She eyed him suspiciously. "Then you'll be back?"
The hesitation in his eyes made her hurt for him. He drew a deep breath before he spoke. "I'll be back."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
She kissed the tip of his nose, hoping he was being honest with her. "I'm going to hold you to that."
Ash swallowed. She didn't have to. Once he made a promise, he was bound by the laws of the universe to see it through or die. "Rest until I get back." He gave her a deep kiss.
Tory melted at the feeling of his arm around her while he cupped her cheek with his other hand and ravaged her mouth.
He pulled back and drew another deep breath as if fighting for the strength to leave her.
She smiled at him. "Don't make me wait too long."
He nodded as he left her to dress.
Tory pulled her clothes on before she went outside again to find Justina and Katherine back at their chairs. Heat rushed over her cheeks until she remembered that the room was completely insulated from noise. "Can I borrow your cell phone?"
Justina pulled it out and handed it to her.
She called Pam. "Hey sweetie . . . no I'm fine. I'm at the Sanctuary Bar over on Ursulines. Any chance I can get you two over here?"
"Sure. We'll be right there."
Tory hung up the phone and returned it to Justina. "Just FYI, I'm going to head out for a few minutes, but I'll be right back."
Katherine's expression turned stern and immovable. "You're not going anywhere without us. We're under strictest orders to keep you safe at all costs."
Ash . . . she could almost beat him for it, but then again that protectiveness was part of what she adored about him the most. At least sometimes.
Unwilling to fight, Tory held her hands up. "Fine. Just don't tell Ash. We'll slip out and be back before he finishes the next set."
Katherine didn't look convinced. "I'm not so sure about this."
"Oh, come on. It's just around the block a bit. We'll be fine. Besides forewarned is forearmed. We know to watch for them."
Katherine was still resisting.
"I trust her," Justina said. "She's stubborn, but not stupid. Tory wouldn't do this if she really thought there was a problem."
Katherine finally relented. "All right. So where are we going?"
Tory grinned. "It's a surprise."
Tory hesitated in the doorway of the overly bright store. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all . . . She looked over her shoulder at Pam who was proudly sporting her most prized possession, her vintage 1984 Duran Duran tour T-shirt.
"I don't know about this place. Isn't there another, less . . . um, extreme place to shop?"
Pam pushed her forward, into the store. "Oh shush, get inside. This is one of my favorite places and it's perfect for what you want."
Which didn't really endear it to Tory since Pam's fashion sense was the polar opposite of her own. While she was sedate, Pam was outrageous.
Kim pushed her from behind while Justina and Katherine opted to stay outside on Bourbon Street. "Come on, people, we're blocking the exit. Fire hazard here."
Tory's eyes widened as she went deeper into Pandora's Box, which was covered with spiked black leather corsets and teddys. All kinds of sex toys and pasties. Oh my word! She might be adventurous, but really, some of this stuff was just too much for her . . . like the men's bikini briefs that held an elephant's trunk where a certain piece of male anatomy would be. "I thought we were going to the little lingerie store on the corner."
"This is so much better." Pam pulled her to a display of edible panties.
Tory cringed at the thought of putting something like that on—would Ash even like it? "I'm not ready for all of this. Can't we ease me in slowly?"
Pam scoffed. "You're such a prude! How can a woman who lives to base jump cringe over edible panties?"
"Cause no one sees my panties when I base jump and they certainly don't eat them off me."
Pam gave an evil laugh. "Believe me, the panties are a lot more fun than base jumping. And given Ash's height, think of it more like pole vaulting." She wagged her eyebrows playfully.
Tory rolled her eyes.
"How about this?" Kim held up a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs. "These could be fun . . . ooo and look at the sex dice. You get to roll for positions and acts."
"Hi, can I help you guys?"
Tory turned around to find a woman not much shorter than her with long auburn hair and a very round, pregnant body. Dressed all in black, she had a spiked purple collar that was decorated with chains and amethysts. She smiled as Pam turned to greet her. "Hey girl, how did those whips work out for you?"
Pam beamed with pride. "Like a charm, until we broke up. Men suck."
The woman winked evilly. "Yes, but that's when we love them best."
Pam laughed. "Tabitha Magnus, meet my best friend Tory Kafieri."
Tabitha sucked her breath in sharply as she wrinkled her face up and waved her hand in a kill gesture at her throat. "Ex-nay on the Greek ame-nay. Hubby's in the backroom doing taxes and he has a mental problem with all things Greek."