Chapter 3
Mike was so surprised to see Stardust there in front of him, that he sat unmoving with his mouth open for several moments. It took an ear-splitting whistle of appreciation from the table next to him to jar him out of his shocked freeze. He managed to close his mouth, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from the stage—away from the man on stage. Mike had thought the other man was beautiful during their first meeting but seeing him now with his creamy skin dusted with gold glitter and sultry dark makeup enhancing his golden eyes, he was in awe.
Stardust’s, or Glimmer’s, lithe body moved in sensuous waves, hips rolling, spine arching as if in the throes of a climax. His long-legged stride carried him to the front edge of the stage, where he ripped open his shirt. Glimmer spun around in a slow circle as he shrugged out of the mock Air Force uniform top and tossed it to the side, leaving him in nothing but his boots and those little shorts. But a heartbeat later they came off too, Glimmer’s hands sliding over his hips and ass before he unzipped and shimmied out of the shorts, revealing a pair of skimpy dark-blue square cut briefs. The underwear decorated with sparkling rhinestones over his groin somehow managed to be even smaller than the miniscule shorts he’d discarded, the sheer material giving the club patrons a tantalizing peek at the bare skin beneath.
With that sheet of black hair swinging against his back, Stardust returned to the pole. He made it appear effortless to climb and spin and hold himself suspended, but the lean muscles revealed the strength required to clasp the pole and hold his entire body up with nothing but his thighs and core strength. Mike watched the raven-haired man’s every move, completely enthralled with his glowing, seductive presence.
∞ ∞ ∞
As Aiden reached the middle of his performance, he gracefully dismounted from the pole for more floor work. Now was the time to really get the club patrons riled up, teasing and flirting until the cash in their pockets ended up at his feet. Looking out over the cheering and whistling crowd, he noticed a pair of broad shoulders a few rows back. Something about the build was familiar, but that section of the club was in shadow, preventing him from seeing the person’s face. He was about to mentally shrug and move on, when the strobe lights flashed over that area, giving Aiden a quick glimpse of a hard, clean-shaven jaw, skin tanned by the sun, and a sharp haircut. It was enough for recognition to hit.
Aiden let his lips curl in a grin. The set of shoulders belonged to the beefcake from the firehouse. The poor guy looked uncomfortable, sitting with his neck stiff and back ramrod straight. But despite his apparent discomfort, his eyes were locked on the stage, following Aiden’s every step. Aiden kept dancing but instead of casting suggestive glances over the patrons as he usually did during a performance, he watched Zielinski. Aiden knew the exact moment the other man realized Aiden was staring at him, because he immediately averted his gaze. Aiden chuckled to himself and looked away too, whipping around to strut back over to the pole.
He rolled his hips and dollar bills flew onto the stage before he even laid hands on the pole. He grasped the cool metal with one hand and walked around it, lifting up into a fireman’s spin before transitioning into attitude. Still spinning, he brought his knees together, legs bent and toes pointed, sitting back into chair before landing lightly, feet spread wide to bend over and twerk. The audience roared with approval. Aiden grinned, flipping his hair back as he straightened. Gliding away from the pole to the right side of the stage, he paused for patrons to slip money in the waistband and leg holes of his sheer briefs. Each patron who slipped him singles was rewarded by Aiden standing right in front of them so they could watch him make it clap up close and personal.
When there was about a minute left of the song, Aiden gracefully ran back to the pole for one last combination of spins and flips. He grabbed onto the pole, pulling himself up near the top before flipping upside down into an inverted split. The crowd was still cheering when he rolled it to a Superman, one arm stretched forward, both legs extended in a straight line behind him. He slowly spun with the pose until he was inches above the floor and then flipped over, landing in a split. Aiden eased to his back and rolled around, sweeping his hands through the money scattered across the stage and gathering it up to rub it over his near naked body. Building to the end, he threw a handful of money up in the air, letting it flutter down around him, which of course inspired the people near the stage to throw their own cash, adding to the rainfall of dollar bills.
Aiden rose up onto his knees, and crawled to the center of the stage. Lips parted in a sultry smile, he popped up into a squat, bounced it twice with his knees coyly pressed together, then flashed his legs open wide. He stayed in that pose, snapping his right hand up for a sharp salute when the final beat of the music hit. The Flirtatious Fox exploded with applause. Aiden winked at the crowd, unabashedly reveling in the cheers and loving the admiring whistles. But like the song said, what he truly loved was the money that continued to rain down around him. It was still falling when he got up, bowed, and sauntered backstage.
“Nice job,” the director said.
Aiden grabbed the bottle of water he’d left there and sucked back a huge gulp. It was hot under the stage lights. “Thanks.” He waited in the wings as his money and the parts of his costume he’d discarded were collected by a member of the staff. When they brought it back and handed everything over, Aiden thanked them and gave them a tip.
In the dressing room, he tucked his cash into his boots. He made a quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up, then returned to the mirrored vanity in the dressing room to reapply his deodorant, gulp down more water, and change into another outfit. This one was a sleeveless black leotard, with red military piping, gold decorative buttons and a deep V to show off his chest. Black gloves and an officer’s hat finished the look, giving it a Dom vibe, which suited him fine.
“Gonna hit the floor and see what the crowd is like tonight,” he said to the house mom.
She handed him a snack bag of mini-pretzels, which he gratefully accepted.
“It’s wild out there. Have fun.”
Aiden nodded. He took a few minutes to eat before he left the dressing room. The second he strolled out into the club, several regulars called out to him. Aiden waved and blew flirtatious kisses to everyone. But he didn’t want to get sidetracked before he reached his goal, so he didn’t stop to chat with any of his fans as he headed to the section three rows back from center stage. When he reached the group Zielinski sat with, they all perked up, looking excited and eager that he was among them. A guy in the first seat spoke up, his eyes bright and face flushed from alcohol.
“Hello, darlin’. I love your work.”
“Thank you,” Aiden said. He smiled at them all. “And thank you everyone for coming out tonight. How many of you were members of our armed forces?” Nearly the entire group raised their hands. Aiden cocked his hip and gave them a saucy salute. “Thank you for your service.”
He strolled down the line of patrons, giving each of them a moment of his attention, asking if they were having a good time, signaling the server to come over and freshen their drinks. A woman with short, dark hair and warm brown skin stared up at him with heart eyes, so he paused and flirted with her for a moment before moving on. Finally, he made it to where Zielinski sat, looking as if he were in a game ofDuck, Duck, Gooseand desperately hoping he wouldn’t be picked to be the goose. Aiden stopped and smiled down at him.
“And who is this? I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before.”
The happy drunk from the first table spoke up again.
“That’s Mike. He’s new in town. We had to drag him out tonight but I bet he’s glad he came now,” he said loudly, ending with a boisterous laugh.
Aiden put a hand on his bare chest, smiling as if he was delighted. “Ah, a newbie! Welcome to St. Louis. I should welcome you properly.” He cast an expectant glance at the patrons closest to him and they reacted predictably.
“Get him a lap dance!”
Cash immediately appeared, waving from several hands, all passed down to contribute to Mike’s lap dance. Aiden took the bills and slipped them into his boot. When he looked back up, a ruddy flush had appeared on Zielinski’s cheeks.
“You up for a dance, soldier?”
Bright green eyes focused on his for a long moment before Zielinski gave a tight nod.
“Good,” Aiden put both palms on his thighs, slowly caressing his own skin. “Just one rule. No touching.”
Zielinski gave him another one of those tight nods to show he understood.
