"I'm not seeing Dallas, so why does it matter?" Remi dropped the magazine and took her seat. "I'm not kiddingno matchmaking from you three."

"Of course not," Lisa said.

"We wouldn't dream of it," Molly followed.

"You have our word," Sylvia finished.

"I've seen cobras look more sincere," Remi said. "I'd think you'd have your hands full dealing with these fools." She pointed at the guys and laughed as all three raised their middle fingers in salute.

"Come on, let's get this over with, andremember, no comments or interviews for the press. We don't need to become front-page news and give the feds an unfair advantage."

Chapter Eight.

"You need to wear the green Vera w.a.n.g tonight. You know, the one with the low-cut back," Bob said, rummaging through Dallas's closet. She'd pa.s.sed on the room at the Piquant for the night, just wanting to go home. "We need the upper hand with this lowlife, and from the way those b.i.t.c.hes waxed poetic about him, he seems like the type who thinks with his d.i.c.k."

Hearingd.i.c.k reminded Dallas of their flight home, and she wondered when she would see her new friend again. She wasn't looking forward to the party tonight to honor the new studio head, but future contract negotiations guaranteed her attendance. "I don't really care what I'm wearing. Get out of here so I can get ready."

"Watch your tone."

She closed the door to the bathroom and locked it, to avoid another argument. The hot water felt good as she took her time, wanting to relax before the command performance. When she put on her robe, she remembered that not so long ago an existence like this, even with Bob in it, was well beyond her reach.

Small bit parts had paid off eventually and landed her the role costarring with Jenny in a movie about two female detectives who uncover a ring of cops who hire themselves out as killers. The sequel was in the works, but in this business nothing was certain, and the public soon forgot you if you didn't work steadily.

The only weight dragging Dallas down was Bob, but the opportunist wasn't going anywhere, considering the information he constantly held over her. Her career gave her the kind of attention she needed to be successful, but it also kept her under his thumb, and she had no one to turn to. It didn't matter, though; she wasn't about to walk away and lose the best way she had to take care of her responsibilities. To keep her secrets buried, Dallas would suffer whatever Bob wanted to dish out.

Katie Lynn and Sue Lee Moores from Sparta, Tennessee were long dead, and Dallas had no desire to dredge them up. She wasn't ashamed of what she'd had to do for herself and her sister Sue Lee to survive. But having her brief p.o.r.n career and the rest of what Bob had on her come out now would make her radioactive to Gemini Studios. And if it all surfaced, she faced another kind of spotlight that could have vastly different consequences.

Walking away from Bob was just wishful thinking. As much as she hated him, she wasn't willing to give up the lucrative career that kept Sue Lee, now Kristen Montgomery, a soph.o.m.ore at the private school up North that Dallas had enrolled her in, safe. Their father's perversions would never touch Kristen's life the way they had tormented Dallas's.

After their mother had died, Dallas had done her best to shelter Kristen from the sick appet.i.tes of Johnny Moores and his equally sick circle of friends. One night after he'd finished with her and headed down the hill drinking with his friends, Dallas had packed a small bag, the coffee can of cash Johnny kept on the refrigerator, and taken off with a then fourteen-year-old Sue Lee. It's what had happened when they ran into their father's friend Timothy Pritchard that created the black cloud that would follow her forever.

They hitchhiked to California, and when the money for food had long run out, Katie Lynn Moores started her film career as Sweet China. The whole process had disgusted her, but it was no worse than what her father had done to her.

On the set of her first film, a fire had started in her to try for something better than what her father and his friends had used her for. No matter what it took, Dallas didn't want to spend the rest of her life on her back letting others take what they wanted whether she wanted to give it to them or not. Dallas and Kristen Montgomery were born that day, and they started running from a past that Bob could reveal with one phone call. He was a fellow Tennessean and had started his p.o.r.n-film career as a cameraman who often bragged he could do wonders for your career if you would spend some time alone with him "rehearsing" for the next shoot.

Dallas put the morose memories back in their cage for the night and set her mind to what came next. After drying her hair and putting on a little makeup, she slipped into a different dress from the one lying on the bed. "G.o.d, I wish they'd make these things so that every so often you could actually put on underwear." Dallas checked the fit in the closet-door mirror, finding it satisfactory. She slipped on a pair of black pumps, and with one last glance in the mirror she was ready to face the evening.

"You're early," Shelby Philips said, making her remark sound like an accusation.

"From where I'm standing I'd have to say I'm late," Muriel said.

"How do you figure?"

"Two minutes earlier and I would've caught you in the shower.

The robe and wet hair mean I'm late." She took a step back and nodded in the direction of the car. "I can come back if you want."

"That doesn't sound like the c.o.c.ky Muriel Casey I know. Running away doesn't suit you."

"True, but I've never dated a girl who carries handcuffs as part of her job description," Muriel said, taking another step back. The s.p.a.ce gave her the opportunity to really admire Shelby.

"Just my luck."The door creaked as Shelby leaned against it. "I finally decide to take a walk on the dark side and date the bad girl, and she turns out to be a Girl Scout."

Muriel surged forward and grabbed Shelby by the waist, lifted her off her feet, and slammed the door closed with her hip. She made Shelby stop laughing by kissing her with so much pa.s.sion that she moaned and pulled Muriel's hair. "Girl Scout, huh?"

"Let's say you're making a good comeback."

"Are you encouraging me to be bad?" She laughed when Shelby bit down on her neck. "I'll take that as a yes." Their next kiss was slower, and Muriel walked to the sofa and sat down with Shelby still in her arms. "This is going to look bad on your performance review at work."

"My fallback is that you aren't a criminal. You aren't, are you?"

"Like you said before, I'm a regular Girl Scout."

"Uh-huh." Shelby caught Muriel's hand inside her robe. "I don't think there's a badge for this."

"Sure there is. You weren't looking in the right manuals. A little more research and you'd have found all the interesting badge requirements." Muriel moved her hand up and cupped Shelby's right breast.

"I think you just found something interesting."

"Nah, just checking for bugs," Muriel teased as she moved her other hand under the robe so Shelby's left breast wouldn't feel neglected. "Is that a pair of listening devices or are you just happy to see me?" Muriel asked as she pinched Shelby's nipples.

"If you don't stop trying to be funny, I'm going to make you drive around the block until it's time to go." Shelby put her knees on the sofa and pulledherself up until she could strip the robe off. "Want to prove to me that you missed me, since I haven't seen you in days."

"I did miss you, but it feels like you're never very far away,"

Muriel said, referring to the constant surveillance.

"No business, not now." Shelby pulled Muriel's bow tie off and worked her way down the studs of her pleated shirt until she reached the c.u.mmerbund. "Right now it's just you and me." She threw the long piece of silk behind her and unfastened the pants. "Take your own advice."

When Shelby pinched her c.l.i.toris between her fingers and tugged, Muriel let out a stream of air."What...ah." Shelby tugged again.

"What advice?"

"For a little while let'sforget the three letters that represent my job, and let's forget your last name. All I want to think about is you lying over me making love to me."

Muriel's pants pooled around her ankles when she stood up, and she laughed when Shelby took the time to fold them over a chair before leading her to the bedroom.Coots, Shelby's cat, stretched before jumping off the bed and pranced down the hall after weaving through Muriel's legs.

"Did you really miss me?" Shelby asked.

"I did," Muriel said, letting Shelby take the lead for the moment and lying on her back so Shelby could sit on her. Shelby was so turnedon, Muriel felt her stomach getting wet."How about you?"

"Can't you tell?"

"I'd rather you showed me," Muriel said.

Shelby never lost eye contact as she positioned herself, then reached down and spread herself open. She brought her hand up and offered Muriel her wet fingers before reaching down again and repeating the action with Muriel. She started slowly pumping her hips, and Muriel jerked whenever Shelby's hard c.l.i.toris pa.s.sed over hers.

She was squeezing Shelby's a.s.s so hard she was sure she would leave fingerprints when they were done, but she wanted to hold out and let Shelby set their pace.

"Now, baby, give me what I want," Shelby said.

Muriel rolled her over and lifted herself up a little so she could move her hips more freely. When she felt Shelby's nails dig into her shoulders, she pumped harder and watched her b.r.e.a.s.t.s bounce from the force of her thrusts. All the stimulation brought her to the brink where she couldn't stop, but Shelby begged for more.

The headboard was starting to thump against the wall, and Shelby spread her legs farther apart in encouragement. Somewhere in the house a cell phone started ringing but went unanswered as Muriel felt her o.r.g.a.s.m wash through her. She held on long enough to feel Shelby meet her thrust for thrust before she arched her back and said her name. Once she heard it, Muriel slumped down, pinning Shelby to the bed with the length of her body.

"My boss warned me about you today," Shelby said, the tips of her fingers skimming over Muriel's skin from her neck to her b.u.t.t in a way that soothed rather than excited.

"Funny, my cousin warned me about you too." Muriel rolled off so they could change positions. "What'd you tell the esteemed Agent Annabel?"

"The woman is an accomplished and decorated agent, but why is it every time you say her name you make her sound like a hick?" In their new position Shelby found new territory to trace and moved to Muriel's forehead.

"The name Annabel opens you up to a certain amount of witty sarcasm, unless you're the mascot for a milk company. Then it's perfectly acceptable." Muriel had to move quickly to capture Shelby's hands when she reached down and pinched her.

"Behave and answer my question."

"I told her what I'm sure you told Cainwe're just friends."

"You mean you didn't say friends with benefits?" Muriel joked,then hissed when Shelby pinched her with a lot more force.

"You're going to bruise me."

"I'm going to beat the c.r.a.p out of you if you're paying out benefits to anyone else."

Muriel laughed and rolled over again so she could kiss her."As if,"

she said when their lips parted. "I'm sleeping with an FBI agent who follows me around all day. Pretty stupid of me to break the rules, don't you think?"

"You're a Casey, honey. You're programmed to break the rules."

"Touche, but being a Casey means I'm as loyal as they come."

Shelby reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. "That's the only reason you got into my skirt. My problem now is that I happen to really like having you there."

"You see that as a problem?" Muriel kissed her again and rolled off so she could sit up.

"I didn't say it to make you mad," Shelby said,draping herself on Muriel's back.

"I'm not mad at you, just at fate."

"How do you mean?"

Muriel smiled when she felt Shelby's lips on the back of her neck.

"Nothing important, just something Cain once told me about safe havens." Fate was indeed a cruel b.i.t.c.h, thought Muriel. She'd finally found the woman who stirred her in every possible way, but was also the one person in the world in whom she could never confide--not without life-changing consequences.

"You think this won't work, don't you?" Shelby asked.

"For once I don't have all the answers, but I do know what I want.

The real question is,can I have it without one of us turning our backs on something we hold dear?"

Shelby sat next to her and took her hand. "Don't you mean someone? I'm not asking you to betray Cain. All I'm asking for is what you can give me. It's enough."

For now, thought Muriel, but didn't voice the words. She only nodded and followed Shelby to the bathroom for another shower.

The impossible had happened, she thought as she watched the sway of Shelby's hips; she'd fallen in love with a woman who'd taken an oath to destroy her family. She'd never voice the words "I love you," either, and that was the cruelest fate of all.

Chapter Nine.

Five black limousines turned into the Piquant, and Cain frowned as the pack of paparazzi got their cameras ready. They were almost as bad as the feds.

She and Emma emerged from the first car, both laughing when the wall of guards ruined any good shots. Muriel and Shelby, in the second car, nodded to them as they arrived and stood beside them, waiting for the others. The only person the photographers truly recognized got out next on Remi's arm, and they started shouting Susan's name. Ramon, Marianna, Mano, and Sylvia followed them, and in the last car were Dwayne, Steve, and their wives.

"Emma, you look stunning," Remi said as they walked in together.

"And that's a beautiful dress you have on, Susan."

"What dress? You mean the strings hanging over her t.i.ts and a.s.s.

That's a dress?" someone said.

"Thank you. You're looking dapper yourself tonight. Maybe once this is over we could go somewhere more intimate?" Susan asked as she hung from her arm.

"Let's see what the night has to offer, shall we?" Remi said as they entered the packed ballroom a floor up. "Good turnout, but maybe it's just the crab puffs."

"The drinks are on me, so shall we?" Cain said, guiding Emma to their reserved table.

"Let's give ourselves thirty minutes, then we'll get this over with since I know you love big crowds as much as I do," Remi said to Cain. "Guys, meet me at the bar in twenty," she told Dwayne and Steve.

The purchase of Gemini was a joint venture, but Remi and the guys would be the front men on the project, which was how Cain had wanted it set up. With the acquisition of the studio, she'd found the perfect business to account for all the money she made, since moviemaking had a lot of accounting loopholes. Most important, she trusted Remi to keep her investment safe.