“As a friend,” Honey emphasized, and Nikos smirked.
“As a friend,” he repeated, finding that he didn’t like that title as much as he had before.
Earlier in their relationship, he had been happy even to have Honey call him a friend, and technically he still cherished thattitle and always made sure to avoid doing anything to destroy that, but with liquor in his system and his mind heady, the title didn’t please him as much anymore.
“Well, as my friend, you should give me a gift,” Nikos said, and Honey looked at him suspiciously as she tugged her arm back, and Nikos let go.
“A gift?” she repeated. “Am I not celebrating with you?”
“You’re celebrating with me because you’re my friend. That’s what you’re supposed to do when your friend achieves something. But I want a gift,” Nikos said mischievously as he grabbed his own shot glass and downed it.
“What’s the gift? Because I’m not working more hours,” Honey said, and Nikos smiled. He would never have Honey work more hours, even if they were short on staff. He knew how important it was for Honey to return home to be with her son.
“Dance for me,” Nikos said.
Honey stared at him, and for once, he could not read what she was thinking. Usually, she would immediately throw a punch at him, but her eyes only stared at him curiously.
“For our arrangement or to celebrate?” she asked, wanting to clarify the distinction.
Nikos leaned closer to her, looking into her eyes, feeling a heat around them that he had not felt since she danced for him at his penthouse, but unfortunately, she had never had the chance to finish it because Rheagan interrupted them. He wanted to finish that dance.
“To celebrate,” Nikos said.
For a brief moment, she only stared at him before she stood and walked into her room. Nikos watched her go before he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair, wondering if hehad pushed his luck and if this was her way of telling him the night was over. He really started to think that when the time had passed by, and the liquor in his system weighed on him so heavily that he nearly dozed off, but when he heard her door open again, Nikos blinked with surprise.
Honey stood in the room, wearing a familiar black mesh rhinestone crop top and matching biker shorts. Nikos remembered it because he had picked it out for her when he had gone to the mall with the girls from the club. He almost thought that she hadn’t brought it because he had never seen her perform in it, but clearly, she had, and that was enough to make the blood rush to his head and his thoughts run wild with hope.
“I thought you didn’t want me thinking you were dancing for me,” Nikos said, drinking in her body and how good she looked in her clothes. When he saw the outfit at the mall that day, he knew it was meant for her, and now he was glad he had picked it out because she looked good enough to eat right now.
“This time, I am dancing for you,” she said as she grabbed the chair from the dining room table and placed it in the middle of the room. Nikos got up from the couch and sat down in the chair, watching Honey as she turned music on through the speaker. Though Nikos didn’t recognize the song, he recognized the voice—Janet Jackson.
Baby, would you mind touching me? Ever so slowly? You’re making me quiver.
Seductively, Honey swayed her hips to the music until she was down to her knees. Nikos watched as she crawled over to him, her brown eyes locked on his eyes, leaving him entranced. Even with liquor in her system, she was as elegant as ever, and the seductive lyrics only added to her sensual movements.
And baby, would you mind undressing me? Making me feel sexy. While in the moment.
When she reached him, she leaned back on her elbows, parting her legs, and Nikos desperately wished he were between them. It looked like a warm, safe haven. It looked like a new home he wanted to shelter himself inside, and it was as if Honey read his thoughts as she teased him, clacking her heels together, opening and closing her legs.
Cause I’m gonna bathe you, play with you, rub you, caress you, tell you how much I’ve missed you. I just wanna touch you, tease you, lick you, please you, love you, hold you, make love to you.
Nikos wanted Honey to do all those things and more as she rose to her feet, rolling her hips, staring into his blue eyes without an ounce of shame as she took off her bra. And though his eyes should have fallen to her chest, he couldn’t look away from her brown eyes that captivated him. He felt as if he were caught under a spell, unable to free himself from the tremendous power over him. It occurred to him then that whatever Honey ever asked of him, he would give it to her without thought, whether she was dancing for him exclusively or not.
Honey circled him, grazing her fingers along his arms, causing the hairs on his skin to rise. She stood behind his chair, draping her arms over his shoulder, and he could feel the press of her breasts against his back, and he wished he did not have a shirt on either to feel her more.
“Nikos,” she whispered against his neck, grazing her lips against his skin, effectively turning him into putty in her hands. He had had many lap dances before, whether back in his homeland or from working at the Gentlemen’s Club, but none had ever been like this.
“Is this why you get the top sales from floor performances?” Nikos asked her.
Whenever James returned to the back with the bags of money the girls made from their performances, Honey’s bag from her floor performances was always larger than others. She hadn’t even sat on his lap yet, and he wanted to surrender to her every whim. It was no wonder she made so much.
“I’m not doing anything,” she said, dragging her fingers up his chest.
“You’re seducing me,” Nikos said, feeling heady with lust and her scent.
“No, I’m not,” she said teasingly before pressing a kiss against his neck.
Nikos clenched his fist, wanting to end the dance here and now so they could do the tango in the bedroom. But despite the thick lust filling his brain and the fog from the alcohol, he knew what this performance was and knew that option wasn’t on the table.
