by Abby Niles
“Star, I need you on the floor please.” Adam glanced at Madison. A crease formed between his eyes as he pushed the door further open and stepped inside. When Star went to leave, he held up his finger. “Hold on a second.”
He studied Madison, gaze roaming over her face and body. She didn’t shy away from Adam’s intense inspection, knowing he was taking in every detail of her appearance. It wasn’t the first time she’d been under his watchful eye, nor would it be the last.
Finally, he pressed his lips together tightly. A clear sign of displeasure.
God, she hoped he didn’t send her home.
“When’s the last time you slept?” he asked her.
There was no reason to lie to him. “An hour last night.”
“You got to work tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head and made a disgusted sound.
Before he could say a thing, she stepped forward, arm outstretched. “I need this shift, Adam. Please, don’t send me home.”
Waiting for his answer was pure torture. If he decided she had to go home, she wouldn’t be able to argue her way out of it. When Adam McDaniel made his mind up, getting him to change it took an act of God. The sad thing was he’d have her best interest in mind. Too bad doing what was best for her meant taking money out of her pocket.
He ran his hands up and down the black suspenders he always wore. Finally, he pulled them out and released them. They snapped against his chest. He always did that when he was thinking and had come to a decision. “Would you rather work the side stage or the floor?”
She fought back a smile. The side stage took up a lot of energy she desperately needed right now to get through her solo performance later. But working the floor meant a lot of smiling and flirting to nail down a lap dance or two.
Her solo was her biggest money maker. “The floor.”
“You got it,” he looked back at Star. “Get on the pole, girl.”
Star nodded and hurried out. As Adam backed out of the door, Madison called, “Hey, Adam?”
“Yeah?” he asked, stepping back into the room.
She hated bringing this up now, especially since he’d done her a huge favor, but she had to. “I don’t have a babysitter for this weekend or the upcoming week.”
He rubbed his hand over his balding head. “Well, that sucks to hear. Mostly for you though. I know how much you need your hours here.” He blew out a long breath. “It’s okay. Tiffany has been asking for a couple of extra shifts since she’s going on that cruise in a few weeks. I haven’t had any to give her. This will make her happy.”
Adam was always trying to be as fair as he could between all the dancers. Each one of them had a story, had a home life, and he had never been guilty of playing favorites among his employees.
Silence descended between them, which was odd, since Adam always spoke his mind. But his hesitation in leaving made her think the older man had something else he had to say.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“You know you can’t keep going like this, Maddy.” The fact he used her real name in here didn’t go unnoticed. Adam broke out the real names when he was being his most sincere. “All you do is work. You need to take some time for yourself. Date. Find someone. Share a life.”
She pursed her lips to keep her amusement from surfacing. Find someone. Two years ago the old bachelor would’ve rather had his tongue ripped out than utter such a sentiment. Then Elise came along. Ten years his junior, feisty as hell and didn’t put up with his bullshit. It was love at first sight for Adam. Not so much for Elise.
“I’m doing okay on my own, you know? I don’t need a man to take care of me.”
“Now, nobody said anything about finding someone to take care of you. I said share a life.” He started backing out of the dressing room. “I’ll take being broke with Elise by my side over being wealthy and alone any day of the week.”
He disappeared out the door, leaving his words hanging in the air.
She’d tried the whole sharing a life with someone deal. He couldn’t hack it.
Madison turned to the mirror. She took in the go-go dancer costume—a hot pink bra top trimmed in bright blue with a matching tutu.
Besides, this was her life right now. Dancing, working for Sutherland and taking care of her kids the best way she could. Meeting someone, falling in love, was not in the cards. She didn’t go anywhere to meet men, didn’t have the time, and the club was not a place she planned to meet anyone.
She picked up the flat iron, ran it through her blonde hair, then fluffed it around her face.
Here, she was Lorelei.
A fantasy. Not a beat-down, broke-as-hell, stressed-out mother of two.
Smiling at herself in the mirror, she grimaced at the strained edge to it. Exhausted or not, she needed to make money. And there was nothing sexy about her reality.
Come on, girl. You know what they want to see.
She willed herself to exude seduction, temptation. Her lips pursed out, full and plump, lifting at one corner. Her eyes sparked with enough mischief to allure. She took her bottom lip between her teeth and just like that Lorelei took over.
She strode to the door, shoulders back, breasts forward.
Fantasy was always better than reality…and it sure as hell paid her bills.
***
Jaxon kept his gaze averted from the gyrating women on stage and grimaced at the pounding dance music ricocheting throughout his skull.
Being in a strip joint was not how he’d planned to spend his night.
He should be having a relaxing dinner with Victoria, followed by a little more relaxing in his hot tub back at his condo. But no, he’d been forced to cancel, because Adam McDaniel was being a serious pain in his ass.
He’d already stopped by twice today. Both times, the old man hadn’t been here. Jaxon was told that if he wanted to catch the owner of Pussycats, he’d have to come back later tonight during business hours.
Business or not, the last thing Jaxon wanted was to be caught in a place like this by some money-hungry paparazzi who’d splash his picture all over the fucking tabloids. The choice had been taken out of his hands though and only irritated him further.
Without Adam’s cooperation, he was at a complete standstill with his latest project. So far, it hadn’t seemed to matter that he was here while this place was running. The old goat was still avoiding him. He’d been standing at this bar, twiddling his goddamn thumbs for almost twenty minutes while one of the dancers went and “fetched” him.
As the music died down and the women left the stage, Jaxon took the opportunity to glance around. Pussycats had been around for decades. He had to give McDaniel credit. He’d done his best to class the place up with oversized leather chairs and couches, so it had more of a lounge feel instead of a seedy club.
The customer base left something to be desired though. In his research, he’d learned that McDaniel wanted to give an upscale experience to the blue-collared worker.
Jaxon tugged on his expensive silk tie. Amongst the blue jeans and work boots, he was overdressed in his tailor-made dark suit and stuck out like a sore thumb.
Suddenly the entire club went dark. All the chatter died down as the DJ announced, “Gentlemen, she’s here and ready to make you beg. Lorelei!”
The lights came back on and cast the entire club in blue. A fog machine sent a billow of synthetic smoke across the stage as “Na-Na-Na, come on,” of Rhianna’s S&M blasted through the space. Men whooped and edged closer to the lip of the stage. Through the fog, a goddess with straight blonde hair cascading over her shoulders emerged. Her strides were long, confident, and so fucking sensual he couldn’t look away.
Leather thigh-high boots encased her legs. A tiny wisp of black leather covered the mound between her thighs. A matching corset left her midsection bare and the tops of her breasts pushed forward. When she stopped at the end of the stage, she put one hand on a hip then snapped a whip above her head. A loud
cracking noise broke through the music.
Without taking her intense gaze off her audience, she reached behind her and latched a hand around a pole. In one fluid motion, she dropped to a split on the floor. Leaving the whip on the ground, she spun onto her knees and arched her upper body in a move that saturated the air with the promise of sex. After she rose to her feet, she took the pole in both her hands and shimmied all the way to the top.
Within seconds, she was hanging upside down by nothing but her legs. As she grasped the pole again, she released her legs into a wide split before wrapping them around the rod again. She did a series of aerobatic moves that left him awed before righting herself and slowly sliding down the pole in a circle.
The moment her knees touched the stage, she started crawling forward. Jaxon was captivated by the animalistic lust on her face. The expression screamed I know you want to fuck me.
He’d never been one to frequent gentlemen’s clubs. Not that he hadn’t been to a few, but he found the experience mostly distasteful. This woman wasn’t simply gyrating her ass on the floor, she was performing. She was creating an illusion of sex he’d never seen before.
She settled in front of an older gentleman with her knees spread wide. Slowly, deliberately, she unzipped the front of the corset, but kept it in place with her other hand. Once she had the zipper all the way down, she ripped open the front and let the corset fall to the ground. Bountiful breasts with black tape making an X over her nipple were revealed. She moved onto all fours in front of the man. The guy’s attention was squarely on her tits, which swayed with every move she made.
As she rose back to her knees, her long, lush blonde hair fell into her face. Crimson lips pursed and she slowly wagged her finger at the man, before she lifted one of her breasts toward her mouth then flicked her tongue toward the covered nipple. She crawled a few feet down the money-covered stage before choosing another man to give a one-on-one performance.
Keeping her eyes latched on the stranger, she slid her palms over her breasts, down her toned waist and cupped herself. She took her bottom lip between her teeth and rubbed herself with deliberate, sexy strokes. Those lips parted and, God help him, it was like he was watching her come and it was fucking hot as hell.
She was fucking hot as hell.
An untouchable erotic fantasy. A vision of dominance. This woman knew it, and had every man in this place wishing they could replace her hands with theirs.
As the song came to an end, she stood and strode off the stage with the same long, commanding strides she arrived with.
Swallowing, Jaxon tugged on his tie. Man, he needed to get the fuck out of here.
He wasn’t comfortable with how badly that woman had affected him. There was only one other woman who had that kind of effect on him—and she was off-limits too. Maybe he had a thing for that. God knows, he’d had some seriously dirty thoughts about his secretary too.
He needed to get that woman out of his system. He hadn’t figured out how yet.
Another fifteen minutes passed before Jaxon heard, “I’m going to tell you the same thing I told that little twat you sent out here earlier today, get the fuck out—”
“Or you’ll introduce me to your boom-stick.” Jaxon turned to face the angry masculine voice that approached from behind. “Yeah, he told me. Listen, you have somewhere we can talk?”
“Are you not hearing me? I’m not selling. Now take your elite ass out of my establishment.”
A wave of blonde hair caught Jaxon’s attention and he glanced over. The girl from the performance was now dressed in black studded bikini bottoms and a matching bandeau top. It wasn’t as revealing as what she had on before, but she still owned it. The way she moved was pure confidence, almost a hint of arrogance he could appreciate. It almost reminded him of…
The goddess leaned over a man, whose eyes stayed glued to the cleavage the top showed off, and whispered something to him. He nodded and she turned so her backside was facing him. The panties weren’t of the G-string variety, instead the material was cut high so it made the two cheeks stand out. Made a man want to cup them. Seductively, she swayed her hips and lowered onto his lap as she lifted her hair in her hands to reveal her nape.
McDaniel snorted. “Seems like I could sell you something though. That’s Lorelei. She’s a favorite around here. Gives a hell of a lap dance. Interested?”
He kept his eyes trained on the woman. Now that she wasn’t so far away and encased in fog and blue lighting, something about her seemed very familiar. Just then she turned her face toward him, lips pouty as she continued to slide her bottom along the man’s lap.
A lump formed in Jaxon’s stomach.
It couldn’t be.
Her eyes lifted and locked straight on to him.
In the last month those eyes had hid nothing, and they still didn’t, as they rounded in shock and she shot off the guy’s lap.
“What the fuck,” he whispered. The woman he’d been ogling seconds ago like some sex-deprived fiend was the same woman he’d been ogling in his office for the last goddamn month.
They stared at each other for a moment longer before she started frantically looking everywhere but at him.
“Hey, fucktard,” McDaniel’s hand landed on his forearm in a firm hold, “you’re making her uncomfortable. We don’t tolerate that around here.”
He shook off the man’s grip and charged forward, ripping his jacket off as he went. Something inside him was determined to get her covered. Get her away from all these men staring at her exposed skin.
When she started weaving through the crowd away from him, he called, “Miss Walker.”
She froze, then spun around, stalked straight for him, grabbed his arm and yanked him to the side. “Do not ever use my real name in here.”
He thrust his jacket at her. “Put this on.”
She stared at it and then at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Why the hell would I do that? I’m working.”
“You work for me. You’re an employee of Sutherland Investments.”
“So?” she shot back.
“You cannot conduct yourself in this type of manner outside of work.”
Both brows rose as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And exactly how am I conducting myself, Mr. Sutherland?”
“You’re selling your body for a paycheck. Don’t you have any self-respect?”
He instantly regretted his words, especially with the way she jerked back like she’d been slapped. Men turned their heads toward them, eyes wide.
A red flush brightened her cheeks as she pointed at him. “Fuck. You.”
As she spun around, he grabbed her elbow. “I shouldn’t have said—”
“Everything okay over here, Lorelei?” One of two huge guys asked as they hurried over.
She yanked at her arm, and Jaxon lifted his hands up instantly.
“Kick this asshole out.”
“Madison—” Her name slipped out. Damn! He hated that the first time he used it was under these circumstances.
“No!” She swiped her hand through the air, then stormed straight up to him, so close that she had to tilt her head back to continue looking him in the eye. “You don’t get to use my first name. You don’t get to know me at all. I quit, Mr. Sutherland. I’ll come by for my things tomorrow.”
As she turned, he caught the sheen of tears and his chest tightened. He was the biggest goddamn douchebag on the planet.
Two rough hands grabbed him and shoved him to the door. He shook them off, raising his hands. “I’m going. I’m going.”
As he made his way to the exit, his gaze caught McDaniel’s, who was leaning against the bar. The old man’s eyes were narrowed on him, intense, curious. Jaxon dismissed him, having no interest in dealing with him any more tonight.
His focus needed to be on Madison and how he was going to make his asinine behavior up to her.
Because one thing was for sure, he wasn’t letting her quit.
***
Fuckin
g asshole.
Madison shoved open the door to the locker room with enough force that it slammed against the wall.
How dare Sutherland come into her place of employment and make her feel trashy.
Selling your body for a paycheck.
Entitled bastard.
It was none of his damn business how she made ends meet off the clock.
The door crashed against the wall, causing her to jump and spin around. Adam stormed in. “What the hell was that?”
“I’m so sorry—”
He slashed his hand through the air, silencing the rest of her apology. “You’re working for Sutherland?”
She swallowed, confused by the anger in her boss’ voice. Sure that had been a bad scene, but it’s not like there hadn’t been jealous boyfriends causing a ruckus from time-to-time. “I’m his secretary.”
“Goddamnit,” he muttered, shoving a beefy hand through his graying hair. “I’m sorry, Madison, you leave me no choice. Clean out your locker and get out.”
Her heart stopped before thumping so hard she felt the beats in her throat. She couldn’t have heard him right. Adam wouldn’t fire her. Adam was her friend. Had been since her daughter had been an infant. Him, this club, was the only family she had.
“What?” was all she could out.
“That fucktard has been bugging the piss out of me, trying to get me to sell this club. I won’t have an employee of his working under my roof. You get me?”
Madison stepped forward. “I quit, Adam. I told him, ‘fuck you,’ and quit.”
“I guess you need to go beggin’ for that job back, then, huh?”
She stared at the only dependable man who’d been in her life. For six years he’d had her back, helping her as much as he could, working with her. And just like that he was turning his back on her.
“Adam—”
His sharp shake of the head caused a sob to build in her chest. Before she lost it completely, she yanked open her locker, shoved her belonging into her bag and rushed out the backdoor of the club.
Tears blinded her as she stumbled to her car. After slamming herself inside, the flood of emotions exploded out of her, shaking her body as tears wet her cheeks. Madison pressed her hand to her mouth. How had this happened?