by Jodi Olson
Her hand came around to slap him, but Neal caught it in mid-strike. She made no effort to pull away until she heard Nathan behind her. He released her hand, and she walked away to get changed. It was time to make some money for the club and maybe get some material for her book as well. MEN!
Five
Neal went back behind the bar and grimaced, thinking this was going to be a very long night. Just holding her hand and being so close to her made him crazy. He smelled her perfume on his chest and hands. He wanted to rub it over his body, covering himself with her scent. He needed to get her alone and away from this place. If any of those men laid a hand on her tonight, he didn’t want to think about what would happen to them.
After Jennifer began her lap dances, he felt a twinge of jealousy watching her take another guy to the back room. How many was that now? He’d lost count after ten. This was just too much for him to handle, but luckily it was getting near closing time. She told him she could handle the men and he had no doubt about that. He just didn’t like seeing her with other men, even if it was her job.
Jennifer smiled at the next customer she led to the back room. He was kind of cute, but he was only research for her book. She led him to the red leather couch in the back room and made him sit down. She stood in front of him, between his legs. The music in the background was sultry and she swayed her hips back and forth seductively. The guy was getting turned on watching the way her hips moved.
The customer reached out to pull her onto his lap. She smiled as she removed the guy’s hands. “That wouldn’t be a wise cho-”
“There is no touching asshole! Read the fuckin’ sign. You can read, can’t you?”
Jennifer looked behind her and noticed Neal’s fists clenched tight at his sides. “Don’t you have work to do behind the bar? I hear people yelling for you.” She moved to the customer’s lap, now determined to give him a dance he would never forget.
When she glanced at Neal, she saw his eyes flare red with fire and his jaw twitch. He pointed a savage finger at the customer. “Your time has come to an end; now get the hell out.”
Jennifer ground her bottom into the customer’s lap. “His dance isn’t over, until I say it is. Now go away and leave us alone. Get back to the bar where you’re needed; because I don’t need you here.”
Neal turned to return to the bar, but stopped at the door and faced her. They locked eyes. “I’ll be back in a few minutes honey, and this better be your last customer of the night - or else.” He walked away, leaving her with the horny customer she’d enticed just to prove her point to him.
Damn it, she let her emotions get the better of her again. But who is he to demand this be my last costumer? She’d show him a thing or two.
Jennifer ended her dance as quickly as she possibly could and was relieved when she had no problems with her final customer. She needed a break to calm herself down.
Ten minutes later she decided she was in control enough to give another lap dance. Spotting a table with five men dressed in business suits, she thought they probably had money to burn. She sauntered over and asked if any wanted a dance. All shook their head ‘no’ but the younger one stood up and followed her to the back room.
“Jimmy!” Neal yelled, “cover the bar.” Neal had to see what was going on in that back room. He covertly made his way down the hall to the backroom. Hearing the music inside, he sidled his way to doorway and peeked in to watch her. “So what made you come out tonight?” he heard her ask, as she danced around, and rubbed up against her customer. Neal wanted it to be him she was rubbing up against, not some scumbag.
“My wife is - is out of town so the - the - guys thought I would like it - here,” he answered.
Jennifer ran her hands up and down her body and flipped her hair. “Well I hope you know the rules, no touching, Okay?” The young man nodded, his eyes fixed to Jennifer’s breasts, barely contained in her costume. “But I can touch you all I want.” Jennifer rubbed her breasts in the man’s face.
Neal lost it, and threw the door open. “Jennifer, you’re fired.” His voice was strangely calm, but when she turned, his face was a glowering mask of rage.
“You can’t fire me, Neal. You’re not my boss. It’s up to your brother and he won’t fire me for doing my job.” Jennifer gave him a hostile glare.
The customer was getting pissed off by the interruption, having paid a lot of money for this lap dance. “Hey Sugar, do you know this guy? I can take care of him for you if you want. So could my buddies out front.” He stood up and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.
Watching the customer’s bravado made Neal laugh, “Hold on Superman, she knows me alright, very intimately I might add.” As he thought about last night again, his whole face spread into a smile. “Tell him,” he demanded.
Jennifer liked hearing him laugh. She knew from watching him for several days he didn’t laugh often. But he was interrupting her research for a second time in one night and it was making her mad. “It’s alright, I know him, and he’s just the bartender around here; nothing more. Now, let’s get back to your lap dance.”
She could still feel Neal’s presence behind her but continued to dance, giving her customer the show he paid for.
Nathan came around the corner to catch his star dancer and a customer in the lap dance room, with his lead bartender watching. “What the hell is going on in here?”
Jennifer and Neal both jumped as if they were guilty of something sinister, and her customer began to curse.
“What the fuck is going on here? Why do these men think they need to protect you from me, or is it because one of them is in love with you? I PAID for a fuckin’ dance!””
“I’m here to make sure she’s protected and no one touches her.” Neal explained calmly. “This is her last night and I’m still responsible for her until she leaves.”
“I’m here to tell her the club is now closed,” Nathan said in his defense. He turned to Neal, “What do you mean this is her last night?”
“This is bullshit!” the customer yelled. “I want my money back.”
Nathan looked first at Jennifer, then Neal. The way the two kept eyes on each other spoke volumes; and it was ruining his business. He peeled two twenties from a roll and gave them to the customer, who huffed out of the room. He turned and eyed Neal and Jennifer, “I don’t even want to know what’s going on, but you two had better clear it up before tomorrow.” Nathan stormed out behind the customer.
Jennifer changed her clothes and took a seat at the end of the bar after everyone had left. Nathan sat down next to her while Neal was still cleaning the bar.
“You did great tonight and you’re a big hit here at the club. Do you want to do more lap dances tomorrow?”
“No, she doesn’t and I fired her anyway.” Neal didn’t even look at her.
“Whoa, wait a minute! You did what, little brother? You can’t fire her. That’s my job and she can work here as long as she wants to. End of discussion, my place, my rules.” Glaring at each one, Nathan got up from the stool, leaving his half empty mug of draft beer, and went back to his office.
Neal came out from behind the bar and sat on the stool his brother had just vacated. Taking the half empty mug of beer Jennifer poured it over his head. “Maybe this will cool you off.”
Jennifer walked to the dressing room to get her things, She was glad today was finally over. It had been one hell of a long day. First the confrontation with Steve at the library and now Neal acting like an ass. She was tired and it was time to go home and get some sleep.
Neal stood outside the dressing room, wanting to go in to check and see if she was doing okay. He couldn’t believe that she poured that mug of beer over his head, but he guessed he deserved it. There had been several things she’d done over the past week that shocked him. He knew she could probably take care of herself, but still he wanted to make sure she didn’t get hurt.
When she opened the dressing room door Jennifer found Neal waiting for her. “I’m g
oing home. It’s been a long day and I’m tired.”
“I’ll take you home, please let me do that much.” His grin was irresistibly devastating to her.
“No, I have my car, but thank you anyway.” She strode past him and he followed her out the door of the club.
Out of the corner of his left eye, Neal noticed the same group of men wearing suits, standing around. He knew from the beginning that asshole customer was trouble.
The young guy in the suit spotted Jennifer. “Come here honey lets have some fun with my friends.” He’d had way too much to drink and so had all of his friends.
“No, thanks.” She continued walking toward her car but before she reached it, the guy grabbed her arm and jerked her around. She was glad Neal decided to follow her.
“Hey all my friends want to have a private dance with you.” He tried to pull her close to his face.
She jerked her arm out of his grasp and ran to her car, looking back she saw Neal fighting the group of guys. Shocked, she couldn’t believe he was taking them all on. By the time she got the car door unlocked Neal was beside her and she noticed all the guys were on the ground moaning.
“Get in the car now.”
“You took them all on. Are you crazy?” Neal pushedJennifer to the passenger side, started the car and screeched out of the parking lot.
“Not crazy, I’m a black belt and none of those guys knew what hit them.”
“Where are we going?”
“Your place, okay?” He looked out the window to see if any of the suits were behind them.
Both remained quiet as Neal drove, but continued to watch the traffic behind him to make sure no one was following them. Taking them all on was a piece of cake but if they came after him again, who knows what could happen to her. Within fifteen minutes they pulled up to her parking space at her apartment.
Steve was hiding in the bushes watching them both. Cameo stood behind him; she’d heard what happened to her step-brother today, and she wanted to hurry up with their plan for the little bitch.
Cameo whispered, “So how come you never told her you had a sister? “
“What did you want me to tell her? I had a stepsister who stripped for a living when she wasn’t hooking. Besides we weren’t dating long enough for her to meet the family.”
Six
Looking through her bag, Jennifer finally located her keys to the apartment. She glanced around to make sure they hadn’t been followed. Neal let them in, closed the door behind them and double locked it so everything was secure. He wanted no interruptions.
He slowly stepped toward her, making sure not to spook her. The sound of a car’s horn made her jump into his arms. He smiled as his hands encircled her waist, pulling her closer to him, “It’s alright. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered softly. His lips grazed her forehead; the citrus smell of her hair made his mouth water and he wondered if she tasted like that all over. He wanted to find out. All night he’d watched her doing lap dances, and now he was so hard he hurt.
As he pulled her even closer, if that was possible, she felt his heart beating against her breasts. Her arms snaked around his neck and she kissed him, a kiss filled with the yearning her body felt. His erection pulsed against her stomach, she felt his growing desire. As he continued to nibble on her lips, he whispered, “Help me out of these jeans.”
Mesmerized by the power she felt when she noticed the bulge stabbing the front of his jeans, she blushed because she knew how soaked her panties were. His stomach quivered when she placed her hands at the top of his jeans and undid the button. She slowly pulled the zipper down. He groaned as her hand brushed against his engorged erection. She pulled on his jeans, stopping only long enough to touch his straining erection with the back of her hand.
“You’re killing me,” he moaned, and his lips met hers in another of his long smoldering kisses.
Jennifer broke the kiss, gasped and went back to removing his jeans and briefs. She grinned mischievously and mewed, “Oh lover, you are most definitely very much alive. I can see that.”
Neal stepped out of his jeans while she ran her fingers over his hard chest, down to his navel, circling it and then moving lower. She placed her hand around his long, thick shaft, stroking it, making him tremble with need. “Neal, can’t you see I want you? Nothing happened with Steve. You would’ve seen what I did to him if you’d stayed long enough. In fact, it was very painful for Steve.”
Neal moaned, “Let’s not talk right now. I have other things on my mind, like both of us being naked.” Neal grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt, pulled it over her head, and let it fall to the floor.
She smiled as she pulled on the zipper on the side of her skirt. Her skirt landed on the floor next to her t-shirt. She shivered as the cold air brushed over her heated body.
His eyes twinkled, “I love how you never wear a bra. It takes too much time to remove. Now,” he smiled, “the panties.”
She slid the small bit of fabric down her hips and legs slowly exposing all of nakedness to him. The way he looked at her made her legs weak and stoked the fire burning in her body.
Jennifer backed her way to the bed, beckoning her lover to follow. Beginning at the curve of her neck, he kissed his way up to the edge of her mouth. She moaned as she guided his demanding mouth to hers, sealing her lips to his in a searing kiss. When he traced the softness of her lips with his tongue, she opened her lips to him. As their tongues entwined, she realized she’d never tasted anything like him before. No one ever made her feel this way; special, wild, and oh so good.
Neal lowered them to the bed, leaving a trail of kisses down her throat to her breast. His hand found her breast, gently kneading her firm flesh, and he raised it to his mouth and lapped it with his tongue. She ran her fingers through his hair as his tongue laved her swollen pink buds to their fullest. His hot, wet tongue was sending her over the edge.
“Please Neal,” she panted, her breathing coming heavier and heavier. She didn’t know if she could take much more.
His hand teased its way down her stomach, then further below - between her thighs. When two of his fingers circled, and then entered her wet heat, she gasped.
“You are so wet for me,” he groaned. He felt her tremble as his fingers explored her sex.
“Now - Neal, please. I want you inside me now,” she begged.
“Baby, open wider for me,” he said excitedly. His fingers plunged deeper inside her wet heat, while his mouth captured hers again in a scorching kiss. The kiss sent her spiraling deeper into ecstasy she’d ever felt before.
He spread her legs even further, and moved his body atop hers. With the need to be inside her, he kissed her swollen lips again. He entered her slowly until she took all of him, knowing he would otherwise hurt her with his great need. He held himself back as long as he could and then finally began thrusting forward, plunging in her tight channel over and over, propelled by his desire. His body shuddered as he surrendered to his climax.
He felt her entire body shake with the force of her orgasm, passion pounding the blood through his heart, chest and head as he heard her cry out her release. He didn’t want it to end; and they made love three more times, before finally yielding to exhaustion.
He woke when his cell phone rang, reached for his jeans and pulled the phone from the. When he recognized the number of his ex wife, his mouth thinned with displeasure. In the short time they were married, she had learned how to push his buttons and she always had rotten timing.
He quietly left the bedroom so he wouldn’t disturb Jennifer. “What the fuck do you want, Tina?” he asked in hushed and angry tones. “I told you not to call me every five minutes.”
Jennifer woke to find Neal gone. She put on her robe and headed for the kitchen. Halfway there she heard his voice, and he was angry.
She locked her arms around his waist, laying her head against his back. She felt the heat of his body against hers, it felt good - his warmth.
“I’ll tak
e care of everything when I get back up there, Tina. I’m leaving here in another week, maybe two. You want to try for three? Don’t call me anymore!” He slammed the phone shut, angry at Tina’s constant demands. He hadn’t notice Jennifer’s hands were no longer around him, and when he turned to face her, the look on her face made his heart break.
Jennifer suddenly felt numb, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to flow. He would be leaving soon; going back to his place, wherever that was, and she would be alone again.
“When were you going to tell me? Does your brother know you’re leaving?” She looked away, so he couldn’t see the hurt or the tears that welled up in her eyes.
Neal reached out to touch her but stopped when she shrank away from him. “We still have two weeks to be together before I have to leave, and yes my brother knows.” He pulled her back around to face him, “My job is still there, I only took a month’s leave to help my brother out. My plans were only short term. My leave of absence is up at the end of the month.”
She closed her eyes, unable to look at him and form the question on her lips. “Who is Tina?” Jennifer hoped he couldn’t tell how upset she was by the sound of her voice. She felt like she was losing a significant part of her life, but she couldn’t explain why.
“She’s my ex-wife.” Did she hear him right? He’d never even told her he’d been married before.
Her silence made him uneasy. “Look, Jennifer, if this is a problem I can have Nathan pick me up. I can be out of here in ten minutes.”
I’ve already lost him. There was no need to fight. She refused to beg him to stay. “Yes, I think that would be best. I have to get ready for work at the library.” Without looking at him, she plodded back to the bedroom to shower.
She indulged in a vain attempt to let the spray of the shower not only clean her of any evidence of her lovemaking with Neal, but the grime and filth of her research assignment. It was easier to call it research; she didn’t want to think she was a slut, and she actually enjoyed making him jealous as she danced for those other men last night. What little good it did her now.