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Lola chews her lip. “I ran away when I was fifteen and…I lied about my age so I could get a job dancing, just off the Strip. Those girls taught me how to survive in a way my parents never did and I paid my way through the dancing lessons I’d always wanted.” She pauses. “Being a showgirl was only supposed to be temporary. I really want to…”
“What?” I prompt when she falls silent.
“I’ve always wanted to teach dance classes. To the kids who can’t afford it, like I couldn’t, you know?” She plays with her fingers in her lap, totally unaware that I fall more and more in love with her with every second that ticks by. “The small cabaret where I was working closed down and I needed a job fast. There was an audition at a bigger place…a well-known place…”
I can tell she’s purposely not telling me the name of the casino where she works, but I bite my tongue to keep from interrogating it out of her. I don’t like that she compared me to a man who treats her like a puppet. I just want to be the man who makes her safe and happy.
And pregnant.
Sue me.
“Anyway, I nailed the audition.” She sniffs. “I’m a damn good dancer.”
Her touch of arrogance is like a siren call to my own huge ego and I swear to God, if she asked me for a condo on the moon right now, I’d work it out. “Okay, so you got the job…”
“Yes. And everything was fine at first. I became the featured dancer, my name on the front of the program and everything. But my boss started withholding my salary. He began paying my rent directly and only doling out exactly what I needed. He overworks me and has the other dancers act as his spies. He’s probably threatening to fire them right now for losing track of me.” She stops to squeeze her eyes closed. “He made me dependent on him so I wouldn’t have the means to quit. It happened so fast and I was distracted by the job.”
By the time she’s finished speaking, rage is making my hands shake. “Well you’re not dependent anymore, Lola,” I say through my teeth. “Call him and tell him you’re out. I’ve got you now.”
“I’ve tried to get out, but he’s…threatened me, my parents. I haven’t seen them in three years, but I don’t want them to get hurt because of me. You don’t understand…” She drops her voice to a whisper. “He’s crazy. Money hungry. And I bring in a lot of money.”
Yeah, I’ll just bet she does. She’s probably been raking in cash for the casinos since before she was even of legal age. I don’t like thinking of her dancing around on stage in an itty-bitty sparkly costume, either, but that is a problem for later. “I’ll handle this, Lola. You’re done. No more Vegas. No more of this bullshit.”
“You can’t get involved. Please. I don’t want you in danger, too.”
I’m going to let that shot at my capabilities pass. I guess I’ll just have to prove to her I’m invincible—and damn, I’m looking forward to it. “Why don’t you want me in danger?” I exhale the question against her bee-stung lips. “You feel something for me, baby?”
“I don’t know,” she grumbles, adorably. “Maybe.”
My mouth spreads into a grin. “Maybe?”
She gives me an elbow in the ribs. “Aren’t you in enough trouble without borrowing mine, Mr. Brooklyn Brawler Tulane?”
“You mean my suspension?”
Discomfort snakes through my middle. I try not to let it show on my face, but when she tilts her head and peers closer, I know I don’t have her fooled. Uh-huh. Not Lola.
“I, uh…yeah, I’m a little worried the league is getting fed up with me. When I get angry, I can’t seem to control it. I just have all this pent-up…”
“Aggression?”
I hum in my throat, very, very aware of the way her ass cheeks cradle my erection. “Yeah, something like that. I’m constantly frustrated. Hockey was my outlet for so long, but lately it’s not enough. I need…”
“Sex?” Her eyes roam over my shoulders. “I’m no expert, but I’d say a man your size, with your stamina, needs…you know.” Color blossoms on her face. “What I said before.”
Huh.
Could that possibly be true? I’ve needed to get laid all this time? Maybe it never occurred to me because I’ve never been so attracted to any woman the way I am with Lola. Not even close. I’ve always just trained harder. Gotten to the gym earlier and tried to burn through my excess energy. However, the idea of pumping my cock into Lola’s little pussy and coming inside of her promises a release nothing else could give me.
“We clearly have a duty to test out your theory,” I rasp, trailing my fingertips over the curve of her knee and up the center of her thighs. “For hockey.”
