Rose of Thorne (10 page)

He stands
up and claps his hands together, “Well, I need to head down, man. The girls are dancing here in a bit, and I need to get the music set up. I’ll catch you afterwards,” he says and I nod, and I watch him head downstairs.

He makes his way towards the bar where a girl
is being surrounded by lots of guys
.

Hmm
... nice. REALLY NICE!

             
Long, straight, brown hair and legs to die for.

HOLY SHIT!
A fucking body of a goddess, and FUCK ME, a belly ring. I have a huge thing for belly rings, especially Skylar’s. SHIT! Focus, Sebastian, you are here to forget her.

I
can’t see her face from the dim lighting, but judging by the attention she is getting I’m willing to bet the girl is gorgeous. Looking back at Daisy I realize this girl even from a distance makes her look like a damn rag doll.

Jackson puts his arm around the
girl, and I can see her smile when he pulls her close to him.
Lucky bastard!
I notice the bartender scowl at Jackson from behind his back. Obviously, he is not happy with this move at all and shoots Jackson another heated glare when he guides the girl to the stage. The rest of the girls follow directly behind them. Catcalls and whistles erupt when they begin moving up to take the platform. Bouncers position themselves around the stage and the place remains totally dark while the girls take their positions on the chairs in front of them. Six girls now stand on stage, but I care only about the striking brunette in the middle. Daisy waves up from the stage at me. I pretend not to notice, and she bows her head in darkness.

Usher’s
Lil’ Freak
starts to play, and the lights flash brightly, illuminating the girls. With only their silhouettes glowing, the beauty in the middle slides around the chair and moves in sexy slow time along with the other girls. The lights slowly taper down. The girls spin the chairs and lean back in sync. With each perfect glide of her body, I can feel the zipper in my pants tighten as my raging hard on presses uncomfortably against it.

Fuck me! She
is hot as fucking sin! Forget that Daisy chick. I am leaving with this one tonight.

After what seems like the most torturous three minutes ever
, the song now ends, and the lights slowly brighten. The girls turn to sit facing the now standing audience. And as the light catches her beautiful face, my heart sinks. The glass crushes in my hand.
Skylar.

Skylar

I am so relieved once the performance is over, and we are exiting the stage. The crowd is going crazy.

Megan puts her arm around me and smiles.
“Great job, hot stuff,” she swats my behind and makes her way back around to where we are all supposed to wait before returning to our stations.

Brandon is leaning against the wall where we
are all heading. He winks at me, and I immediately look away. Sure, he is a decent looking guy, but the way he looks at me makes me feel like I am naked and exposed, not to mention that evil look in his eyes. I know that look all too well because my Uncle Trevor had the same one. Whether this guy is bad or not, I don’t trust him. Jackson makes his way beside me, and Brandon scowls when he sees Jackson put his arm around my waist.

“Great job
, girls! Everyone, make sure you welcome our new girl Skylar. She did fantastic for her first night, and I am happy to say that you guys earned your largest tip total to date tonight with that performance.” He keeps his arm around me as he dismisses the others.

“Skylar, since you came in to cover a shift tonight
, you can go ahead and leave early. But, if you don’t mind, stop by my office before you go,” I nod at him and make my way past Brandon to the dressing room.

I quickly change into
the pair of jeans and sweater I brought and make my way to Jackson’s office door. I am surprised as hell when I see Sebastian standing there waiting to talk to me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask
him angrily.

“I think I should be asking you that question,” he shoots ba
ck at me. I can sense by the way he closes the office door that he is furious.

“I am here working my second job since I can’t work the hours at the café anymore. This place pays me enough to work part
-time during the week.” I say defensively.

“This is no place for you
, Skylar. You WILL tell Jackson that you are quitting.”

“What are you talking about? I am not quitting this job! You have no right to
tell me what to do! Who the hell do you think you are anyway?” I shout at him. I am surprised at the level of anger in my voice.

“
I’m your boss, Skylar! That’s who I am! You work for my company now, and I can’t risk someone seeing you work here. It wouldn’t look good to have my employees working at a gentleman’s club. You WILL quit tonight! Do you understand me? It’s either that or you can just pass on the internship. It’s your choice, Skylar.”

“But Seb…
Mr. Thorne, I have to work. You don’t understand. I have a little sist–” I am interrupted before I can finish.

“Starting tomorrow, you will be paid for your internship, as well as be provided with a company car.
I can’t have what happened to you this morning happen again. I need my employees there and on time. Sara will discuss all of this with you in the morning, that is, unless you choose not to continue with my company. Which will it be Skylar?”

I am shocked by his offer.
Did he just tell me he would pay me and provide a car for me? He is actually MAKING me quit. Honestly, I don’t want to work here, but I don’t like being told that I have to quit. Feeling defeated, I stare at him for a few minutes and nod. Jackson is walking in the door just as I am starting to leave.

“Ah
, Bastian, I see you have met my Skylar,” he winks at him as he places his arm around my waist.

“Skylar
set quite a record here tonight. I already have ten VIP requests for you, my dear, and on top of that, you earned top tips tonight,” he brags as he hands me a thick white envelope. I gulp at the thick stack of money that is inside.

Sebastian clears his
throat as if he’s hinting for me to speak. When I don’t immediately chime in, he speaks for me.

“Skylar, I believe you said you needed to tell Jackson something
. Isn’t that right?”

I narrow my eyes at him and draw in a deep breath.

“Yes, Jackson, I’m afraid Mr. Thorne has informed me that I can no longer work for you since I am working for his company during the day. This will be my only night. I really appreciate you hiring me and giving me a chance.”

“Shit
, Sebastian, are you sure she can’t stay on? I mean, who is going to recognize her?”

“I can’t take that chance
, Jackson. My clients might not appreciate her second job here. I am afraid that if Miss Rose wishes to work for me, she will have to stop working here.”

Jackson surprises
me by ignoring Sebastian and turning to face me.

“
So, Skylar, I know I said that you can leave early, but how about you stay for a bit longer and have a drink with me?” he says as he squeezes me tighter around the waist. Sebastian shoots him a spiteful glare and I can’t help how I find enjoyment in the look of jealousy on his face. I know I shouldn’t accept Jackson’s offer, especially since I am not interested in him at all, but before I know it, I am taking him up on it.

Sebastian frowns
at me when I turn away from him and take Jackson’s extended arm.

Hmph! Good enough for you asshat! I do so find his jealousy humoring.

“Care to join us, Bastian?” Jackson asks.

Sebastian surprisingly nods his head as he answers, “Yes, I think I will do just that.
”

Jackson puts his hand on the small of my back and
leads me up to the VIP level lounge. He motions for me to sit on the red velvet couch, and he scoots near me and puts his arm around me. He whispers in my ear a few flirty comments, and I smile back at him.

Sebastian is watching us intently and fumes from across
the section at us. Daisy, the busty waitress that is assigned to this section, returns and crawls into his lap. She begins licking her lips and rubbing his inner thigh. He returns the flirty looks and groping while he closely gauges my reaction to them.

Jackson doesn’t correct him
on the ‘no contact’ rule, and I assume it’s because these rules don’t apply to the ‘all mighty’ Sebastian Thorne. I have to admit, it’s hard as hell to stomach watching them, and I feel myself getting sick as I continue to sip on my Cosmo. An hour later, after seeing Daisy stick her tits one to many times in Sebastian’s face, I am more than ready to get the hell out of there. I make my apologies, and Jackson offers to walk me to the back door.

“Skylar, I hope yo
u will let me call you some time because I’d really like to see you again,” Jackson offers. He leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the lips, and then gently brushes my hair aside. I know he wants me to return the kiss, but I just smile back at him instead. I agree to give him my number, which is something that I normally don’t do. He kisses me again on the cheek and watches me exit the back door.

It is extremely late when I make my way across the dark employee parking lot.
I’m digging my keys out of my large bag when I feel two arms come around me and take them out of my hand. I jump as I turn around and meet Brandon’s sly smile. He reeks of alcohol and his eyes look unfocused. It’s as if he is high on something.

“Brandon, yo
u scared me. I need to be going,” I reply. I hope he will take the hint and leave, but he doesn’t budge.

“Oh, you’re not leaving until I get my goo
dnight kiss,” he slurs back at me.

“What? Brandon, I’m sorry
, but I’m not interested. Now please, let me have my keys back.”

“Oh no, I don’t think so
. You see, I’ve been watching you all night long. I’ve seen you giving me clues that you want me. I am not blind, so even though I had to watch Jackson put his motherfucking hands all over you, I know it’s me that you want, baby.”

He grabs me by the arms
, and I can smell the stench of whiskey on his breath.

“LET ME GO BRANDON, PLEAS
E,” I shout as I struggle to break free from his hold.

“Now be a good girl a
nd don’t fight!” He laughs and pushes me against my car before forcing his lips onto mine. When he plunges his tongue into my mouth, I jerk my head away. He grows angry and grabs a handful of my hair to pull my face closer to his.

“You like it rough
, don’t you? I normally don’t like playing these kinds of games, but for a piece of an ass as fine as yours, I will gladly play, baby.”

He open
s the back seat of my car and tries to push me inside. Terrified, I begin screaming and fighting him as he continues to shove me down on the back seat.

“NO!!!!
BRANDON, STOP!!!” I plead and kick at him, landing one hard in the groin. He slumps over in pain. I look at the back door and try to make a run for it. Before I make it very far, I am grabbed by my hair and dragged backwards. He slams my head down on the hood of my car, and immediately, I see stars. Ignoring my injuries, he hovers over me and continues to lean in, kissing me on my neck. I taste the metallic flavor of blood in my mouth as it trickles down from my busted head. Trying to remember some of the self-defense moves I’ve learned, I lift my arm up and jab my elbow into his chest and repeat it again to his face. I manage to bust his nose, and I see the blood seep from his nostrils. I take the moment to try to break away and make my escape, but before I can manage to get free he grabs me by the neck and squeezes tightly. I can’t breathe, and I struggle to grab for his hands.

“You BITCH!
You are not turning me down tonight. I’ll take you conscious or unconscious. It makes no difference to me. Although, I think you want to be awake. You might just enjoy it.”

I am crying hysterically as he rips my shirt off my body and pushes me against the hood of my car. He s
lides his hands down lower and moves to unzip my jeans. I try to shout, but he increases the pressure against my throat and I feel myself blacking out. I remember thinking he is going to rape me and that my first time is going to be forced. I see the world around me begin slowly slipping away and I struggle as I gasp for air. He is going to kill me; I can see it in his eyes. I can feel myself letting go, I have no more fight in me…and then I see him being thrown off my body. I feel myself giving in to the darkness, and my body gives way. As I hear my name being yelled, I feel my legs go limp. I am falling, but he is there.
Sebastian is here. “SKYLAR!” I hear him yelling, and then I feel his arms catching me before I hit the pavement, then there is nothing but darkness.