“You got it!”
I flashed a smile at him — this one genuine, not like the fake shit I put on for the other creeps at this place. I watched as his powerful jaw tightened, the muscles of his neck rippling as if he was biting back something he wanted to say. He only nodded, and I swallowed thickly as I turned to head back to the bar.
I wished I had the guts to just ask him more about himself, or hell, ask for his number. I mean, yeah, he was huge, and kind of scary looking with the long hair and tattoos and beard. But there was something else there — something dangerously sexy and skin-tinglingly alluring. Something that made you want to say yes even when you knew you should turn and run away.
“Hey sweet cheeks, why don’t you come shake those tits over here, cupcake.”
My eyes narrowed and my teeth grated together as the new voice hollered out at me.
Shit.
My stranger wasn’t the only new regular we had. There was another one, and this guy was the complete opposite of the dark, brooding, quiet man who I couldn’t keep my thoughts off of. The other new regular, who we’d started calling “the creep,” had started coming in a few weeks ago too, maybe a day or so before my secret admirer had. And every short inch of him fit the nickname.
He flaunted the “no touching the girls while they’re on stage” rule, and he definitely didn’t give a shit about the “no touching the cocktail waitress” rule. I could personally attest to that last one. He was rude, he heckled, he drank too much, and the guys he came in with were a bunch of dirtbags. The only reason he hadn’t been kicked out was because he dropped a shitload of money at Centerfolds.
“Hey sweet-tits, I’m talkin’ to you!” he hollered at me again from the other side of the club. “Shake a tail feather on over here. We’re getting thirsty.”
Fuck, I really hated this guy. We all did. Except we were all there to make cash, and cash is what he always tossed at us.
“Hi, Miles,” I said dryly. He’d made sure we all knew his name.
“C’mon, babe, sit and shake that thing for me, huh?” He leered at me, and his friends all chuckled as he patted his lap.
Okay, I get it. Strip clubs are what they are. They’re bastions of male ego and testosterone-laced pits that bring out the worst in guys. I get that and I’m fine with it. But guys like this; they were just the worst. Guys like this weren’t here because they wanted to have a good time, or even because they wanted to see some tits. Guys like this were here because they wanted to wield power over women, and what better way than making a girl take her clothes off and dance while you dangled cash in her face.
“You know I just serve the drinks, Miles!” I did flash my fake smile this time, but he just shook his head.
“Fuck that. Why don’t you come over here and serve my cock, huh?”
His friends lit up with laughter as I gritted my teeth. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, when suddenly, I felt a meaty hand grab my ass. I whirled around, shaking Miles’s hand off of me.
“Okay, I know you know the rules,” I hissed testily, trying to keep my cool. “No touching!”
This wasn’t the first time Miles had tried to put his hands on me. But where the last times he’d just laughed and backed down when I told him to knock it off, this time, he looked at me differently.
“Fuck that, I drop a ton of cash here bitch. If I want to touch the goods, I’m gonna touch the goods. Now get that sweet ass back over here.”
I could feel my blood begin to boil and I set my jaw. I was just going to walk away. Fuck it. No one needed cash from a guy like this. I glared at him and turned to go, but suddenly two of his buddies stood from the booth and moved to block my way back to the bar.
“I said, bring that sweet ass over here, girl.” Miles growled, grinning at me wickedly. I gasped as his two buddies grabbed my arms, and Miles’s hand started to reach out for me as he leered at me.
Suddenly, the two guys holding me grunted as they jerked away from me. A strong, powerful hand grabbed my arm instead, and yanked me past the two of them, away from Miles. I gasped as I whirled and fell against a hard, thick, muscled chest, and when I looked up into those piercing dark eyes, I felt my heart skip a beat.
It was him.
My stranger. My very huge, very frightening looking with that scowl on his face stranger.
“Hey!” Miles staggered drunkenly to his feet. “Are you fucking stupid, my man?”
The stranger’s hand tightened on me, and I could actually hear the low growl in his throat. His eyes blazed pure hate and murder at Miles, and his jaw muscles twitched like an animal.
“She’s with me.”
Miles snorted. “The fuck she is.”
“I bought a private dance,” the stranger growled darkly, his voice rumbling through the neon glow of the room.
Miles laughed thinly. “Bullshit. I’ve been barking up that tree for fucking weeks. This one thinks she’s too good for lap dances. A stripper who doesn’t want my money, how fucking dumb is that, huh?”
“I’m not a stripper, asshole,” I spat. Miles just rolled his eyes, and I was about to wind back and finally give him the slap he’d been asking for for weeks, but the man’s hand tightened on my arm, like he was reading my thoughts.
“That dance,” he growled into my ear. “Let’s go.”
“Look,” I hissed, whirling to fix my scowl up at him. I jabbed a finger into his big chest, shivering at the feel of his muscles under that thin black t-shirt.
“I just said, I’m not—”
“Not lookin’ to chit-chat, sweetheart,” he said darkly. “Just want those three dances we agreed on. Now let’s get to it.” His blank face was impossible to read. I was about to protest again, or just scream for one of the bouncers, when those fierce eyes burned right into mine. And slowly, I got it.
“Right, yeah, three songs honey,” I said, my voice shaking with forced confidence. God, even talking to this man had my nerves jangling and my pulse racing.
“Are you fucking shitting me?” Miles’s face went red, and it looked like he wanted to throw the beer in his hand at the nearest wall. “You fuckin bitch, I’ve been asking—”
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” the big stranger rumbled, turning and tugging me after him. I could feel my heart racing, my breath coming quick as I started to follow.
“Hold the fuck up.”
The man froze as Miles’s words hit us from behind.
“Do we fuckin’ know each other?”
“Doubt it,” the huge stranger grunted.
I glanced back to see Miles narrowing his eyes at the big man’s back before he shook his head.
“Fuck it, enjoy her. My gift to you, asshole.”
I could see the stranger’s shoulders tense, and his jaw clench tight like he was biting something back.
“Let’s go,” he growled, tugging my arm as he strode across the floor, right for the VIP room. I gasped as I stumbled after him, barely keeping up with his huge stride, especially in freaking heels. He tugged me through the black velvet curtain into the back hallway, shouldered open the door to the first VIP private room, and tugged me inside.
My whole body trembled as he shut the door with a sharp click. Fear, excitement, and something I didn’t even dare dwell on teased through my body as the man turned to loom over me.
“What— Who are you?” I whispered breathlessly.
“No one,” his deep voice rumbled back. “There are cameras in here I presume?”
I nodded. I’d never been in one of the private rooms of course, but I did know they had cameras for the girls’ safety.
“Good.” He moved past me and sank his huge frame into the big plush couch across the wall. “So come over here and dance for me.”
“I’m not a stripper,” I hissed.
“And I don’t give a shit. That man out there is far more dangerous than you think he is. He’s also not fucking stupid, and if he’s not bribing your in-house security for access to the camera room at th
is very second, it’ll happen in the next few. I promise you that.” His gaze fixed on me, making me shiver as I stood rooted to the spot.
“Keep your clothes on, sweetheart. But I need you to get over here, get on my lap, and dance for me like you want it.”
“I— I don’t know how?”
He flashed a half grin. “You never sat on a man’s lap before?”
“Not one as big as you.”
I swallowed as the words blurted out before I could stop them, but the man’s grin only widened as his eyes locked on mine.
“Sweetheart,” he growled lowly. “There ain’t many men as big as me.”
I trembled, my pulse skipping as the very obvious double meaning of his words sank in.
“Here,” he purred, crooking his fingers. “This is for both our sakes, by the way. If that man doesn’t see you riding my lap, there’s going to be fucking trouble.”
I chewed on his words, my hands twisting together. I looked up at him — his deep dark eyes locked right on me and that fierce look hanging in them. Yeah, he was big, and kind of scary and imposing. But then, there was something that just felt right with him. Something that made me feel so protected and so totally at ease in that little dark room with him.
Slowly, I moved towards him, took a breath and sat in his lap.
God he was warm. And huge, and so fucking strong feeling. His body felt hard beneath me, muscled and sinewy. I straddled him, facing him, my breath coming faster and faster.
“Dance for me,” he growled.
“I—”
I gasped as he leaned close, his lips brushing my ear and making my entire body melt.
“Dance for me, beautiful.”
Slowly, I started swaying. I had no idea what I was doing, but I just did what felt natural. My hands rested on his shoulders, and I started to move my hips, swallowing heatedly as I began to rock them over his. My eyes locked with his, and I shivered.
There was just this something there in his gaze. His eyes drew me in, captivating me, and I could feel myself just sinking into him, melting against his hard, masculine body. I felt dizzy as I let myself drown in his eyes — the heat in them practically glowing in the darkness.
I blushed as I realized my tiny skirt was practically up around my waist. And I was silently thankful that it was dark enough for him not to be able to see my black panties which he’d certainly be able to see if he glanced down. But his eyes stayed locked on mine. I moved more, swallowing as I started to drown in that look of his. My hips ground into his, my mind churning at a million miles a second. And slowly, traitorously, my body started to respond.
I gasped quietly when I felt myself getting warmer, and when I felt my nipples start to harden and strain at the front of my tight tank top. His hands slid up over my waist, his big, powerful fingers teasing the bare skin between my tank top and my skirt and making me whimper quietly. They slid around to my back, holding me against him as my hips slid back and forth on his lap.
And before I could even stop it, my panties started to get very, very wet. But it wasn’t just me letting this go past just a fake lap dance to get away from Miles.
When I first felt it, I thought it was his belt buckle, or an older brick-style cell phone in his pocket. But when it started to throb, and get warmer against my panties, my jaw started to drop.
No way. No WAY is that all him.
He felt absolutely huge between my legs, his erection throbbing between my thighs and pushing at the front of his jeans. The big bulge rubbed against me, making me whimper out loud before I could even stop myself.
The stranger growled.
“You’re good at this,” he groaned out, his eyes flashing in the dim light. “For not being a stripper.”
“You’re…” I swallowed. “You’ve got a big lap. Maybe that makes it easier.”
He grinned a small, tight smile.
Slowly, I rocked my hips against him in time with the music, feeling the undulations of the bass move through me. The beat thundered through my body and my hips and into his lap, and I could feel him throbbing so hard against my thigh through his jeans.
…It was like I was dreaming, but the feel of his hands on my back and his body between my legs told me it was very very real.
“What’s your name.” It was a command more than a question, but at the same time, not demanding. “And don’t say Ashley.”
I ginned quietly, biting my lip.
“Larkin.”
“Larkin.”
My name rumbled from his throat, making me shiver against him.
“That’s a pretty name.”
I blushed like a freaking school girl.
“Are you going to tell me yours?”
“Nope.”
I grinned, looking at him curiously. His fearsomeness was disappearing more and more the longer I stayed this close to him, turning into something different — something warmer, and something that tugged at my body. One song slipped into another, and I moved slower on him, panting quietly as I felt the thick bulge in his jeans rub over my pussy through my panties. Part of me felt so freaking slutty and dirty, but the other part of me thrilled at what I was doing. I mean, shit, I was straddling the lap of the most dangerous, gorgeous, and biggest man I’d ever laid eyes on, feeling his thick erection grind between my legs.
…A girl could have a worse day at work, right?
The more I rocked on his lap, and the more my pulse burned hotter and hotter, the more I started to melt into him. The music seemed to throb right through my body, and slowly, I started to lose myself. I felt like I was drunk as I clung to his shoulders, rocking my hips over him and shivering as his hands slid up and down my back.
He leaned closer, and I swear he was about to kiss me, when suddenly, all freaking hell broke loose.
I shrieked as the door to the room crashed open behind me. But before I could even whirl around, the stranger was lunging to his feet, tossing me behind him onto the couch and bringing his fists up.
“Well, well, well!”
Miles and two of his buddies kicked at the wreckage of the door as they stepped into the doorframe. The three of them were all armed, with guns trained on my stranger.
“I didn’t see it at first. I should have, so that’s on me.” Miles made a tsking sound as he shook his head. “But I know who the fuck you are now, you miserable little shit.”
“Walk away,” my stranger growled. Miles just laughed.
“What, so you can come find me at another strip club? Maybe at a restaurant? Yeah, no, fuck that.”
The scream caught in my throat as Miles raised the gun up and trained it right on the big stranger’s chest.
“Time to finish the job I thought I’d finished years ago, you prick.”
He raised the gun up, and suddenly, everything went into slow motion.
The stranger’s foot kicked up, catching the edge of the shitty little faux-wood drink table between us and the door and flipping it into the air. He caught the thing in one huge, powerful hand, and before anyone could even react, he’d swung it like a big bat at the three guys in front of us. Miles grunted as the table exploded against the side of his head, sending him reeling into the other two as they all went tumbling into the wall.
I gasped, breathless as the stranger grabbed me by the arms and basically swung me over the men groaning on the ground into the hallway. He followed, yanking the door shut and jamming the drink table against the doorknob and the doorframe. The man whirled on me, his huge frame bulging with muscles as his eyes burned right into me.
“Let’s go, now.”
“What?” I squeaked out, my voice breaking as my pulse thundered through me. “I don’t even know who you—”
“It’s real simple, sweetheart,” he growled, his jaw tensing at the sound of the men still in the private room slowly getting to their feet.
“Stay here and you die. Come with me and live.”
I balked at him, when suddenly, he just shook his head, grabbed
my arm, and started pulling me down the dark hallway.
“Wait, go with you where?!”
“Away from here.”
He kicked the back door to the club open, pulling me after him out into the warm night air.
“Hang on, I can’t just—”
I gasped as he whirled, pulling me into him. “You can’t just what, leave?” His lips pursed together through his beard. “You live here? In Salt Creek?”
“Maybe,” I said lamely.
“You want to go take a picture to remember it by?”
I gave him a sour look.
“So let's go,” he muttered, eyeing the doorway before grabbing my hand and pulling me after him across the parking lot.
My head spun, my heart pounding in my chest. Hang on, was I seriously about to just go somewhere with this guy? And why the hell was I in trouble? I just worked there! Whatever issue the stranger had with Miles was his own thing, right?
But then, I kept trotting after him. I knew I could have screamed, or yanked away if I really wanted to. And I was pretty sure if I did do either of those, he’d let me be. But I didn’t want him to. I almost couldn’t quite figure out what the hell I was thinking, but there it was, as insane as it sounded. I didn’t want the big, dark, dangerous stranger to let me be.
“What about my things?”
“You can get new things.”
We stopped in front of a black and chrome Harley, painted with these gorgeous intricate skulls and vines down the side of the fuel tank. My stranger swung a leg over and slid on, and I blinked as I moved to numbly climb on behind him when he shook his head.
“No, here,” he growled, his eyes intensely on me as he tapped the seat in front of him.
I frowned. “I thought I rode on the back?”
I’d never actually been on a motorcycle before, but that’s where the passenger rode on one, right? The back?
“I’m too big,” he muttered. “You won’t be able to hang on. So let’s go sweetheart, right here.”
I swallowed as he reached out and grabbed my hands, easily swinging my whole body up onto the bike. I trembled as I settled right into his lap, my legs spread wide around the bike with his big arms curling around me, holding the handlebars. He cranked the engine, and I gasped loudly as the big bike roared to life beneath us.