Page 67 of Filthy Fae

Scarlet

The crowd at the Full Moon was growing by the minute. People lounged across velvet couches, sipped martinis, and doled out dollar bills as if they were printed on gold.

Though the sun had not set, it was impossible to tell from inside the club. The furnishings were fine, from the crystal chandeliers to the gleaming wood surfaces and plush couches.

It was exactly the kind of club I’d expect Oxonos to run. It looked like a respectable gentleman’s club on the surface—extravagant, even. In the private corners, however, the unmistakable sounds of slurping, smacking flesh, and muffled gasps told a very different story. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Nancy turned to me and said, “When we were planning this, your sister made it clear that it’s best to avoid the back rooms. She said the owner doesn’t care how the men and women here make their money, so long as they’re making money. A lot of workers give more than lap dances. There’s a certain expectation if you go into a private room with a patron.”

I leaned into the curtain at the side of the stage, still blocked from view. “I can’t believe my sister works here.”

“From the sound of it, your sister loves working here—including heading into the back rooms.” Nancy lifted a beer, took a swig, and shrugged. “Hats off to her if that’s her thing. I don’t enjoy my job most days, and I get paid shit for it. According to your sister, she makes good money. She says werewolves are immune to disease and only at risk of pregnancy certain times of the year, so she fucks who and when she wants. Makes sense to me.”

Obviously, my sister was telling stories she had no right to tell outsiders.

“Not exactly,” I said, with a non-committal shrug. The first part was true. Like most supernatural species, werewolves didn’t get sick or contract diseases like humans and mages did. But werewolf births were exceedingly rare. Around the time I was born, werewolves became fertile about twice a year, usually syncing up with their packmates. That hadn’t happened in years.

“I’m starting to get some demon activity.” Nancy stared at a rune painted on her arm. “Do you see anyone you recognize? If our theory’s correct, it’ll be someone the queen wants to have sex with.”

Feeling my heart flutter in my chest, I stepped out from behind the heavy velvet curtain on one side and onto the edge of the gleaming wood stage. Even though I was mostly out of view of the patrons, I drew more than one hungry gaze. Several patrons in suits attempted to get my attention by craning their necks. Like all the women and men here, I wore nothing but a black thong, and I could feel their gazes sliding over my naked curves. Because of how widely Zeezee had advertised her sex show, the patrons expected me to pull one of them up onto the stage to fuck.

After Lance had laid me out on his bed and licked my clit until I writhed in orgasm, I thought I’d be wrung out. But I already felt a hot hunger building below my belly.

I had no desire to have sex with anyone but my boyfriends, but having the men and women of the audience watch me with lustful gazes made every inch of my body tighten with awareness. I could see why Zeezee refused to quit stripping no matter how much my parents nagged her about it. It might be a job for her and a kink for me, but even so, there was something magical about being on this stage.

My biggest disappointment was that Darrel and Lance wouldn’t be in the audience. As much as they both said they wanted me to explore my sexual fantasies, they drew the line at watching.

Lance had volunteered to guard the parking lot while Darrel patrolled nearby, driving up and down the surrounding streets. Both were merely back up and might have to leave if my pack called. Darrel’s pack had arrived a few hours ago, and they were all on surveillance. So far, there had been no movement from the fae.

Looking over the room, I spotted Mack and Aaron at the bar, both sipping beers and watching me. A small crowd of women and men had gathered around the pair, clearly hoping to pick them up. A pulse of jealousy woke in my belly. I knew that under the circumstances it was ridiculous, but I felt it all the same.

“I don’t recognize anyone in the crowd but Mack and Aaron,” I whispered to Nancy.

“Well, he’s definitely here at the club somewhere,” Nancy said from the wings as her rune turned a brilliant red. She pulled down her sleeve over the mark. “I’m going to need about thirty minutes, at most an hour. Can you give me that?”

An hour? The idea was as terrifying as it was exhilarating. I knew that everyone here had their phones and all recording devices confiscated at the door, so this would go no further, but still. There were at least fifty patrons out there and half as many workers.

“Scarlet?”

Swallowing hard, I whispered, “I’ve got this.”

Not used to such high stilettos, I stepped out onto the stage and completely skirted the pole, shining from the center of the room. Pop music with a techno bass beat pulsed through the air, thrumming through my body.

In the brightly lit areas around the stage, a crowd of humans in suits sat beside several dragon shifters with their colorful hair and sheen of scales. Troll and human women sat directly before the stage, their hands overflowing with dollar bills and their laps full of male strippers.

Mostly naked women and men carried drinks and gyrated on laps. Some gathered at the bar, sipping drinks along with the patrons. The air pulsed with sexual energy, and Elvira’s blaring pop songs took on a more sensual edge.

Turning away from the stage, I ran my hands down my sides and over my hips in a slow, sensual movement, rolling my hips. I’d never stripped before, but after dancing half my life, the motions came naturally. I moved into one of my more sensual dance routines from when I was in high school, slowing it down and stroking my hands along my curves. Bending at the waist, I peered back at the crowd, making sure I had the audience’s full attention.

Letting my wolf surge forward, I extended one claw. My wolf obliged, and I sliced through the band of my black thong and let the material slide to the floor, baring my sex to the crowd.

Whistles and cheers greeted my ears, and I felt my confidence swell. My heart galloped in my chest as I straightened and turned around, kicking the thong to the side and standing naked before the audience. My wolf preened at the attention, loving every second of it, drinking up the admiration like sustenance she’d been missing.

Several of the patron’s gazes glowed. I told my pack to stay away tonight, meaning that other shifters had a similar reaction when their animal-self filled them.

I rolled my hips to the sultry rhythm, turning slowly with my arms rising above my head, letting the crowd see every inch of my body. The rush of the entrance faded, and a moment of hesitation flickered through me. What if I was making a mistake?

But I needed to do this. Not only to catch the demon, but because I’d probably never have another chance to live out my deepest, naughtiest fantasy. I didn’t want to be a stripper and take off my clothes for money every night like my sister. And what other guy besides Mack, the man who knew and understood my deepest longings and needs, would whole-heartedly do this with me—for me?

No one, that’s who. Despite what my mother had said, Mack wouldn’t be easy to lose. I knew that if Mack stayed with me, he’d lose his family forever. I loved him too much to let that happen. For his own sake, I had to let Mack go. Before that happened, I wanted to fulfill every fantasy he had. Tonight was about my fantasy, though, and I wasn’t backing out. We’d set everything up, and I was fucking doing it.