Teased (The VIP Room, #1) (5 page)

When she was finished, she put on her
pajamas and robe. Leaving the bathroom, she rushed down the short
hallway as the bed banging against the wall started echoing through
the apartment. Vida quickly made up the couch with the sheet and
blanket she had set to the side before taking a shower. Turning out
the light, she lay down, trying not to think about what was going
on in the bedroom. A loud scream had her putting the pillow over
her head, wishing she were anywhere other than here.

Her room at the strip club hadn’t been much
better. When the other bedrooms had been filled, the women she
shared her room with would always invariably bring the men to their
room. Sometimes they would wake her up to get her out of the room,
yet sometimes they wouldn’t care, merely ignoring her presence and
getting to the business of getting the man off as quickly as
possible so they themselves could go to bed.

Vida dozed off to sleep with the pillow
still over her head. She was so exhausted by that point that she
didn’t wake during the middle of the night when a gentle hand
removed the pillow, replacing it under her head. Nor did she waken
when long fingers threaded through her silken hair, letting it fall
softly against her soft cheek.

Chapter 4

“
Here comes Trouble,” the announcer
spoke above the catcalls of the men in the room, their avid eyes
searching the curtain for Vida’s appearance. She felt her stomach
clench as she moved from the cover of the curtain into the lights
focused on the stage.

The sequins on her outfit caught the lights
and reflected the flashes of light throughout the room, drawing
even more attention to her figure. Vida swallowed down the bile
rising in her throat, forcing herself to blank the present from her
mind. Pasting an imaginary picture of Sawyer across her mind, Vida
began to dance seductively on the stage. How her mother could have
done this for years defied Vida’s imagination.

Deep sadness engulfed her. She knew how, the
love a mother had for her child. Vida knew her mother had become
pregnant at fifteen and ran away from home to live with her
seventeen-year-old boyfriend. Her father had stayed until she was
six months old then took off, returning to his own parents’ loving
arms. He left Goldie behind; however, her mother’s parents were not
as understanding and no longer wanted to have anything to do with
her or their grandchild.

Goldie, despite being so young, was smart
enough to manage to get child support, but it was barely enough to
keep a cheap roof over their heads and not enough for much else.
Uneducated with a small child, it took time for Goldie to get her
GED and once she had finally earned it, not many more jobs opened
up than before. She would manage to get waitressing or bar
positions, but they paid little and barely covered the bills.

Vida hadn’t been a healthy child. The
low-income housing building was filthy and damp, setting off
allergies. In addition, she had a genetic gastric problem that
required her to have several surgeries, which forced her mother to
miss work. Fired from another job, Goldie had turned to stripping.
She could still remember the nights her mom would have a good night
and wake her up when she came home.

They would go to the grocery store late at
night and fill the cart with groceries that they both knew would
have to last a while. The cute cereals and confections that other
kids took for granted were passed over for bread and peanut butter.
Vida remembered well the days where that was all she had to eat and
was aware that she didn’t eat much better as a college student.

The change in music alerted Vida to the next
set where she would start to remove her red camisole. Teasingly
unfastening each button slowly, she moved closer to pervert row
before backing away, giving them the subliminal promise that she
would soon be theirs if they could merely catch her long enough.
When all the buttons where undone, the music rose, building to the
climax of her removing her top.

Thankfully, the music that started her next
set was slower, allowing her to catch her breath. Moving towards
the men, she allowed them to stuff their money into the string that
circled her waist. Their fingers lingering as long as they thought
was possible before one of King’s men would make an appearance. It
lasted several minutes, the music spaced out to give her time to
work from one side of the stage to the other before she moved back
to the center stage, reaching down to pick up her top, giving the
men one last look at her shaking ass.

Vida walked slowly off the stage to the
dwindling music and loud applause.

“
Damn girl, you keep that up and King
will set you up as a feature dancer in his other clubs,” Sherri
remarked, waiting for her own music to start.

“
You look great tonight, is that a new
outfit?” Vida ignored the comment about her working at other
clubs.

Sherri brushed her hand against the leather
chaps she wore and grinned. “Yep, I plan to make them have to run
to the bathroom to jerk off.”

Vida simply shook her head, laughing. Sherri
was one of the few women who actually stripped because she loved
the attention. It made her feel like a star for the short time she
was on stage. She was a sweet, likeable woman that had taken the
time to actually try to get to know her and Vida couldn’t help
responding to her natural friendliness.

“
Is King out front?” Vida
asked.

“
I think so. I saw him there a few
minutes ago.”

Sherri’s music queued. “Don’t break a leg,”
Vida warned her when she saw her outrageously high-heeled cowboy
boots.

Sherri grinned at her as she moved toward
the stage.

Vida went to the dressing room and put on
her robe. She brushed her hair back down until it lay flat; her
dancing had turned it into a tangled mess. The other women in the
room ignored her, busy getting ready for their own sets.

Vida went in search of King, finding him
sitting in his booth watching a customer give the shot girl a hard
time. His facial expression did not change as he saw Vida
approach.

“
King, may I talk with
you?”

“
Have a seat, Vida. I was about to
send Henry for you.”

Vida slid into the booth across from him. He
was, as always, dressed in an expensive, dark suit that made him
appear even more intimidating. King put off menacing vibes which
the dark suit only enforced.

“
Have you found anything out about
Sawyer yet?”

“
As a matter of fact, I found her.”
His lips tightened into a grim line.

“
You have?” Vida couldn’t prevent the
excitement from her face.

“
Calm down, Vida. It’s not the best
situation, but for now she’s safe. Rick Redman works for Digger.”
King paused, waiting for her reaction. It wasn’t long in coming.
Everyone in town knew Digger, he was as ruthless as King. The
difference was King didn’t attempt to hurt you as long as you
didn’t fuck with him. Digger liked to fuck you up for
fun.

“
One of the men that Digger sold her
to for the night has decided to keep her for a while. As long as he
pays for her company, Digger will remain content. For a
while.”

Disappointment filled Vida. She had
accomplished nothing, she hadn’t been able to keep Sawyer from
being sold and used. Pain filled her expression as she felt the
fruitlessness of her attempts sink in.

“
Vida, she’s not on the street, nor
has she disappeared never to be seen again. Digger knows that, if
she disappears, I’ll kill him. Right now, he’s trying to push my
buttons, but not set me on a path of retaliation. As soon as I find
out his price, you’ll get her back.” Vida listened as King tried to
explain the intricacies of dealing with someone as dirty as
Digger.

She nodded her head. “His henchman, Briggs,
comes in the club sometimes. I could try to find out some
information from him.”

A cold glare was her answer. “Stay away from
Briggs, he’s Digger’s enforcer. Let me handle it, Vida.”

“
Okay.” Vida started to slide out of
the booth.

“
Where’s Colton tonight?” King asked
coldly, his eyes searching the room.

“
Back at his place. He dropped me off
and asked if Henry would give me a ride home.”

“
Quite the gentleman, isn’t he?” he
said sarcastically.

Vida shrugged. “I think I’m cramping his
style; being in the way all the time.”

“
If anything happens to you, his style
is going to be a little more than cramped,” King
threatened.

“
Leave him alone, King, he’s being
really nice letting me stay at his place. I don’t need him with me
when Henry is here,” Vida tried to reason with King.

King nodded his head reluctantly. “I’ll tell
Henry to walk you to your door.”

“
Thanks, King, for everything.” She
reached across the table and grabbed his hand, giving it a tight
squeeze.

“
Don’t thank me yet,” he replied
grimly.

Vida simply smiled as she stood. It was time
for her turn in the VIP room. The woman she was replacing would be
angry if she was late. As she walked up the steps to the upper
floor, she felt the men in the room watching. Several would also
pay to go up to the room knowing she was on duty. Vida squashed
down the butterflies in her stomach; this was worse than actually
stripping on stage. For each minute the men paid for, she had to
actually act like she wanted them, which made them want to purchase
more dances.

The next hour passed swiftly as she served
drinks and fulfilled two requests for lap dances. Vida’s eyes
widened when she noticed Briggs enter the room. He was always
trying to find out what he could from the girls about King. King
didn’t mind, Briggs always spent a lot of money and King’s staff
was loyal. Moving forward, she decided tonight was going to be
different. She was going to attempt to turn the tables on him and
try to find out something they could use against Digger.

King would be furious, yet if she was
careful, maybe he wouldn’t find out. She would sneak the tip money
from the lap dance to the other two women in the VIP room if they
kept their mouths shut.

Sauntering within his eyesight, she brought
him the drink he had requested from Angel. His eyes widened and his
mouth parted when she bent low enough to allow him to see the pale
globes of her breasts almost spill out of the red camisole.

“
Can I get you anything else?” Vida
murmured seductively, moving closer so that her perfume would
surround him.

“
Yeah, you can join me for a drink,”
Briggs said, not taking his eyes off her breasts. Vida sat down
close to him on the couch. Catching his eyes with hers, she paid
him all the attention he wanted, giving only monosyllabic replies
when he tried to question about herself and King.

Catching Angel’s eyes, she motioned for her
to keep Briggs’s drinks coming.

When his sweaty palm covered her stocking
covered thigh, Vida sighed to herself; the next hour was shaping up
to be one of the most difficult of her life.

* * *

Colton held the door open for Wanda to
leave, motioning for her to be quiet. With a quick kiss, she went
through the door. He shut and locked it behind her, turning to go
into the kitchen. Seeing the pillow on top of Vida’s face, he was
determined not to remove it this time, however he found his legs
moving towards her anyway.

Lifting the pillow, he saw tears glistening
on her face and touching the pillow he found it damp. He had given
her a key, not even noticing when she had returned. Turning the
pillow over until the dry side was up, he laid her head back down
on it. Brushing her tears away with the pad of his thumb, he
stroked her soft cheek. Her face turned away, moving away from the
soft touch.

Colton studied the dark circles of weariness
underneath her eyes. Vida, he had caught on early, actually slept
very little, always staying busy with her computer or studying the
books she carried around in her backpack.

She was unusual for a girl her age, so quiet
and studious. Even when the customers tried to talk to her at the
tattoo shop, she rarely engaged them back. Seth, the boy she had
given her number to, had returned to the shop to work on coding
with her. She was friendly to him, but he could see she kept a
distance with them all. She had been staying with him for two weeks
now and he had yet to see a genuine smile.

What was so surprising to him was that her
mother, Goldie, had been full of life and laughter. She had
worshipped her daughter and had been proud of her every
achievement. It was hard to see her daughter completely full of
restraint and wariness.

Colton was sure the death of Goldie two
years ago had been extremely hard on her. Now her closest friend
since childhood was in trouble. He knew it was probably weighing
her down that she couldn’t help Sawyer, just as she hadn’t been
able to help the friend who’d died. Goldie had often worried how
losing such a close friend at a young age would affect her. Callie,
Sawyer and Vida were the little troublemakers of the neighborhood.
Now, only one was left.

Baring her body and doing the lap dances
went against the repressed personality he saw in Vida. Emotionally,
he wondered how she had remained so strong.

Turning away, he went to the kitchen to get
a bottled water and looked at the clock on the microwave, seeing
that it was almost four a.m. Finishing the water, he returned to
the bedroom, lying back down on the rumpled sheets.