at my table. He lost, naturally. He was so drunk, he couldn’t have known what the heck he was doing. He got pissed when I went to take his chips. He grabbed my arm. The casino bouncers got involved. Sean, drunk as he was himself, was pissed as hell. A fight broke out. Hilda, one of the cocktail waitresses, grabbed me and pulled me to the backroom where we would be safe.”

  I looked at her. It was still hard to see the connection between the murder and her relationship with Trace.

  She seemed to sense my confusion. “Believe it or not, this still all circles back to Trace and me.
I was, of course, in a panic about Sean. He’s a big guy and tough, but he was pretty drunk and he tended to always get in trouble. You know, like when a dozen people are speeding on the freeway and only one driver gets pulled over for the ticket. Sean is that one driver. He’s had that kind of luck his whole life.”

  We were getting close to the marina. I slowed the boat to the required five miles per hour. We puttered in toward the dock.

  Roxie had stopped her story. She seemed to be contemplating on whether or not she’d finish. She finally spoke fast, almost as if she thought if she said it fast enough it would make the whole thing disappear. “After the fight had cleared, I walked out to the casino. Some of the guys were turning the furniture upright and sweeping up broken glass. Sean was nowhere. By that time, Trace had arrived. He came in on the phone, and Sean came in stumbling behind him, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. Trace walked him straight into the office and called me in too. He shut the door. And that’s when he told me he’d found Sean behind the wall where the garbage cans were kept. He’d been kneeling over the man’s body. The man, the one who had started the fight, had had his head crushed in. Sean was bloodied and drunk. He couldn’t remember anything that’d happened.”

  She crossed her arms over herself as I steered the boat back to the slip. “Trace had been obsessed with me almost from the first night I started working for him. He hounded me about going out with him, but I knew he wasn’t my type. I kept turning him down. But that night, I couldn’t say no any longer. Trace has the security video safely in his possession. No one has ever seen it but him. He says it shows Sean hitting the man just before he fell down dead.” She wiped away a tear. “Nancy wouldn’t survive without Sean, and Easton, who already has a lot to deal with in life, would be devastated if they took his dad away.”

  I stared at her, stunned. “So, it’s blackmail. Your freedom for your brother’s?”

  She tightened her arms around herself and shrank down on the seat. “I’m in a black hole, and there is no way to crawl out.”

  I reached over and turned her chin so she faced me. I wiped a tear away with my thumb. “Bullshit. There’s always a way out. We’re just going to have to find it.”

  “I won’t do anything to hurt my brother’s family.” She grabbed my arm. “You can’t tell anyone about this, Jericho. Not even Reed and Jacko. No one else knows.”

  “Your secret is safe with me. Just don’t expect me to accept it.” I tied the boat off, helped her onto the pier and pulled her into my arms. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll figure out some way to shove that bastard out of your life for good.”

  chapter 21

  Roxie

  It was rare for me to be excited about being at Candy Strippers on a Monday morning. But I’d counted cash and organized it for delivery to the Reno club. Our new security team was coming in with Pete to pick it up. Trace had insisted it had to be ready first thing in the morning for the two hour trip to Reno. I would have a chance to see Jericho. That was all that mattered.

  After spilling my entire sordid life out to him, he hadn’t looked shocked or repelled. He’d seemed more determined than ever to figure a way for me to get free of Gamble. At first his determination had given me some hope, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw no possible way out. I was stuck.

  I’d saved back four stacks of twenties for the strip club to use in its cash register. I opened the safe and stuck the money inside. As my fingers grazed the side of the safe, the back of my hand scraped on something sharp. I withdrew my hand and grabbed a tissue to mop up the blood.

  I went back to the safe and peered inside. There was a small slice in the interior of the safe that I’d never noticed before. I stuck my finger beneath the slice. A small, concealed door opened. I glanced back to make sure I was alone and then reached into the compartment. I felt around. It was empty.

  As I withdrew my hand, my fingers ran over something cold and hard. I pulled out a pair of keys. A tag was attached to the keys, giving the name of a local bank and a safe deposit box number. It wouldn’t be strange for a wealthy man like Trace to have a safe deposit box. I wondered briefly what priceless item he might be keeping safely tucked away. I had so little interest in his life, I quickly wiped the question from my mind. I returned the keys to the compartment and shut the little door.

  Motorcycles rumbled in the parking lot outside the club. Like a teenage girl, my heart raced in my chest and my hands trembled at the thought of seeing my crush. I was completely taken with the man. And my feelings for him only grew stronger with each passing moment.

  I finished filling out the ledger of exactly what I was sending. There would be about ten thousand dollars in the van today. Not much. While popular, the Candy Strippers Club wasn’t one of Trace’s big money earners, mostly due to the fact that there were no slot machines or game tables. Here, the customers spent their money by tipping the girls. Some of the dancers made a decent living from it.

  I heard Pepper talking enthusiastically to someone, so I knew Jericho and his men were inside. Pepper still had a big thing for Reed. I wasn’t completely sure the affection went both directions. Reed seemed to be somewhat of a loner, or at least the type who didn’t want to saddle himself with any relationship. But then what did I know about relationships?

  The office door was open. The brutally hot head of security knocked before stepping inside. Jacko was coming up behind him, but Jericho pushed the office door shut in his face.

  “That was kind of rude,” I said.

  “Yep.” Jericho closed the gap between us with two long strides. He grabbed me and kissed me until the voices on the other side of the door grew restless. “I’ve got to see you tonight.” He grabbed a piece of paper on the desk and jotted down an address. “This is where we’re staying.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t. Trace will be around—”

  “Make something up. Your brother or shopping or something.” His hand grazed down the side of my face, and I closed my eyes at the feel of it. “We should be back around three.” He leaned down and kissed me once more. “I have to see you.”

  I shoved the address into my pocket and nodded, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. “I won’t do anything that puts you in danger.”

  “Hey”—he pointed from himself to me—”this is worth a little danger. But if you think he might harm you, then just stay away. It’ll break me in two, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  I swallowed to relieve the ache in my throat. I would have given anything to be free of Trace. I would run straight into Jericho’s arms and never look back. But my shackles were inescapable. And then, almost as if my dark thoughts about Trace had conjured him, my phone rang.

  Ignoring his call always resulted in a hundred questions about where I was and what I was doing that was so important I couldn’t answer his call. I pointed out the money bags on the desk. Jericho grabbed them and walked out. His shoulders were broad and tense like iron. He knew the call was from Trace.

  “Hello.”

  “Where are you at?” Trace sounded sharp and pissed. But that wasn’t unusual.

  “I’m where you told me to be. I’m at Candy Strippers. The money is being picked up right now.”

  “You mean they’re not on the fucking road yet? What the hell is taking so long?” He was exceptionally angry this morning. Something was up.

  “They’re leaving now. They are only about fifteen minutes late. What’s the matter?”

  “Fifteen minutes late? You don’t get anywhere in life if you’re fifteen fucking minutes late to everything. No matter. Those boys won’t be around much longer anyhow.”

  “So you hired them for a week?”

  “Don’t you worry your pretty little ass about it. Stay where you are. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up.

  I stared down at my phone as if it could explain what the heck that was all about. Now Trace was coming to see me in what seemed to be a terrible mood. One thing was for sure, there was someth
ing really odd with his security plan. He’d hired Jericho, but for what?

  I finished up the paperwork, and, as promised, Trace arrived. I had a completely different reaction to the sound of his voice as compared to the giddy school girl reaction I’d had to Jericho’s. Trace made every muscle in my body tense, and my stomach always knotted up at the sight of him. He looked exceptionally angry as he stood in the doorway to the office. He seemed to sense my immediate discomfort and forced a more relaxed expression.

  He walked inside and shut the door. “Are they on the road?”

  “Yes, I told you they were just on their way out. I don’t know why you were so upset about it.”

  “No, you wouldn’t understand at all.” He rolled the desk chair roughly across the floor, knocking over the waste basket in its path. The fake calm exterior wasn’t enough to hide that he was filled with rage this morning. He sat in the chair and leaned back, pushing his legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “But all these headaches will be gone soon because I’m selling the whole fucking thing. The clubs, the casinos, I’m liquidating my assets.”

  I had no idea where he was heading with this. “You’re getting out of the business?”

  “Just here in Nevada. I’m pooling my money to invest in a big casino in Atlanta. No more of this nickel and dime bullshit.” He sat forward. His jaw was set in that hard edge that let me know there was no debating anything. “You and I are moving to Georgia.”

  “Told you, I’m not leaving my family.” I walked over to the desk and busied myself straightening it up.

  He spun the chair around to face me. “You, sweetheart, have no fucking choice. Once everything is sold, you will be packing your bags for the south. Did I tell you the cops came around the Reno club the other day to look again for clues, anything that might lead them to the murderer of that loser they found dead in the parking lot? It seems they have no suspects at all. I figure, with my testimony and with the sudden appearance of the missing security footage, Easton’s daddy will head up the river for a long time. He can’t afford a lawyer, so they’ll appoint some bonehead from the state to defend him. He’ll be done.”