“Is something wrong?” I stand and adjust my robe.
Rather than focus on my face, his attention drops to my chest. Gross. “Yeah, you’re not going on tonight.”
“But—” I scan the room, then lean in closer and lower my voice. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Special request came in for you. Got a customer who wants some private time.”
I don’t even have to consider it before I shake my head. “No.”
He shrugs. “I’ve been paid to keep you off that stage. And we’ll both get paid more if you go in and give this guy his private show.”
I narrow my eyes. “Who?”
He digs his hands into his pockets and rolls back on his heels. “We’ll call him Mr. Ten Grand.”
“TenGrand?” I shout. My heart rate shoots up. And I’d get what, five of that?But what does a man willing to pay ten grand expect?
I shake my head again. I can’t, no matter how tempting. It’s bad enough dancing on a stage. In a private room, I’d have to give a lap dance at a minimum. And if this man is willing to pay ten grand, I can’t imagine he’ll be satisfied with the minimum. “Sorry, I can’t.”
Eyes narrowed, he straightens. “I’ll go forty-sixty with you.”
Heart rate picking up, I shake my head.
“Thirty-seventy. It’s my best offer. You’ll walk out of here with seven thousand dollars under the table. You understand what you could do with that money? All the guy wants to do is talk.”
My stomach bottoms out. “What?”
He sways on his toes again. “Yup. Just wants to talk. And then you and I will be ten thousand dollars richer.”
All I have to do is talk? Seriously? This place has cameras in the private rooms, and they’re well-monitored. So just talking? I could do that. And that amount of money would ensure I don’t ever have to come into a place like this again. So long as I keep my head on straight and don’t get wooed by any more older men. And so long as I keep my distance from my evil mother.
I lean in close. “No, I’ll be seven thousand dollars richer. You’ll only be three.”
Eyes lighting up, he coughs out a laugh. “You sure you want to quit after tonight? You’ve got the balls to make it here.”
Smiling, I pat his shoulder and skirt around him. “And after my little talk, I’ll never have to set foot in here again.”
As Steele, one of the club’s bouncers, leads me toward the back where the private rooms are located, I breathe through my nose, willing my nerves to settle. Men have the weirdest fetishes. What the hell kind of conversation is worth ten grand?
“Don’t go far,” I tell Steele.
When he nods, I turn toward the door, reminding myself that I’m safe. That he and the other guys will ensure it. But then he pushes the door open for me, and I come face to face with Camden, and I realize no one can protect me from this.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I mutter.
He looks disgustingly good in a pair of dark jeans and a black T-shirt, his muscles and the tattoos on his arms on full display. At the sound of my voice, he snaps up straight and zeroes in on me.
“Savannah,” he breathes, his entire being shuddering.
The sound of his voice, the not so quiet desperation and relief stitched into every syllable, causes my heart to flip. Without my permission, my body angles his way. I nearly stumble forward, the baser parts of me wanting the comfort that felt so familiar and real only a week ago.
He takes a step in my direction.
“Don’t.” I hold up a hand, that single word coming out like a sob.
He flinches, his eyes flashing in the dim lights. “I’m not going to hurt you, baby girl.”
Pain lances my chest, making it hard to breathe. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to walk in here and buy me and then call mebaby girl.”
