Chapter Two
The man didn’tsmile at me; he never did. The intensity of his gaze was enough to draw me in. Dark. Haunted. And a bit melancholy. But I wasn’t there to psychoanalyze him. I swayed my hips to the music and forced myself to whirl away from his hungry stare. I had every intention of thanking him for his gifts, but first he needed to see I wasn’t a ripe peach, fresh for the plucking.
I hoisted myself on the pole, hooking my ankles around the cool metal, and spun, holding on with one hand. Lights and colors flashed, and I could hear the clapping and whistles. When I landed on my feet and stood, arms raised, hips gyrating, I knew where the handsome stranger would be—his usual seat in the corner, back to the wall. James had already sent over a bottle of scotch, and he sat sipping from the glass.
Our eyes connected, and he quirked a dark brow but didn’t smile. Flirting wasn’t in our repertoire. From the start, our connection was different than any I had with my other customers. I was here to do my job—to make him happy so he would spend his money, which in turn made James happy. Still, as his eyes raked me over with a predatory gaze, I couldn’t help the thrill running through me, lighting me up inside. No one could deny it was a turn-on to be wanted like that.
Cort’s lasso draped over my shoulder, and I jumped. “What’re you doing?”
“Is that him?” His hips pumped, smile shining bright, but I heard the stone-cold tone of his voice. “The big guy in the corner? Jesus. He looks like he wants to eat you whole.”
At his words I shivered. “Yeah. He’s been a steady for months now. Nothing further than a few lap dances until last time, when he sent me the hundred-dollar jock and these imported oils. Expensive shit.”
“So now he thinks he can fuck you?” Cort’s sandy brows drew together as he held my waist and we bumped pelvises. “Like he bought you? I don’t like that shit.”
I had to bite back a grin at Cort’s protective growl. I’d never had a big brother, but Cort had appointed himself as my protector, and I loved him for it. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself. No one touches me unless I want him to.”
“Do you? Want him?”
Without answering, I spun away from Cort to shimmy up the pole and spin. Part of me wanted to walk up to Dark and Handsome, hand him back his jock, and let him know I wasn’t for sale. The other part, however, wasn’t in agreement with that line of thinking. My cock stiffened every time I even thought about those large hands of his touching my body, and I knew if he got me alone, I might give in and let him do what he wanted. And that scared the hell out of me.
Cort waited for me to finish my routine and took me by the shoulder. “Well? Don’t run away. Answer me.”
“I don’t know. But we’d better start working the crowd, or James is gonna get pissed.” I tipped my head toward the entrance, where a frowning James watched the two of us. “Let’s go make some money.” I gave him a kiss and danced away, swinging my hips.
“Come on!” I fist-pumped in the air, trying to work up the crowd. “Who’s here to get their freak on?” The music blared louder, and I deliberately turned my back on the man and cozied up to a table of hedge-fund guys I knew were big drinkers and bigger tippers. In less than three minutes, I had them ordering two bottles of Patron and was giving a lap dance to a blushing, sweet-faced guy, who’d confided to me that it was his birthday and his first time at a club “like this.”
“Then I’m going to make it extra special for you.” I bent over and gave him a kiss. His lips tasted minty and cool, and I smiled when he put a tentative hand on my neck to hold me closer. When we broke apart, his labored breathing and glazed eyes proved I’d done my job.
“How was that, birthday boy?” I ground down into his lap and wasn’t surprised to feel the nudge of an erection pushing against my thigh. I swiveled my hips, and he groaned out loud. His hands splayed against my back, holding me in place while I rode him.
“Look at Tony! He’s loving it.” One of the group poured out shots. “Tony! Tony!” They began to clap, and we all drank a toast to Tony, who blushed even harder. His arm circled my waist, and I let him stroke my stomach, but when he brushed the top of my shorts with his fingers, I shook my head and pulled away.
“That’s as far as it goes. Okay?”
His eyes widened. “Oh, I-I’m sorry. I thought…”
“That I’d let you touch my dick?” I stood up and fluffed my hair out. “Nope. Not you or anyone.” At his forlorn expression, I kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry. You have a happy birthday.” I kissed him again and danced away to the next table, where I gave a lap dance to a man who was getting married that weekend. He didn’t know what to do with his hands, and I almost felt sorry for him at his obvious discomfort.
An hour into the night and I’d already had to empty my shorts four times from all the tips I’d stuffed in the waistband.
“Man, this crowd is on fire tonight.” Frankie bumped my hip with his as we stood at the bar. We handed our tips over to José, the bartender who held all our cash until the end of the night. “I’ve made more in an hour than I did all last weekend.”
“It’s crazy for sure.”
“Keep it up, you guys.” Back to pouring drinks, José gave us a thumbs-up. “The tequila is flowing like water tonight. Frankie, you’re up to four bottles, and Austin, you’re working it like a machine. You’ve got seven.”
“Dude, score.” Frankie gave me a high-five. “Your man is really coming through for you tonight.”
I accepted the margarita from José and drank half right away. The cold shock of it hit me and set my nerves buzzing. I waited for Frankie to down his shot before answering. “I haven’t even talked to him. I got lucky with some birthdays and bachelor parties.” Cort and Tristan were doing a number on the stage that had the crowd standing and clapping, and I craned my neck to watch.
“That explains why I saw him arguing with James.”
That caught my attention. “What? Why would that have anything to do with me?”
A heavyset man in a suit and lots of gold at his wrist lurched into Frankie. “Sorry.”
“I’m not.” Frankie fluttered his eyelashes at the man and put a hand on his chest. “Hi. I’m Frankie.”
