Page 9 of Reckless

A black stage sprawled down the middle of the space and had two other stages connected to it in a T-shape. Situated randomly throughout the room were several single stage areas with their own individual poles that had plush seating all around it. There was hardly a seat available.

Simon pushed his hands deep into his pants pockets, his dark eyes growing wide as he looked around. It was objectively impressive, but we were here to do a job. It seemed completely lost on Simon though the moment a topless woman walked by. He might have been the closest rendition of a cartoon character that had their eyes bugging out and tongue wagging, because he followed her looking like a love-struck idiot. My guess was I probably wouldn’t be seeing him the rest of the night, which was fine by me. I tended to work better when I was on my own anyway.

“You want a dance, honey?” A woman with a rhinestone covered corset and short red hair asked. She batted her long eyelashes at me while swaying her hips.

“Actually, where’s the bathroom?” I asked.

Her face hardened and she rolled her eyes. “Back of the club. Second floor.”

She was off before I could say thank you, shimmying up to someone else that might be interested.

Following her instructions, I wound my way up the spiral staircase towards the back of the club, finding the sign for the bathroom buzzing in neon red. Instead of going inside though, I continued casing the place, noting each emergency exit and filed away the array of secluded rooms that were blocked off by a swinging rope with a sign attached that read ‘PRIVATE’, in all caps. Glancing around, to check that no one was around, I hoisted my leg up and over the rope, making my way to the off-limits area. So far, I hadn’t seen anything suspicious that would lead me to believe whoever had killed Kenneth had come here, but I’d been doing this a long time. When something seemed off, I listened to that intuition. And something in my gut told me that I would find the answers I was looking for here.

There were several rooms I passed that sounded like they were doing more than dancing. Not that I was judging. Good for them.

The number of hidden nooks and crannies in this place would make it the perfect hideout, in my opinion, for someone to take refuge in. All you’d have to do is slip into one of these unused rooms and wait long enough. There were no cameras from what I could tell, so there would be no use trying to dig up security footage from that night.

“What are you doing up here?” a voice called out from behind me just as I was about to pull back one of the curtains.

When I spun around, I was met with the stunning vision of a woman with the kind of curves that demanded appreciation, sitting against the wall. I hadn’t seen her tucked away in the dark, but now that I’d spotted her, I couldn’t look away. Holy fucking shit. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

I swallowed hard, tracking her body. Her long, tan legs were crossed at the knee and covered in lace stockings that were held up by a pair of garters. She was completely topless and I licked my lips as I noticed the twin barbell piercings on her pert rosebud nipples. I don’t know why, but my first thought was wondering how they would feel in my mouth.

“I was… uh…” Think, Cal. Form words. Sentences. Anything would be good.

She stood up, unfurling her body like a flower in bloom. My heart rate ticked up several notches as she walked closer. Somehow, in the span of seconds, my mouth had become painfully dry, and my cock had chosen this exact moment to thicken, straining against my pants. Never mind that I had seen plenty of naked women throughout the club that I didn’t react to at all. Well, at all might be a stretch. I definitely noticed how beautiful they were, but I hadn’t felt this instinctual pull like I did with this stunning woman before me. Maybe she had caught me off guard.

Before I could manage to string a semblance of a sentence together, she was right in front of me, smelling like cinnamon and bad decisions.

“You want to get a room?” She asked, her head tilted making her dark hair spill over her shoulder like a freaking siren come to life. Her eyebrow piercing caught the dim light as she arched it up waiting for my answer, hands placed firmly on her hips. I wanted to know what it would feel like to have those hands on me.

I should have said no. Turned around and acted like I was looking for the bathroom. But instead, I nodded my head and followed her into a dark room like I’d been put under some spell. My eyes were glued to her supple hips, watching the way she swayed gracefully from side to side. Maybe she knew some information that would be useful, or maybe Simon was right and I could enjoy myself for once. At least that’s what I told myself as I let her lead me into the dark, private room.

It was quieter here. The bass from the music playing still pulsated but it was blocked out by the closing of the door. There was a private stage here with a single pole and a red wrap around couch that looked like it was made of crushed velvet. Lights were embedded into the ceiling making it look like it was made of stars.

“Have a seat,” she said in a low sultry voice that didn’t seem practiced or for show.

For some reason, the moment I sat down in the middle of the couch, a nervous flutter took flight in my stomach as I watched her walk up to the pole.

A song I’d never heard before started to play and she grabbed the pole with practiced ease, hoisting her curvy body up and around in time to the beat. I was entranced. Unable to tear my eyes away from her. Someone could come in here right now and take my wallet and I still wouldn’t be able to find it in me to give a shit. All that existed was her.

It dawned on me that I probably should have been paying her for the private show she was putting on for me, so I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out several hundreds. Her dark eyes tracked my movements as she danced, and a coy smile tugged at her full lips.

She slid down the pole and started walking straight towards me. When she was directly in front of me, I thought she was going to pocket the cash, but instead she straddled my lap taking me by surprise, which admittedly was a hard thing to do. I was usually good at guessing people’s next move. It was unexpected and intriguing, not knowing what she would do next. With her so close to me, that heady scent of cinnamon felt like it had wrapped around me like a blanket.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“Cal. Callahan,” I answered truthfully.

“Callahan,” she said, rolling each syllable in her mouth like she was savoring it. The raspy way she said my name made me want to hear what she’d sound like screaming it. “I haven’t seen you in here before. Are you new to Starfell?”

“I used to live here when I was younger,” I said as she began to move in sensually slow movements. A smile spread across her face and her eyes twinkled.

“And what brings you back here?” She asked, sliding her body so close to mine that her breasts were dangling right in front of my face. Fuck I wanted to touch her. To feel the weight of her tits in my hands. But I knew that was against the rules. It was strip club 101. No touching the performers. I’d never been so tempted before to break a rule.

“Work,” I grunted. My cock was becoming unbearably painful jutting up against the zipper of my jeans. “I came here with my friend… he… he left me to go get a dance.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, long lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks. Her top teeth sunk into her red stained plush bottom lip while her long brunette hair tickled my shoulder. She sat all the way down on my lap now, nearly touching my hard on. It strained towards her hoping she’d brush against it.