Ruby pulled on several g-strings designed to fit over each other and finished the whole effect off with a black, leather cop biker jacket that form fitted over her torso along with a micro mini and shiny knee-high boots. Fitting the cap onto her head she strutted before the mirror. She barely recognised herself. This was not conservative Ruby, the accountant from Blackheath, or the sexy Dominant or even the vivacious virgin. This was a serious metamorphosis. A ferocious looking vixen stood in front of the mirror. A tough cop determined on getting answers any way she could. What would Jake think of this outfit? She was twitchy from needing him and not being able to stay the night. Pity she wouldn’t get to arrest him tonight.
Carrying her bag of products, she sauntered down her stairs and out of her shop to the Pink Pussy Club next door. The street was packed with tourists, trendy teens and American sailors. People spilled out of the clubs and bars checking out the street girls who stood in the doorways, calling, “wanna girl?” Several police walking in pairs strolled up the street keeping an eye on the exchange between the drunk young men and the bouncers. It wouldn’t be the first time a bouncer sent a sassy-mouthed male with a broken nose to St Vincent’s hospital down the road. Punch first, ask questions later was The Cross’ code of conduct. A wolf whistle sounded close and she turned just as a hand stroked her thigh.
Ruby karate chopped the arm of the man who tried to feel her up. ‘Back off,’ she snarled and he did.
That was one move she’d learnt from her teen years that had stayed with her. Although she despised them, she was used to defending herself from drunks with wandering hands. The more violent stuff like the man with the spider tattoo carrying a knife had terrified her but there was enough of a police presence on the street tonight for her not to worry. The Cross had a certain vibrancy and she was getting used to its rhythm.
‘Arrest me, honey.’ A man leered at her cupping the front of his jeans. He stood no more than five foot five.
‘Why bother? Weenies are disappointing.’
She suppressed a grin realising this outfit had unleashed her inner bitch. When she sauntered to the head of the long queue of the Pink Pussy Club, she signalled the bouncer.
‘I have an appointment with Abe.’
His gaze flicked over her appreciatively. ‘Come with me.’ The first floor of the club held a circular bar with ten poles attached to the counter around the bar. Strippers used the poles to dance and entice men to shove money down their g-strings. On the side of the bar was a large gold cage suspended from the roof by a chain where a woman danced wearing nothing but a teeny, weeny g-string and gold nipple tassels. The mostly male patrons sucked on their beers enjoying the flesh smorgasbord. Jake’s warning that Abe viewed women as “meat” came to mind. Ruby mentally steeled herself for her second encounter with the club owner.
The bouncer led her up some stairs past another floor containing a bar and a large dance floor. Music throbbed from the speakers and the air was heavy with perfume, perspiration and arousal. The floor was packed with writhing couples, many of the women wearing the Sydney summer club uniform of tight tops, short skirts and extreme heels. On the side of the dance floor several large Maori security men loomed a head higher than the crowd keeping watch in the background. The thriving tangle of scantily-clad bodies simulated mating on the dance floor. Jake was right about The Cross. It lived and breathed its own licentious agenda.
She followed the bouncer up another set of stairs and he came to a stop in front of a large, iron door. The bouncer pressed a button and spoke into the intercom. The door clicked open.
‘You can go. I’ll take it from here,’ Abe said to the bouncer. The man nodded and left, leaving her alone with the club owner. Abe stalked across the room, reached out, gripped her arm and pulled her inside.
Heart in her mouth, Ruby wrenched her arm from his grip.
Abe’s gaze moved slowly over her. Dressed in black from head to foot, he looked her up and down as if pricing a piece of flesh. ‘I told you to wear the Dom outfit, Emerald.’
‘I don’t work for you. I wear what I want.’ She tilted her chin and stared at him. Never show fear to a predator.
He walked around her, a bull of a man, his body brushing hers. ‘I like this one, too.’
Creep. Jake was right about this man. When was Jake ever wrong? ‘I’m not here to turn you on. Show me where the strippers get changed and I’ll demonstrate the products I have with me.’ Although she wanted to get out of his office fast, her gaze was drawn to several screens that lined one of the office walls.
She moved closer to them, a sick feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She could see the bar downstairs and the strippers swirling around the poles. Another screen showed the crowd on the dance floor underneath them. A tight sensation caught Ruby by the throat. Several screens revealed semi-naked lap dancers writhing over clients in cubicles. She wasn’t quite sure where these rooms were. One of the screens held nothing but static.
‘Do your workers know you watch them?’ she asked.
Abe moved silently across the carpet and stood close. Too close. ‘My club. My rules.’
‘Pervert.’
He appeared amused at her comment. ‘This is a strip club, my chicky.’ He slid his hands around her waist.
‘I’m not your chicky.’ She gripped his hands and yanked them off her. While she wanted to shove him away from her, she kept her cool. A roar of anger, a swift kick and jab with a fist had worked on the drunks when she’d been younger. A good set of running legs helped too. She doubted any of these strategies would work here in this tight, airless office with its door that clicked closed and didn’t seem to have a handle. Keep your cool, Ruby. ‘Show me where the girls get changed so I can kit them in something worth “perving” at.’
A smirk crossed his lips. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this.’
‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’
Abe laughed. ‘I like you. You’re a smartarse.’ He turned, walked across the room, pressed a code into the keypad by the wall and his office door clicked open.
Ruby sucked in a deep breath of relief. It hit her that her teen years had made her strong. Intimidating her was a tough gig. There was no way she’d let any man take advantage of her. She was barely dealing with letting Jake emotionally close and he was an honest man determined on breaking down her defences.
Abe opened a door opposite his office. Inside she saw glimpses of nakedness, flashes of silver costumes and heard the high-pitched chatter of women. Abe strutted inside like a bantam in a barnyard. ‘Girls. Pay attention. This is Emerald from the shop next door. She has thirty minutes to show you her wares.’
Ruby walked into the change room. Ten women in various states of undress sat doing their make-up in front of dressing tables with Hollywood lights. One thing they all had in common was tanned, toned bodies and long legs. ‘Thanks, Abe. I’ll be fine to take it from here.’
His gaze flicked over her but he left and Ruby heaved a sigh of relief. She put her bag on an unoccupied dressing table. ‘My name is Emerald. I design costumes for my fancy dress range, which I sell out of Fantasy, the shop next door. There’s also a See me Sexy range, which will suit your line of work. For the following week, I’ll be taking ten percent off if you visit the shop to purchase anything.’
‘I thought you were a blonde,’ said one of the girls with long, blonde hair similar to her own.
Ruby smiled. ‘Have you been in my shop?’
‘I know who you are. Haven’t been here long and you’ve already got a reputation.’
‘For doing what?’ Ruby asked, alarmed.
‘For playing where you shouldn’t.’ The girl’s tone was tinged with hostility. She had piercing, green eyes, which she used to narrow and glare at Ruby for effect.
Aware of the electric energy in the room, Ruby realised she needed to change tack even though she wanted to tease out what the girl was telling her. ‘Can we talk after this demonstration?’ Finally, she was get
ting somewhere.
The stripper shrugged and her gaze slid away from Ruby’s as if she were uncomfortable.
Ruby returned to selling her wares. ‘My business is to change you into who you want to be.’
‘I don’t want to be anyone else but I’d like to have D cups like Nessa here,’ a stripper said, pointing at the stripper with the long, blonde hair.
‘Cost ten thousand for those,’ a redhead with a beehive hairdo and a silver spangled outfit quipped.
‘You’re just jealous because you can’t afford it,’ Nessa snapped.
‘You earned those on your back,’ the redhead snapped back.
‘I’m not a fool. I never went that far and you know it.’
Ruby stepped between then and handed out vouchers to the girls aware of the rising tension in the room. ‘My bras have built in padding. They can make a C cup into a D and they retail for forty-five dollars. The important thing is to see how the layers go on and off so I want to use the short time I have to demonstrate what I’m wearing.’ She handed a voucher to Nessa who snatched it from her hand.
Ruby moved into the centre of the room so all the women could see her. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby noticed the security camera mounted on the wall above the door and, thinking of Abe, turned her back to it. ‘I’m not a stripper but I do know some of your routines because I’ve danced most of my life.’ She hunched her shoulders and brought them back with a snap. The cop jacket snapped open revealing the bright, sequined bra she’d fitted over the nipple covers.
‘Nice move,’ the stripper with the red beehive said.
‘You need garments that open or peel off easily for your act, eye catching clothes that tease a man,’ Ruby said, whipping her micro mini off with one hand.
‘You’re the expert,’ the stripper called Nessa said.
Ruby stopped and stared Nessa down. ‘Do you have a problem with me?’
Nessa raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re taking a deadly risk coming here. You should get out. You stepped over the line. Get out of The Cross before you get hurt.’
Jake scanned the dance floor of the Pink Pussy nightclub, his gaze moving around the crowd, their bodies hot and twisting to the throbbing music. On locating the Maori bouncer dressed all in black, who stood a head taller than everyone else, he moved in. He recognised him immediately as one of the regular employees of Abe. After introducing himself, he asked about the man with the spider tattoo.
John, the bouncer, leant in. ‘Bad news that guy. A freak. Had on a hoodie and dark clothes but I recognised him because of the markings.’ He touched his face. ‘I saw the window go, man. Good you dealt with it fast.’
‘Not fast enough. Got a description?’ Jake moved in close to hear him over the beat of the music.
‘Medium height. Shaved head. Webbed tattoo on his face. When I’m working the door I make it clear he doesn’t come in unless he’s unarmed.’
‘What’s his deal?’
John frowned and shook his head. ‘He’s not from around here. I know the pimps, the junkies and the lowlifes in The Cross. I’ve worked the club door for five years. This guy’s weird but I don’t get what his gig is.’
‘Meaning?’
‘One of the girls, a pretty blonde dancer quit her job last year. I saw the tattooed guy talking to her earlier on in the club.’
‘He touch her?’
‘No. She just left. Wouldn’t say why, but I remembered it because she looked scared.’
Every muscle in Jake’s body knotted. ‘You sure he didn’t hurt her?’
‘Not on my watch, but I never saw her again. After that I kept my eye on him but I haven’t seen him trouble the girls since so I’ve got no excuse not to admit him when I’m on the door. Seen him hanging out with a rich client who comes here. A guy who spends a fortune on lap dancers.’
‘Got a name of the rich guy?’ A rush of adrenaline hit Jake and his hand automatically went for the pistol he kept strapped to his chest, concealed by his jacket. How could a girl like Emerald get herself into danger so fast? He thought of his one meeting with Ruby’s twin. Emerald was abrasive, not good-natured and fun like Ruby. He had to get this sorted.
The bouncer shook his head. ‘Guys who pay for the girls’ services don’t leave their calling card. Ain’t smart if they’re married. Thing is, he comes in regularly, books the same girl for a lap dance.’
‘Who?’
‘Nessa.’
‘When was the last time you saw Tattoo Face in the club?’
The bouncer frowned and shifted. ‘Came in a couple of weeks ago. Usually about two in the morning. Hangs around drinking while his mate is having fun. Haven’t seen him for a while.’
‘Thanks for the information.’ Jake shook John’s hand and slipped him a twenty. He made his way to Abe’s office to check in with the nightclub owner. Abe had complained about one of his screens not functioning. Working would distract him from the fear that gnawed at him. Not fear for himself but for Ruby. She’d be safer going into hiding like her twin had done, but somehow he couldn’t see Ruby cooperating. He needed to establish a lead. Narrow down who the wealthy client was. Once he got that, he’d make sure Emerald and Ruby’s troubles were over.
He wove his way through the dance floor and headed up the stairs to Abe’s office. He buzzed and when he didn’t get a response he keyed in the code he’d set up for Abe. The office was vacant so he left the door askew and strode in. Several screens showed scenes from the club but he could see one was down. He opened the control box and adjusted the settings on the crackling screen. The picture of the girls in the change room appeared grainy at first until he fiddled some more with the controls. Unlike Abe who enjoyed watching every aspect of his club and had it backed up on his computer system to keep as a record, Jake treated it as a job, but one of the girls danced with such sexual intent his gaze was transfixed.
Her back was to him so he couldn’t see her face. His blood stirred as he took in the way her semi-naked body undulated as she practised her moves in front of the other women.
She had on a cop outfit, consisting of a policewoman’s hat over cropped dark hair, and jacket, but nothing from the waist down bar killer stilettos. The image made him hard.
She flicked off the jacket and threw it to the ground. A shudder of desire ran through him. Her body was so like Ruby’s. He noticed she wore a g-string, the elastic top had been hidden by the jacket, yet it was so tiny he mentally urged her to turn around. His gaze wandered over her perfectly rounded bottom, the cheeks just big enough to cup in each of his hands, and down over her long, shapely legs. When she moved, wiggling her hips, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He adjusted the settings on the control panel narrowing the camera field to focus on the dancer in vivid colour. The g-string was spangled and red and when she bent, the movement elongated her legs and thrust her bottom at the screen. His hand moved to his jean-covered cock and he groaned. He thought of Ruby’s mouth on him and the things she had done with her tongue. When she hooked her thumbs into the elastic and peeled the g-string off, it was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. Jake leant forward. The g-string was barely an inch wide between her legs and left very little to the imagination. Her body was perfectly groomed and although he enjoyed the downy, blonde hair between Ruby’s legs, the view was as alluring as a juicy, ripe fig.
The stripper spun around too fast for him to catch a picture of her face but instinct made him want to know what she looked like. He felt he’d seen her before. One thing he always made sure of was to follow his gut. He stopped the picture and rolled the sequence back so that he could examine the screen. He zoomed in further. There was something so familiar about her that he wondered if she’d passed him in the street on her way to work at the club. He was good at recalling faces and the thought that he couldn’t nail who she was annoyed him. He didn’t remember seeing her dance before at the club. Her black hair was swept across her face making it difficult to see her features well. Her eyes
were closed, and her red, glossy lips were open as she spun.
Jake groaned.
A red-spangled bra matched the g-string, though he could only see the back of it. Her waist was narrow and the primeval male in him made him want to span it, bend the girl forward and...get a grip. He’d never bothered to watch the strippers close up though he was in and out of the club a lot, especially when he’d been setting up the security system, but this woman made him horny enough to wonder if she also added lap-dancing to her services. He squashed the thought. Ruby would be horrified and he wasn’t the kind of man who needed to pay women for services they didn’t wish to give freely. No matter how much he’d enjoyed what Ruby had done to him using her lips and tongue, he wanted more from her. A lot more.
The stripper reached behind her and unclipped her bra, waving it around her head before flinging it away. Her back was beautiful with even, fair skin like milk, the type he’d like to caress. He wished he could see her breasts, which he bet would be high and perfect. She was the type of woman who could lure men in by wearing a backless dress.
She spun again, her short, black hair flying over her face as she danced and Jake’s hand moved to his jean-clad erection. She was wearing red nipple tassels. He froze the frame on the screen so he could examine the front of her better again. She was achingly familiar and it bugged the hell out of him. He was right about her breasts. Full and high. A perfect combination just like Ruby’s. Desperation made him ache with desire. He needed Ruby.
No more flirting.
No more playing around with her.
He was serious about her and he intended to demand she find a way to stay so they could be together. There was no way he’d make love to her and let her leave if Emerald came back.
She. Was. His.
Whether she knew it or not.
Damn he was hot for her. He’d have her begging for him next time if her reaction to his foreplay last night was anything to go by.
‘Enjoying the view?’ a male voice interrupted.
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