by E. C. Land
Ready to get to the end of the song, I drop to the floor gracefully, giving them a show of getting on all fours. Turning to face the front, I finally glance up to the crowd.
My heart almost stops beating at who is sitting front and center. None other than members of the Devil’s Riot MC, including the one man I’ve dreamed about yet I’m leery to be around. Granted, he seems to be nice to everyone around him, though I see the darkness within him. Badger. His eyes are glued on me and his hands are clenched into fists ready to punch someone.
Glancing away from them, I don’t want to see if my brothers are with them. I’m sure they’d prefer to be home with their wife and kids. I’ve never been ashamed of what I do at night, but I still don’t want them to see me. Shoot, that’s why I never told Connors where I worked, though she does know I’m a stripper.
The moment the song is over, I grab my top and scurry to the back of the stage where Ember is holding my robe for me. God, I love her. She’s the only person I would call ‘friend’.
“Holy crap, woman, that was freakin’ hot. I swear, you just made all of us a lot of money. With the way they were watching, I bet more than a few are ready to blow in their pants like horny teenagers,” she laughs.
“I’m glad I could be of assistance,” I muttered as I head toward the dressing room.
“Vixen, babe, can you come here please?” Dean, the owner of the club, orders softly. But there's a note in his voice that tells me he’s pissed.
“Sure, Dean,” I say, pulling the robe tighter around me.
Following him to his office, he holds the door open for me before firmly closing it shut. He doesn’t say anything as he moves past me and sits in his chair behind the large desk. Behind him is a wall full of screens that show the entire club from every angle. “I take the safety of my girls seriously,” he told me once. I thought it was just with the number of bouncers, but now I know it’s more than just that.
“Babe, sit down,” he orders.
Nodding, I sit down in the chair across from him. “Is everything okay?” I ask softly without looking directly at him. I never look men directly in the face, not without meaning to. It’s ingrained in me to never look a man in the face unless told to do so. A woman's place is beneath them. Both in the bed and otherwise. We’re to do as they demand. Even give them every dime we make.
My father demands I give him everything. If I need something, I have to ask him for it. According to him, since he owns me, all my money goes directly to him. My paychecks get directly deposited into his account. He takes my tips from me every night. I’m lucky if I see more than a hundred dollars of it and I know for a fact I can bring in over seven hundred on a good night.
“Alright, babe, I saw that performance out there tonight. Want to tell me what that was about? I mean, you were amazing out there, but damn, I thought I was gonna have to put Jason and Matt at the edge of the stage,” he finally says.
“Oh, umm, I’m sorry. I was just dancing,” I whisper
“That wasn’t just dancing, sweetheart. I don’t even know what to call it,” he chuckles.
Glancing at him through my bangs that fell in my face, I notice him looking at me in confusion.
“Babe, what’s going on? You’ve been dancing here since you were eighteen and I know you. Something more is going on than the usual.” Leaning forward, Dean clasps his hands together, waiting for me to answer.
Sighing, I wrap my arms around my waist, bending forward some. “I don’t know. I was just in my head, letting the music sway me like I always do, Dean.”
“With the way you moved out there I know it’s more than being in your head while the music played. You pretty much had all the customers ready to fuck you. Swear to Christ woman, we almost need to up security if you’re gonna dance the way you did tonight.” He mutters.
“I’m sorry, Dean. I won’t do it again,” I apologize.
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing to apologize for,” he says softly. “Just from now on, when you’re on stage, I’ll have to make sure I have someone on you.”
Nodding, I sit in front of him quietly waiting for him to say something else.
Though he remains quiet, I feel his eyes on me.
“You know, if you needed help with anything, I’d be there for you, right?” he finally asks.
Shocked, my head lifts to look at him, my eyes widening. He couldn’t possibly know, could he?
“I . . . I . . . I’m okay. I swear, Dean,” I say quickly.
“Alright, long as you know I’m here for you.” Nodding his head, he lets me know I can go. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
God, I don’t need him knowing what I deal with every day of my life. If he or anyone else tried to interfere, it would only make it worse for me.
I’ll never be free of my chains. They bind me to the monster I’ve lived with my entire life and I’ll die chained to him. As he tells me constantly, he owns me.
Chapter Two
Badger
Who the fuck decided it would be a good idea to go to a strip club? Oh yeah, Shadow’s going away party. With all the shit he dealt with recently, he requested to move to the National charter. None of us could deny the man.
So here we all sit, front and center in the middle of Sinners Cove, watching different dancers go on the stage. Some have even come by our table offering lap dances, which most of us have refused. Fuck if I want to sink my dick in stripper pussy. Which what I’m sure these women would try to do is get my dick out. Most women are the same, wanting men for one thing, and I refuse to be in that situation again. Since joining the Devil’s Riot MC, I’ve begun to realize that not all women are vindictive. Some are actually pretty awesome. Like the Ol’ ladies of the club.
“You alright over there, brother?” Burner asks, tapping my chest.
“Yeah, man,” I say, clearing my throat. “This isn’t really my thing.” Shrugging my shoulders, I lift the beer I’d ordered to my lips. Glancing around, I notice how packed the place is and begin to wonder if it’s like this every night.
“I feel ya. If not for us needing to show Shadow a good time before he leaves, I’d be at the shop,” he says, tilting his own beer to his lips. I can’t help but smile at his words. I know why he’d be at work— a certain woman started working for him a while back and since then he can’t seem to stay away from her. Ally, Hades’ sister, has started to come out of her shell. Since Ally started working with Burner at the tattoo shop, he’s changed and so has she. One of her arms is completely tatted and I believe the other day I noticed one on her neck.
Shaking my head, I open my mouth to speak but the DJ’s voice comes through the speakers again to introduce the next stripper. Vixen. Yeah that’s a name for someone I wouldn’t want to be caught dead trying to stick my dick in. Yet the men surrounding our tables begin to catcall and holler as music begins to play. Damn, this chick must be something if they’re this wound up. When I realize the song coming through the speakers is an old favorite of mine, I turn toward the stage.
“Holy shit, is that . . . ” Burner starts to ask.
“Jordan,” I finish for him. Glancing over to the table next to us, I see Gadget and Dragon stiffen and turn their heads away from their sister.
“This is gonna be bad,” Burner mutters as I turn my attention back to the woman who intrigues me. Probably because I see something in her I’m sure nobody else does. There’s a darkness in her eyes that lingers in the depths, the same as my own.
Clenching my fists together, I can’t take my eyes off her as I watch the way she moves her body and climbs to the top of the pole only to grab hold of the beam.
What the fuck?
My jaw almost comes unhinged with the way she moves her body. Almost as if she were dancing in the air instead of barely hanging on to the beam in the ceiling. Then the woman does something that causes my dick to actually turn rock hard.
Something I’ve never really felt happen on its own.
The woman re
ally is a vixen with the way she slides down the pole again with nothing but her legs. The crowd around us goes wild as she gets to the bottom. Fuck, if not for the bottoms on, you’d have seen her pussy with the split she just did.
As the song finishes, she stands, putting her back to the pole and her hands above her head. Visions of her in the same position yet cuffed and me pounding into her fill my head. Yeah, I can’t go there. Not only do I refuse to be enticed by a woman like her, she’s my brothers’ sister. A sister they’re trying to get to know.
When the next song begins, I barely control the need to jump on that stage and carry her out of here. With the way Jordan moves her body, she has every man in here ready and willing to fuck her. Well, besides Dragon and Gadget. Glancing in their direction, I notice both are pissed as fuck as they keep their heads turned from the stage and are clenching their fists.
Focusing back on Jordan, I can’t take my eyes off the perfection that is her tits. The barbells in her nipples have me biting back a moan. See, when I do cave in to my needs, I never allow a woman to touch me, preferring them to be cuffed to the bed or wherever. Seeing her with a nipple piercing brings other ideas to my head and fuck if I don’t want to put clamps on them. I wonder if her clit is pierced as well.
Fuck, get it together. You can’t have her, even if you wanted her.
Right as Jordan gets on all fours, she finally looks into the crowd. If I’m not mistaken, her eyes focus directly on me for a split second before going about finishing up her dance.
I say dance because that’s exactly what she did. Jordan may have taken her top off, but fuck, the way she moved was pure fuckin’ art.
Soon as the song was over, the crowd started going nuts and she walked off stage.
“What the fuck?” Gadget growls. I can barely hear him over the noise in here.
“Tell me that wasn’t my baby sister up there,” Dragon says right behind him.
“Sorry, brothers, that was definitely Jordan,” Twister says calmly.
“You all better not have watched her,” Dragon mutters, clenching his fists.
“I don’t think I could have turned away if I wanted to,” Shadow admits.
“Same here, man. What she just did wasn’t strippin’ like the rest of these strippers. No, she fuckin’ danced and . . . fuck, I don’t even think there’s a word to describe what she did,” Burner says, shaking his head.
Nodding my head, I have to agree with him. Words can’t describe the way she moved her body. And I’m even more intrigued now than ever.
Chapter Three
Jordan
After my dance performance, Dean and Mitch, the head of security for the club, decided I should probably go home early. According to Mitch, he’d overheard several men wanting to wait until the club closed to get their hands on me. Dean, being protective of the girls who work for him, didn’t want anything to happen to me.
Sighing, I changed into my yoga pants and a tank top. Slipping into my flip flops, I grab my things and wait for one of the bouncers to escort me to my car. It’s another of Dean’s rules. None of the girls are to walk out of the building without protection. Like I said, he’s protective.
“You ready, Vixen?” Mitch asks as he approaches me.
“I guess so,” I reply, shrugging my shoulders.
“After you,” he says while holding the door open for me.
Without another word, we walk silently next to each other. I don’t even see the men standing next to my car until Mitch puts a hand on my shoulder to halt my movement. Lifting my head, my eyes widen at the sight of my brothers and several of the other members of the club standing there, including Badger.
“Vix, go back inside,” Mitch starts to order me.
“We’re not here to harm her. Jordan’s under club protection,” Twister growls as he steps forward.
“Do as I said,” Mitch says, pushing me behind him.
“Fucker, that’s my sister,” Dragon rasps, crossing his arms over his chest. Glancing at Gadget, I see he’s doing the same thing.
Oh great, now they want to play the big brother card. I’ve been around them enough recently while working for Dr. Connors, yet they haven’t spoken one word to me. Not one. And now they want to get confrontational with someone I think of as a friend. Well, as close to one as I’ll allow myself to have.
Mitch turns his focus on me. “This true?”
“Yeah,” I murmur loud enough for only him to hear, though I don’t look directly at him.
“Babe,” Mitch mutters, shaking his head. I know he’s disappointed I never told him I had brothers. But until recently, I didn’t even know they lived so close. From what I knew, they were further north in Virginia.
“We just wanted to make sure she got to her car okay,” Gadget grumbles when neither Mitch nor I move.
“I don’t give a fuck if you want to do shit. Her protection while at this club falls on me. Now back away from her car so I can see to it. I’ve got shit to get done,” Mitch demands as he draws me into him, placing a hand at my back.
No further words are exchanged, though I feel all eyes on me. Keeping my eyes cast downward, I pull my keys out of my bag and get in.
“Little sister, we will be having a discussion tomorrow,” I hear Dragon say harshly before I close the door and start my car.
Yeah right. I won’t hold my breath. This is the first time I’ve heard them even speak my name. Or better yet, even acknowledge me as their sister. Do they even know what my life has been like? Anger begins to build inside me.
Rolling my window down, I lift my head to stare into both my brothers’ eyes as I say, “Don’t ‘little sister’ me. Since meeting you, neither one of you have actually spoken to me. So, excuse me if I don’t want to talk to you. And you can quit this big brother act. If you wanted to be big brothers, you’d have done it a long time ago.”
Without giving them another word, I put the car in drive and push the gas pedal, thanking God no car was in front of mine so I was able to pull right through instead of being blocked by all those men.
Daring to glance in the rearview mirror, my heart pounds against my chest. Standing directly where I’d been parked stood Badger.
My heart pounds against my chest at the sight of him.
I’m not sure what it is about the man, but he intrigues me more than I want to admit. Which scares the hell out of me, if I’m being honest with myself. No man has been able to get close to me. Not even the guys at the motorcycle club my cousin hangs out at.
See, the Devil’s Riot MC aren’t the only ones I know. My cousin has been with a member of a motorcycle club for a long time now and on the rare chance I’m able to visit my mom, I try to spend time with her, which usually means being at the clubhouse.
Sighing, I pull into my driveway without even realizing I’d driven the entire way home while stuck in my head.
Putting the car in park, I rest my head on top of the steering wheel and simply look at the house. The lights in the front room are on, meaning he’s home. “Great,” I mutter to myself. I’d been hoping he’d still be out and I could avoid him.
It’s inevitable what will happen the moment I walk through the door. Especially since I forgot to grab my tips.
Taking a breath, I get out of my car and head inside. If I were smarter, I’d get back in my car and drive away. But to where? He’ll track me down to Mom’s if I go there. My brothers don’t really want me in their lives. And my cousin has her own shit to deal with. No one cares about me in this world, so that’s why I don’t turn around.
Walking into the house, I hear the TV on in the living room and men talking. Great, he’s entertaining tonight.
“Jordan, get your ass in here,” my dad yells out.
I don’t bother putting my bags down as he will demand to see them first thing. Soon as I get into the living room, I stop right inside the room. “You got money for me?” he says, standing from his chair.
“No, I’m sorry. I got off early an
d forgot to grab it.” The smack to my face is hard enough to send me back a few steps.
“You stupid cunt. Why the hell can’t you do anything right? See, this right here is why I control your money. You couldn’t manage a dime to your name,” my dad spits out, grabbing my arm and drawing me into him.
“Since you’re off early, you can entertain my friends here with a show.” Smiling, he throws me into the middle of the room.
“Please, Dad, I’m tired,” I murmur, knowing it’s a lost cause.
“Shouldn’t have forgotten my money.” Sneering, he sits back in his chair.
“I didn’t mean to. Please, I’ll get it tomorrow. Just leave me alone,” I say, clasping my hands in front of me, wringing them together.
I don’t even have a chance to flinch before the first blow hits. “Swear to fuckin’ God, bitch, you need to start listening.” Angry words continue to spill out of his mouth as he sends me to the floor. His friends join in, ripping the clothes from my body.
I refuse to scream out as they all kick at me. Taking a blow to the head, my vision blurs and I can barely stay awake.
“You’re worthless. Maybe I should just end you now,” he yells, spitting on me. I don’t bother trying to move as I hear the sound of his belt clinking and the zipper of his pants. I don’t even move when he pisses on me.
“Go ahead, boys. This bitch loves to get beatings. Do what you want, just don’t fuck her,” Laughing, I can see him out of the corner of my eye as he sits in his chair, watching me with an evil glint in his eye.
“Damn shame we can’t fuck her. I bet she’s got a tight pussy,” one of the men laughs.
“Yeah, man, why can’t we get a piece of that as well,” another one asks.
Groaning, I try to move some, but a kick to my stomach halts me.
“Don’t even think about escaping now. The fun is just beginning,” the first guy mutters.