Strip Tease (Protect and Defend 1.50)

The place was practically empty, though a couple of revelers still hung around, accompanied by a few mostly naked females draped across their bodies, the unmistakable erotic sound of lips connecting filling the room.

Her skin tingled, her distended nipples brushing against the soft fabric of her shirt and she jerked away from Nate, dropping behind the couch. She grabbed her coat and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket.

Nate waited expectantly, clenched fists resting on his slim hips. She hit the speed dial, listening to the phone ring and ring until her sister’s voicemail finally picked up.

“Ginger, it’s me. Listen, I really need to talk to you. Can you call me as soon as you get this message? It doesn’t matter what time it is, just call me, okay? Love you.” Janelle ended the call and shrugged. “She didn’t answer.”

“I figured.” He pointed at her. “Give me Ginger’s number.”

“Why?” She gulped, clutched the phone tighter. “Tell me what’s going on. Is my sister involved in something illegal? Are you going to arrest her?”

“I have no reason to arrest her—yet. I need information. We’re pretty sure she knows things about Billy Diaz that are important to our ongoing investigation.”

“Billy Diaz? You mean her boss? He’s shady?” She’d always thought the nightclub was on the up and up. Every time she’d been there, which hadn’t been often, the place looked clean. Respectable, as respectable as a gentleman’s nightclub could be.

“Most definitely.”

“Great.” She’d suspected her sister had something on the side with her enigmatic boss. Hence, the fear he’d be mad when Ginger didn’t show up for work.

Had Ginger figured out Nate was a cop? Maybe she’d known Nate would be at the party, so she’d set up Janelle to handle the heat instead.

Typical Ginger.

“Hey, buddy, you done with that one?”

A deep voice made her turn to find a man standing before her, a leer curling his thick lips. He watched her with unabashed interest.

“No.” Nate’s voice was harsh, final and he took a step forward, his arm curling around her shoulders and hauling her against him possessively. “She’s not for rent to the highest bidder. Give the lady some respect.”

“I just thought I’d ask. No harm, man.” The creepy guy shrugged and walked away.

Nate still had his arm around her and she breathed deep, inhaling his scent, his touch, his warmth. If circumstances were different…

But circumstances weren’t different. He was a detective looking for Ginger and Janelle was a link to her sister and nothing else.

“We need to get out of here.” Nate’s chest rumbled with his every word and she reluctantly disentangled herself, bereft at not having him near.

It was absurd and foolish since she’d just met him. She’d never reacted so strongly toward a man, as if there was some sort of sexual magnetism between them, pulling them together. She wanted to deny it.

Really she did.

He bent, picked something up from the floor and handed it to her. Dangling from his fingers was her black satin bra. Snatching it from his grip, her cheeks heated with humiliation.

“I don’t think I can help you, detective. Though trust me, I want nothing more than to find my sister. When she wants to be found, she’ll let me know.” She didn’t want to tell him anything else, she’d revealed too much already.

“I’m not letting you go that easy.” Long fingers slid down her back to rest at the base of her spine as he started to escort her out of the hotel suite. “I need to ask you a few more questions.”

“I already told you. I don’t know anything,” she protested

“Let me be the judge of that.”

* * * *

Nate should let the woman go. Clearly, she wasn’t lying. She had no clue what her sister was up to. Hell, she didn’t know where Ginger was, which in theory meant she was of no use to him.

The potential was there, however. Ginger could eventually contact her sister and Nate would love to be close by when that happened. If he could get the sister on his side, tell her everything and stress what kind of risk Ginger was putting herself in, maybe Janelle would help him.

She’d been hostile since th