“It’s called Decadence. It’s a piano bar. Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful.”
He grinned. “I hope to see it open in a month or so. Once I pin down the right talent.”
She ran a hand over one of the velvet bar stools that were cheekily constructed to fit two people. “Lucky talent.”
His grin expanded into a wide smile and her breath hitched. Damn. They’d slept together, bathed together, and spent the wee hours of the mornings together. He’d taken her every which way, yet her heart still pounded every time he smiled at her, even if her brain still occasionally tried to warn her away.
He shuts you down every time you want to discuss something more important than room service. Run.
Ignoring the voice, she let him lead her, his hand at the small of her back, to a booth at the back of the empty bar where they sat.
“Kate, I brought you here because for the first time in a long while, I’m excited about looking forward. I want you to sing for me. Ever since you told me you performed torch songs, I knew I had to hear you.”
“You’re kidding, right?” No way he really wanted her to audition. He must be speaking through the haze of lust that had driven them both the past few days.
He gestured to the small platform next to the piano. “I never kid. Except when I do. Come on. If you managed to get me sexed up with a hideous used car jingle, just imagine what you can do in the right setting with the right music.”
She looked around the room. With the gleaming grand piano, rich upholstery and expansive bar filled with colorful liqueurs, Decadence was the piano bar of her dreams. A real launching point for her career. She could already imagine herself on stage, microphone in hand, wearing a sumptuous gown as she crooned.
“Kate, come on. Just a scale, an arpeggio. I want to hear your voice.”
“You’ve already heard it.”
“Yes, but I want to hear something other than ‘Oh, God, Liam! More, baby, more!’”
She elbowed him in the ribs.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s music to my ears.” He slid his hand up her thigh, mere centimeters away from her core. He squeezed and her body responded, radiating with warmth. “But I want to hear you sing.”
“I don’t know.” Yes, Liam’s nightclub was a thing of beauty but it still sat in the middle of a Vegas casino, precisely the type of venue she’d avoided for years. She’d had one or two offers to sing in casinos before. Lucrative opportunities, truth be told, but she’d always turned them down. It was one thing to frolic in bed with Liam, but to work for him? To be on the payroll at Vice? It seemed wrong, even unfair to anyone else who might have wanted the job. And the hypocrisy…
“Kate.” Liam’s low voice made her rebel against her common sense. One word from him, and her libido took up arms against her brain. He nibbled her ear, tracing the shell with his tongue. “I’ll keep hounding you until I get what I want.”
Of course he will. It’s what he does.
Her resistance turned to soup. “Okay, okay.” She slid out of the booth and stood, marching to the stage. “You sure are pushy. Do you conduct all your business this way?”
“No, ma’am.” Liam leaned back, watching her through hooded eyes. “I’ve only employed these tactics of persuasion with you.”
She stuck out her tongue and sat on the piano bench. With a tentative hand, she stroked the keys and closed her eyes as she struck a familiar chord. Why was it music always sounded more poignant coming from a grand piano? She launched into a melody she’d played for years, wincing when she came to a part that had always stumped her. Avoiding Liam’s hawk-like gaze, she took a deep breath, drawing from her diaphragm as she’d been taught, and sang the opening notes of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
She took her time, feeling strangely free even under his intense scrutiny. Ornamenting her phrases, she added a few jazzy syncopations. With him watching, she enjoyed playing with the music, lilting and scooping up to the higher notes, drawing them out to create heartbreaking dissidence. And even though she endeavored to remain distant, not acknowledging Liam’s heated looks, in her heart she sang to him and of him. She poured her heart out for him.
Even before she hit the final note, he approached, fire in his eyes. As the note died away, she looked up at him.
He pulled Kate to her feet, his face serious. “You are incredible and you’re hired.”
“Liam…”
“I mean it. Once the police find Vaughan, I want you to open my club.”
He didn’t let her respond. Wrapping her in his arms, he claimed her mouth. Tongue, teeth, lips, he took them all and she shook like a leaf in a storm, unwilling to fight him.
She wanted to tell him she couldn’t sing at Decadence, at Vice, but the words wouldn’t come out. And once his hands slid down her back to knead her bottom, she forgot how words worked.
“Kate,” he said on a deep groan. “I need you now.”
