18. Authentic Seductress
18
AUTHENTIC SEDUCTRESS
The vapor of cigarettes and cannabis entwine with the raucous din of conversation throughout the packed bar.
The electric energy of The Raw Oyster is nothing like I’ve experienced in my time as a bartender at the McArthur properties. Their pricey establishments are about exclusivity and discreet indulgence.
There’s nothing cautious about the decadent revelry spilling throughout the open-air carnival atmosphere of this place.
I slide another cocktail to the guy who’s been checking me out all night and barely contain a smile when he whispers something to his date. The other man does an obvious scan that lands on my eyes. He raises a brow, and I shake my head with an apologetic smile. Their synchronizing pouts fit perfectly with The Raw Oyster’s authentic vibe. Tonight’s seductress is a stark lack of pretense as music blasts and laughter echoes from one group to the next.
Hands slide around my waist from behind, and I nearly drop the pint glass I’m filling.
“Almost ready for a break?” Julia says at my ear.
My body immediately responds, hardening from the promise of pleasure only she can bring. It’s been torture watching her float around in her tiny shorts and bikini top all night. “Beachwear” seems to be the uniform of choice for all employees of The Raw Oyster, including the men.
Julia runs her palms up my bare chest from behind and loops them around my shoulders. I feel the warmth of her lips on my shoulder. My neck.
Fuck.
This busy bar can’t afford for either of us to take a break, but there’s no arguing with the boss.
“Let me finish this pour and I’m all yours,” I say, leaning my head back toward her.
She grips my hair and shoves her mouth to mine for a hungry kiss. I feel the amusement of the crowd and smirk when she pulls away with a frustrated groan.
“Two minutes,” she warns in a stern tone.
I return a grin. “Give me one and we’ll be good.”
Her teeth sink into her lip as she backs away with a seductive gait. Eyes locked on me, she’s the picture of temptation with her smoldering glint and coy smile.
Damn. What was I doing again?
Cold liquid flows over my hand, and I curse at the overflowing beer glass. I quickly shut off the tap while Julia laughs in the background.
“Sorry,” I call to the waiting patron whose drink I just ruined.
He huffs a laugh. “No problem. Nothing you can do when a woman like that attacks you from behind.”
I chuckle and wipe down the glass. “She’s lucky I’m getting any work done tonight.”
I pass him the pint, and he hands me a twenty. “Keep it,” he says. “Looks like you’re gonna need it.”
We exchange a grin, and I nod my thanks.
Once he’s gone, I slide the money into the drawer under the bar. Theo, the youngest Hartford, comes by every hour to collect the cash and take it somewhere for safekeeping. It’s on my list to find out if it’s the same place they store La Quinta Muerte’s stash. “Theft” isn’t on the agenda for this mission, but it would be good information to have.
Julia’s sizzling stare catches mine from a few yards away. She motions with her finger to follow, and the fact that there’s nowhere in this crowded space to go only intrigues me more. My blood is already pounding, my body heating up from more than the sticky ocean air as I rinse my hands and tell the other bartender I’m taking ten.
As soon as I clear the bar, Julia grabs my wrist and drags me through the swinging door to the kitchen and out the back.
Her smile tells me everything I need to know once we’re outside.
“Now, where were we?” she purrs with a heated look.
“You were about to show me how to shuck a clam,” I tease, walking her back toward the wall of the building. It’s cooler outside, and the boisterous din from the open-air seating just out of view will provide the perfect cover for what I have planned.
“Ooh, I like when you talk dirty,” she returns.
I laugh and crowd her against the aging wood. My forearms frame her head, while her hands snake around my waist and slide beneath the waistband of my swim trunks.
“I much prefer this uniform to your Palmetto Acres one.” Her grin is an intoxicating blend of sugar and vixen.
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“The fabric is more flexible.”
“You like flexible fabric, huh. That your kink?”
“I do when it gives me plenty of room to enjoy your ass.”
Damn.
Her eyes lock on mine, the tension mounting as her hands explore. Anyone could see us right now. Hell, some lucky tourists are probably already watching, but that only excites me more.
Excites me. When’s the last time anything excited me?
Her lips are unavoidable, and I move in for a taste. Sweet and dangerous, just the way I like it. She moans when I trap her body with mine. Our bare skin rubs friction beyond the laws of physics. Her hand slides around to my front for a slow massage.
I’m aching and on fire when my fingers thread into her hair to drag her mouth to mine. Our tongues meet, sliding over each other with the same deep strokes of her torturous hand. My hips instinctively match her rhythm. The hard heat becomes unbearable pressure.
“Shaw…” she groans.
With one hand still holding her captive, the other explores her body, taking its cues from every buck and moan. Each sound from her lips would be another entry in my own “musical moment” collection. I could fill a composition book from this encounter alone.
“I want you inside me,” she breathes out.
“I don’t have protection,” I murmur.
“I don’t care.”
My hot blood goes cold.
She would. God, she would if she knew.
“Shit,” she mumbles as her energy shifts. “No fucking way.”
Surprised by the abrupt change, I follow her gaze to whatever’s behind me.
My cold veins turn to ice.
“Scarlett?” I ask in disbelief.
My stalker’s cool gaze slides from Julia to me. Objectively, her expression is flat and unreadable. Subjectively, I know she’s livid.
My heart is pounding as I straighten and adjust myself.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, turning to face her.
Her eyes make a slow pass over my body, lingering long and hard at the tented fabric. Shit. I try to stay calm. She knows this was part of my mission. So why is she here? Did Merrick send her?
A sinking feeling in my gut tells me he didn’t. Merrick wouldn’t jeopardize the mission. This is personal.
“Heard you were fired. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she says.
She lands an icy look on Julia and my concern morphs into fear. I need to get rid of Julia before Scarlett’s jealousy exposes me.
“Give me a minute?” I say to Julia.
The hurt in her eyes as she searches mine burns worse than a slap.
“I’ll get rid of her,” I assure her. I brush her cheek and project everything I can into my penetrating look.
It’s you. Only you. Always you.
Her gaze crosses back to Scarlett and goes dark.
“Fine,” she says, focusing on me again. “Break’s over in two minutes. Be quick.”
She shoves me away and slips back through the door to the kitchen of the bar. I wait until I’m sure she’s gone before turning on my nemesis.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I hiss, grabbing her arm to drag her deeper into the shadows. “Are you trying to get me killed?”
“What’s wrong with me ? We’re engaged, Shaw. Engaged. And I find you having sex with another woman?”
“We weren’t having sex,” I fire back.
“You would have if I hadn’t shown up.”
“You still haven’t explained why you did. You know why I’m here, what this is about.”
Her eyes narrow on me with deadly precision. “Do I? The word is you went rogue. Went against orders and got yourself fired from the resort. Maybe I was worried something was wrong.”
Fresh chills rush over my skin. “Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Her smug gaze morphs with a cruel undertone. “It’s true, isn’t it. You’re playing your own game now.”
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but I’m not doing anything Merrick doesn’t know about and hasn’t sanctioned. You need to leave before someone thinks this is something other than what it is.”
“And what is it, Roman? What’s happening right now? What would have happened if I hadn’t shown up?”
“This is bullshit,” I mumble, frustrated. Angry. Terrified this woman’s pettiness is going to get me killed.
I start away, and she yanks me back around.
“I saw you,” she seethes, eyes hot with violence. “With her. I saw the truth. You weren’t acting. You love her.”
I force down a wave of panic. “Don’t be ridiculous. You know how well I can play a part.”
“Yeah. I do. Which is how I know you’re not acting . You love her. Your feelings are real. What else are you hiding from my father?”
I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out. I can’t believe this is happening, and in a sickening twist, I have no idea what to do this time.
“That’s your jealousy talking,” I say. “Everything you saw is what you wanted to see. What you expected. And you know Merrick will believe me if you try to make trouble.”
Her lips press into a thin line. A hint of relief breezes through me when I see I’ve won. She knows I’m more valuable, more reliable than she is. If it’s her word against mine, they’ll go with mine because they have to. They need me to be what they want me to be, and knowing what I do about McArthur’s plan with La Quinta Muerte gives me even more leverage.
“Go home, Scarlett,” I say in a stern voice. “Let me do my job while you plan our bullshit wedding.”
I march away, praying she listens.
Julia is quiet for the rest of the night.
I know it has to do with Scarlett, but a busy bar isn’t the place to explain that landmine. Instead, I do my job and try my best to ignore her cool looks laced with questions I can’t answer.
I’m furious at Scarlett for risking everything over her strange obsession with me. The second I can get to my phone, I’m telling Merrick to rein her in. She’s going to blow everything we’ve worked for, everything I’ve sacrificed, over a jealous crush.
By the time the bar clears, I’m exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. Just plain depleted. I have no energy left for the storm that’s about to come.
“Why was Scarlett here, Shaw?” Julia asks as I wipe down the bar.
“No idea. Guess she still has a crush on me.”
“Yeah. It appears so.”
Something about her tone makes me uneasy. I cast a glance at her, but can’t read anything obvious in her flat expression.
“Julia, I’m sorry.” I straighten to face her.
Rag clenched, I search her face with as much sincerity as I can muster.
“She’s pissed because she could see how much I care about you.”
It’s an interesting thing using the truth to tell a lie.
She nods, but again, her response stirs an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
“Are you falling in love with me?” she asks, her eyes softening.
My tension eases as I take a step toward her. “I think I am,” I say quietly. Pressure builds in my chest as the truth comes pouring out. “I know it’s fast and makes no sense, but… I’ve never felt this way about someone. You make me want things I never thought I could have.”
Tears well in her eyes while she studies my face. She reaches up and runs her fingers down my cheek, over my lips.
“You made me want things I never thought I could have as well.”
“Yeah?”
My smile fades when her words register.
Made?
Oh no.
Fuck!
Movement at the door draws my attention.
Panic tears through me when Adrian, Mama H, and more members of the Hartford family pour into the room, murder in their posture.
My gaze shoots to Julia, who steps back and wipes at her eyes.
She shakes her head and retreats further at my silent plea. Her expression is so warped with mixed emotions I can’t read them.
Before I can respond, someone grabs the back of my neck and slams me onto the bar.
Pain explodes from the side of my head as other hands grip my wrists to secure them behind my back.
The restraints bite into my skin in a familiar sensation, and the small part of me that still wants to live ignites a spark of resistance.
But what’s the point? I knew this day was coming from the moment I stepped foot on this island.
“Take him to The Shack,” Mama H says in a cold voice.
Adrian grabs my arm and yanks me back up.
“Move,” he growls with a hard shove toward the door.