The Pleasure of Sin (Club X Series Book 1) Read online

  THE PLEASURE OF SIN

  by

  Shauna Hart

  Copyright 2008 by Shauna Hart

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN 978-1-60313-225-1

  Credits

  Editor: Stephanie Parent

  Printed in the United States of America

  WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT

  THE PLEASURE OF SIN

  Author Shauna Hart delivers on this one in a novel that is powerful and intriguing. I was particularly impressed with Ms. Hart's ability to conceal clues under layers of escalating suspense, dangling just enough information to provide constant cliffhangers which enticed me to breathlessly turn page after page with heart in mouth and libido fired up. Readers will thrill to Ms. Hart's revelations of the secret sensual club where members practice in erotic abandon, where voyeurism and anonymous sexuality rule. Mystery vies with sensuality, riveting this reader's attention.

  THE PLEASURE OF SIN is an exciting novel that will captivate readers from first sentence to last. I could not put it aside. Intriguing characters, constantly escalating suspense, lyrical prose, and undercurrents of exotic sensuality make this a don't miss read. Run, do not walk, to your nearest outlet and buy THE PLEASURE OF SIN.

  Recommended Read

  ~Dark Angel Reviews~

  The novel is highly erotic and succeeds well as a mystery. The author gives just enough hints to foreshadow her solution. The New Orleans sex scene was interesting and believable. Shauna Hart does a great job exploring some of our steamier inner de-sires.

  4 out of 5 hearts

  ~The Romance Studio~

  Dedication

  To my husband

  I knew if I waited long enough, my soul mate would appear. That dream came true when I met you.

  You never let me give up on my dreams.

  Thank you for believing in me,

  even when I didn’t believe in myself.

  And to my mom

  Thank you for always telling me that I could do anything. You continue to be an inspiration to me.

  You’ve always been there for me

  through good times and bad, and I love you.

  Chapter 1

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  He threw her roughly across the bed, his body quickly covering hers. Grabbing her wrists, he thrust them high above her head. He ripped the belt from her robe and used it to tie her hands to the headboard. A hint of a smile curved the corners of her mouth. The blindfold she wore blocked out his answering grin. He tore open her robe, exposing her body to the cool air from the overhead fan.

  She gasped.

  Spreading her legs wide with his knees, he bared her silky, wet folds to his view. He drove into her, his hands returning to circle her neck. A startled choking sound escaped as she bucked beneath him. As he tightened his grip, she winced in pain. She struggled against the tight bonds on her arms, her gagging sounds echoing in the small room. He continued to pound into her even as her mouth opened in a scream of panic.

  She jerked in a crude attempt to throw him off, but he held her even tighter. Her body jolted in terror, but he continued, never missing a beat. His tongue slid across the side of her face, one hand coming up to pinch her nipple. She strained against him as a frantic plea left her lips. He let out a hoarse cry of satisfaction as her body went limp.

  * * * *

  Orlando, Florida

  Jade Monroe led the young couple through the house, stopping only to highlight a few key features. “As you can see, it’s a real find. Wood floors, high ceilings—you couldn’t ask for a better deal.”

  They exchanged eager glances, their eyes brimming with possibility. “What are they asking, again?”

  “Two twenty-five and I have to be honest, that is a generous offer. This house could go for two seventy-five easy,” she explained as she walked over to the door.

  “Well, what do you think?” he asked, turning to his wife.

  Jade watched them in quiet anticipation. She knew that look. It was the look of a sale. She envied them, envied the open field of choices they had. Her cell phone began to vibrate in her purse, causing her to move closer to the door.

  “Why don’t you two think about it for a minute? I’ll be right outside,” she suggested, pulling the door open and taking a seat on the front steps.

  She grabbed her cell phone from the side pocket on her purse. “Jade Monroe.”

  “Jade,” her mother whimpered.

  “Momma? What is it?”

  “Your sister…your sister…” she trailed off on a sob.

  Panic raced up her spine at the desperation in her mother’s voice. “Momma, slow down. What’s wrong with Ruby?” she demanded.

  Muffled sounds filled the line before she heard her mother’s tearful reply. “Ruby is dead. The police called this morning!”

  Jade’s heart seemed to stop. She reached for the railing on the front steps, clinging to it as if it could provide some support against the pain. Dead? An image of Ruby when she was younger drifted into Jade’s mind. Ruby was too full of life.

  She couldn’t be dead.

  She just couldn’t be.

  “How?” was all she could manage.

  “They said she was murdered. I just can’t believe it. My beautiful little Ruby.” Her mother’s cries echoed her own internal ones.

  She would never see Ruby again, never laugh with her. The thought robbed the air from her lungs. Tears began to slide down her cheeks. It didn’t seem real. But it was.

  “I won’t rest until I find out what happened to you, Ruby,” she vowed softly.

  * * * *

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Two Weeks Later

  Jade entered the lobby of the New Orleans Police Department determined to get answers. Despite her many calls, the police had provided only a few minute details. The vague information she had gathered on the phone had barely supplied an accurate cause of death. Her sister had been strangled, and then shot.

  After she’d waited for a few minutes, a detective finally came out to greet her.

  “Ms. Monroe, I’m Detective Ambrose,” he said, reaching to shake her hand.

  She couldn’t help but notice that she was a bit taller than him. His brown jacket hung open loosely, his white shirt barely containing his bulging stomach.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Detective.”

  “Why don’t we go into my office?” he invited.

  His hair was combed over in the front, but as he turned to lead her through the hall, she noticed the large bald spot it was covering. Sunlight poured into the small office. She took a seat in front of his desk, her gaze inevitably drawn to the crime scene photos that peaked out of the files on top of it. He quickly gathered them together, placing them on the bureau to his right as he took a seat in front of her.

  “Now, how can I help you, Ms. Monroe?”

  Jade leaned forward in her chair. “I wanted to kn
ow what progress you’ve made on my sister’s case.”

  “Well, unfortunately, not much. Your sister is one of seven people murdered that weekend. We are gathering information, but I’m afraid we are not much further along. The autopsy provided a few clues, though,” he said, reaching for the file. “Apparently, on the night of your sister’s murder, she had intercourse.”

  Jade blanched.

  His lips formed a grim line. “Are you sure you want to hear this, Ms. Monroe?”

  She lifted her chin a notch. “Yes. I want to know what happened to my sister.”

  “Well, when we found her, her arms were tied to the bed,” he explained with a grimace.

  “So, she was raped?” The word fell out of her mouth like a curse.

  He took a deep breath, refusing to meet her intent stare. “Well, we don’t believe that it was rape,” he admitted.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, due to the other items we found in her house, it appears that your sister was involved in bondage,” he elaborated.

  Bondage?

  It wasn’t like she was naïve enough to be ignorant to the fact that some people got off on some pretty strange stuff, but she had no idea that her sister was a part of it.

  At her silence, he continued. “Anyway, considering the fact that there was no forced entry, we think that your sister knew her killer. Unfortunately, the lab was unable to collect any semen samples, which probably means he used a condom. Do you know if your sister was seeing someone?”

  “She never said anything,” she replied softly.

  “Were you aware that she was pregnant?”

  “What?” Jade gripped the arm of the chair tightly.

  Pregnant? Ruby?

  It didn’t seem possible.

  Detective Ambrose nodded. “The lab confirmed that your sister was five weeks along.” At Jade’s look of surprise, he gave her a somber smile. “I take it your sister didn’t share a lot with you.”

  She stared at the top of his desk, her head reeling. Why hadn’t Ruby told her? Ruby had always gone her own way, but…pregnant? Jade tried desperately to maintain focus. “Do you have any suspects?” she managed.

  He shifted uneasily in his chair. “We’ve questioned several people,” he returned evenly.

  “Who?”

  “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss that, ma’am.”

  “But I’m her sister!”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Monroe. I can’t divulge certain facts about the case to you, even if you are family. I promise that I will keep you updated as new developments occur. Are you in town for long?”

  Jade straightened in the chair. “I’m staying in town until I find out who killed my sister,” she informed him sincerely.

  Detective Ambrose bristled. “Ms. Monroe, I wouldn’t recommend that you get involved. You could jeopardize our case.”

  “It doesn’t even sound like you have a case, Detective,” she reminded him, her anger boiling to the surface.

  He took a deep breath. “Like I said, it’s best if you leave the investigating to us. I promise that we are doing everything we can to solve this case.”

  “And, if she was your sister? What then? Could you just sit back and wait?” Jade asked.

  When he didn’t reply, she stood up, heading for the door.

  “Ms. Monroe, please don’t get involved. There’s a very good chance that your sister knew her killer, which means that any dime-store investigating you do could be dangerous,” he instructed firmly.

  Jade turned to face him. “I’ll be in touch,” she replied.

  Chapter 2

  Jade caught a cab to Ruby’s apartment in the French Quarter. She could never understand how her sister felt comfortable living directly above an occult shop, but Ruby said it gave the place a ‘mystical’ feel. When Ruby’s job as a receptionist fell through, she changed gears, deciding to get a job at the shop. She could still remember the day Ruby told her about it.

  * * * *

  “It’s fantastic! The boss can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but he’s okay. I never knew there were so many different beliefs out there.”

  Her smile on the other end of the line was evident.

  Jade shook her head. Despite the best advice she gave to her younger sister, Ruby never seemed to do anything in a conventional way. “Ruby, what about the job you had at the dentist office? I thought things were going well there,” she reasoned.

  “Oh, this is much better. Besides, it was so boring at the dentist office. And those fake sets of teeth all over the office, they freaked me out!”

  Jade couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of her sister being more afraid of plaster teeth than the undead. “Does it pay well, at least?” she inquired, praying for an answer that would soothe her worries.

  “Well, no, not yet,” Ruby admitted softly.

  “Ruby, are you okay? I mean, do you need money?”

  Ruby laughed. “I’m okay. You worry too much.”

  * * * *

  Now, as she stood on the sidewalk in front of the shop, Jade wished she had gotten more information. She stared up at the building for a moment, gathering her strength. Knowing that delaying this moment would not take the sting out of it, she braced herself as she opened the narrow side door with the spare key Ruby had given her on her last visit. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the dimly lit staircase. Refusing to allow herself to stall, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

  Ruby’s scent lingered in the air all around her, and she greedily breathed it in. Tears welled up in her eyes. Light filtered in through the closed drapes as she took a few tentative steps inside. This was the way everything had looked the last time Ruby saw it. Jade couldn’t help the eerie sensation that Ruby would walk through the door at any moment to tell her it was all a big joke. Deep down, she knew it wouldn’t happen, but a part of her liked the fantasy better than the horrible realty.

  A burgundy overstuffed couch sat beneath the windows. Forgotten mail that would never be answered covered the square coffee table. To the right, the small kitchen seemed bare. She pulled open the refrigerator door, and was not surprised to find a half-empty bottle of ketchup and an opened box of baking soda. Menus held up by flowery magnets plastered the front of the refrigerator door.

  Jade’s eyes were inevitably drawn to the narrow hallway that led to the bedroom. She hesitated for a moment, unable to move. That was where it had happened. The thought of being in the room where her sister had taken her last breath made her stomach feel hollow. She walked down the hallway, closing the bedroom door without looking inside. She took a few steps to the bathroom to lean over the sink. Splashing water on her face, she took a couple of deep breaths.

  This was going to be harder than she’d thought.

  She had known from the beginning that this trip wasn’t going to be easy. She just hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to feel surrounded by Ruby, knowing she was gone. After she recovered some composure, she walked back into the living room. The first thing she would need to do if she was going to be here for any length of time was to go to the grocery store. Then she could begin the chore of packing Ruby’s things. If she kept herself busy enough, she wouldn’t have time to think about what had happened here. She grabbed her purse, locking the door behind her and walking down to the street.

  After her tasks were completed, she decided to stop at the shop where Ruby worked. A purple sign that read ‘Mystical Notions’ hung over the narrow doorway. Jade pushed the door open, causing a little bell to jingle, announcing her arrival. She glanced around at the varied items that lined the shelves. Occult books littered the wall to the left, while candles and incense were neatly displayed to the right. Crystals hung from the ceiling, and pictures of magicians decorated the walls.

  She walked over to the counter, looking at the jewelry displayed in the glass case. A woman appeared just beyond the side door. She took another bite of her sandwich, stashing it in the side room before c
oming out to greet Jade.

  “Can I help you?”

  Her jet-black hair hung low on her back, almost reaching her buttocks. Her blue eyes were shrouded in a vat of black mascara, and her skin was caked with white makeup. The long black dress she wore billowed around her legs as she turned the corner to stand behind the counter.

  “I’m Jade Monroe, Ruby’s sister. I’m here to pick up her things,” she offered with a smile.

  A stricken look clouded her face. “Just one moment.”

  She disappeared into a back room, leaving Jade alone. Jade could never understand how Ruby could work in a place like this every day, but Ruby loved every minute of it. She would say, “Not everything is so black and white. You need to experience more of life. Broaden your horizons!” Jade would laugh, feeling that Ruby’s horizons could definitely stand a reigning in.

  If only she’d known then what would happen.

  A man appeared in front of her; his gray shirt held an obvious mustard stain directly above his stomach. His blue jeans were old and tattered, and his greasy brown hair was pulled in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

  “Ms. Monroe, I’m the owner of the shop, Lloyd Tomlinson. We were all real sorry to hear about Ruby. I have her things in the back.”

  As he guided her through the hall to the back room, a woman stuck her head between the partitioned curtains, her gaze focusing on Jade. Jade stared at her for a moment before following him into a small room in the back that seemed to serve as a break room. A small kitchenette was conveniently placed to the right, equipped with a sink and microwave, while a table and four chairs sat in the center of the room.

  “Here are Ruby’s things,” he offered, picking up a paper bag marked ‘Ruby.’ He sat it on the table in front of her.