by Kiki Leach
He brought his hand to her cheek and gently swept his fingers along the base of her jawline before gliding them across the fullness of her lips. Goddamn, he needed another taste. She relished in seeing that truth beaming from the look on his face, remaining all too desperate for more of the same. "I ain't too sure where shit's goin' with us once all is done and said here, darlin'. With me and your school, Rockafeller and the Kings."
"I don't know either, X. But if it brought us back together, that means something more than not, right? More than you think it should."
"Anything could've done that shit for us, darlin'."
"But it didn't." She lowered her head back down to his chest and swept her fingers across his neck; she closed her eyes at the sound of his heart thumping in perfect sync with her pulse. "I like being in the here and now with you again, no matter what happens after."
"Yeah, darlin'..." He slipped both arms around her waist and interlaced his fingers, resting his hands against her back and pulling her close enough to feel the weight of his erection; she grinned as it pressed between her thighs and tightened her arms around his neck. "I'm likin' that shit again too."
Chapter Nine
Mariah
I gripped the steering wheel with both hands as my cell rattled out of my purse and bent forward while attempting to catch my breath.
It had been three long years since walking out of ACE'S with the promise of never making my way back as long as I remained alive. Three years since seeing the face of a man who all but spat in my own before burning my clothes to a crisp on his front lawn out of spite.
Before this moment, Charles 'Rockafeller' Simmons had remained nothing more than a blip quietly sitting in the back of my mind; a small threat with a pair of fists the size of Texas that were bound to come swinging with a vengeance as soon as he learned I needed his help.
That time had come much sooner than expected.
When my phone rang for the second time, I snatched it from the passenger seat and stared at the number. I smiled in realizing it was Xavier and sent him a quick text message to let him know that I was fine for the time being and would call him once I was done with his former brother.
After tossing it back into my purse and stuffing both into the glove compartment, I hopped out of the car and hiked my black pleather skirt until the rim reached my waist. I yanked at my red tank until the neck nearly fell pasts my breasts, then took a deep breath to calm my nerves and walked inside the club.
As the door closed behind me, the 'CLOSED' sign swinging from a string on a hook as it slammed shut, I folded my arms and eyed the room with a pit forming in the center of my stomach while disgust wrinkled my nose. Nothing had changed in my absence, from the wood panel walls to linoleum floors and a bar that remained overstocked; not to mention the entire building still smelled of rotten pussy and piss, Old Spice and dirty money covered in cum and baby oil.
I stepped to the stage as a batch of neon lights suddenly dropped from the ceiling and flashed across the poll as Donna Summer's 'Bad Girls' started playing from a corner jukebox, then turned at the sound of heels clacking across the floor.
"That shit looks good out here, yeah?" a visibly aging Rockafeller called to me from the bar, strands of grey hair falling into the corners of his eyes as he replied to his own question with a nod. "Just had 'em installed a few weeks ago -- the girls love that shit of 'em lightenin' up right before the last song every night."
"I bet they do."
He chuckled as his gaze dipped below my skirt, then bobbed his head and muttered something inaudible before lifting his eyes back to my face. "You remember what it's like to get up there and work that thing?"
"The pole?"
"Your ass while movin' around that goddamn poll, babe. Looks to still be in good shape from what I can see on this side of the bar. You wanna come a little closer and lemme know what you're still workin' with before I agree to what you came all the way down here to ask me in the first goddamn place?" I feigned a smile to suppress my growing nausea while making my way toward him, then stopped in the middle of the room and folded my hands, placing them in front of my skirt. He stood away from the bar and tugged at his belt. "You know I've always said how much your sweet pussy could get a motherfucker's cock so goddamn hard like I ain't never seen before, babe -- shit was always too goddamn close to snappin' right the fuck off a set of balls as soon as you and your mouth got near."
"Always the flattering one." I shifted my attention to keep from rolling my eyes so far into each socket that they nearly stuck and gradually wagged my head. "What were you expecting in seeing me today, Rocka?"
"What the fuck was I expectin'?" He dropped his hand on top of his chest and snorted. "Mariah, I ain't the one lookin' for your help in this shit -- that was your ass crawlin' across a pile of goddamn glass to get it from X first, yeah? Instead of comin' straight back to the main motherfucker with means of providin' what the hell you actually needed."
I guffawed and leaned aside, staring directly into his face and scrunching my brows as he spoke. "The same man who burned my clothes on the front lawn because I had sex with someone else after he dropped me like a bad habit was expecting for me to come straight to him for help first?"
"I didn't burn the goddamn house down after finding out you two had fucked my sheets raw like a pair of goddamn rabbits -- I'd say burnin' your shit on the front lawn was mild compared to what the fuck coulda happened instead."
"It shouldn't have mattered--"
"It fuckin' did by principle alone..." He stopped short of calling me a 'bitch' as venom spewed from the corners of his mouth, then rounded the bar and yanked a bottle of cinnamon whiskey from the bottom shelf. After snapping the lid in half and guzzling back enough liquor to send anyone else into the emergency room, he slammed the bottle on top of the counter and pointed, a sneer parting his lips as he spoke. "Take some for yourself," he said.
I waved him off and swallowed hard. "I'm not in the mood and need to drive back home."
"Don't give a fuck," he retorted, his eyes sharpening between words. "You can sleep it off here before headin' back. My couch is still up there pussy free."
"Rocka--"
"I'm gonna need your ass under those lights to show me if the worth is still there in havin' it back, Mariah. I know you can't do that shit sober and thinkin' about X's cock ain't gonna get the job done this time around since you ain't seen it since you left here, yeah?" His head tilted as he squint, hoping to seek answers from my expression as he spoke. I remained silent in return. He grumbled. "Look, drink as much of this shit as you can without passin' out, then get your ass up on that goddamn stage, alright?" He sat down on a stool in front of the bar and leered while shoving his hand down his pants. I looked above his head to keep from vomiting into his lap and gaped at the myriad of liquor bottles sitting high in the wall, then shuffled behind him and grabbed a bottle of ABSOLUT, guzzling back just enough to enhance the fog surrounding my brain while making my insides feel like rubber. "I ain't got all goddamn day, babe," he mumbled. "Let's go."
I yanked the bottle from between my lips and sat it back down on top of the bar, tossing my keys beside them, then walked to the stage and climbed on top without help. After regaining my balance, I moved to the pole and slid my hand around the center, remembering the slick, warm feeling of metal against my fingers as it torched my skin.
When 'Bad Girls' finally faded on the juke box, 'Work Song' by Hozier started spinning in its place.
Rockafeller grinned like the Cheshire cat, as if the timing couldn't have been more perfect, and lifted his chin. "Take that top and bra off," he said in a low voice. "Toss 'em to the floor beneath the stage and start movin' around that pole to the music."
I dug my heels into the flooring and shook my head. "I can't exactly dance to something like this, Rocka."
"You're gonna need to fuckin' try for it if this shit is what you want back." He sucked his teeth and stroked himself as his penis nearly jutted from his zip
per. His eyes narrowed while focusing on my breasts. "Start strippin'."
I stared down at myself for a few seconds in shock and shame of what I had once again been reduced to in the eyes of a man who would've sucked my soul dry through a straw if he had the chance, then tossed my head back and closed my eyes, counting to ten as I pressed my lips together and deeply inhaled through my nose.
As the warmth of Xavier's face suddenly flashed across my mind, as the image of him holding me so tightly in his arms that I could barely breathe burned in the corners of my brain, I whimpered and gently lifted my tank over my head. After tossing it to the floor, I removed my bra and lifted one of my legs to help me spin around the pole as my other foot remained planted to keep my balance.
"Real goddamn good, babe." I peeked at Rocka as his tongue darted between his lips and his eyes pinned. He continued stroking himself while using his free hand to latch onto the edge of the bar. "Yank the skirt off now," he mumbled as his breathing tightened, the lower half of his body quietly gyrating against the chair. "Kick that shit to the floor with everything else."
After doing as told, allowing him full view of my bright pink thong, I wrapped both hands around the pole this time and danced with the continued image of Xavier bouncing inside my head, even as the music finally stopped.
Rockafeller jumped to his feet when another song picked up and slapped his hands together in realizing my mind had yet to return from the only Heaven I had ever known; then he hurried to the stage and climbed until he reached the pole.
I stepped back as he stood in front of me and winced as he grunted. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"I wanna know somethin'..." His hands fell between us as he refocused on my breasts and gulped. "You and X--"
"There's nothing going on there," I said, looking aside in the hope that my blatant lie wouldn't become as obvious to him as it felt. "I needed his help to get back here, that was it."
"Why the fuck didn't you call my ass first, Mariah--?"
"I just told you why."
"Had I not burned your shit...?" His eyes returned to my face, apologetic as he sighed.
I wrapped my arms around myself, covering my breasts to keep him from taking advantage of how vulnerable I had become within a matter of seconds, and shook my head. "I don't know."
"I've fuckin' missed you all this time," he started. "Missed that ass and that goddamn face... You know that shit?"
"I wouldn't."
"I fuckin' did."
I peeked behind him and lifted my shoulders as he peered. "Are we the only ones out here?"
He rubbed his stomach and barked with laughter. "Fine goddamn time to ask me that shit, yeah?"
"I only meant..." I stopped to recollect my thoughts and exhaled. "Shauna... She's not here?"
"Won't be in for another few hours to help clean up some shit from over night. The girls come in after that."
I nodded and tightened my arms around myself. "Are you going to hire me back or was all of this about only seeing me without my clothes after three years?"
He grinned as his eyes dipped to my waist. "You still got the kinda body a motherfucker would kill to have rockin' on top of his cock," he said. "The kind they'd wanna see up here every goddamn night makin' 'em cum like a batch of assholes..." He paused and pushed his brows together; the corners of his mouth ticked as he grinded his teeth. "The kind I remember havin' rock on top of me as if it'd be that way between us for as long as you were still in the club." He reached for my stomach and slid his fingers across my skin. I stiffened as his touch turned me cold.
"You weren't in love with me, Rocka," I muttered. "When I wanted more from you than sex -- even to be on the back of your bike in the hope of making whatever the hell we were official, you all but told me that I was an idiot to ever expect it."
"Maybe I was wrong about that shit." His fingers dipped to my panties as he yanked me forward. My arms dropped as I fell into his chest. He chuckled as my breasts bounced against him and reached for my wrist, then pressed my hand against his dick and groaned. "You remember how good that shit felt between us back then?" I swallowed hard while remaining silent. His grin deepened as his jaw shifted. "You been with anybody else since leavin' the club behind?"
"I wasn't a monk," I told him.
He snickered and tightened his grip. "You sure none of those motherfuckers ever included X?"
"I told you that it's not like that between us anymore -- beyond the other night, I hadn't seen or spoken to him since I left Pink. All I needed was his help to get back here -- I didn't know who else to call within the club that would've been willing to talk to you for me, that's it."
"You still ain't removed his name from your back."
"A tattoo removal of this size is painful and expensive--"
"You ain't tryna have that shit gone," he replied through a sneer. "It'd mean losin' what you had with him, even at the cost of somethin' else."
I frowned while attempting to yank my wrist from his hand. He glowered. "Am I in or out of here again, Rocka?"
"How much are you lookin' to get for bein' back on stage?"
"Enough to keep me in school for a few more semesters. If high-end clientele has remained the same, I know that I can make that much in tips within a few months time."
He eyed me for a long moment while continuing to rub himself with my hand, then brushed my nipple with the tip of his thumb and licked his lips. "You've still got the... fattest pair of tits I've ever seen on a bitch -- you know that shit? Nipples lookin' like a fat pair of Hershey's kisses that would melt on the tip of my goddamn tongue. Just... sweet and juicy as fuck." I gulped back another urge to vomit and stared at the placement of my hand against him. "You want back in here...?" He stopped and worked his hips as his cock jerked inside my palm. "I can't let you back without a promise first."
"What do you still want from me?"
"Pussy..." My eyes returned to his face. I grimaced as he rolled his tongue against the roof of his mouth and wagged the tip between his teeth. "What I've had since you been gone from me and the club can't compare."
"You want me to prostitute myself for a job."
"I can't let you back in here otherwise, Mariah--"
"You could. You don't want to."
"Yeah, babe..." His glare hardened as he bent forward and clutched my nipple between his thumb and index finger. "Maybe that shit's it." As the pain of his pinch made me flinch, I dug my nails into his crotch and dropped back. "FUCK!" He released my wrist within an instant and reached for himself.
I wrapped my arms around my breasts again and crawled back down to the floor, snatched my clothes and got dressed as quickly as humanly possible. "Coming back out here wasn't worth what I knew you were willing to put me through," I spat.
"You need a goddamn job," he replied between clinched teeth and a pinched expression; his voice fading in and out as he attempted to separate his words. "Your ass needs money and I need quality pussy."
"You have free reign out here."
"Nothin' of what I want is worth havin' for free, babe. Shit ain't never been that way, you know better than anybody else."
"I know it all too damn well." He turned half-way, peeking at me over his shoulder, then slid to the edge of the stage while still holding himself. I rolled my eyes as he lowered his feet back down to the floor and returned to the bar for my keys. "Forget this," I told him. "Forget that I came out here -- that I needed your help."
He wagged his head and pointed while walking toward me. "Shit ain't gonna work like that, Mariah."
"I'm not having sex with you for a job."
"You'd fuck me raw to save the club though, yeah? To save X?"
I looked into his face with question and narrowed my eyes, certain he was full of shit. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The club is goin' under--"
"What...." I clamped my lips together to settle my sudden bout of anxiety and took in a breath. "What would make you say something like that?"
Shock crossed my face as I shook my head. "Why the hell would they be doing something like that?"
"Territory's bein' bought up by some asshole outside developers lookin' to expand corporate businesses down in Bartlesville -- build up a few malls, hotels, shit like that; motherfucker's are usin' money and a buncha big ass words to scare the town about the on goings at the MC when they ain't payin' attention. Shit's been workin' like crazy for the last few months; like handin' out candy to babies and shit."
"Why are the Kings hoping to relocate to Pink? What the hell do they think they can get down here that they can't get from somewhere else like Kingfisher or Tecumseh?"
"They know how shit operates down here better than the rest -- Know P.O. don't give a fuck as long as they continue gettin' their fair share of certain profit and unlimited pussy from the Devils when the badges are put down for the night," he said. "They figure for the right price, muscle and pussy of their own, they can move into Devils' territory and expand their other charters."
"Boone would never let that happen without a fight to retain every ounce of land the club was built upon down here, Rocka," I replied.
"Boone has become an old motherfucker who might not have a goddamn choice with the Kings already takin' over half their shit."
"Half of what?"
He crossed his arms while staring down into my face and exhaled. "I know that X has talked to you about the shit that's been goin' down since you took off; told you different ways the club's been gettin' by since I bought 'em out for the majority of ACE'S."
"Why did you buy them out for this place?"
"Save my own ass from what the fuck I knew was comin'."
"The Kings?" I asked. He nodded. "Who told you what was coming with all of this, Rocka?"
"Doesn't matter. Fact is that I know it'll be here soon and sped up if shit doesn't get stopped."
"How does having sex with you stop any of what you claim to be coming?"