Part 1 (2/2)

Audra waited. The music pounded a heavy beat around her, the cacophony of voices blending with the percussions.

”I dare you...” Bea began.

Oh, h.e.l.l, she should have known.

”...to do do the next guy to come through the door.” the next guy to come through the door.”

”This is silly,” Isabel stated. Her gray eyes flashed with rare anger. She crossed her arms over her chest, her sweater pulling tight to curves she tended to hide, rather than display like the other three women. ”Haven't you outgrown that silly game? I thought your club was all about empowerment, not pressure. Audra's your friend. She doesn't have to do anything to prove herself.”

A voice in Audra's head agreed. She didn't didn't have to. Like drinking, impersonal s.e.x had long since lost its appeal. She could have just as good a time with her vibrator as with most guys. And at least her ”D-celled” friend guaranteed she'd come. Swear to G.o.d, most guys didn't seem to know the difference between the G-spot and a parking spot. have to. Like drinking, impersonal s.e.x had long since lost its appeal. She could have just as good a time with her vibrator as with most guys. And at least her ”D-celled” friend guaranteed she'd come. Swear to G.o.d, most guys didn't seem to know the difference between the G-spot and a parking spot.

But if she didn't, she'd be saying goodbye to something vital. Not just her friends.h.i.+ps were on the line here, Audra realized with a start. So was her sense of self. The bada.s.s, wild part of her seemed to be fading away. And she didn't have a clue what, if anything, she'd find underneath.

”Hey, no problem. I never mind scratching that particular itch.”

Ignoring Isabel's disappointed look, she gave the girls a wink, tossed back the last of her strawberry margarita and straightened her shoulders. Turning on the barstool, she leaned her elbows back on the table, faced the door and sent up a prayer that the next guy through knew how to park.

Holy cow. She eyed the s.e.xy hunk standing in the doorway and exhaled a deep sigh of appreciation. Oh, yeah, he'd not only know how to park, but she'd bet he was h.e.l.l on wheels. Audra took inventory, starting at what she estimated to be size twelve biker boots. Her gaze took a slow, appreciative tour up well-worn denim, lingering on a few particularly worn places. She eyed the s.e.xy hunk standing in the doorway and exhaled a deep sigh of appreciation. Oh, yeah, he'd not only know how to park, but she'd bet he was h.e.l.l on wheels. Audra took inventory, starting at what she estimated to be size twelve biker boots. Her gaze took a slow, appreciative tour up well-worn denim, lingering on a few particularly worn places.

Very nice.

She continued her tour over a well-defined chest and-m'm m'm good-perfect shoulders. The sleeves of the denim work s.h.i.+rt were rolled up to the elbows, and it was b.u.t.toned about halfway up to showcase that chest, wide and lightly dusted with a sprinkling of dark hair. How would that hair feel against her cheek? Soft and sensual? Wiry and erotic? Did it thicken as it meandered down his belly? Or did it taper to a very delicious point?

If he'd hurry up and walk through the door, she could find out. Antic.i.p.ation made Audra antsy. She s.h.i.+fted in her seat and held her breath while her gaze rose to his face.

Oh, baby. Eyes half-mast, a wave of l.u.s.t-induced appreciation crashed through her system. Now that was one hot man. Black hair tumbled around a face just this side of pretty. His full lower lip promised a sensual nature and, although she couldn't see his eyes in any detail, the man had cheekbones to die for. The only thing that saved him from being girly-pretty was a stubborn jaw and his nose, obviously broken a couple times.

”Good thing I wore my s.e.xiest lingerie, hmm?”

Bea laughed and gave an appreciative hum. Even Isabel mouthed ”wow,” although the look in her eyes still screamed disapproval. Not surprising, since Isabel had never been comfortable with casual s.e.x. At Suzi's silence, Audra glanced over. The blonde didn't look thrilled. If anything, she looked a little pouty. The rules of the dare were that neither of the others could come on to the dare guy. Which put hot, tall and s.e.xy off limits for Suzi.

Audra couldn't resist taunting her. ”One small step for him, one giant o.r.g.a.s.m for me.”

Suzi grinned and started to say something, then her eyes widened and she winced.

”Oops,” Bea said under her breath.

Isabel cringed.

Stomach suddenly tight, Audra followed their gaze to the entrance where the hunk still stood in conversation with the bouncer just outside the arch that they deemed the official entrance for dares. Disappointment sunk like a chunk of lead in her stomach when she saw the source of her friends' horror. Shouldering the hunk aside was another guy. A nonhunky guy. A totally geeky, nonhunky guy. Audra's stomach turned, but did she see any way out of the dare? Not with her pride intact.

”Ya think he's got anything in that pocket protector you can get up?” Obviously trying to ease the tension, Suzi called the waitress over for a second round. ”You'll need a drink before this one, Audra. My treat.”

Was she supposed to be grateful?

”And as soon as you prove you've still got it in you to take a dare, maybe I'll go get myself a whole different kind of treat,” Suzi mused. Audra followed her gaze to where hot, tall and s.e.xy had taken a seat, two tables over from Audra's target. Rarely territorial over men, Audra was surprised to find that the thought of Suzi and the s.e.xy hunk made her teeth clench.

She grimaced her thanks at the waitress and knocked back her margarita in one long gulp. Audra ran her index finger under her lower lip to make sure her lipstick wasn't smudged. Might as well get it over with. She slipped from the stool and sucked in a deep breath. A little s.h.i.+mmy of the shoulders to make sure everything was where it belonged, her fingertips brushed the hem of her leather mini and she let out her breath.

Isabel protested, ”Audra, you don't have to go through with this. I'm sure Suzi and Bea are just riding you. You guys have been tight for years. You don't have to prove your friends.h.i.+p. Especially not by having random s.e.x with some-” she grimaced at the geek ”-creepy stranger.”

She shot the other two women a dark look. Pink washed over Bea's cheeks and, with a half-hearted shrug, she averted her gaze.

Suzi, though, stuck out her chin.

”Hey, we never said jack about friends.h.i.+p. Audra knows we're all amigas. This is about being true to the Wicked Chicks code. n.o.body's forcing her to re-up her members.h.i.+p. That's her call. Hers. Hers. Not yours.” Not yours.”

With that statement, the underlying hurt and confusion in Suzi's tone, Audra realized her friends needed rea.s.surance. This wasn't about where she stood with the Wicked Chicks. It was about where they they stood with her. stood with her.

Her friends.h.i.+p with Suzi and Bea was changing, sure. Did that matter?

Audra sucked in a breath. Yes, it mattered. These women were more than buddies to run around with. They were more than a part of her history. They'd accepted her, encouraged her. And, even if they were pains in the a.s.s, they both gave her something n.o.body else, other than Isabel, ever had. Unconditional acceptance.

At least, they had until tonight.

The music pulsing around her, Audra knew she could shrug and-just like she'd grown out of acne, her spandex phase and the desperate anger that'd fueled her for so many years-let her ties with the other women go.

But being wicked wasn't just a designation. It defined her. She was a bad girl. From her prep.u.b.escent years under the bleachers to her wild cross-country rebellion when her father died, being bad was how she dealt with life.

Without it, what did she have left? Since she didn't know the answer, she obviously had no choice.

”I'm a lifetime member,” she drawled. ”Let's just hope the geek over there can handle me.”

Isabel opened her mouth, probably to protest. Then, with a shrug and a sigh that summed up why she'd never quite fit in with the other women, she just rolled her eyes and sat back.

”Go get him, tiger,” Bea said.

”Oh, yeah, have a great time,” Suzi said with a wink.

Audra bit back a snarky response. Her gaze caught on the hunk again and she grinned. There was no rule against a nibble of an appetizer before hitting on the main course.

JESSE M MARTINEZ looked around the nightclub and bit back a sigh. Purple walls were covered in teal neon lights. The dance floor was tri-level and the chrome bar wrapped around the room. The band was on break, but a deejay played Top Forty rock. Definitely not Jesse's kind of place. Crowded, loud and filled with psuedoperfect bodies, all on the make. How the h.e.l.l had he ended up here? looked around the nightclub and bit back a sigh. Purple walls were covered in teal neon lights. The dance floor was tri-level and the chrome bar wrapped around the room. The band was on break, but a deejay played Top Forty rock. Definitely not Jesse's kind of place. Crowded, loud and filled with psuedoperfect bodies, all on the make. How the h.e.l.l had he ended up here?

Oh, he could blame it on work. Legitimately, he was was on a job. But he could be back in his office with his computer. That was his job description, after all. A Cyber Crimes detective with the Sacramento PD, he wasn't required to follow dirtbags in person. He did it over the World Wide Web, instead. But, no, sucker that he was, he hadn't been able to back down from a coworker's dare that he get off his b.u.t.t and get his hands dirty. Do real work. Show what he was made of. d.a.m.ned if Jesse could back down from a dare, especially one couched in insults to his manhood. on a job. But he could be back in his office with his computer. That was his job description, after all. A Cyber Crimes detective with the Sacramento PD, he wasn't required to follow dirtbags in person. He did it over the World Wide Web, instead. But, no, sucker that he was, he hadn't been able to back down from a coworker's dare that he get off his b.u.t.t and get his hands dirty. Do real work. Show what he was made of. d.a.m.ned if Jesse could back down from a dare, especially one couched in insults to his manhood.

He should probably work to reprogram that defective element of his personality. But since it was one of the few traits he actually appreciated having in common with his late father, he was loath to lose it.

Instead, he ended up in tacky nightclubs. Jesse sighed, but gave the waitress a smile and ordered a beer. He eyed the dorky dude a couple tables over. The guy was fidgety as h.e.l.l, his fingers tapping on the table, his knee bouncing to a completely different rhythm. He looked like a virgin on a blind date with a p.o.r.n queen. Or as if he were about to rob the place.

The guy's name was Dave Larson and he was a computer hacker with a taste for gambling. Jesse had it on good authority that Larson was b.u.t.t deep in organized crime and determined to work his way up one of the dirtiest crime ladders in Northern California, the Du Bing Li Du Bing Li Triad. Since there were any number of tasks a guy with Dave's computer skills could provide, Jesse wasn't sure just what the geek was up to. But one thing was sure, it was no good. Triad. Since there were any number of tasks a guy with Dave's computer skills could provide, Jesse wasn't sure just what the geek was up to. But one thing was sure, it was no good.

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