Electrified(39)

Then there was the man she was arranged to marry. No love and affection lost there. Her husband was the type of man her parents wanted for her—a religious man from a wealthy family with good standing in the community who would provide her with the best. She was expected to make a life and babies with him. Her parents demanded nothing less.

On paper, Elon Finder had been the perfect match for Lila Dasher. He was well-learned and devout like her father, and came from a much wealthier family, one that would help elevate her parents’ status. Unfortunately he was one of five sons, and desperately wanted to be the center of attention.

Marrying Lila was one way to get that attention, for procuring a wife enabled him to secure the reins of the family business. Lila was pretty back then, took care of herself, and was considered a good catch in their community. Yet Elon acted like he’d won a prize at a carnival when he brought Lila around his family.

He didn’t seem to realize that she wasn’t actually a stuffed animal, and it hurt when he threw her around. The pushing and shoving left marks. There was a reason she was dry and never ready, making sex hurt. Pain didn’t turn her on, neither did verbal slights. In this respect, they definitely weren’t a perfect match.

But that life was behind her now. Lila was Sienna, and she needed to stay true to character, which meant not getting involved. Being Sienna meant she was safe. Underneath it all she was lonely, but that was a small price to pay for living a long life.

She didn’t have to be lonely, though. Why not explore the character of Sienna a little deeper with Carson? Sexy Sienna gets some…it made her giggle to herself just thinking about it.

Carson wouldn’t be around forever. He had a job to do and a case to solve. There were probably dozens of other cases waiting for him, and he didn’t live out west. He was a prime candidate for testing the waters. For all she knew, he could be married back home, despite what he’d said. A lot of men ditched their wedding bands when they came to Vegas; everyone knew that.

Being with Carson would soothe her growing isolation, and becoming more social would get Asher and Mike off her back. Plus, she might learn a thing or two. It was a smart move to test the waters with someone who wasn’t local, a man she would never see again when it was over.

She stood up from the chaise and went to the full-length mirror framed in lights. She stared at her reflection for a very long time, marking the differences from years ago, noticing her pulse quicken in her neck with her most recent thoughts of Carson, and wondering what was going to become of her. Examining her full lips, natural breasts, and slim yet shapely hips, she tried to instill some type of resolve to stop what was happening because it was dangerous. Extremely.

Get real, girl…he’s ex-FBI. The man works on big, important cases, and is only interested in my girl parts. Sienna told herself she was safe; there were no worries concerning him and her past.

With that thought in mind, Sienna found a fresh fortitude to make a move for herself, go after the man, and started to get ready to wow the crowd so she could get back to the main task at hand. As she was doing her makeup for the millionth time that evening, perfecting her cat eyes with sultry black glitter, adding a touch of sparkle to her high cheekbones, and dusting her chest and shoulders with even more shine, she silently wished one of the girls would pop back and tell her what the floor was like.

And that Carson was out there.

Flipping through her outfits, Sienna realized she sort of wished she was dressing for Carson. Geez, stop it; you told him not to come tonight. After choosing a silver bustier and matching thong with a few crystals on the front, Sienna was contemplating red or pink patent stacked platform Mary Janes when Sydney knocked softly and then just barged into the dressing room.

“Hey, Sie, we have a huge bachelor party tonight. Petal is bringing down the house, reeling in the big bucks on the floor, and she asked me to go on with her again later tonight before your second act.” Sydney bounced around the dressing room as she delivered her report, and squealed, “Sweet!” as she picked up one of Sienna’s costumes to admire it.

“Sounds great,” Sienna told her as she finished applying her makeup. “You two were awesome last night. A big hit!”

“I know, right?” Sydney gave her a huge smile. “It was so much fun. There’s always such an energy in the room before Sienna Flower takes the stage. Oh, by the way, seated right next to the bachelor party is a Sienna stalker. Keeps asking when you’re going on.”

This caught her full attention, and she paused brushing on eye shadow to look at Sydney directly. “What did you say, sweetie?”