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Her eyes slid to the place where the dancer had been standing. She looked back at me with a quirked eyebrow. “Yeah, well,” she threw me a one-shouldered shrug, “this isn’t my usual beat.”
“Oh yeah? And what is?” I clicked my fingers at the bartender, indicating that they should replenish Nora’s drink. They did so and brought me my usual—a white Russian. Puns be damned.
“I thought I was out of the business.” Her mouth twisted, “Been out of town, doing the domestic thing. But that didn’t work out.”
My mouth turned down. I gave her a disappointed look. “Damn, don’t tell me. Crazy ex?”
She laughed and then leaned in, beckoning me to do the same. I gave her my ear, eager to hear what she had to say. “The gag is,I’mthe crazy ex,” she whispered, her warm breath ghosting against my skin.
I actually laughed out loud. I was not expecting that. I leaned back, seeing that she was smiling up at me. And she had dimples… kissable dimples.
This might be a problem.
“Do tell,” I said.
She inclined her head, mouth turning down. “He made me quit my job all of a sudden… which means no references, right? Took me to this town in the middle of nowhere and substituted my birth control with sugar pills. Blew through my savings while he was ‘looking for a job’, all the while selling me this line about happily ever after. My sister just died, so I wanted to believe him so bad.” Her voice broke and she swallowed hard but didn’t burst into tears or anything. I reached out and squeezed her hand. It would work in my favor to console her.
She gave me a quick, humorless smile. “Finally woke up. Skipped out of town with the one thing he loved. A Harley-Davidson. Mint condition. Sold it when I got back into the city, but I kinda need to get some work… fast.” She looked at me and smirked. “You know what I mean?”
I couldn’t help raking over her body from head to toe. She wore a white chiffon blouse which was practically transparent in the neon lights. I could see the twin peaks of her breasts pushing into a black lacy bra. There was nothing extraordinary about them and yet my palm itched to curve beneath the swell of them and squeeze. My mouth watered at the thought of suckling her nipple through her shirt, wetting the material so it clung to her skin and rendered her practically naked.
I could feel my body react to my fantasies. I wasn’t used to feeling so out of control.
What hoodoo even is this?
“You want to work for me?” My voice was fairly level, which was gratifying.
“I wanna work in your club, if you’ll have me.”
The way she said it… I was ready to plow her right there.
I cleared my throat. “Let’s talk in my office.”
She nodded, following me as I made my way to the elevator, parting the crowds like Moses did the Red Sea.
I know this is stupid. Iknowit.
I hardly knew anything about this girl—she was an unknown quantity. For all I knew, she could have been a Fed. Yet there I was, letting my dick lead me into trouble for the first time in my life. She stood in front of me in the lift, turning her back on me. I could smell her. She smelled of mint and strawberry. It was a pleasant scent. Not intoxicating. And yet I wanted to lean forward and bury my face in her neck.
There was another smell. One I knew well. One that fascinated me more than the rest.
It was the smell of fear.
CHAPTERFOUR
ALEXEI
Iunlocked my office door with my thumbprint before standing back and gesturing for her to enter before me. She took a deep breath, stepping into the room and stopping in the middle. She had on a black pencil skirt that gently outlined her curves. Her ass was rounded enough that I wondered if she’d had some work done. I walked up to her where she stood trembling slightly. She stared at my desk.
Stopping just behind her, I bent down and breathed against her neck. She jumped and my hand came down on her shoulder. I spoke softly into her ear, “Are you a work of art or nature, Nora?”
She whipped around, looking at me with wide eyes. I figured if she’d really worked at a strip club before, she’d be used to the question. She made a sound somewhere between a giggle and a whimper, and I could see her pulse beating rapidly in her throat.
“It’s all me,” she replied, but she sounded strangled.
I huffed in amusement, taking one step back. Just enough to give her the illusion of space. “Gotta be sure. You know how our business works. Or don’t you?”
Her pulse beat blue and fast against her collarbone. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was scared. “I mostly did burlesque. Stage work. Not much groping.” Her voice was breathy. I hoped it was because of me.
