Under the Big Top Read online

  Under the Big Top

  Copyright © April 2010, Dahlia Rose

  Cover art by Anastasia Rabiyah © April 2010

  Amira Press

  Baltimore, MD21216

  www.amirapress.com

  ISBN: 978-1-936279-16-6

  No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.

  Dedication

  For my sister Crystal and my sweet nieces Alexia and Cheyvonne. (My two Patooties).

  Between the four us there’s enough childlike love and laughter to last a lifetime!

  Chapter One

  “Welcome to the greatest high flying show this side of the Mason Dixon Line! Le Femme Volant Carnival!”

  The ringmaster yelled into the microphone, and the crowd cheered. All the different performers came through the billowing red curtains and into in the middle of the sawdust ring. They twirled flaming batons while people in colorful costumes flipped and did cartwheels or stood on the backs of elephants. Children screamed in delight. Oohs and aahs came from the crowd while they performed. Cole Maxwell rolled his eyes and put a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth. He was in a little rinky-dink town, looking at a B class circus trying to find the person he was searching for. It had to be some kind cosmic joke that he would be here, of all places.

  Every year it was the same damn thing. She’d take off, and he’d have to find her. One would think the monotony of his job would get tiresome, but not to him. Each year the chase became more complex. She became harder to find, and the game they played was more like an obsession to him. He always found her and took her back home, and she always hated him for it. This time, his runner girl had outdone herself joining a circus that was always on the move. It had taken him three months to finally track her and her new identity down. This time, his taste of victory was so much sweeter. It was worth sitting on wooden benches with the smell of elephants and horses in his nostrils.

  The show progressed, and Cole found himself getting irritated. It was long and mediocre. He wanted to see her, to find out what she was doing. Probably in the back playing with kittens, he thought with a smirk. Cole had the sneaking suspicion he was going to be proven wrong.

  The entire tent went dark, and the drum roll started. The crowd went silent, as if holding their breath for what was to come. Cole found himself doing the same when the spotlight was directed into the center of the ring and there stood a woman dressed in a silver gossamer body suit that clung to every curve of her body. Around her waist was a strip of cloth that ran straight up to wires in the ceiling. The crowd cheered when she raised her hand and waved. She turned slowly so everyone in the audience could see her. When she finally faced him, Cole choked on the popcorn he had put in his mouth. It was her! Juliette London, daughter to Randolph London, and one of the richest women in the world.

  “Holy Mother of God!” Cole whispered in horror. If her father saw her now he would go postal. This time she has gone too far, Cole thought while he watched. Fear gripped his heart as she was lifted from the ground and the music started. If she didn’t fall, he was going to kill her himself for being so careless with her own wellbeing.

  The rhythm of a sexy drum beat filled the air, conjuring thoughts of humid days in some tropical paradise. Juliette twined herself up in the fabric before spinning downward and stopping at the final moment. The crowd gasped, and all eyes were fixed on her movements high off the ground. Cole watched in fascination. Each movement of her body was sensual and languid. His temperature shot up when she turned herself upside down and spread her legs with pointed toes.

  Her balance was amazing. Cole felt dread leave his body and desire replace it, for every movement she made tempted him to touch. Her skin was like whipped chocolate under that silver body suit. He remembered she was creamy to the touch, and her taste was as addictive as some kind of drug. Cole knew all of this because, while chasing her year after year, they’d sampled each other like craving people who were starved for nourishment. Theirs was a long, complicated battle of will, sexual conquest, and love. Yes, Cole knew he loved Juliette with all his being and, for him, no other would do. But she was out of his league, the daughter of a tycoon, with a wild streak. When it ended, she would go back to socialite life and debutante parties and then marry someone from that lifestyle. And he would be left chasing down some other rich, spoiled child. Without her in his life, he would be empty, but she would never know that.

  The crowd’s roaring applause brought him back to the present. She slid down the fabric rope like she’d been born doing it and bowed to the crowd before she walked backstage. Cole moved from his seat and quickly left the red and white striped tent. He caught a flash of her costume heading behind a yellow camper, and he went in that direction. Around him, people paid no mind. They were all getting ready for their act or getting ready to sell concessions to the audience after the show. This would make it easier for him to find her and get her to the car and back to New York where she belonged.

  He rounded the camper quickly and, instead of seeing Juliette, a loud honk filled his ears, and a clown in a brightly-colored costume jumped out in front of him. Without hesitation, he pulled his gun and aimed it at the clown’s head.

  “Hey, whoa man, wait. I’m a man under the make up!” The clown backed away with his hands held up in defense.

  “Uh-huh,” Cole muttered.

  “Blinky, it’s all right. He won’t shoot you. He has a thing about clowns.” Her consoling voice came from the steps of the caravan. He looked up to see her standing there, beautiful in sparkling silver. “Cole, put the gun down. Blinky is harmless.”

  “Like I’m going to trust someone named Blinky.” Cole trained his attention back on the performer in clown makeup and a big, red nose. “Hello, Juliette. You had to pick here, huh?”

  “His real name is Alvin, and he’s an artist,” Juliette explained. “I thought it would be a kick to try this out and not for you to pull a gun on my friend.”

  “Hey, buddy, I’m as harmless as a mouse.” Blinky AKA Alvin used his clown voice and squeaked his nose again.

  “I will shoot you, freako,” Cole growled. “Don’t tempt me.”

  Juliette sighed and stepped down two more steps. She pushed Cole’s gun hand down. “Blinky, I’m fine. I’ll catch you in the food tent after the show. Me and my friend here have some things to discuss.”

  Blinky nodded and walked away slowly, watching Cole who raised an eyebrow at him.

  “So, I thought you would have found me way sooner than this.” Juliette grinned.

  “You were good this time. I have to admit, you thought it out well,” Cole commented. “When are you going to stop this crap, Juliette? Your dad’s old, and you need to step up to the plate.”

  “Save me the lectures, Cole. You can be sure that there are a bunch of people who could take over the reins of the business from my dad.” Juliette turned and walked up the few steps.

  “I can’t keep chasing you forever,” Cole replied.

  Juliette opened the door of the camper before turning to face him. “Maybe if you would catch me, I wouldn’t run away. Did you ever think of that?”

  Cole caught the underlying meaning of her words. “Damn it, Juliette. Just get your things and let’s get out of this place.”

  “Not this time, Cole,” Juliette answered. “Are you coming in?”

  She walked inside, not looking back to see if he would follow her. She knew he would even if it was only to convince her to come home.

  He didn’t know what she meant by not this time, but it couldn’t be anything good. Cole sighed and went up the steps to the opened door. “I
hate clowns,” he muttered before closing the sounds of the carnival out by shutting the door.

  * * * *

  Cole is here! Juliette’s heart jumped with delight, but also she felt the pain of heartache. She ran, he chased her, they made love, then he left, and so the cycle repeated over the years. It was a simple thing. She loved him. Never once in all that time had she denied her feelings for him, but he always pulled back, and she never knew why. Sometimes she swore she saw love in his eyes, and then it was gone in a flash back behind that wall he built so high. This time, it was going to be different. They were not going anywhere until they hashed it all out.

  Juliette looked at his large frame as he stood there dominating her small camper. His hair was pitch black, longer at the nape, and she could still feel it between her fingers. His dark eyes always reminded her of a storm. Any thoughts she had to question him about his unhappiness were always lost when those lips kissed her and drove all sense from her head. With his sexy, brooding look, any woman would say he could play the bad boy with a soul in any movie. He had been hers from the first time he took her to the heights of passion. Juliette was the one he came to find, but over the years, it seemed he was the one running away from her.

  “Okay, so what are we doing, Juliette? Hmmm? Do you need me to help you pack?” Cole looked around skeptically. “It doesn’t seem like you took much with you this time. This is certainly not the Astoria like last time.”

  “Last time I was working there as a maid,” Juliette casually pointed out.

  “But you lived in the penthouse suite under the name of Camille Von Lipschin,” Cole shot back.

  “Yeah, well, I hated Arizona. Too dry,” Juliette countered.

  “Oh, Tennessee is so much better.” Cole blew out a frustrated sigh. “Jewels, why do you keep doing this?”

  She was pleased to hear he still used the nickname he’d given her. “Why do you keep coming after me?”

  “Damn it, stop answering a question with a question,” he shouted.

  “You stop acting like it’s such a hardship for you to be here!” Juliette shouted back.

  They stood in silence for only a minute before they were in each other’s arms and their lips locked in a fierce kiss. Juliette moaned in pleasure when his tongue delved into her mouth, taking, tasting, and devouring her. It was always like this. No prelude, just flash heat like the lava from a volcano burning her from the inside out. Without breaking their kiss, he reached to the back of her costume for a way to free her from its confines. He growled in frustration when he found none. She knew how he felt. She wanted his hands all over her. Juliette tried to pull away, but he held her tight, cupping her to him until she could feel his hard cock pressing against her.

  “Let me . . . let me get out of it, Cole,” she whispered against his lips.

  “No, not letting you go.” That was his reply. “What are you wearing under this thing?”

  “Nothing.”

  He moaned his approval while his lips traveled down her neck and his hands went to the collar of her body suit. With what seemed to be barely a tug, the material tore under his hands, and he kept tearing until the rip was down to the apex of her thighs. She shrugged out of the torn outfit the best she could. His lips were at her breast, pulling the nipple deeply into his mouth and sending pleasure to her core. Juliette couldn’t help but cry out. His hands were everywhere, cupping, stroking, and when he slipped his hands between her legs and penetrated her pussy, her knees buckled from the onslaught of desire.

  “No, you stand. Feel what I’m doing to you, Jewels,” he ordered. His fingers pushed deeper inside her, and it unleashed her orgasm.

  Juliette gasped. “Oh God, Cole! More, make me come again!”

  He lifted her on the counter of the small kitchenette in the camper and stripped the rest of her costume off before tossing it aside. He knelt between her legs, and his lips pressed against her pussy, licking between the soft folds and tasting her clit. He lifted her head, and their eyes met. His were filled with desire. Cole kept her gaze as he slipped his finger inside her again. Juliette threw her head back and moaned low in her throat. He always knew how to take her. He made her want to be tied up on the bed and fucked over and over just by him. Every time she’d thought of him over the last year, lustful wanton thoughts came along with it. She needed him in every way, and this was one of them.

  “Look at me, Jewels,” he commanded. With parted lips, panting as her pleasure built, she met his eyes. “You like when I fuck you with my fingers, don’t you, darling?”

  “Oh yes,” Juliette responded. She knew this game and relished it. “I like it very much.”

  With fast movements, he used his digits, touching that spot to make her cry out. “Has anyone else had you, Juliette? Have you given away what’s mine?”

  Juliette lifted her hips to meet his fingers. “Only you, Cole. I’ve only had you!”

  “Good girl,” he crooned softly. “Are you going to come for me, baby?”

  “Yes, yes, yes!” She cried out and, while her body arched off the counter, she came as glorious sensations raced through her body.

  Cole got up quickly from between her legs and stripped. His cock sprung free as he pushed his boxers down his legs. She was always so amazed at how thick and long he was, and almost hesitant of taking him inside her the first time. Not anymore. She anticipated him by spreading her legs wider when he lifted her from the counter, and he impaled her wet pussy on his rigid shaft. Juliette pressed her lips against his neck to taste his musk against her tongue and to muffle her scream of ecstasy. He filled her over and over again. His thick cock pulsated inside her with each thrust.

  “Where’s the bed?” he asked between panting breaths.

  She pointed behind her, unable to speak, and he strode there with her wrapped around him. He laid her on the bed and lifted her knees up to her chest before plunging his cock inside her again. Juliette looked at him. He watched his rod move in and out of her slowly, as if savoring the scene before him. It turned her on to see him watching their joined bodies mate. Juliette reached up and caressed his chest, pulled him to her so she could kiss him. She locked her legs around his waist, and their tempo increased while their mouths fused in passion. She could feel the crest of her orgasm begin to build. Her hips lifted, and she frantically met his every thrust with her own feverish pace.

  “Come with me, Cole!” she cried out, and held him to her.

  “I’m there with you, Jewels, all the way.”

  Their orgasm took them over the threshold of reality. Cole thrust into her over and over again, prolonging the pleasure until they were both spent. He rolled away, pulling her into his arms while they both tried to catch their breath.

  “I want to make a deal with you, Cole,” Juliette said long after they had made love and were lying drowsily in each other’s arms.

  “I have to take you back, Juliette. You know that’s how it has to be,” Cole replied.

  “Yes, I know that, but when is another question.” Juliette raised her head to look into his dark eyes. “One week, Cole. Stay in Tennessee with me for one week. Let’s see what happens for more than two nights rolling in bed and satisfying the itch we have for each other.”

  “And if I say no?” he asked.

  “Why should you unless you are scared to feel something?” Juliette sat up, not knowing how to make him see past whatever hang up he had about them being together. After the pleasure of what they just shared, she felt frustration rise in its wake. “I dare you to stay, and if after the week, you still want to leave and act like we’re just fuck buddies, I’ll go with you, and I’ll promise you one thing.”

  “What’s that one thing, Jewels?” Cole asked softly.

  She met his stare, hoping he could see how serious she was and the truth of her words. “It will be the last time you have to chase me because I will never run again. That will be my promise.”

  “Okay then. I’ll stay for one week.” He pulled her head down f
or a kiss to deal the deal.

  Before the fog his kiss created in her mind took hold, Juliette wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life, forcing him to confront their relationship instead of the dancing around the way they had been doing for a year. She couldn’t sell herself short any longer. She loved Cole, and she had to play her cards and put all her chips in. To win at love or lose him forever.

  Chapter Two

  One week in Salvation, Tennessee. Cole wondered what he had gotten himself into when he’d agreed to Juliette’s terms. He could see the merit of staying because, after he got her home, the chase would be over. But that scared him as well because if the chase was over, his worst fears would come true. She would be gone from his life for good. He was between a rock and a hard place, or in his case, a rock and the sexy body of Juliette curled up next to him asleep. She was shorter than him, and while she fit the small bed in the camper perfectly, his legs were off the bed and going numb. If he was staying, they would have to find better accommodations. He felt like a giant living in a breadbox.

  Juliette stirred beside him and nestled her head against his chest. “Are you awake, Cole?”

  “Uh-huh, I woke up when my legs fell asleep,” Cole answered, and she giggled. “We need to discuss better sleeping arrangements.”

  “Already taken care of.” Juliette yawned and stretched. “There is a room booked at the bed and breakfast with your name on it.”

  “Good, I hope you’re packed. We’ll be heading there,” Cole replied. He was ready to be out of this circus and the smell of animals that filtered into the mobile home. But he took the time to kiss the chocolate skin of her shoulder.

  “Stop being a diva. This place is really nice. Besides, you’re staying at the hotel. I’m staying here.” Juliette got up and pulled on a robe over her naked skin as well as some slippers. “I’m hungry. Let’s go to the food tent and get something to eat.”