Friday, August 29th

Valle Luna, Arizona

"It's good to have you back Ms. Adams."

"Thank you Tyson, it's good to be back." She replied while filing through stacks of mail. It was seven o'clock, a mere hour before the club would be hopping and throbbing, oblivious to any of the troubles its owner had recently come face to face with.

"How have things been here?" She asked her reliable head of security.

"Mostly quiet." He replied with his thick, booming voice. "But right after you left, the cops came around asking questions about Blade. They wanted to know if she was involved with you on an intimate level."

"What did you say?" She tossed aside several unimportant envelopes and opened another.

"The truth." He replied in his powerful voice. "I had never seen her around you."

"Thank you Tyson. You've always been a loyal employee, as well as a friend." She looked up at him and met his dark eyes.

Tyson uncrossed his massive arms, a little startled at her soft sincerity. There was a softness in her voice he had never heard before. He examined his long time employer and noted how thin she looked, and something else. The ever-present iciness in her beautiful eyes had seemed to have melted away, leaving warm pools of blue in its place.

"Ms. Adams, if you don't mind my asking, are you feeling ok?" Perhaps she was ill. That would certainly explain her pale and thinner appearance. Maybe even the change in her usually stoic demeanor.

She placed the mail aside, having finished going through it.

"I'm fine Tyson." She stood and walked out of her private room. She headed across the V.I.P room and stood at the railing, looking down on the large dance floor. Several men worked on one of the large light fixtures, having lowered it from the ceiling above.

She heard one of them yell for the power and she watched as the lights came to life, swinging and spotlighting deep blues and purples.

She heard Tyson approach from behind as the steel frame holding the lights began to rise up to its home just below the ceiling.

"Is it true?" He asked from behind her. "What they're saying about Blade?"

She continued her lean, now watching a couple of bartenders readying the bar for the Friday night crowd.

"It seems so." She answered, uncomfortable with the topic.

"What about Ms. Reece?" He asked, walking up to stand next to her.

"What about her?" She glanced over at him, wishing he would leave her be. The discussion was quickly becoming distressing.

"Is she really dead?" He asked softly, obviously affected by what he had heard.

"I don't know anymore than you do Tyson." She pushed herself away from the rail, ready to leave the troublesome conversation. "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to attend to business." She left him standing alone by the railing as she headed back into her private room to make a phone call.

Sitting down on the couch, she picked up her satellite phone and began to dial.

When the private detective didn't answer, she left a message.

"It's Adams. I'm calling to see if you found Erin McKenzie."

She ended the call and rose to go get her check book. She had been running La Femme from afar the past few weeks and had done a fairly good job. But now she was back and it was time to get down to business. She had bills to pay as well as the hiring of two new bartenders to attend to.

With her check book in hand, she pulled the neat stack of envelopes over next to her at the coffee table. She usually did most of her paperwork at her home in the Valle Luna hills, but tonight she needed to be here instead of alone in her big house. The club and its business were great distractions. And distractions were exactly what she needed tonight.

She glanced at her satellite phone, anxious for it to ring. Erin McKenzie was still first and foremost on her mind and yet she didn't know why. She should be able to forget about her; just like she had done every other woman she had ever come across.

Was it because Erin had beaten her at her own game? The game of seduction?

She had told Jay that she cared about Erin. Was that true? And if so, what did it mean? She ran a hand through her dark mane. She did care about her. Hell, she had done nothing but think about her since she had first laid eyes on her.

She opened her checkbook and began the dreaded task of paying the bills. While the work was boring and tedious, she welcomed it, allowing it to free her mind of the young detective who had somehow slipped in under the wire.

When she was done writing away her money, she leafed through several different employment applications, searching for some new bartenders. Tyson had attached a Polaroid of each applicant, knowing that she would want to personally pick each girl. Appearances meant a lot to her, especially since the women represented La Femme. Kris had gotten sloppy in the hiring process, and Blade had been a perfect example of that sloppiness.

And ultimately it seems that Kris had paid the price for her hiring incompetence.

She examined each applicant, leafing through them page after page.

Not a sexy one in the bunch.

Suddenly tired and frustrated, she stood up and stretched. She looked down at her Tag Haeur watch and saw that it was well after eight.

Her muscles felt tight and stressed and as she walked towards her bathroom, she pulled off her clothes to jump in the shower.

She let the hot water beat down on her shoulders and back, pounding the tightness from her tense muscles. She soaped herself and ran her hands down over her taut body. She had lost weight, giving the muscles in her abdomen a carved look and feel. Her legs had lost some muscle mass, but they still looked and felt long and powerful.

She turned to let the water rinse the soap from her front. Her nipples contracted at the forceful fingers of the water and a familiar rush of heat twinged between her legs.

She hadn't been with a woman in weeks and her body was finally starting to protest at being ignored. Under normal circumstances, she would've never gone so long without a woman warming her bed. But with things being as they were, she had been too busy worrying about Jay and thinking of Erin McKenzie too much to care. But now that she was back, there was no reason to continue to starve her ferocious sexual appetite.

In fact, if things went according to plan, Jay would ultimately behave herself and she would finally be able to forget about Erin McKenzie once and for all. She just had to see her again one more time before she would will her mind to forget her.

Rinsing completely off, she emerged from the shower and stared at her reflection. Her strong face and high cheeks appeared pale and tired. The past few weeks had been trying and she reached up and traced the angry red scar in her shoulder. It was there forever, just like the one a little lower on her forearm. They were scars of the flesh as well as scars of horrible moments in time, never to fade away completely.

She combed through her midnight hair and decided to focus on the evening at hand. With the thought of some long awaited female companionship fueling her, she quickly finished getting ready.

Standing in her private room, next to the large bed, she rifled through her closet and decided on her favorite pair of Lucky Brand jeans. They appeared weathered with their worn gravel wash and she pulled on a feather weight charcoal colored tee to go with the jeans. The t-shirt was soft and fit her snug, hugging her breasts and broad, strong shoulders.

With women on her mind, she sprayed on her favorite cologne and laced up a pair of well worn black Dr. Martins. She gave herself the one over in a full length mirror. Her hair was still wet and clinging to the skin of her neck in wet whisks. Her blue eyes were dark and clouded, mixing with the charcoal gray of her shirt.

She ran her long fingers through her bangs and headed out the door, leaving her recent troubles behind her in the room.

She walked out into the dimly lit V.I.P. room. As her eyes adjusted, she visually inspected some of La Femmes patrons. The club had a strict policy in regards to admittance to the V.I.P. room. A woman had to be one of three things. Famous, unbelievably successful, or unbelievably gorgeous. Of course she preferred the ones who had all three.

Continuing to scan and search the several women already up in V.I.P., she passed a few who were lacking at least two of the requirements. She shook off her disappointment and made her way to the rail to overlook the entire club.

"Hey there." A busty bleached out blonde leered at her, looking her up and down.

"Not interested." She said as she made her way past the bleached blonde to size up a more attractive brunette.

The woman had her back to the V.I.P room with her hands on the rail. Adams approached her from behind, laying a soft hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

The woman turned and smiled a familiar smile up at her.

"Hey stranger." Angie grinned and ran her hand lightly up the darker woman's arm.

"Hey yourself."

Angie angled her head up and pulled Adams in for a warm, lingering hello kiss.

The kiss was tender and unbelievably soft. But then again, Angie's kisses usually were. The famous woman's lips were undeniably the best she had ever kissed. All except for one. There was one woman who had felt better under her lips.

She shook the thought from her mind and leaned in next to Angie to overlook the crowd below.

"I thought you had a movie to shoot." She said, more than a little disappointed that she had yet to find an attractive, fuckable woman to take her mind off Erin McKenzie. Angie was hot, more than hot. But she had already had her. Many times and in many different ways.

"I fly out on tomorrow." Angie said, taking a sip of her beer. She was dressed similarly to Adams in worn jeans and black boots. But instead of a t-shirt, a very tight black tank top fit like a second skin across her large breasts, showing off the black Celtic band tattooed around her bicep.

"Shouldn't you be at home, getting your beauty sleep?" Adams asked as she looked down below. Scores of women were already dancing below, all of them up and ready for anything, and she knew that also included her. She knew she could have any woman in the club. The trouble was she didn't want anyone there. The one she wanted was nowhere to be found.

"Why sleep, when I could be here…fucking." Angie said in her sexy deep voice and then laughed and took another drink of her beer.

Adams glanced down at her dancers, the ones she paid to strut their stuff on the raised platforms. It was firefighter night and all them had on yellow firefighter bibs, the wide suspenders covering their bare toned torsos, barely hiding their full breasts.

Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill thumped in through the gigantic sound system and the dancers thrusted suggestively at the large fire hoses riding between their legs. The women down below the firefighting dancers screamed with their arms raised in the air as the dancers turned the valves on their hoses and doused them with water. The cold spray of water soaked their white shirts, causing the wet cotton material to cling to their erect dark nipples.

"So how bout it hot stuff?" Angie said turning to trace a finger down Adams strong jaw to her neck. "Wanna fuck?"

Adams turned her head and held her gaze. Angie's beauty never failed to amaze her. The woman was gorgeous and damn near irresistible. But Angie wasn't going to be enough for her tonight and she suddenly began to wonder if anyone would be.

"Maybe later." She said turning back to the crowd, her quest to find another woman not yet dead in the water.

"Ok then." Angie pulled away from the rail. "I'm gonna go find myself a fine piece of ass. And when I do, I'm counting on you to let me use your room." She pursed her full lips and raised an eyebrow at Adams.

Adams laughed and turned to look at her. "You better hurry. I'm hoping to find a piece of my own."

Angie's lips spread into a devilish grin. "Hey, the more the merrier." She turned up her bottle of beer to her grinning lips and walked away.

Adams sighed and turned back to watch the crowd. There were many attractive women down below her, dancing the night away. And she knew that any given one would do anything at the chance to be with her. But it wasn't enough. They weren't enough.

No Doubt's Hella Good, blasted into the club from the speakers and she watched as the lights changed to darker hues of blues and purples. She looked across the dance floor and saw Tyson moving his large body through the crowd from the front entrance. A slim brunette was walking closely behind him with a few other security guards flanking her sides.

The crowd of women immediately around them began screaming in excitement and the guards had to push them back in order for Tyson to maneuver them through. She lost sight of them at the bottom of the V.I.P stairs and her interest carried back down to the dance floor.

She was becoming quickly bored and she rested her head on her hand and focused on one of the women with a wet white t-shirt. Her hair was darker, maybe a dark auburn or red. Her breasts weren't large, but rather smaller and firmer and very perky. Her nipples appeared to be a deep rose in color and her face was angular and attractive. Adams watched as her face changed from a smile into one of intense concentration as she raised her hands and danced harder to the music. Her faded jeans were dark with dampness around her waist and Adams noted her tight firm ass and long legs. This one was fuckable, very fuckable.

The woman looked up at her and caught her looking. Adams pushed herself up a little and smirked at her with obvious interest. The woman grinned back and Adams knew she had her. Pushing herself back from the rail, she turned to go after the wet t- shirt woman when she ran smack into Angie, who in turn spilled her new cocktail all over Adams shirt.

"Shit!" Adams whispered under her breath as she wiped at the dark pool the cold liquid had left on her shirt.

"Sorry Liz." Angie said with a chuckle. "I wanted to get you out of your clothes, but not like this."

Adams looked up at her briefly before she looked back down to wipe at her shirt.

"I was just coming to get you." Angie said causing Adams to look back up.

"Yeah, why?" She asked not even the slightest bit interested. Her mind was focused on the fuckable woman downstairs.

"I have someone who wants to meet you."

"Not now Angie, I'm busy. Or at least I soon hope to be." She stepped to the side of her, to walk past her when a breath taking brunette walked into her path.

"Is this her, Angie?" The mysterious woman asked with an aristocratic European accent. Her brown eyes held the fierce blue ones before her. "The ever elusive Elizabeth Adams?"

"The one and only." Angie said stepping back, obviously enjoying the immediate sexual energy between the two.

Adams knew who was standing before her, or she knew of her to be more precise. The strikingly beautiful woman was an actress like Angie, but not yet as popular. Adams straightened a little as her libido instantly kicked in, like a flame catching to gasoline.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Ms. Adams." The slender brunette said extending her warm hand. Adams had to pry her hungry eyes from the woman's breasts in order to see her hand to shake it.

"Please, call me Liz." She managed say in her ever calm and cool manner.

"And call me Kari." She smiled coyly and Adams continued to try and hold her gaze, instead of letting her eyes wonder up and down the seductive outfit Kari wore. The dark brown vest and matching dress slacks were tailor cut to hug her body in all the right places. The vest was open at the top, showing off a very nice and very revealing black lace bra.

"Well, ladies." Angie let out with a pleased smile. "If you'll excuse me…I need to see about getting another drink." She continued to watch them with a smirk as she walked away.

"Looks like you're wet." Kari said, looking Adams up and down and then focusing on her shirt.

"Excuse me?" She said, flustered for the first time in years. She didn't know what was getting to her more, the hungry way Kari was looking at her or the European accent.

"Your shirt." Kari added with a grin. "I'm not yet sure about the rest of you."

Adams swallowed hard at the leading remark. She hadn't been seduced by another woman in a very long time. And the last time had been Angie. It didn't happen very often, but when it did, it always managed to shake her up a bit. She was almost always the one in control and she didn't let go of it easily.

She continued to hold Kari's gaze and she watched as the woman with the lustrous brown hair stepped up to her.

"I've been coming to your club for the past couple of weeks."

"You have." She said in response trying her best to remain calm.

Kari leaned in and inhaled her cologne, careful not to yet touch her.

"Yes. And Angie's told me all about you."

"She has." Adams could smell her hair and her expensive shampoo.

"Yes." Kari stepped back and reached out to touch the cold wet spot on her shirt. "And I must admit, it's finally nice to be able to put a face with the name."

She pressed her warm palm against the wet fabric of the shirt, pressing the cold against the heated skin of Adams torso.

Adams inhaled quickly and flinched at the cold wetness pressed into her by a warm hand.

"You must want to go change." Kari said, licking her lips as she looked back up from the shirt to the fiery blue eyes.

Adams looked down at herself and at Kari's hand. "Yes, I probably should." She met the dark brown eyes and then let her eyes fall to her moist lips.

"I should go with you." Kari whispered, stepping closer to just a breath away from the taller woman's ear. "You might need some help."

Adams stood straighter as she felt her body respond to the words and the hot breath in her ear.

She reached down and took hold of Kari's hand. "Yes, I just might." She said, meeting her eyes once again before leading her across the V.I.P. room to her own very private lair.

A long, luscious night with Kari was just what she needed. And she was more than anxious to explore the beautiful woman first with her eyes, then with her hands and finally her mouth.

She opened the door and led the way in, feeling Kari's sexual aura hot and electric behind her.

"This is very nice." Kari said in her throaty sensual accent. Adams turned to look at her and watched as the European examined the room with her eyes, her gaze falling and fixing on the large bed.

"Can I get you a drink?" Adams offered out of politeness. She felt her desire ignite her nerves, a feeling she wasn't used to experiencing. But then again, this wasn't just any other fuck. This woman was sophisticated and from what she knew of her quite intelligent, fluent in several languages.

Kari looked back to her from the bed and grinned. "What was Angie drinking?"

Adams thought back briefly to Angie and what may have been in the glass before it was spilled.

Kari started to move towards her. "Because whatever it was, that's what I want." She stopped just in front of her and licked her lips again.

"I'll have to go find out then." Adams replied as her body heated with raw animalistic desire.

Kari laughed and hooked her hand in the darker woman's jeans. "Oh no need. There's enough right here." She tugged Adams closer while holding her gaze. And then with her free hand she eased up her wet shirt and bent to lick at Adams with her hot tongue.

"Mmmmm." She said as she licked all over her abdomen. "Yes there's plenty."

Her brain pounding with molten lust, Adams grabbed the European and pulled her up for a deep, heated kiss. Kari groaned into her and continued to pull at her t-shirt, but she was no match physically for the strength of Adams who held her hands down firmly by her wrists.

Kari pulled away as Adams began sucking on her long tongue.

"No baby, not yet." She grinned devishly and took a step back. "If what Angie says about you is true, then there's no rush. We can go all night." Adams let go of her wrists and wiped at her own lips, the taste of Kari fresh and tantalizing, driving her mad.

Kari stepped up to her again and urged her back towards the bed. "Sit." She instructed as she shoved her back down on the spacious bed. Adams thought about resisting, about creating a powerful erotic interlude between them, like she had with Angie. But instead, she sat back on her elbows and decided to wait and see what Kari had in mind.

The beautiful woman slowly began to dance, the music of the club easily heard in the room. Adams watched as her hips began to sway in rhythm with the sultry beat, her hands working over them, her tongue darting seductively across her lips.

Slowly and surely her fingers found their way up to the buttons of her tailored brown vest. One by one she unbuttoned the vest while she continued to sway closer and closer to the bed.

Adams tensed in need as she watched the gorgeous brunette perform her sexy striptease. She watched as the agile fingers finished with the vest, spreading it open and then slipping it off to expose the black lacy bra. Her skin was smooth and olive, stretching beautifully across a toned mid drift.

Suddenly, an image of another woman flashed quickly in her mind. A firmly toned mid drift and ample breasts, slighter fuller than Kari's. She shook her head as the blonde's face cried out in pleasure at her.

She blinked and refocused on Kari who was inching closer, unbuttoning her dress slacks as she danced. She stood before Adams and straddled her knee and lower thigh where she grinded against her, allowing Adams to feel her hot center penetrating right though the blue jeans.

"Can you feel me?" Kari asked as she tugged Adams by her shirt. "Can you feel how wet I am for you?"

"Yes." Adams said just before Kari bent in to envelope her with her mouth. Kari's tongue plowed into her, claiming and conquering. Adams reached out to grab her thrusting ass and Kari pulled away with a loud smack as their mouths protested in parting.

"Not yet." Kari said, shaking a finger at the taller, darker woman. She stepped away from the firm thigh between her legs and began dancing again, easing her pants down as she swung her hips.

Adams watched in silence as a pair of black lace panties came into view. Kari turned slowly, revealing the thong as she teased, shaking the beautifully smooth globes of her ass at Adams.

The taller woman eased back on her elbows again, thoroughly enjoying the show. Kari held her gaze with her smoldering brown eyes. She then stepped out of her pants and tossed them aside to stand before Adams in the matching black thong and bra.

Adams clenched her eyes shut as another image of the blonde flashed in her mind. She blinked again, needing to erase Erin from her mind. But Erin remained, and on the bed where she now layed, arching her back up in ecstasy begging for Adams to release her.

"Are you ready for me now?" Kari asked, standing before her, watching her like a hungry tigress.

Adams managed to blink Erin away and she tried desperately to refocus. "Ye…" She started to say, but a loud ringing sounded from the couch. She sat up suddenly recognizing it as her satellite phone.

"What is it?" Kari asked, turning towards the sound. "Your phone? Let it ring." She approached and bent down towards Adams. "We were just about to get started." She tried to gently push Adams back down, but the stronger woman resisted and rose to jog to the phone.

Adrenaline surged through her as she ran. The thought of the information at the other end of the phone fueled her heart to pump at a maddening pace.

"Adams." She said as she snatched up the phone.

"I got your girl." The private detective said proudly.

"Where?" Adams ran her hand through her hair as she sat down on the couch.

"Utopia. And she's with your old flame."

"Patricia?" She asked a little surprised.

"They're up at her new abode on Spruce Mountain." The P.I. confirmed

"Are they…" A knot formed in her throat as the possibility of Erin and Patricia together intimately entered her mind.

"Fucking?" The P.I. finished for her with a chuckle. "I don't know Liz, they look pretty cozy all snuggled up in that cabin."

Adams sat in silence for a moment as her face rushed with heated jealousy. A feeling that had never before coursed through her veins. Its effect was instant and devastating, like tiny shards of crystals invading every cell.

"Thanks." She said as she ended the call and then rested her head in her hands.

"Are you ready now?" Kari asked from the bed. "Because I'm ready for you."

Adams lifted her head up and turned to look at the bed. Kari was lying on the bed, the bra gone, her legs spread. She was circling her nipples with the fingers of one hand, causing them to cluster with excitement. Her other was edging the black panties, slowly, carefully. Every once in awhile delving in and under the black fabric to stroke at her warm flesh.

"I saved the panties for you. I thought you might want to chew through them." She said in an accented voice saturated with sexuality.

The site should've made Adams cream her jeans on the spot. But shockingly it did nothing to her. Her cresting libido had all but dissipated down into the dark pit of her stomach, eaten up by the ravenous green monster of jealousy.

"Some other time." She said as she rose quickly.

"What?" Kari asked completely startled.

Adams ignored her as she dug in her pocket to retrieve her car keys. She then opened the door and stepped out of her private room, leaving a hot and horny Kari calling out after her.

She took two quick strides, suddenly anxious to leave the pulsating club and all that it held. But a large, thick muscled body stepped in her path.

"Ms.Adams." Tyson said in a worried tone. She knew immediately by the look on his face that something was wrong.

"What is it?" She asked as she watched his hand come up to press against his white ear piece.

He stepped closer to her, letting his hand fall to once again rest as his side.

"Sorry to disturb you ma'am, but some of the guards out front have alerted me of police presence."

"Where?" She said as she moved past him.

"They're currently demanding entrance to the club." He fell into stride next to her and they walked briskly to the stairs.

"I don't have time for this Tyson. They've harassed me enough." She walked quickly down the stairs, the wetness from her previous arousal suddenly feeling cold in her crotch. With her mind instantly firing in regards to the police and what they might want, Kari had all but become a distant memory.

"I understand ma'am. I'm getting word that they're insisting that you come with them."

"What for?" She asked, extremely agitated at the thought. They hit the ground floor and she could see a crowd forming at the door. She slowed her pace and walked once again with her stoic confidence. Agitated or not, she still had to give the impression of being totally in control.

A few of her patrons stopped in their tracks to stare after her. She gave them her sly grin and continued with Tyson out to the front entrance.

The guards gave way and she came face to face with a large bellied man who took it upon himself to shove his police badge in her face.

She smirked at him and his partner, having seen them both before. "Relax detective, I believe you."

He looked momentarily embarrassed and quickly tucked the badge back into his breast pocket.

"Elizabeth Adams?' He asked loudly, his voice a little raspy.

"Gentleman, you know who I am." She said as she moved them further out of the club. The last thing she needed was the cops creating another scene in front of her paying patrons.

The plump detective started to speak but then fell silent, a little startled at her soft and polite tone.

"Now what's this all about?" She asked, looking at the more attractive and far be it more sensible man standing next to the loud one.

"We need you to come with us please." He said, offering her nothing more.

"And why, gentlemen, would I want to do that?"

The fat man stepped in again. "Because if you don't, we'll arrest you."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the two men wearing bad ties.

"You have a warrant?" She asked, trying to remain calm when what she really wanted to do was tear their heads off. She couldn't believe what she was hearing but yet she wasn't totally surprised. She had her suspicions as to the reason for their presence.

The quieter cop shook his head. "Yes we do."

She turned and looked at her head of security.

"Call my attorney. Tell her I went politely with these gentlemen downtown."

"Yes ma'am." Tyson said, eying the two men carefully before turning to head back into the club.

"Shall we then?" She asked, extending her arm to allow them to lead the way. Then, walking behind them, she clenched her jaw and willed herself to keep her temper in check. She knew had a long night ahead of her.

part 5

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