Beyond the Velvet Rope

by Tiffany Ashley

  Warren jerked at the sound of his name but stepped back to allow the other men to step past him. When the room was empty, save for the two of them, Elliot retrieved an envelope out of his breast pocket and handed it to the older man.

  Frowning, Warren looked down at the paper. “What’s this?”

  “I understand you may be in the market for an investigator.” Elliot tapped the envelope. “This is a short list of professionals. Their references are included.”

  Warren opened his mouth to say something, but seemed unable to vocalize his thoughts.

  Elliot waved away the attempt. There was no kindness in his voice when he said, “In the future, if you need assistance, come to me. Not Nico.”

  “I didn’t think you would be willing to help,” he said.

  “I’m not,” Elliot retorted. “But I’d prefer you not to involve my friends into your legal matters.”

  When Warren nodded sheepishly, Elliot considered the matter closed. However, Warren did not immediately leave. To Elliot’s frustration, the older man took a seat and said, “We need to talk.”

  * * *

  Thandie could feel herself shaking, even though she was wearing a hoodie one of the dancers had kindly loaned her. Abandoning one of her own rules, she had Raja get her a shot of vodka from the bar. If she was going to do a Pussy Cat pole routine in front of a South Beach crowd, she damned well wasn’t going to be completely sober for the disaster. Lord knew she didn’t have the body to be dancing nearly nude on stage beside professional dancers. The more she thought about it, the sicker she felt.

  Celeste did all of their makeup. With a delicate hand, she artfully drew what could easily be mistaken as dark lacy veils across their eyes, effectively masking their faces. They all wore identical black wigs that stopped just below their earlobes.

  When everyone was fully dressed, even Thandie had to admit she wasn’t easily distinguishable from the other dancers. But this did not calm the butterflies in her stomach. She could feel the dull numbness of the alcohol begin to hit her. She felt a little safer, unfeeling and inhuman. Celeste tried to keep her calm by talking to her, stepping her through the routine, offering her tips on how to work the pole.

  It was almost twelve o’clock, and Thandie was counting down the minutes to their midnight act. She slowly discarded the safety of the hoodie and slipped on the pointy leather boots that zipped up to her thighs. When she stepped in front of the mirror, she barely recognized herself. The wig and the makeup had done wonders to hide her identity, but the outfit...there were no words. It was simply appalling. Thandie knew she wore revealing clothing when she worked, but what she was currently wearing made her speechless. It was a two piece outfit, with bikini bottoms that sat low on her hips. The back of the shorts were cut so high they exposed the entire underside of her ass. The top was nothing more than a strapless bra. This was where she had the most hesitation. Thandie wouldn’t necessarily consider herself top-heavy, but the outfit was at least a size too small. She was literally spilling out of it. Yes, there was a thin string that tied around her neck, but it offered little support, and looked ready to snap if put under serious stress. Thandie felt as though she might as well be naked.

  Celeste walked into the dressing room and slapped her bare ass cheek. “Wow, you look great! You have an amazing body, Thandie.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Thandie said, meaning every word.

  Celeste shook her head. “That’s just nervousness. You’ll be fine. I’ll be close to you. We’ll do a little girl-girl action to get the guys crazy.” She laughed when she saw Thandie’s ill expression. “It’s meant to take your attention off the men in the crowd. They’re going to go crazy when they see you.”

  “I doubt it.”

  Celeste winked at her. “You’ll see soon enough. They’re cueing up our music.”

  She took Thandie by the hand and led her to join the rest of the girls standing stage left, waiting to go on. Thandie watched with dread as the house lights went down and the house DJ began making a rousing introduction. The vibrating beat of Britney Spears’s “Breathe on Me” rumbled to life, and The Pussy Cats took the stage.

  * * *

  Elliot was not in the best of moods. He bristled when he recalled his earlier conversation with Warren. It had single-handedly destroyed his good mood. Elliot had no desire to be privy to the details surrounding Warren’s divorce, particularly because of his own history with Sophia. Any involvement on his part would only complicate matters. And yet, against his better judgment, he’d allowed Warren to divulge every bloody blow his and Sophia’s lawyers were pummeling each other with. When it was all said and done, it was doubtful either would be satisfied.

  Elliot had no idea why he even cared. He was disgusted with Warren for getting involved with Sophia in the first place. He’d tried to forewarn him; but the asshole could only see the pretty face and alluring body. Only Warren could be held responsible for his actions. So why did Elliot keep catching himself pondering Warren’s situation, considering how he could best help?

  Elliot was so distracted, he hardly recalled the details of the management meeting he’d just sat through. Not that it had been significant by any stretch of the imagination. Today’s meeting had been a short one, and he was glad it was over.

  Elliot checked his cell phone as the men filed out. Just as the last straggler left his office, Nico strolled through the door. Making himself at home, he flung himself into one of the chairs facing Elliot’s desk. “Why is everyone hovering around the stage?” he asked lazily.

  Not bothering to look up from his phone, Elliot said, “An exotic dance troupe is performing tonight.”

  “Really?” Nico’s grin brightened. “In that case, let’s not drag our feet.” He sprang from his seat with the animation of a cartoon. “After you.”

  Elliot had little interest in watching the show, but it was time for him to make his rounds. Better he do it now, than later. Coming to his feet, Elliot straightened his tie and headed for the door. Nico followed closely behind.

  Together, the two descended the stairs leading from Elliot’s office. The crowd was particularly dense tonight. With a glance, he could see the male populace rivaled the females, which was unusual.

  Before long, the house lights dimmed and scantily clad dancers advanced on the stage. The sight of half naked women and the positioning of stripper poles, caused the males in the room to begin pressing forward for a better look. After a dramatic introduction from the DJ, the music began and dancers commenced to swaying their hips provocatively.

  Elliot scanned the room as he and Nico moved through the crowd. Suddenly, Nico nudged him roughly and pointed toward the stage. “Is that—?”

  Nico never got a chance to finish his sentence. Elliot was already shoving his way through the crowd.

  * * *

  Thandie could hardly believe she could remember the steps. Under the protection of the makeup, she felt as though she was another person. She moved in sync with the other dancers, albeit not as seamlessly, but doing her best to blend in. Shaking her bottom, she crawled along the catwalk wantonly. A guy from the crowd slapped her ass as she passed by, and surprising even herself, Thandie stayed in character.

  Finally making her way to her pole, she swung around it, just as she’d been instructed. From the corner of her eye, she was impressed to see that the other girls were climbing to the tops of their poles, contorting themselves into provocative positions, before slowly sliding downward. It was done with acrobatic precision, and easily won the audience’s attention.

  Wisely, Thandie was positioned to the far right-hand side of the stage. Celeste had taught her a few pole tricks, but for the most part her role was to simply even out the routine formation, stay in sync with the others, and try not to fall down. So far she was holding her own. The more complicated steps were not until the end of the performance. Thandie prayed she could last that long.

  Just as they’d practiced, Thandie wrapped her
leg around her pole, and began to grind her body suggestively against it. The audience was cheering her on. The vodka was giving Thandie courage she might not have had on her own. She swayed to the music, dancing with shameless abandonment. Because of the bright stage lights, she could hardly make out faces in the crowd. This made her more daring. Details became hazy as she gave herself over to the rhythm of the music. So fuzzy were her thoughts, she didn’t immediately react when one the rowdy spectators managed to propel himself over the edge of the stage and push his face into her crotch.

  He was gone, disappearing back into the sea of shadowy faces, before Thandie registered what had happened. The sound of ruckus laughter and catcalls from the crowd seemed to roar in her head. Thandie hesitated for only a second, and then threw her head back and laughed as she eased herself away from the edge of the catwalk.

  Somewhere in the shadowy crowd, she could make out bulky figures approaching the stage. Without recognizing them, she somehow knew they were club bouncers coming to settle the mob.

  Celeste was suddenly dancing behind her, her hands on Thandie’s shoulders. Her head fell back against Celeste’s shoulder. She felt hands rubbing her thighs, and lips on her. And, for a moment, she had no idea what was going on.

  Somehow, Celeste lay her on her back and was now hovering above Thandie. Hands reached out to touch her. Celeste attempted to shield Thandie with her body, but the frenzy of the crowd got to be too much for her to handle.

  She pulled Thandie to her feet to prevent further groping, but the crush around them continued to press forward. Thandie felt even more hands on her, sweaty palms reaching to fondle the flesh of her thighs. She flinched away from their touch, but not before someone got a good hold on her and actually pulled her off the stage. Celeste tried to reach for her, but couldn’t grab her in time.

  Thandie screamed as she went down.

  The horde of people surrounding the stage seemed to melt away from her abductor. Thandie didn’t know what was happening until she looked up into Elliot’s eyes. He was furious. His silver gaze flashed like lightening.

  She tried to push him away, but he effortlessly tossed her over his shoulder and crossed the dance floor. She looked around for help, but saw that there was none. There was only a barrier of big bouncers guarding Elliot’s way through the crowd, ensuring no horny men were able to touch her.

  “What are you doing?” a voice called out. Nico appeared at Elliot’s side. His voice sounded strained, although his features were relaxed. It was clear, however, he did not like what was happening. “Have you completely lost it?”

  Elliot brushed past Nico, ignoring him completely.

  “Elliot,” he said more sternly, “drop the girl and come to the bar with me. You need to cool off before you do something stupid.”

  Elliot whirled around on him. “Get the hell out of my way before I put my fist in your face.”

  Nico’s concern instantly turned into anger. “Put her down,” he demanded, his lazy drawl replaced with a dangerously quiet one.

  Blinded by his own anger and completely unfazed by Nico’s threat, Elliot turned away from his friend. Nico lunged for Elliot and, to Thandie’s horror, Tiny placed a beefy hand on his chest and held him back. Furious, Nico slapped his hand away and glared at the giant.

  Fearful of a brawl, Thandie fought harder to get out Elliot’s hold. She soon discovered it was no use. His grip on her was iron-strong. A crowd soon gathered around Nico and Tiny, hiding them from her sight.

  She could see Elliot was taking her to his office, and that was the last place she wanted to go. She begged him to let her down, but he wouldn’t answer her.

  As he headed up the stairs to his office, Michelle gave her a worried look. She tried to reach his hand for help, but she couldn’t quite make it. He looked as if he was on the brink of helping her, but Elliot swung around and yelled for him to close the door. Michelle hesitated only for a second before closing the door.

  Stalking across the room, Elliot threw her onto the couch as if she was a bag of laundry. She could see the enraged look in his eyes.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing out there?” he asked in a terrifyingly low voice.

  Thandie flinched. She would have preferred he’d shouted at her. That way she could have responded in kind. But this, she had no idea how to handle. Again, she licked her lips. “I—”

  “Did you enjoy flaunting that lovely body of yours to a club full of drunk men?” he asked. “If I hadn’t intervened when I did, you might have gotten raped out there. Is that even registering with you?” The look in his eyes was that of disgust and something...unknown.

  “I can explain—”

  He didn’t respond to her, just picked up his phone and pushed in a number.

  “This is Elliot. I’ll be leaving shortly. Have my car ready.

  “We’re going home,” he said. “You’re sleeping with me tonight.” Carefully, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into a private bathroom she had never known existed. As with all things concerning Elliot, it was nicely decorated, equipped with a shower stall, armoire and open shelves stocked with fluffy wide towels. He gently lowered her to her feet and turned the shower faucet. Within minutes thick curls of steam began to fill the air. Elliot turned to her and wordlessly pulled the wig off her head before tossing it into the wastebasket. “I hate this, your makeup, this whole outfit”

  He ripped off the skimpy material and threw it into the wastebasket with the wig.

  “It was meant to hide my identity.”

  He lifted his brow. “It didn’t do a very good job.” He stood closer to her, piercing her with his intense gray eyes. “Don’t do it again.”

  Thandie wasn’t given an opportunity to respond before he reached out and pulled clean towels from the shelf. “I’ll give you some privacy. There are supplies in the armoire. Help yourself to anything you need.” And then he was gone, closing the door softly behind him.

  Relieved to have a moment to herself, Thandie released a heavy sigh. When she turned to look at her reflection in the foggy mirror, she gasped. She looked a fright. The heavy stage makeup Celeste had labored over was ruined with smudges.

  Thandie made quick work of cleaning herself up. After a thorough, but brief, shower, she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in one of the fluffy white towels and the sexy thigh high boots she’d worn. Elliot was leaning against the edge of his desk, waiting for her. He looked impeccably put together, not a hair out of place. One would never guess from the look of him what had gone on earlier.

  She tugged at the towel. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

  For a moment he just stared at her bare legs. His face was impassive, making it impossible to know what he was thinking. Finally, he pushed himself away from his desk and stepped into the bathroom. He opened the armoire doors to reveal several suit jackets, slacks and dress shirts. He curled his finger at her. “Come here.”

  Thandie stepped into the bathroom behind him. Without appearing to be selective, Elliot reached for the nearest shirt and handed it to her. Thandie accepted it and, out of habit, glanced at the label. Since he’d already seen everything there was to possibly see of her body, she did not protest when he took hold of her towel and pulled it free. Under his watchful stare, she slipped her arms through the shirt sleeves. As she fastened the buttons, she couldn’t help but wonder how often he dressed women in his Prada shirts.

  When she was done, she looked up at him. Something flashed across his face. In that instant she could tell he was still livid with her. She half expected him to start an argument, but instead he quietly shrugged out of his jacket and offered it to her for extra covering.

  Thandie was surprised to learn Elliot had his own private exit. He guided her through a series of short corridors and down a stairwell until they arrived in a well-lit parking garage. A valet had Elliot’s Range Rover running and ready. He discreetly disappeared as soon as he saw Elliot approach.

  Elliot helped Th
andie into her seat before climbing into his own seat. He appeared to be in deep thought as he buckled his seatbelt. His hands braced the stirring wheel tightly. “What happened tonight will never happen again, Thandie.” He stared straight ahead, refusing to look at her. “I won’t allow you to parade yourself in front of my staff or any other man. Understood?”

  Thandie nodded. She’d hoped her quick agreement would ease his anger, but as he sat there unmoving, it was becoming clear that his anger was far beyond her. The man was struggling to calm himself. She feared if she didn’t do something, he would explode.

  Pulling her knees into her seat, she crawled across the console. Her bottom was lifted in the air as she reached for the fly of his pants. She looked nervously at him as she worked to release his cock. His silver eyes sliced into her. Hesitantly, she leaned forward to kiss his mouth. The passion he possessed consumed her. At the touch of his lips, she could feel herself being pulled into him.

  His wonderful, hot tongue no longer teased her. He was focused on the pressure of his mouth against hers. She wanted to melt into him, let him take control of her. Finally, she freed his cock. His hot flesh, stood magnificently erect. She pulled her lips away from Elliot’s to stare at the long, thick flesh. Its velvety head glistened with a pearl of moisture. Its beauty made her mouth water. She wrapped her hands around him, stroking his shaft, enjoying the weight of him in her hands. Her excitement grew as he nibbled on her neck; the sound of his soft groans vibrated his chest.

  She lowered her head to run her tongue along the underside of his cock. His balls tightened at her touch. If possible, she could feel him grow larger. Her tongue and hands caressed him, taking pleasure in the taste of him. She looked up at him as she sank her lips over the head of his cock. They held an intense stare as she worked her mouth up and down his shaft, her tongue making slow swirls over the sensitive hole at the tip.

  Unable to resist the hunger for him, she closed her eyes and sank her mouth over him, taking as much of him as she possibly could. The taste of him was so deliciously male. Her moans of pleasure joined his as she quickened her motions.