Chapter 17
Tessa
Ispentthebetterhalf of the night reeling over what had happened, keeping my eyes far the fuck away from where Levi’s office was located to avoid drawing any more attention to myself.
The look in his eyes, the anger, the annoyance. And then he went so far as to offer me a hand, only to take it back and leave as if I were nothing after the fact. His reaction said it all—that I’d fucked up.
How fucking embarrassing, to be walked in on by your boss who is—I might add—hot as fuck and—oh, let’s not forget—the one you were fucking fantasizing over!
Come the fuck on, Tessa…
“Hey, beautiful. How about a lap dance?”
I winced as I dragged my gaze to the edge of the platform, finding a man falling over himself with intoxication as he gripped onto the bars for dear life and pressed his drunken, flushed face between them.Gross…
“Uh… How about no, and can you get your hands off the bars? You shouldn’t even be this close to the cage.” I blew him off, continuing to dance to the music in an attempt to ignore his advances, hoping that he’d take the hint and simplyfuck off.
“C’mon, just one, sweetheart. I’ve got a stack of fifties with your name on it.” He intoned, as he shoved an arm inside the cage, reaching for one of my heels.
With cat-like reflexes, I lifted and slammed my left foot onto his hand, pinning it to the platform with firm, unrelenting pressure. Grinding my teeth, I bared them like a wildcat as I knelt to his level and gripped his greasy chin between my fingers. I dug my red stiletto nails into his skin and pulled his face closer to the bars until I could see him cringe at the sharp pain that radiated between his hand and face.
“Keep your filthy hands away from me before I ram this heel so far up your ass that you won’t see straight for a fucking week—and that’s not a threat,sweetheart,” I seethed through my teeth, at a level only he could hear, for his benefit. My words were venomous and promised every ounce of violence I had to give.
Theodore not only taught me how to protect my image, but he also made the effort to ensure that I could defend myself. There was empowerment in knowing that while I may look cute and innocent on the outside, inside I was a fucking wraith set to kill anyone who fucked with me—not that I’ve had the opportunity… yet. There’s a first time for everything, though.
As I pushed even more weight into my heel, the sharp point digging deeper into his skin, threatening to break it, I glared daggersinto his brown eyes, hoping mine looked as fired up and menacing as I felt.
“Get. The fuck. Away from me.” I sneered once more. “Or do you want to see just how well I can keep my promises?” Our eyes were locked in a battle that I refused to lose.
Finally grasping that I wasn’t about to let up, and he was either going to leave here with a broken hand or a bruised ego, the drunk asshole buckled under the pressure, backing down with a grunted growl—like the fucking Neanderthal he was.
Satisfied, I gracefully returned to stand, retracting my shoe from the back of his palm. As I watched him stumble back into the shadows, I felt as though someone was watching me, my stomach twisting and turning at the unnerving awareness.
Brushing off the eerie feeling, I resumed the last few minutes of my shift, desperately looking forward to my final break of the night and getting the hell out of here.
Thesecondmyshiftended, I hauled ass out the back door for fresh air and a momentary escape from all the sweat-soaked, sexually aroused bodies. Every night was the same, only this time I spent most of it avoiding Levi—or the other way around...
Even being well past midnight, the heat outside was still intense, and pressing my body against the bricks offered no relief, making it almost pointless to be out here. But I had to choose betweensuffering in peace or spending my last fifteen minutes hiding out in the locker room.
I felt so fucking gross as sweat beaded down my forehead and chest, melting into my bikini and hair. I needed a shower—a long one, to wash away this entire night.
It was moments like these when I got in my head and started to regret abandoning a life I was born and raised to thrive in.
I was now lonely, tired, and fucking lost.
I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
Freedom, attention, love.
A family, a future.
To take this fucking wig off—
A loud bang came from my left, the rear metal door slamming against the brick wall with an aggressive force. Startled by the sound, I whipped my head to the emergency exit, spotting a dark figure as it stepped out and into the light.
It was none other than the slimy drunk motherfucker who tried to play grab ass with me while I was dancing.Fucking great. I guess it could’ve been worse…Levi. I still wasn’t ready to face him.
“There you are. I thought I saw you run out here after your shift. I suppose when a bird escapes their cage, the first place they’d fly would be outside.” He slipped his hands into his front pockets as he lazily stalked toward me, seeming far more composed than he appeared a mere twenty minutes ago.
