Death of a Chorus Girl (The Delacroix Series Book 1) by P. M. Briede Page A

are nose to nose.
    Em!   My eyes need a minute to focus since the lights burst on, illuminating the whole space.  “Can you offer me any cover?” I whisper.  I have a hundred questions for her, but I also have a hundred desires, and they are currently all located in my pants.
    She flashes me a warm smile and is slow to rise, allowing me the opportunity to adjust so my erection isn’t so obvious when I return to my table.  How am I going to talk to her?   She was right there, in my lap, in my arms.  Stop that train of thought.  That’s not going to help with your other situation.  Trying not to think of her is an impossible task.  She stands before me, barely dressed in some kind of netted hose, panties, a sports bra, and heels.  My mouth salivates at the sight.  This image will fill my dreams tonight. So much for maintaining a professional distance.  What Joe doesn’t know…
    I am unable to remove my eyes from her form. I catch the subtle flicker of her eyes to the door; the flex in her hand as she spreads all her fingers.  I pray that I’m not about to make a fool out of myself when I meet her outside the door in five minutes.  Then like a ghost, she is gone, vanished from the room.  I stand and notice that I am not the only one who got excited from being incorporated into the show.  Thanks to her help, I’m not pitching a noticeable tent like the guy across from me.
    Steve slaps me on the shoulder when I get back to my table.  “You’re welcome, you lucky bastard!”  My mind is still swimming so I sink into my seat in absolute confusion of why he thinks I owe him thanks.
    Frisco leans into my ear. “Steve would have been the guy in the chair had you two not switched.”
    Holy shit, that’s right!  That means Em would have been draped all over him!  That means Em didn’t pick me out of the crowd!  She was just as surprised as I was!  THAT MEANS EM would have done that with whatever guy had been in this chair!
    Fury explodes inside me.  It just now hits me that the entire room saw her in nothing more than simple lingerie.  That she would have done that on anyone!  The jealousy comes on so quick there isn’t time to think clearly.  “Please excuse me,” I say as I shoot up from the blasted chair.  “I need a minute.”
    “Yeah, I bet you do,” Steve taunts me.
    I round on him. “Shut it, Steve!” comes out as a snarl before I storm out of the room.
     
    Empathy Delacroix: Insanity
     
    I step out of a packed dressing room right when Richard barrels through the doors, looking positively wild.  He immediately spots me and charges, snatching my hand and dragging me down the hall.  We move so fast that the chiffon fabric of my dress flutters behind me.  He searches for a place to go.  I start to ask him what he is looking for but at the sound of his name, he rounds on me.  “Privacy! Em!  Now!”
    Not fully understanding what demon has a hold of him, I nod and lead him to a room we used as a dressing room, which is now empty.  Everyone hurried back into the ballroom for dinner.  I slide the keycard through the slot on the door.  The second it unlocks we dive inside.
    The rush from before disappears now that we are in private but whatever intense emotion possesses him hasn’t.  He flicks the lock so we can’t be bothered before turning what I assume are going to be hungry eyes on me.  I am wrong and therefore ill prepared for the absolute famine I see.  Having never been faced with such passion before, I can’t help but step back.
    He captures me in a flash and locks me in the snare of his embrace.  There is only enough time to lift my forearms in an instinctually defensive move.  He crushes me against his body and his desires become evident.  His lips and tongue claim and invade me.
    I’ve been kissed before, but never with such unbridled passion as what I experience now.  My legs give out and Richard automatically supports me, drawing me closer, which I didn’t