Vegas, Baby: The Complete Series by Fiona Davenport
1
Julian
As an illusionist, magician, escape artist—or whatever people chose to call me—I often used the audience in my act. For this reason, the lights shining on the stage were carefully positioned so that they would not be blinding. Which meant I had a pretty clear view of the people filling the seats.
When my eyes swept over the crowd, they stopped on a woman seated on the left aisle of the orchestra section about twenty rows back from the stage. I would know her anywhere. Long and wavy brown hair, a curvy body with fantastic tits that I just knew would more than fill my hands, plump lips that begged for me to nibble them, a cute dimple in her chin, and though I couldn’t see them from this distance, I knew she possessed beautiful emerald green eyes. Anna Chapel.
I’d been drooling over Anna since she was hired as the assistant marketing director for the Lennox Hotel and Casino a month ago. Ever since I saw her standing with the owner, Drew, and his wife, Autumn, at the back of the theater during a rehearsal, one thought had been pinging around in my brain and thundering in my chest with every beat of my heart.
She was mine.
I couldn’t seem to hide my feelings whenever I was near her, and perhaps that was the reason she tried so hard to avoid me. Getting her alone so that I could convince her she was made for me was proving more difficult than I’d expected. Now, she was sitting in the audience at my show, and something inside me was whispering that this was my chance.
Suddenly, the man in the seat next to her leaned over and said something that made them both smile. Jealousy raged inside me, and it took everything I had in me not to rush down there and wipe that grin off his face. Anna’s smiles belonged to me. Not some douchebag with a five-dollar haircut and a cheap suit.
The professional in me kept me in check...just barely. I returned my focus to the show and the last part of the act. The plan was to perform an illusion where I was lowered into a tank of water, and after a few minutes of struggling, I would calmly walk through the glass sopping wet. Then I’d have my assistant bang on the glass with a sledgehammer to prove it was an intact piece of bulletproof glass. Finally, the glass would be lifted and the water would rush out, covering both of us, but after being hit with the wall of liquid, I was suddenly completely dry, and my assistant was drenched.
However, when my eyes strayed over to Anna once more, an idea sprang to life. It was perfect. I walked to the edge of the stage and swept my gaze over the crowd, drawing them in, something I’d always had a talent for. “As you probably know”—I smirked at the audience—“I have a reputation for my creativity and intricate shows.” I held up my hands in a surrender pose and winked at the audience. “Not being cocky, I swear. It’s the truth.” The audience snickered, and I gave them a bow with a dramatic flourish. “However, my love for magic started very young, with the basics, and sometimes, I wonder why nobody does the old tricks anymore.” I took a few steps backward as I spoke and signaled to one of my assistants, Amy, who was standing in the wings just off stage right. She trotted out, and I muted my mic while I explained what I wanted. Her brows rose, but she spun around and hurried off to fulfil my request. Giving the audience my attention once more, I said, “These tricks are simple but no less magical, and I think you guys are an audience who would appreciate them. Am I right?”
They clapped and whistled with enthusiasm. “How about a good, old-fashioned disappearing act?” I asked as Amy returned, pushing a tall, red, wooden box with two doors onto the stage. Since I was permanently based at the Lennox and had a long contract, I was able to accumulate all kinds of props and tricks, allowing me to have variety without worrying how I would lug it all to the next venue. I had been telling the truth about my love for the magic throughout history, and the disappearing box was actually an antique I’d acquired from the grandson of a long-retired magician.
Once the box was set in place, I opened the doors, spun it around, and then climbed in and went out the back, so they could see that it was empty. Then I wandered downstage and grinned at the audience. “Now, I need a volunteer…” At least half of the hands in the crowd shot up, and the rest of the audience laughed and clapped. I pretended to scan through each section with interest, supposedly considering everyone. After a thorough sweep, I allowed my eyes to land on Anna.
The douchebag sitting beside her leaned in again, this time touching her arm, and I struggled to stay in performance mode. All I wanted was to rip that prick limb from limb while warning him to stay the fuck away from my woman. However, I was a professional, and years of training kept my expression engaging and my showmanship firmly in place. Although, I may have stomped down the steps and up the aisle a little harder than necessary.
Stopping in front of Anna, I held out my hand. She looked like a deer in headlights for a moment, before looking around frantically as though trying to find a means of escape. I didn’t fight the wicked grin that stole over my face when she realized I had her cornered. Her choices were to take my hand or be a spoilsport and deny my request. I knew she wouldn’t do that because it wouldn’t look good for the hotel if an employee refused to participate. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in mine, and I nearly sighed at the feeling of rightness that traveled up my arm and warmed my chest. I helped her to her feet but didn’t move back so she was almost plastered up against my body.
I contemplated taking advantage of our position to steal a kiss but then decided I didn’t want our first kiss to be in front of an audience. Not only because there was a very real chance she might slap me, but because I was fairly certain that if she responded with a fraction of the desire I felt for her, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop.
Just being near her had my cock swelling, and her gold wrap dress—which clung to her fantastic rack and made her legs look endless—was only making it worse. Luckily, I wore loose pants on stage so that I had a free range of motion. Hopefully, it would hide the state of my arousal from the seven hundred or so eyes glued to me.
I led her back to the steps and up onto the stage. “Are you ready?” I asked, and she glared at me before smiling at the audience and nodding. “Step right in here,” I instructed before helping her into the box. Before shutting the door, I muted my mic and whispered instructions to Anna. Once she was secured inside, I rotated the box a few times and moved it around to show there was no trap door. Finally, I grinned mischievously and shouted, “Abracadabra!” The audience chuckled. “I figured I might as well go totally old-school,” I joked.
I opened the front door to show them an empty box, then stepped inside and pushed open the back one. The audience applauded, and I bowed before shrugging and giving them a wink. “See? Simple or not, it’s all magic, right?” I shut the rear door and winked at Anna who’d gone through the center section, similar to a people-sized doggy door. She’d stood on nails that acted as footholds and when the door had swung open, she’d been hidden by the front one. Then I went around to the front and shut it as well. Normally, I would reopen the doors and show that she had returned, having crawled back through the smaller door. However, this time, I latched the front door, walked around to the back, and secured that one as well. Including the small escape door. As I sauntered around and headed downstage, I lifted my chin to Amy, and she jogged over to me. I whispered for her to take the box to my dressing room, and she gave me an odd look but did as she was told and wheeled it off stage.
“Okay, okay, back to the fancy stuff,” I announced with a crooked grin. “Thanks for indulging my nostalgia.”
I proceeded to end the show with a finale that proved why I was considered one of the best in my field. The audience went wild, and I took a final bow before jogging off stage. Ignoring everyone who called out to me and stepping around anyone who got in my way, I was filled with a single-minded purpose. When I reached my dressing room, I put my hand on the knob but stopped before twisting it. Drawing in a deep breath, I attempted to calm down so my control wouldn’t snap. The action calmed my heart rate somewhat, but it didn’t do anything for the steel rod fighting a battle with my zipper.
Finally, I opened the door and stepped into the room. The shouting and banging coming from the large, red container drew a chuckle from my lips. Quickly, I flipped the lock on my door, then stalked over to where my woman was waiting for me. I licked my lips in anticipation as I lifted the latch and set my tigress free. She tumbled out and right into my arms. I couldn’t have planned it any better. Anna opened her mouth, probably to continue yelling, but I didn’t give her the chance before slamming my mouth down over hers.