Anaisse Santini's POVThere’s no way on God’s green earth I’m going to dance naked in front of a bunch of strangers.Anaisse Santini’s own words came back to haunt her as she stood in the darkened stage wing at Phoenix, the strip joint…er…gentlemen’s club, where her twin sister, Annabelle, usually worked as a featured dancer.Until she broke her leg, anyway.Eyes closed, Anaisse tried to block out the bone-jarring thump thump thump of the music and transcend to a calmer, more peaceful place in her mind. No luck. It was awful enough knowing she was about to step out on the stage in front of a crowd of leering men, peel off her clothes, and dance topless around a pole. Did every part of her black biker-chick costume have to inflict bodily punishment, too?Her toes protested the restricting fit of her sister’s thigh-high leather boots with their four-inch heels. Beneath a belted leather jacket barely long enough to skim her crotch, a silver-studded bikini top offered absolutely no suppor
Anaisse Santini's POVHe smiled. Slow. Amused. It brought an endearing softness to the rugged angle of his jaw. “I think you’re looking for one of those gentlemen over there.”His low, unhurried voice exuded testosterone. Keeping her smile in place, she shook her head. “No. They arranged for me to dance for you.”Her client looked over at his benefactors. “Gee, thanks guys. You shouldn’t have.”Moving closer, she reached around and grabbed the back of his chair. In the process, her fingers accidentally ruffled thick, cashmere-soft hair, and she fought an urge to sink her hand into its mink-toned depths. Not good. “Ready?” she asked, still avoiding his eyes.“Ready as I’ll ever be.”Funny, she felt the same way. A tremble wanted to work its way up her spine when the DJ queued the music. She suppressed it and moved into position, straddling his lap. Her boots brushed against hard, muscular thighs. She dipped her hips toward the fly of his black pants and leaned in until her bikini-strai
Thomas Rivero or Tommy cursed fate as he met shell-shocked blue eyes. He knew those eyes traveled in close company with the most heart-stopping albeit fake smile he’d ever seen, and the most mouthwatering—and beautifully real—body. Instead of the biker-girl bikini, she now wore a white T-shirt and cropped pink workout pants, but the comparatively sedate ensemble didn’t much distract from the spectacular curves beneath.He’d been trying to get the irresistible package out of his head since leaving Phoenix hours ago. Eight months ago, sanitation workers had found a businessman named Arthur Montes in an alley a block away, beaten to death. Thomas had inherited the cold case just last week. With no solid leads, he had decided to check the club out on an unofficial basis, pretty much because it was the only edgy establishment in the vicinity. He’d walked out of Phoenix feeling like his gut might have been wrong this time, but now, because he’d been masochistic or just plain stupid enough t
Yeah, right. Maybe she’d drive home safely, but he knew with a bone-deep certainty she’d never contact him again of her own accord. Why not? He stared after her, frowning. Because something about the entrancing Annabelle Belmonte didn’t quite add up.Anaisse gripped the wheel and drove home with the care of a teenager taking her driver’s exam. Through the rearview mirror, she watched the patrol car follow close behind. Like a shark stalking a guppy, she thought uneasily.Dear God, what have you gotten yourself into?Well, she’d lied to the police, for one. She hadn’t planned to, exactly. In fact, when the first officers had questioned her, she’d been in such a daze, she was pretty sure she’d given her name. When they’d asked to see some ID, she’d opened her wallet and handed them her driver’s license, completely forgetting she had Annabelle’s. By the time she’d tuned in to the proceedings enough to realize the mistake, one disturbingly observant Detective Thomas Rivero stood in front
“It’s a speck on the map. The municipal website puts the population at just under a million. Father unknown, but according to the local police I spoke to, the mom is alive, and giving birth to triplets – all females - and living in Paliparan, but no brothers, one sister, so not a lot to look at in terms of family.”Thomas watched Annabelle on the monitor and wondered what convinced her to trade the wrong side of the tracks in Paliparan for a Metro Manila strip club. Another small-town hopeful trying to make it big in the city, discovering that the shot comes at a very steep price?“Basically, nothing I uncovered in her past or her family tree sets my Spidey sense tingling, I think some secrets for this family.” Ryan concluded. “I’ll leave the data on your desk if you want to take a look?”Thomas shook his head. Ryan was thorough and his instincts reliable, even if his detective’s badge wasn’t yet six months old. “No need. Nothing’s tingling for me either. What about her job, or person
“His name is Arthur Montes. Sound familiar?”Again, she shook her head.“Is that a no?”“Yes, that’s a no.” Her irritation came through loud and clear.“Val indicates he was also one of your regulars, until about eight months ago. At that time, the NBI discovered his body in an alley a block from Phoenix. He’d been beaten to death, just like Mr. Chan.” Tommy tossed out another picture of Arthur Montes, this one a lot less flattering.Her eyes darted to his. “I thought you said the similar crimes angle was a dead end?”“I said sometimes it’s a dead end.” Relaxing in his chair, he folded his hands behind his head and smiled. “Not this time, as it turns out. Speaking of similarities, Valentine says Arthur Montes behaved improperly during one of your private dances and security escorted him out against his will. Do you remember the incident?”“I don’t know…vaguely?”“A disappointing answer from such an observant woman. Val couldn’t remember exactly what went down, but he thinks the incide
She pulled on the outfit and glanced down at herself. Thanks to this latest fiasco, Anaisse’s lean, flexible body had been transformed into something ripe and seductive. A lacy black push-up bra boosted her breasts to heretofore unimaginable heights. A matching G-string and thigh-high stockings created a lace-embroidered invitation to stare at her crotch.Someday in the future, when she owned her own studio and Annabelle had a legitimate entertainment job, maybe she’d be able to rearrange her priorities. Stop spending all her time working and rescuing Annabelle, and find a nice guy to…um…show her some of life’s sweet mysteries. But so far, nobody had much tempted her.Until now, whispered a brutally honest voice as she shrugged into a thigh-grazing man’s white button-down shirt and draped a blue and silver striped tie around her neck. Tommy tempted her. Those hormones she thought had dried up and blown away like an untended garden were dropping roots and sprouting like crazy.“Crazy”
“I’m on it.” All in the line of duty, right? The whole point was to make this look real. He reached around and his fingers brushed the back clasp. Could be his hands were shaky, but the damn thing eluded him. He put his palms on top of her thighs and settled her on his lap. “You’re a moving target. Sit still for a minute.”Her hands returned to his shoulders. He leaned forward to complete his assignment, inadvertently rasping her shoulder with his jaw. Her little shiver of reaction sent a bolt of heat straight to his groin. Sweat rolled into his eyes. He squeezed them shut and counted to ten, trying to get himself under control.“There we go,” he murmured, opening his eyes and leaning back. Annabelle didn’t move a muscle, but her shuddery exhale sent the bra straps sliding down her arms, revealing her breasts in all their glory. Choking back a groan, he lowered his hands to his sides, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight of her, all up close and personal.Her small, pink