Ingrid Weaver – Loving the Lone Wolf (страница 2)

Nathan Beliveau wasn’t looking for a woman. Even if he had been, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been this one.

From the improbable shade of her strawberry-blond hair to the lethal spikes of her stiletto heels, Kelly Jennings spelled trouble. She had the kind of presence that commanded the stage, drawing every gaze in the place as she posed in the spotlight. Her dress shimmered in a sheath of gold, caressing her body in a way that was designed to make any man there think about reaching out for those curves and doing the same.

But word on the street had it that this woman belonged to Stephan Volski. She was one of his trophies, a symbol of the Russian’s power and his wealth, so only a suicidal fool would consider getting any part of his body even close to hers.

Ice cubes tinkled as Nathan wrapped his fingers around his glass and leaned back in his chair. The lights dimmed until pinpoints of white shone from the ceiling like a network of stars. That’s what Volski had named the nightclub, the Starlight.

It was a high-class place, one of the most popular in Chicago, with plush blue velvet covering the chairs and white linen on the small tables. A staff of polite servers glided unobtrusively around the room, although Nathan had spotted several who had the telltale bulge of a shoulder holster under their jackets. More muscle was positioned near the exits, but they kept their presence low-key. The majority of the patrons who frequented the club weren’t aware this place was a front for the owner’s real business. They came here for the ambiance and for the music.

Nathan had come here to settle a debt.

There was a scattering of applause as Kelly stepped up to the microphone. She acknowledged it with a graceful dip of her chin. Nathan couldn’t see the color of her eyes from where he sat—he’d chosen a table far from the stage so he could put his back against the wall while keeping track of the people who entered the room—but he was still close enough to see that the rest of her features projected the same kind of sensuality as her body.

Her face was a classic oval, framed by an artful tumble of curls. Her high cheekbones and her generous mouth were emphasized by dramatic makeup, but she wore no jewelry around her neck. The tempting expanse of cleavage her dress revealed didn’t need adornment.

When it came to choosing his trophies, Volski had spectacular taste. Kelly appeared to be made for pleasure, a woman who was well aware of her sex appeal and knew how to use it.

And fool or not, Nathan wasn’t immune to her effect. He tried to ignore the stirring of interest he felt. It usually took more than a good body and a pretty face for him to notice a woman—he was more interested in what lay inside than in the packaging. Yet he couldn’t deny that the mere sight of Kelly was getting to him.

It was an understandable response, a healthy male reaction to the display of a ripe female.

Nathan reminded himself once again that this was the wrong female.

He sipped his drink and surveyed the crowd, turning his thoughts back to business. Volski’s emissary was supposed to have been here five minutes ago. It had taken Nathan over a month to set up this meeting, and Tony’s patience was running out. The plan was still a good one, though. All he needed was the chance to put it into motion.

A glimmer of movement drew his gaze back to the stage. Kelly’s dress shifted as she curled her fingers around the microphone, revealing another half inch of cleavage. Contrary to what Nathan expected, her full lips didn’t curve with the smile of a seductress. Instead, they thinned with determination. She remained motionless, as if she were drawing into herself. It went on so long, the audience began to grow restive. Finally, she closed her eyes, lifted her face and began to sing.

If Nathan hadn’t already been leaning his chair against the wall, he would have been knocked on his butt by her first note.

Longing. Pain.

Rage.

The emotions that trembled through the air were so genuine, so raw, that Nathan felt as if he’d been struck. This wasn’t an act. What Kelly was doing on that stage was too private, making it seem as if he were intruding merely by listening.

He wasn’t alone. The entire audience went silent, as if they were as stunned by the intimacy of what they were hearing as Nathan was. The melody was familiar, an old torch song from the 1930s, yet Kelly made it sound as if it had been written just for her.

There were musicians backing her up, a jazz trio consisting of a pianist, a bass player and a drummer. Nathan could see their silhouettes on the stage beyond the range of the spotlight, yet they kept their contribution to the music as unobtrusive as their appearance. Kelly’s voice didn’t need adornment any more than her features did.

Nathan swallowed the rest of his drink, along with a pang of regret. There had to be more to Kelly than just the packaging. How did a woman who sang like this, whose performance hinted at such depth to her emotions, end up involved with scum like Stephan Volski?

Maybe the rumors were wrong.

Damn, he hoped so.

Because if Kelly Jennings was anywhere near her boyfriend when this deal went down, she would be trading her stage for a prison cell.

This would be the last time, the very last time, that Kelly would negotiate a deal for Stephan. All she had to do was set this business into motion and she and Jamie would be as good as gone. The smuggler she had been sent to meet was about to become their ticket to freedom.

Yet even knowing that, Kelly still felt her stomach rebel as she stepped off the stage. She paused to smooth her dress until the queasiness passed, then put on her best performer’s smile and kept her gaze on the back wall as she moved between the tables. She didn’t waste time by going backstage to change. That would be an indulgence she couldn’t afford. She’d already indulged herself enough for one night.

What had come over her? How could she have exposed her feelings that way? The past three years had taught her better than that. It was enough that she exposed half her bosom without laying bare her heart.

She should have restrained herself as she always did. Put on a show, gone through the motions, given the audience what they expected so everyone went home happy. Yet her control had been stretched to the limit today. The frustrated rage she’d kept inside since she had seen that gun in Jamie’s hands had needed to be released. Music was the only safe outlet she had. Without it, she likely would have gone insane by now.

But the respite was over. Rand was already here. One of Stephan’s watchdogs had pointed him out to her as soon as the set had ended.

He sat alone at a table in the shadows, his chair casually tipped back against the wall. He’d extinguished the candle that had burned in the glass bowl on the table, so she couldn’t yet see his face, but she could feel his gaze on her as she worked her way closer.

Fine. She knew how to handle that. If Rand was like most of Stephan’s associates, he’d be too busy ogling her to realize he was about to be played. She decided to put on a show for him, too, and give him what he expected. She added a hint of extra sway to her hips.

This had to work. She couldn’t let herself think of what she might be driven to do if it didn’t.

She paused when she reached his table, inhaled from the diaphragm to calm her nerves and held out her hand. “Hello, Mr. Rand,” she said, deliberately pitching her voice low so that he would have to draw closer in order to hear. “I’m Kelly Jennings. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He hesitated briefly before he rose to his feet. He was a tall man. Despite the four-inch heels Kelly wore, her eyes were only on a level with his chin. A loosely knotted tie hung from the open collar of his white shirt, likely a token concession to the Starlight’s dress code, but the jacket that stretched across his wide shoulders was biker black leather. It creaked as he extended his arm to take her hand. “I wasn’t expecting Volski’s man to be a woman,” he said.

The deep voice went along with his size. It was as masculine as the scent of leather and the hint of spicy aftershave that rose with him. She cranked up the wattage of her smile. “I hope you’re not disappoint—”

She never finished the inane comment. The first touch of his palm against her own stole her breath. Maybe it was due to anxiety, or maybe it was a result of fatigue, but when he closed his fingers around hers, she felt a thrill chase across her nerves.

His hand was large, his fingers long and tanned. The strength in his grip was wrapped in a gentleness that was at odds with his size and his choice of wardrobe. Kelly lifted her gaze from his hand to his face.

Good Lord, she thought. Whatever crimes this man did for a living, whatever he was on the inside, there was no denying that the outside was gorgeous. He had a square jaw and broad cheekbones, with a bold hawklike nose that evoked the image of a native warrior. His jet-black hair was cut short and combed straight back from his forehead, but he would have looked just as good with it long and braided. She could picture him on horseback, his shoulders clad in buckskin and his chiseled face bathed by moonlight…