sanguineangels by Various Read Free Book Online

purse.”
    Laney tugged in the other direction. “She’s right. Some days, you go overboard.” Houston frowned at them both, but she was already turning around and marching out the automatic doors.
    She gasped in dismay and sprinted after the limo. “Wait!” But she was too late. Titania watched the car turn onto the street. “Crap. Double crap,” she muttered.
    She tapped her foot, her hands on her hips. Now she would have to wait until morning and call them. Maybe he would see it and bring it back, but she doubted it. The driver wouldn’t know who had left the small designer tote. She tossed her hair behind her in agitation and spun on her heel.
    “Hi, sugar. Need help?”
    Titania froze. Her eyes slid closed as she considered her options. Talking or ignoring. She chose ignoring.
    Pretending she didn’t hear the man, she started walking to the hotel doors. Why hadn’t she realized how far away they were?
    “Hey, Titania.” A persistent hand gripped her upper arm. “Wait a minute.”
    She let the air in her body out slowly. It was dead quiet out there. Not a soul in sight. The world was deserted at three in the morning. Belatedly, she realized she had chased the limo all the way to the street.
    Titania slowly turned to face the man. Damn it, she cursed again. He would have to be tall. “Can I help you?”
    A lewd grin appeared, matching the heat in his gaze. “I’m thinking we can help each other.”
    “Not likely.” She looked pointedly at his hand on her arm. “Let me go. Please.”
    “Now, you don’t want to be like that. I came all the way from Arkansas. Don’t you remember me? Thomas?” He tried to soften his grin. It only made her stomach sour that much faster. “I had no idea I’d be lucky enough to catch you after the show.” He nearly crowed in victory.
    “Thomas? The June show?” Her stomach nearly rebelled, remembering how he had pawed and grabbed at her at the after-show get-together, like she was some kind of trophy. He had won backstage passes and always seemed to be right there , wherever she turned. He had been sending her fan mail and love letters since. She guessed this answered Houston’s question from earlier in the evening.
    His posture relaxed, rocking playfully on his heels. “You do remember. How about a bite to eat?”
    “I’m sorry, Thomas. I can’t. I don’t date. I just don’t. I’m sorry you felt you had to follow me.” She searched toward the hotel, but it looked like her crew was the last to arrive for the night. There wasn’t so much as a taxi in the drive. Where the hell is everybody?
    Thomas pushed her deeper into the shadows, toward the rear of the hotel where the dumpsters were. His hand clamped her arm, ignoring her attempts to jerk free. In the darker shadows she could discern a parked car. Its presence didn’t make her feel a whole lot better.
    He leaned down to whisper in a breathy voice that reeked of bourbon. “It’s going to be fine, honey. I’m going to take good care of you. We have all night if we want it.”
    Alarm flashed through her. Something repugnant and perverse was accumulating, and it was coming from Thomas.
    She planted her feet. “Look. Just go. I don’t want to—”
    He slapped a hand over her mouth. “What you want doesn’t matter anymore, honey.” His lips became a harsh line, his eyes glittering, drunk and bloodshot. “I tried to do this the nice way in June, and you shot me down. I don’t get shot down twice.” His fingers tightened, gripping her mouth. “Understand?”
    She gulped and nodded. He patted her cheek. “Good girl.”
    Titania lifted her hands to his chest, gazing up at him with what she hoped were seductive eyes. She’d never used them before. “Just one thing,” she said coyly, waiting, praying. Thomas’s hand loosened on her arm.
    “What, honey?” His chest trembled under her palms with anticipation.
    “This!” She jerked her leg upward as hard as she could and found home base.