FLAME AND A FIREMAN Page 5

  Lisa looped her arms around his shoulders and cried a soft, "Yes, yes, yes," with every upward motion. And when the motion and her body became one with the deep, deep orgasm filling her, she clenched her teeth together and tried to stifle a cry that wouldn't be contained.

  His release came long and hard. To experience it to the last second, he let her fall down and slightly forward so her torso was at a forty-five degree angle from his. From there, he could see her face. It was as exquisite in pleasure as it had ever been. Her wet hair cascaded down her shoulders and under the water.

  He pumped seconds more, then even longer. Just to feel her body around him as long as he possibly could. Spent, she panted and her hold on his neck began to relax. He was forced to leave the waterfall and walk toward a mountain of fluffy towels. She was still impaled on him, so he had to physically lift her away to sit her on a padded rock next to where the towels were stacked. When he did, she opened her eyes and stared at him as he knelt in front of her. One hand left his shoulder to flatten against her abdomen.

  "More. I...I think I'm..."

  Realizing she might be experiencing a second, automatic orgasm, he gently pushed her back onto the bench and spread her thighs.

  * * * *

  When his head came down, Lisa grabbed the back of it. His tongue flicked against her just as a second, magnificent orgasm hit her. She cried out loud and long, writhing against the feel of his tongue and losing contact with reality itself. And instead of immediately moving away as any other man she'd known would have, he stayed where he was, circling her clit with his tongue until he was quite, quite finished with her.

  She was gasping for air when her finally moved over her.

  "You're perfect," he softly whispered. "I don't know what I'll do when you leave."

  She smiled up at him, pushed his hair back and tried to see where the wig and the prosthetics were attached. But the makeup job was too well done. At that particular moment, she didn't care if he really was who he claimed to be or not. He wrapped her in an over-sized towel, lifted her onto his lap and held her for a long time, cuddling her against his chest.

  When he finally spoke, the words were both soft and comforting. "I wish we could always be like this. I wish I could hold you at the end of the day, make love to you and listen to your troubles. Would you like that, little Flame?"

  "I don't think anything could be more wonderful, Pluto. But you know that's not the way it works. I came here for a fun night and you've provided it. I should be going soon."

  "Why? We've still got plenty of time left."

  As much as she wanted to stay and romp in this cavern with him, something told her to leave before one or the both of them got hurt. Things were getting much too personal, and this wasn't the place a woman came to for a serious relationship. But the way he touched her, the way he talked to her and the concern he seemed to show for her life outside the confines of the bordello, were too personal. So was her response. No other visit to any of the other theme rooms had been this wild or passionate. It was time to leave before someone said something the other wouldn't easily get over. Like a prophecy, his next words proved that point more than anything.

  He pulled her closer to his chest and pressed her head into one shoulder. "I wish you could know the real me."

  "Who would that be? Who is the real Pluto?" she asked with wariness.

  "Not someone you're used to. I'm a simple man who likes to walk in the summer rain, read good books, stay at home and watch old movies. I like to watch the stars come out someplace far away from the city lights. Just an ordinary guy."

  This was what she'd wanted, wasn't it? To find out who he really was? But something in her was afraid. Afraid reality wouldn't be as exciting as the personae he'd so carefully built all evening long.

  "I-I think I'd better go." She pushed against his chest and stood up.

  "Why, Lisa? Why do you need to go now?"

  The look on his face was poignantly sad. She had the feeling she might not ever see him again after this. But maybe that's better. She didn't want to care for a man who serviced other women in the Underworld pleasure room. Now, all her visits to the bordello seemed not only pointless, but also tawdry. There was something happening between them that shouldn't have happened. And she had to leave to keep it from getting further out of hand.

  "If you'll take me back to the main room where my things are, I'll get dressed."

  For a moment, he sat there staring at her. Finally, he rose and silently did as she asked.

  When they were back at the space that contained the round bed, Lisa took very little time getting dressed. She didn't know if he watched or not, though she knew he stood near. Her mind and her gaze were on her clothing, nothing else.

  She didn't even bother brushing her hair or properly drying it. She simply put on her P.D. sweat suit. When she took a deep breath and finally faced him, he was sitting with his back to her, his head down. It looked as if someone had physically taken the joy of life right out of him.

  "I'll tell Monique you're the best man I've ever been with." She paused for a moment, took out her wallet and pulled out two, one-hundred-dollar bills. "Here. You've earned it."

  He glanced at the bills, then stood up and glared at her. "Keep your money, Miss Portelli. I thought..." His voice trailed away.

  "What? What did you think?" She paused. "Did you think this was going to be anything other than what was set up?"

  "I was hoping you'd stay longer so we could talk. If you weren't so damned beautiful that I couldn't keep my hands off you, maybe I could've said what I wanted to."

  "I didn't think talking was the point."

  He slowly shook his head. "You were right."

  "About what?"

  "Cathy Sullivan did set you up. She and Ian wanted you to meet me in the same way they met. You set them up to meet in the Celtic room, and neither one of them knew the other was a cop. They thought you might like to meet somebody different from the men you've been with lately. I think they believed you'd walk out of here with me, the same way they walked out of here with each other.

  "When Cathy and Ian found out what you'd done and that it was a practical joke that ultimately ended up with them in a very serious relationship, I think they wanted the same thing for you...and for me. But I see that's not possible."

  She swallowed hard and took two steps toward him. "What's your name? Who are you?"

  He shook his head. "Nobody. Certainly not anyone who would voluntarily move in your circles. I was wrong to be talked into this. The whole thing was a mistake."

  Lisa had the sinking suspicion she was going to regret ever responding to the mysterious invitation that had led her here. Now, he was hurt because he thought the same practical joke she'd played on two friends hadn't worked for him. She wasn't angry that Cathy and Ian had done it. Just surprised to think this stranger thought this would work on him the same way it had for her best friends.

  "I'm sorry, Pluto...whoever you really are. I set Cathy and Ian up because I knew them both and knew how lonely they were. They're a perfect match for each other. But the same joke that worked on them just doesn't fly with me. I'm sorry if you thought it would. I don't know what they or you were thinking."

  He lifted his chin. "Goodbye, Lisa. I think this is the part where I tell you to have a good life." He left the money where it was and turned away. Lisa watched him angrily stalk off into the inky blackness. Then she picked up the tip he should have taken, slowly turned, and found her way back to the elevator.

  * * * *

  The next evening, Lisa was sitting in her living room when a knock sounded on the door. Glancing at her watch, she knew there was only one person who would come calling at ten o'clock at night. Checking through the security peephole to be sure, her suspicions confirmed. She quickly unlocked the door and let Cathy Sullivan into her apartment.

  Cathy greeted Lisa hastily as she rushed inside the apartment, took off her coat and waited. When Lisa was facing her, she
grinned, clasped her hands together and shot out the question she'd been dying to ask. "Well, what did you think of Ian's and my little surprise for you? I knew you'd figure out it was us who sent you the invitation. But what did you think of the whole thing? Were you surprised? Did you spend the entire night at the bordello? Did you like the new theme room? And what about the man?"

  Her excitement was lost on Lisa. She couldn't be upset over Cathy's interference in her life. Especially not after setting up Cathy and her lover, Ian, in the same way. She sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to her to get Cathy to take a seat. Then, Lisa pulled her bathrobe tighter and adjusted the belt.

  "You know I couldn't ignore such a strange invitation, didn't you?"

  "I was hoping you couldn't," Cathy answered with a smile. "Now, come on. Shoot me the dope. What happened? Did you like him?"

  "First of all, I should thank you and Ian for the time of my life. That room and that Pluto character were amazing."

  "And?" Cathy prompted.

  "The sex was fantastic. Better than fantastic. It was stupendous."

  Cathy looked at her. "So, why aren't I sitting here next to a grinning, infatuated Lisa Portelli? Why aren't you smiling?"

  Lisa took a deep breath. "Honey, don't get me wrong. I know you and Ian must've gone to a terribly great expense and a ton of trouble to set that stunt up, but I wasn't going to walk out of there with Pluto on my arm the way you walked out of the bordello with Ian on yours. You dig?"

  Cathy sat back. "Oh. I thought...well, never mind what I thought. I guess I was wrong."

  Lisa put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I do appreciate it. It was fun. I swear, I've never had a better time in my whole life. But Pluto was getting kind of philosophical about things. You know...he was kind of getting serious. I was wondering just why he thought it would work out like you and Ian did.

  "I know he knows you. And I know you told him about how I set you and Ian up, and he must've thought he and I would end up the same way. In some kind of romance or something."

  Cathy looked down at her high boots and sighed. "I was hoping it would. We all were."

  "Why, honey? Why did you think I'd fall for him or something equally as silly as a B movie?"

  For a long moment, Cathy stared at her friend. "Do you know who that guy was?"

  "No. I'm absolutely sure I'd have remembered somebody like that if I'd ever met him before. Believe me. You don't come across a man like that but once in a lifetime."

  Cathy silently sat there.

  "Are you gonna tell me who he is? He wouldn't."

  Cathy's eyebrows shot up. "He didn't tell you his name?"

  "No. I think he thought, after the sex was over, that I'd sit and talk to him and spill my guts the same way he seemed to want to do. But when I was done, I was done. I offered him a huge tip, which he refused, and walked out. I don't think he wanted me to know who he was when he knew I was leaving and wouldn't stay the full night." When she saw Cathy's hands come up to her face, and an expression of mixed shock and anger there, Lisa knew she'd definitely said something very, very wrong.

  Cathy stood up, grabbed her coat and quickly put it on.

  "Cathy, what did I say? You're angry with me. Why?"

  Cathy walked to the door and she turned to face her friend when she got there. "Lisa, you and I have known each other for a lot of years. You've always come off as kind of cold and indifferent to a lot of folks. I thought I'd seen something different in you over time.

  "But I'm not sure now that I wasn't just trying to attribute some emotion to you that just doesn't exist. Maybe, because of our friendship, I was trying to superimpose on you some feelings you just don't have and aren't capable of."

  Lisa stood up and faced her. "Look, just because I didn't end up in a relationship with that bordello guy they way you ended up with Ian doesn't mean that I--"

  Cathy held up a hand to stop her. "Don't. Go off with your playboys and your jet set. Have fun the way you see it. Ian and I shouldn't have sent you that invitation. It was wrong. We talked a nice guy into doing something he was dead set against, but he wanted to meet you so badly he finally agreed to do it.

  "When he saw how happy Ian and I are together, that you were the reason we'd met, and that you were inventive enough to have us meet at a bordello, of all places, I think he thought you might get the drift. He thought you'd at least want to know more about him and why your best friends would want you to meet him. I can't believe you offered him a tip and just walked out."

  "Okay, okay," Lisa replied testily. "I didn't make the connection. I didn't see the importance of the whole scene. I'll meet the guy. Who is he?"

  Cathy adamantly shook her head. "I don't think you and he would work out. It was a mistake and I'm sorry to have put Monique and him to all the trouble it took."

  "Cathy, I said I'd meet the guy, all right?" she shot back. "There's no reason to get postal over this."

  "Never mind. That's what I get for minding someone else's business."

  Lisa was about to ask her to calm down and stay to talk things over while she made a cup of tea, but Cathy walked out and slammed the apartment door behind her.

  Lisa let out a long, frustrated breath. What was she supposed to do? She simply wasn't romantically wired the way Cathy and Ian obviously were. But she'd known that all along, or she'd never have been able to set them up on a blind rendezvous at the bordello while not finding a man for herself.

  Lisa plopped down on the sofa and started to think. If the best friends she ever had thought they'd found someone with whom she could be compatible, why didn't she see it, too? Or hadn't she? She put her feet up on the sofa and considered her response to that man at the bordello. Why had she wanted to leave him so soon? The invitation was for the full night. Why had she wanted to leave when it looked like he might get serious? An emerging thought began to form in the back of her brain.

  What if she'd been the one who was running from any encounter that might get serious? Maybe she'd been dating the Bradley Winthrop-Silsbys of the world because she knew they weren't her type, would never excite her, or exact any amount of emotion other than what was needed for uncommitted sex?

  Lisa sat on the sofa and thought about her life and the growing boredom of it. She came to the conclusion others might be seeing in her something that wasn't very attractive. Either she was really just as vain and superficial as some of the men she dated, or her current circumstance was as Cathy and the man portraying Pluto had told her. She could be behaving harsher than necessary for some other reason. Maybe she was afraid of getting too close to anyone. Maybe she was afraid the jokes she made about men only wanting her money was more deeply entrenched than she believed.

  She stood up and began to pace. By the time she went to bed, her nerves were shredded. Thinking she had lost her best friend and something monumentally important had just slipped out of her life, Lisa tearfully hugged her pillow until dawn. She had to understand why this incident was so upsetting to both Cathy and herself. And that meant delving into what this Pluto character meant to Cathy.

  She also had to find out who Pluto really was and set things right. She should never have tossed him that tip and walked out of the bordello leaving the uncomfortable situation unresolved. She should have followed her instincts and made Pluto tell her who he really was.

  With that thought uppermost in her mind, Lisa finally fell into a troubled sleep. In her dreams, she saw a large, muscular man with horns, pointed ears and red skin walking away. His face bore an infinitely sad expression. Cathy and Ian walked away with him, never to turn back and look at her again.

  Lisa woke up crying and felt like a small child with no one to comfort her. Without her best friends, she didn't have anyone near about whom she really cared. How sad it was there were only two people she considered really being there for her. Even her parents were so caught up in the money games of their peers they had little time for Lisa other than social occasions. Never mind what she mig
ht eventually need in her life.

  Lisa decided something had to change, and those changes had to start with her.

  Chapter 5

  * * *

  Lisa took a deep breath, pushed open the doors to the floor where the gang task force was situated and walked toward Cathy's office. Her friend had to listen to her apology. But she'd felt uncertain as to whether seeking Cathy out in her apartment would be a good idea, so she'd come to her office.

  As a fellow police officer, Cathy couldn't very well throw her out of the mayor's office or command her to leave the way she could if there was a confrontation on her doorstep. Here there would be no retreat. Cathy would have to listen, and neither of them could afford to lose their tempers and cause a scene that would start gossip with their fellow officers milling around the large office.

  Lisa approached the office and saw her friend working at a computer. A quiet knock on the open door caused Cathy to turn her head and look, and the woman's expression became guarded when she saw who her visitor was.

  Lisa stepped through the doorway. "Can we talk? I know you usually take a break about now, so don't tell me to go, Cathy. Please?"

  Considering the request for only a moment, Cathy half-smiled and gestured Lisa further into the office. "Come on in and pour us both some coffee."

  "Sure." Lisa picked up two mugs and poured the hot brew. Then she handed one to Cathy as she sat on the opposite side of the desk.

  "So, what can I do for you, Lisa?"

  Lisa looked down into her cup. "I sort of screwed the pooch." When she heard Cathy's stifled laughter, she looked up.

  "I'll take that as an apology."

  "Thanks, Cathy. I appreciate it. And I know I don't have the right to ask for a favor, but I was hoping you could tell me about that man you set me up with at the bordello. I've been thinking that if my best friends thought he and I would hit it off, I should give him a chance. A better one than he got the night I left him."