Tease (22 page)

“All right. I’ll tell him you’ll do it. I’m going to put Ty at the door. If he even breathes on you funny, you yell for him.”

I nodded and headed for the door.

“Violet,” he called.

I looked over my shoulder.

“Even if you yell for help, you still get paid. The minute he walks into that VIP room, that money is yours.”

“What’s your cut?”

“None. It’s all yours.”

Now I understood why some of the girls always wanted to go to the VIP room.

“How long do I have?”

“Go change, do whatever you need to do, and then get to the room. He’ll be waiting. When your fifteen minutes are up, Ty will tell you.”

I walked out of his office and my eyes went straight to the bar. Cam was watching the door. He looked a little more subdued than usual. I gave him all the smile I could muster and then turned and fled backstage.

I was a coward.

I didn’t want to see the disappointment or the hurt on his face by what I was about to do.

I stared down at my outfits, trying to decide what to wear. Suddenly I wondered what the hell I’d been thinking choosing any of it. It was all tiny. It wouldn’t take long at all to remove.

I decided on the hot-pink bodice with the black satin laces up the front and the tiny black boy shorts with the pink skulls. Maybe I could take my time untying the lace and waste time.

I put it all on, added my black stilettos, and then sat at the mirror, trying to calm my nerves. I lifted my eyeliner but couldn’t apply it because my hand was trembling.

Why would someone—anyone—pay that much money to see me dance? It was beyond ridiculous. Didn’t he have better things to buy? He was probably some colossal nerd who couldn’t get a date. Or maybe he was some pervert who wanted to stare at me while he jerked off.

I was going to be sick.

I lurched up off the chair and stood there like a startled deer in a pair of headlights.

“Whoa, there,” Roxie said, coming up beside me. “Did he fire you?” she demanded. “I will kick his ass.”

“No,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’m supposed to go to the VIP room.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“That’s manageable,” she said, pushing me down into the chair again. She picked up a brush and began to style my hair. I let her because I was too busy freaking out.

“Make sure you bend over right in his face. Men are such pigs. They get off on that.”

I nodded.

“And touch yourself. You can do that from across the room so you don’t have to be so close to him. Touch yourself and then touch him. They love that.”

Ew.

“How can you stand it?” I whispered.

The brush paused halfway through my hair. “I shut my mind off and don’t think about it. Or I think about someone I would actually like to dance for.”

“Who is that for you?” I wondered, knowing for me it was Cam.

“Adam,” she said matter-of-factly.

“His wife moved out.”

She glanced at me through the mirror. “I heard.”

She finished with my hair and then patted my shoulder. “You’re done.”

My hair was waving around my shoulders and the purple pop of color accentuated my eyes. “Here I go.” I got up, adjusting my outfit.

“I’ll see you in a few,” she said.

Cam was standing on the other side of the door when I opened it and walked through.

His eyes swept over me. “You’re doing it.”

“It’s two thousand dollars.”

His eyes widened. “Shit.”

I nodded.

“I brought you something.” He held out a shot glass full of vodka.

I didn’t hesitate to down it in one gulp. It burned the whole way down. “Thanks.”

He moved so fast I didn’t see it coming. One minute he was across the hall and the next he was pinning me against the wall with his body. His lips covered mine in an aggressive kiss that set fire to my blood.

It was over too fast and he spun away, breathing hard.

He was angry.

I didn’t blame him.

I held a hand up to my bruised lips and stared at his back as his shoulders rose and fell.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, then moved off down the hall. Just before I turned the corner, he was on me again, pulling me back so my back was against his chest and I couldn’t see his face. But I could hear his voice just fine.

“Remember that kiss when you’re dancing for him. Don’t see him; see me. And when you come out of that room, I want you to be ready.”

“Be ready?” I said, my voice trembling.

“Be ready because I’m going to make love to you all night long until the only thing you feel is me and you don’t even remember his face.”

“Oh, Cam,” I sighed. “You already are the only man I see.”

He pulled away, going back to the bar and leaving me shaking in the darkened hallway. As I straightened and walked toward the elusive VIP room, I wondered if Cam would still want me when I came out.

17

He was sitting in the shadows.

The room was a small square with black velvet walls, a silver pole that ran from ceiling to floor near the center, and the wall farthest from me was covered with a giant mirror all the way down to the long bed that was draped in fabric and pillows.

A chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling and it cast dim lighting mostly right beneath it and a shadowed glow around the rest of the room.

Ty stood at the door and he inclined his chin, whispering that he would be right there as I went past. I was a little surprised that he didn’t close the door behind me but lowered a black velvet curtain across the opening. I could see his booted feet at the bottom, and I was glad he was right there.

The man sat in a straight-backed chair, which wasn’t beneath the light of the chandelier. Instead, it was pushed back into the shadowed perimeter of the room.

He wore jeans and dark-colored shoes and a dark top. He had a baseball cap on his head and my heart gave a little squeeze because it reminded me of Cam. At least it wasn’t on backward. That may have sent me fleeing from the room.

His hands were at his sides and he sat still, but I could feel his eyes on me as I moved across the room.

“I’m Violet,” I said, keeping my voice low. “You requested my presence and I came.”

Sexy music began pumping over the speakers into the room and I knew my fifteen minutes had begun.

I can do this.

I started at the pole, moving around it, wrapping my leg around it, gyrating against it. Then I moved over to the wall, leaning against it and spreading my legs wide. I squatted down, running my hands up my legs and to the inside of my thighs. Then I pushed up, turning around, keeping my legs spread, and bent over. I felt the little boy shorts ride up my butt, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he enjoyed the view.

After a few minutes, I walked over to him, strutting, swaying my hips, and straddling his lap—still standing—and pressed my chest near his face. Then I stepped back, still in front of him, and reached for the bow at the bottom of the corset.

Slowly, I untied the laces, keeping my feet planted to the floor. I heard some commotion out in the bar and glanced over my shoulder briefly, wondering what was going on.

But then I brushed it off and turned back, still untying the top.

I heard another sound and I looked back at the curtain, noting that Ty’s feet were no longer visible.

Where had he gone?

“Get on the bed,” the man spoke, his voice startling me. I looked directly at his face, but I was unable to make out any kind of features. It was dark and the brim of the hat made it even harder to see him.

I stepped toward the bed, making a big production of climbing across it, keeping my bum in view.

“Lay down,” the man instructed. His voice sounded extraordinarily deep, almost like he was trying to disguise it.

Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know he was here.

I lay down like he asked, looking again for Ty. He still wasn’t there.

“Untie your top. All the way.”

I finished untying it but didn’t pull it open. My heart pounded so heavily that I barely heard his next command.

“Spread your legs.”

This was weird. Is this the way it was supposed to be?

I hesitated. The man stood. “I said spread your legs.”

I listened, hoping he would sit back down.

He didn’t. He prowled closer, looming over me and staring down.

“Open your top and touch yourself.”

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t. I would just give him all his money back and then I was going to quit.

I heard a bunch of shouting out front and the sound of glass shattering.

I stiffened and prepared to stand up to flee, but the stranger took advantage of my preoccupation.

He pounced on me, pinning me on the bed and making me cry out.

“No touching!” I insisted.

He laughed.

“Ty!” I screamed.

But Ty wasn’t there.

The man leaned down. “You’re nothing but a little
tease
,” he spat.

Something about his words bothered me. They struck a chord deep within. “Get. Off.” I growled.

He put a hand over my mouth, silencing me. I began to panic. I tried to buck him off. That was a huge mistake because all my struggling seemed to arouse him. The bulge in his pants grew and grew until it was all I could stare at.

Tears filled my eyes and I shook my head no.

He shook his head yes.

“Don’t scream,” he ordered low. “Or I’ll make it hurt.”

Oh. My. God.

He pulled his hand away to part the corset covering my chest. I belted out an ear-piercing scream and struggled anew.

“You stupid bitch,” he roared and backhanded me across the face.

I saw stars. Then I felt the air brush against my naked chest.

“Harlow!” someone roared, and then the stranger was gone and this sick thudding sound filled my ears.

I scrambled off the bed, staring across the room.

Cam was beating the man, ramming his fist into his face over and over again.

“Cam!” I cried. His fist stopped in midair and he dropped the man to the floor. His eyes took in my rumpled appearance and partially exposed chest.

He crossed the room in two great strides, pulling the corset around me and then tucking me against his chest. I couldn’t help but cry. I was humiliated. I was hurt. I was violated.

There was a groan and Cam stiffened. He tried to pull away, but I clutched at him. “It’s okay,” he murmured, his arms coming around me once more.

I glanced up just as the stranger pulled back a curtain that was behind his chair to reveal an emergency exit. He shoved open the door and raced out into the night.

Cam moved to go after him.

“No!” I cried. “Let him go.” I wouldn’t be able to take it if Cam got hurt trying to protect me.

“Fuck!” he yelled to no one in particular.

He looked down at my face, touched where the skin burned and stung, and he cussed again when I winced. “Come on,” he said, taking my hand and towing me out behind the bar. He grabbed his black leather jacket and held it out. I slipped my arms inside. It smelled like the beach, like him.

He zipped it up around my body, covering me and then he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I wanted to cry all over again. Then he filled a plastic baggy with ice from the ice machine, wrapped it in his T-shirt, and then ever so easily held it to my face.

“Where else did he hurt you?”

More shattering glass had me looking out into the bar where I suddenly understood why Ty had disappeared. A massive bar fight had broken out. Beer bottles were flying, people were punching and yelling, and one guy was wielding a chair.

The bouncers were pulling people apart and flinging them toward the door. I heard Roxie scream and I called out her name, rushing toward the fight.

“No you don’t,” Cam said, pulling me back.

“Roxie,” I told him.

“She’s fine.” He pointed.

She was in the center of it all, but Adam stood beside her, and anyone that came close got disposed of rather easily.

“What’s going on?”

“Craig,” Cam spat, like that explained it all.

“I thought the police cleared him.”

“Well, he was awful pissed off, showing up and yelling at Roxie for having him arrested by the cops. He lunged for her. Someone intercepted him. The result was a massive bar fight, a huge mess, and you being left alone in the VIP room with a fucking attempted rapist.”

His words left me cold. Like I had ice water running through my veins. I glanced back toward Roxie, who was making her way across the empty stage with Adam at her back, shielding her body with his. When she disappeared backstage, Adam reappeared and gave a signal to the DJ.

The music cut off and the DJ came over the speakers. “The Mad Hatter is now closed. Get the hell out before the cops get here to haul you away.”

For the most part, the fighting stopped. What little continued, the bouncers took care of in short notice and tossed the men out into the parking lot. I wondered where my attacker was, if he was still out there lurking.

As the crowd thinned, I noticed a guy, with longish dark hair and a sleeve of tattoos up his right arm, sprawled across the floor. Adam stood over his body, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring down.

Police sirens sounded in the distance and I was grateful they were almost here.

Before the cops arrived on the scene, Adam drew back his large booted foot and kicked the man in the ribs. He groaned.

I figured it was Craig.

Adam seemed to sense us staring and he looked at me, his gaze sharpening. “What the hell happened to you?”

I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine, but Cam spoke over me. “Fucking pervert tried to rape her.”

Adam’s body jerked like he was shot. I tried not to listen to the words that flung out of his mouth like swords. I wondered where he learned words like that.

The police arrived, escorted Craig to the back of a cop car, and interviewed all the people who were still lingering and had information.

Roxie looked like a Mack truck ran her over by the time she told the cops about how Craig had burst in there tonight and tried to start a fight and do her physical harm. She was pressing charges and if those didn’t stick, she was getting a restraining order. I hoped Craig was looking at jail time.

Roxie didn’t seem as relieved as me, but I figured once the shock wore off she would be.

Then it was my turn to talk to the police. I couldn’t give them a very good description of the man who attacked me because I never actually saw his face clearly. All I saw were flashes of a strong jaw, stubble, and lips that might have been nice if they weren’t spewing out sick words. As I talked, I realized… there was something about him that was vaguely familiar. Something that I didn’t catch right away because I’d been so scared and freaked out.