Watch Me (4 page)

Alejandro shrugged. “I took one look at the house and fell in love. Cary Grant built it in the 1920s. The previous owners started restoring it about ten years ago…and ran out of money. Del and I spent a small fortune to buy the place and finish fixing it up. I have not regretted it.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“As are you. Since it’s clear you are not here for me to seduce, what can I do for you?”

Her charmed smile disappeared. The tense hand-clasping returned.

“My dance partner and I have a…situation. A delicate one. Kristoff has been here, as a customer, right?”

“I’m not at liberty to answer that. Privacy is something we protect fiercely here at Sneak Peek. I hope you understand.”

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Shelley Bradley

“But that’s just it. Someone invaded his privacy. They filmed him…”

She shook her head. “It would be better if I showed you.”

Alejandro frowned as Shanna reached into an oversized bag hanging from her shoulder and extracted a DVD in a clear plastic case. She handed it to him with a tense expression. He popped it into his laptop. Two and a half minutes later, his blood was boiling—more from anger than any arousal.

“Where did you get this?”

“Someone left it in my dressing room last night just before the benefit began, along with a note telling me that if we competed in the upcoming California Dance Star, this DVD will be sent to all the judges.”

“And neither you nor Kristoff have any idea who sent this?”

She shook her head. “That’s why I’m here. I was hoping you could help me. That competition means…everything to me. I’ve worked
years
to win this.”

As driven as she was, as ambitious as rumor painted her, Alejandro believed it. She had dumped three partners in the last five years. One after breaking his leg badly skiing just before dance season began. The next partner had been history when he dropped her during a lift—in the middle of a competition. The third…he was a mystery. There one day, gone the next. Alejandro’s mother had the pulse on all her favorite and not-so-favorite dancers.
Mamá
said there had been rumors of a torrid affair between Shanna and Jonathan Smythe.

Alejandro extracted the DVD, slotted it back in its case, and handed it to her. “There are absolutely no still or video cameras allowed in the club. Period. That is part of our strict privacy policy.”

“Which someone clearly violated.”

“Yes, because that isn’t security footage. If it was, it would be black and white and from an aerial view. It certainly wouldn’t be in full color and focused in tight on the action.” Alejandro rose, paced.

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This was very bad news. People paid a lot of money to enjoy themselves at the club anonymously. Often high profile people. Stars, senators, diplomats. If that privacy was compromised and people found out… He didn’t want to think about what it might do to their business.

“Would you excuse me?” he asked.

She hesitated, looking decidedly unhappy. “Yes.”

Alejandro pulled his cell phone from the clip at his waistband and hit the speed dial button to reach his partner.

“Del?” he asked after hearing a familiar voice rumble at the other end. “We have a situation you ought to know about.”

“I’ll be there in five.”

It was more like ten minutes later when Del sauntered in, buttoning his shirt and wearing a smile and mussed hair. Damn, it was barely past ten in the morning, but already his buddy had been getting busy. A glance at Shanna reminded him that he hadn’t been busy like that in longer than he cared to admit…and he knew exactly who he would like to change that fact with.

“What’s up, Ali?”

“Del, this is Shanna York. She is a professional ballroom dancer. Shanna, my business partner Del.”

Shanna held out a prim little hand for a professional shake. Del, being the Frenchman he was, enveloped her hand and brought it to his mouth for a soft kiss. “
Enchanté
.”

No doubt he was enchanted, but this wasn’t a free-for-all.

“Back off,” Alejandro growled in Del’s ear.

His friend sent him a dark-eyed look of annoyance. Alejandro shrugged. Del would get over it.

When Shanna snatched her hand away, Alejandro had to smile. Classic! When had any woman ever taken one look at Del and pulled back? Never. Usually, they threw themselves at his dark stubble, wealth,

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and bad attitude.

“This is Shanna’s situation…”

Alejandro clued Del in, and Shanna provided the DVD for viewing again. After the clip ended, Del was gnashing his teeth and looking none too happy.

“I wish I knew who to beat the shit out of for violating the rules.”

“Me, too,” Alejandro agreed.

“Okay, so you don’t know off the top of your heads who might have done it,” Shanna said. “I’m assuming you know in which room this…event took place?”

“Yes,” the men answered together.

“Maybe by figuring out who might have used the room in the last week, you can get a list of likely suspects. Do you keep records?”

“For payment purposes, yes,” Del confirmed. “But that room, it’s likely been used at least fifty times since that recording was made.”

Shanna did the math. “Ten…events in there a
day
?”

With a shrug, Alejandro smiled. “We go through a lot of sheets.”

Del laughed, the sound hearty and male.

“Oh, aren’t you two cute. Freshman Frat Boy and his sidekick, Horny.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m assuming you don’t want it known that someone is sneaking into your club and recording your guests’ most private actions without their consent or knowledge.”

He and Del sobered up quickly. She was right. Business now. Pleasure…soon.

Still, his mind took a little detour. Her shock about the room’s constant use was amusing, and it pleased him that she did not understand how addicting watching—and being watched—could be. Yet.

“Of course we don’t want our guests compromised,” Del cut in smoothly. “We could make a list of all the guests who have used this room in the last week, but I doubt it would help. In all honesty, I would

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never have believed any of our members would violate such a cardinal rule. The fee to join is steep enough to attract only serious members. The rules are absolute; there is no room for gray. We also have ways of ensuring that anyone who violates our rules finds themselves unwelcome at similar clubs in the state.”

“This feels to me as if you were targeted specifically,” Alejandro said.

“The note was delivered to your dressing room, so close to a major competition…”

“That’s it! Do any of my competitors belong to your club?”

Alejandro looked at Del, who looked back at him. That was the great thing about having been friends for nearly a decade. They could almost read each others’ minds. Answering the question wasn’t really giving away information…

“No. Just Kristoff. And he’s recent. He came highly recommended, and has been very active since he joined.”

“I’ll bet.” She snorted. “And here I thought he was your average, garden-variety gay man…”

Del choked. Alejandro resisted the urge to laugh himself. Shanna swatted his shoulder. “Okay. I get from this DVD that’s not true. You two can stop snickering now.”

Alejandro couldn’t resist her ruffled feathers for another second. He was dying to soothe them…right before he melted her.

“What about any of my former dance partners?” She directed the question to Alejandro. Not that she suspected Jonathan, but the first two hated her. “Do you know who they are?”

“No and yes. None of your former partners are members.”

“Hmm.” Shanna bit a pink, bee-stung lip as she thought. “Have any of your other members indicated this breach of privacy has been a problem for them?”

“Hell no! And we’ve established that the person who took the footage

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Shelley Bradley

isn’t one of your competitors, but it’s clearly someone who knows something about your world of ballroom dance. About you and what you value.”

“Yes,” Del agreed. “Someone who knew that competition was coming up soon and that the judges would punish you if such a DVD was circulating. Someone who knew that competition was important to you.”

“Any ideas who among your members that could be?” Shanna prompted.

Again, Alejandro looked at Del, who looked at him. “Not a clue. I could ask you the same question. Who are your enemies?”

Shanna’s blue eyes darted around, as if scanning her memories. “No one else I can think of. If it’s not a former partner or a competitor, I can’t think of anyone who hates me enough to want to destroy me like this.”

“Well, if any guest was a friend of one of your former partners or competitors, we have no way of knowing.”

“True…” Shanna nibbled nervously on a hangnail, then, as if realizing she’d done something less than perfect, she stopped. “What about your employees? Any of them have access to video cameras and those rooms?”

Del shook his head. “We have four types of employees: security, maid service, wait staff and bartenders. That’s it. They are paid to be invisible unless they’re needed. None of those employees should be anywhere near a room when it’s in use. All the watching and exhibiting is done for and with fellow members.”

“So, another dead end…”

“It appears,” Del agreed, then looked Alejandro’s way. His buddy had the glint of the devil in his eyes. “That we need to draw this blackmailer out.”

“Have Kristoff come back and do it again and hope someone makes another recording?” She sounded confused.

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Sneak Peek: Watch Me

“No,” Alejandro said, catching on to the idea. “Kristoff has been recorded. He has served his purpose. It is interesting that whomever recorded him chose to give the DVD not to him, but to
you
.”

“Exactly,” Del chimed in. “The blackmailer is trying to get to you. He or she wants
you
to suffer. Kristoff is just one avenue.”

“So what are you suggesting I do?”

One more time, Alejandro and Del exchanged a meaningful glance.

“I think,
querida
, he’s suggesting that I arrange a scene for you here and see if we can track him through another disc and ‘watch me’ note. Or better yet, catch him red-handed in the act of filming you.”

Shanna’s jaw dropped. “Are you insane! You think I should come here and get naked and…”

“Spend a little time showing our members what you enjoy,” Alejandro supplied.

“I can’t give this creep any more ammunition to ruin me.”

“He already has everything he needs to discredit you with the judges. But I do not think he’s actually trying to prevent you from competing, as much as he’s attacking you. This feels personal, not professional. If you want to find out who is behind this, you must…expose yourself.”

“I’m not into that!”

After last night, Alejandro knew better, but now wasn’t the time to remind her. “Perhaps not. Pretend, if you must. But I believe the plan will work.”

Shanna hesitated, as if she was pondering his words. “
If
I agree to this crazy scheme, can I do…whatever it is alone?”

Alejandro couldn’t resist the grin spreading across his face. “Yes. Plenty of our members would jump through rings of fire to see you touch yourself.”

“You mean, like, masturbate for an audience?” She turned ghostly white.

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“Even the thought of it makes me hard,” he whispered for her ears alone.

“Absolutely not!”

“I will be more than happy to assist you,” Alejandro volunteered.

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“It would be more believable and more blackmail-worthy if Ali helped you,” Del chimed in. “I will hide in the room and watch all doors, windows, and passersby—see if I can identify our camera-wielding asshole.”

Her jaw dropped. “It’s bad enough to contemplate getting naked with the Latin Lover, here. But having you watch? Oh, no.”

That horror on her face was nothing but a lie. Her suddenly hard nipples told him that. She was scared—of herself, of him, of whatever was fueling her ambition. Suddenly, he wanted to get to the bottom of it all.

“What troubles you? Is the idea too arousing?”

Shanna sent Alejandro a hard glare. “No, it’s too weird. And it won’t work.”

“What are your better ideas?”

Pausing, Shanna bit her lip. Oh, yes, she was thinking her options through.

A few moments later, she gritted her teeth. “I don’t have a better idea. But there’s got to be one.”

“This guy will return to the scene of the crime if we dangle the right bait in front of him. Catching him in the act of creating or delivering a disc is the only way to be certain he’s the guilty party.”

Pacing across the floor, her tight ass outlined in white Capri pants that made his tongue melt, Shanna contemplated in a silence broken only by her high-heeled sandals.

“God, I can’t believe I’m actually considering this. I must be out of my

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mind.”

“It may be the only way to figure out who’s trying to screw up your career,” Del supplied.

“Which is the only reason I’m considering it.”

“Would you feel more comfortable if I showed you the room and all the places Del can hide in order to catch this bastard?”

Del sent him a knowing smile.

She nodded. “I’m not sure this will work, but maybe, seeing the room, something will occur to me.”

“You two come up with the plan and let me know. I need to get back to my…company.” Del clapped him on the back, kissed Shanna’s hand again and disappeared upstairs.

In charged silence, Alejandro led Shanna down a hall and up another set of stairs that led to the play rooms. At the second door on the left, he paused and eased it open into a dark room.

Beyond the handful of comfortable chairs and a long, cushy sofa, lay the far corner of the room, which comprised the stage, currently devoid of guests. The muted lights in that corner shined down on a sleek bed with four chrome posts and matching restraints.

“Oh.” Her voice fluttered beside him.