by M. S. Parker
Table of Contents
Title Page
Book Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Acknowledgement
About The Author
Sinful Desires
Vol. 1
By M.S. Parker
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 Belmonte Publishing LLC
Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC.
Book Description
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Why in the world had I agreed to go home for my five-year reunion when I hated pretty much all of my classmates? Right, because I was an idiot. I should've known better.
When Las Vegas exotic dancer, Piper Black, goes back to Philadelphia for her reunion, she knows it's not going to be an enjoyable experience, and she's right...until she ends up sleeping with her high school crush. What she doesn't know is that Reed Stirling has a secret that ruins everything.
Can he make things right? And even if he does, will Piper be able to forgive him?
Chapter 1
The first time I felt his clammy hand on my tits, I chalked it up as a slip. After all, he'd been stuffing a dollar bill into my almost sheer bra. The second time, however, the bastard actually squeezed one of my boobs.
“Ricky!” I yelled over the music.
A massive man with no neck, and arms the size of my thighs lumbered over. I never knew how he heard us over the pounding bass, but Ricky never missed one of us girls calling for help.
“All right, buddy.” He grabbed the guy by the scruff of the neck and gave me a nod as he dragged the drunk away.
I made a mental note to thank Ricky after my set was done and then went back to shaking my tits and ass. That's what this was, after all. It wasn't dancing, not for real. It was getting away with pasties and g-string instead of full nudity just so I could call it exotic dancing rather than stripping. It was a thin line, I knew, but it helped me look at myself in the mirror with a tiny bit less disgust.
As I peeled off the last item of my clothing – my barely-there bra – I heard the familiar cat-calls as my breasts came into view. I wasn't as big as most of the other girls, since at least seventy-five percent of them had gotten their busts enhanced to reach the in-demand double D's, but I was natural. I had an athlete's body with just enough extra on top to be annoying. Fortunately, it also meant that I had big enough boobs to work as a dancer when I hadn't been able to find anything else.
Dancer… right.
I bent down and gave the room a view of my swaying breasts and basically bare ass, and then flipped my hair up, letting the spotlight make the bright red waves look like dancing flames. Most everyone thought I dyed it to get that color, but it was all natural. I'd inherited it from my mother.
The music ended as I reached my final pose and the men cheered, some simply yelling while others shouted propositions and what I supposed they considered compliments.
“How much to fuck that ass?”
“Damn, baby, you got me so hard.”
“Shake it some more!”
“Come give me a lap dance!”
“I got a pole for you to dance on.”
I smiled and gave them the ‘oh baby, you make me so wet’ look, then rolled my eyes as I walked off stage. Once I was out of sight, I pulled the tight blouse back on just to give me coverage until I got to the locker where I'd left my real clothes. Aurora shook her head as she walked past me towards the stage. None of the others understood why I didn't just walk around half-naked like they did. I wasn't mean enough to tell them it was because I wasn't like them.
“Good set.” A tall blonde dressed like a naughty nurse called over as I stopped by my locker.
“Thanks, Tammy.” I started taking off what little was left of my costume. It had taken me two months to get used to changing in front of the others.
“I noticed that you had a problem with one of the audience,” Tammy said.
I nodded, grimacing as I pulled off the daffodil pasties I'd been wearing. I appreciated not having to bare all, but those things chafed the hell out of my nipples. I almost laughed. How pathetic that a couple half-dollar sized stickers and a piece of dental floss made me feel superior to anyone. I was just like all the other girls who’d come to Vegas with a dream and ended up shedding her clothes instead.
“That's the third time this week Ricky's had to throw someone out for getting handsy.”
“Really?” That was a bit surprising. The Twilight Room had a reputation as being one of the safest places for a girl to work. That had been my main reason for choosing it when it had become painfully obvious my dream of becoming a real dancer wasn't going to happen.
Tammy came over to stand next to me as I pulled on my jeans. “There are some rumors going around that one of the other club owners is sending in people to stir things up.”
“Who'd do that?” I asked as I pulled my t-shirt over my head.
“Danny Whitehall, for one,” Tammy said.
“Right.” I scowled. Danny owned a club a bit further down the strip and even though his girls did everything including the audience, he struggled to keep his doors open. Everyone knew he blamed The Twilight Room for ruining his business. Apparently, there was some history between him and Gino, the man who owned this club.
“You coming out with us tonight?” Tammy asked.
“Not tonight. Thanks.” At the end of every shift, she asked the same thing, and I always said the same thing back. I felt bad for never taking her up on her offer, but I wasn't exactly friends with any of the other girls, not enough to want to go get drinks.
“Be safe,” she said as I walked away. I could feel her eyes on me and wondered, not for the first time, if Tammy had a crush on me. I knew she was a lesbian, but so were Faye and Deedee. They never stared at me like they were wondering what I tasted like.
I grimaced as I stepped outside. We were in the middle of a heat wave that made the Nevada night unbearably oppressive. I would've been more comfortable in shorts or a skirt rather than jeans, but I'd learned early on that coming out of a strip club wearing something even the slightest bit revealing invited more comments from the men going in and out. With my hair in a sloppy ponytail, wearing regular clothes, they rarely noticed me, too intent on whatever they wanted to see or had already seen.
I walked briskly down the brightly lit street, heading towards the apartment I called home.
Home.
Until two years ago, home had been Philadelphia, the city where I'd been born and raised. The city where I buried my mother after four years of illness. I'd waited tables for seven years, four during high school, three after, saving every penny I could to pay for dance school. Two years into my mom's illness, the job that had provided her health insurance finally figured out a way to fire her and my savings had been all we'd had to live on.
I'd moved out here after she died, thinking a fresh start on the other side of the continent would be a good idea. I should have known better, nothing in my life had ever worked out and this grand plan wasn’t an exception. So here I am, stuck, barely making rent, much less earning enough money to move back, even if I
'd wanted to.
And I didn't want to. Philadelphia may have held a lot of great memories, but it also held painful ones.
I was almost to my place when my phone rang. I sighed, hoping it wasn't the club calling me to work a double. Maybe it was just my roommate, Rosa, letting me know she wouldn't be home tonight. It wasn't either one.
“Anastascia?” I didn't try to hide my surprise. Anastascia Galaway had been my best friend in Philadelphia, my only school friend really. She was the only person from back East who bothered to keep in touch since I moved. She'd also been the one who'd given me strength during those four terrible years. Especially the last few, even worse, weeks.
“Hey there, stranger!” Chipper as always. “I just got back from Paris and had to give you a call.”
If it had been anyone else casually dropping that they'd been in Paris, I'd have said they were bragging. Anastascia wasn't like that though. She'd never been like that. My first day at St. George's, a very expensive private high school in the Chestnut Hill district, had been miserable up to my last class when I'd met her. I'd endured the whispers and the not-so-subtle stares, refusing to give any of them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. By the end of the day, I'd been ready to crack when a stuck-up blonde bitch made some comment about taking out the trash. I’d almost lost it when this tall girl with caramel-colored skin and wild black curls came over and saved my life.
“You sound like you enjoyed your trip,” I said, snapping back to the present.
“It was amazing. You really have to come with me to Europe sometime.”
“Sure, as soon as pigs fly and hell freezes over,” I replied. “I can barely afford my rent.” I changed the subject before she could offer to loan me money. I loved that she was generous, but I hated feeling like I owed anyone anything. “What are you doing up this late?”
“Still on French time, darling,” she said. “I'm a combined seven hours ahead, which means it's almost eight in the morning for me.”
I laughed. “All right then. What are you doing calling me at eight in the morning?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were planning on coming to our reunion this weekend.”
I sighed. I'd completely forgotten about it. No, that was a lie. I'd made myself forget about it. “Why would I want to go back to a place where no one wanted me in the first place?”
“Come on, Piper, it'll be fun,” she begged. I could almost see the pouty look she'd be trying to use to guilt me into coming. “We can see who didn't lose the freshman fifteen and who's already divorced.”
“You can do that reading the society section,” I reminded her.
“Well, you don't have a choice,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“I've already bought you a ticket. You leave Friday evening and I'll pick you up at the airport.”
I stopped in front of my apartment building. “What? No. But,” I stammered, then sighed. “I don't really have a choice, do I?”
“Nope.”
Even as much as I hated the idea of seeing all those people again, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing my best friend. I missed her terribly, the one person in the world who really cared for me. I realized I would ensure just about anything to see her again.
Plus, it wouldn't be hard to get a few days off. I could pull some double shifts to cover the missed time. Before thinking too much about it, I agreed, “I'll be there.”
Anastascia was still squealing when I hung up.
Chapter 2
My chest was starting to tighten as I stepped into the terminal. I scanned the waiting crowd, looking for a familiar face, but wasn't really surprised when I didn't see one. My flight had actually arrived on time and Anastascia was chronically late. I decided it would make more sense for me to get my bags, then head toward the entrance and wait for her. I could call her on the way and let her know to look for me there.
I'd only gone a few steps past the next gate when something hard ran into me, almost knocking me to the ground. I heard a deep voice utter an oath and then a pair of strong hands caught me. It all happened so fast I'd barely started processing the fall before I was in some stranger's embrace.
I tilted my head back to get a better look at who was holding me. He was tall, well over six feet, with messy, golden blond hair and a pair of eyes so dark they almost appeared to be black.
I knew those eyes.
I absorbed the rest of his features. Handsome, with features that toed the line between pretty and masculine. Lips almost too full for a man, but not quite. A small, thin scar ran through the bottom one. A scar he'd gotten three weeks into my freshman year at St. George's.
Reed Stirling was three years older than me and, aside from Anastascia, had been the nicest person at school. I'd watched him step between a bully and his victim, and I'd never forgotten it. He'd even talked to me once or twice, though only to say hello. I'd had a crush on him for years even though I'd known I'd never had a chance.
The Stirlings were old money, the kind who'd had an apartment in the city worth millions, as well as a house in Chestnut Hill near the school. They'd also owned a vineyard in Italy and a villa in France, or something like that.
“I'm so sorry.”
Reed's voice brought me back to the present. Under his tan, I could see his cheeks turning red. I took a step back, taking a deep breath to regain my composure.
“It's okay,” I said. “No harm done.”
I looked up at him again, unable to stop the twinge of disappointment when I saw no recognition in his face. It wasn't surprising, not really. The two of us hadn't had any classes together and we hadn't been friends. His sister and I hadn't been friends either...
“Reed!”
I winced as I heard an all-too familiar squeal. I took another step back as my former classmate threw herself into her brother's arms.
I loathed Rebecca Stirling.
As she released her brother, I turned to go, but I was too late to avoid being recognized.
“Piper?” She sounded surprised.
I fixed a fake smile on my face and turned back towards her and Reed. “Rebecca.” She didn't look any different. Same dyed light blond hair and cold hazel eyes. She was taller than me by a couple inches, nearly twice that with her heels. If anything, she looked even thinner, bordering on skeletal. She'd always been slender, but I knew that starved look wasn't natural.
“Piper?” Reed looked puzzled as his gaze went from me to his sister and back again.
“Piper Black,” Rebecca said promptly. “She went to St. George's with me.” Her lips pursed. “She was a scholarship kid.”
“Well, Piper Black from St. George's, let me apologize again for almost knocking you down.” Reed held out a hand without acknowledging his sister's last comment.
I shook it, trying to ignore the little tingle through my hand and up my arm. I wasn't going to act like some smitten schoolgirl. I'd all but forgotten about Reed over the years. I wasn't about to revert simply because he'd shaken my hand.
“Back in town for the reunion?” Rebecca asked.
Before I could answer, I heard the voice I'd been waiting for.
“Piper!”
I breathed a sigh of relief as Anastascia threw her arms around me for a quick hug. When she stepped back, she gave Rebecca a dismissive look, nodded at Reed and then linked her arm through mine. I didn't even have a chance to say anything to either of the Stirlings as Anastascia led me away, keeping up a steady stream of chatter about how much she'd looked forward to this and how much fun we were going to have.
By the time we reached the baggage claim and she'd paused to catch her breath, I'd regain my composure enough to tell her about bumping into Reed and then seeing Rebecca. I kept my tone casual, even Anastascia hadn't known about my crush. That secret had been for my mother only. While my friend wasn't anything like the other rich kids in class, I wasn’t sure how she would've reacted if I’d told her I had a crush on a guy like Reed.
“Well, at least you've gotten that out of the way,” Anastascia said. “Now, let's forget about that bitch and start talking about what we're going to wear tonight.”
I smiled, but my heart wasn't in it. What had I been thinking, coming out here like this? What was I supposed to say when everyone asked what I was doing in Vegas? And what about clothes? I hadn't even thought about that when I'd packed my bag. I'd grabbed some jeans and a couple nice shirts, and borrowed a cheap red dress from Tammy. I didn't own anything that would even compare to what I knew the other girls would be wearing tonight. I had exactly one dress and it was the stiff black one I'd worn to my mother's funeral, and then to various job interviews. Well, except the last one. Funeral dresses didn't exactly advertise a body that men would pay to see nearly naked.
“Earth to Piper,” Anastascia teased. “If you're not careful, you're going to get left behind.”
I look around, startled. I hadn't even realized we'd reached the train station. I gave her a puzzled look. I would've thought we'd be taking a taxi to her apartment.
She smiled, most likely guessing what I was thinking. “I moved out after graduation.”
“Seriously?”
Anastascia had gone to Columbia for their paralegal program and I knew the law firm she wanted to work for was just a few blocks away from her family's place.
“Mom and Dad bought me a place in Fishtown.”
My eyes widened. “Are you kidding?”
She shook her head as she stepped onto the train. I followed, taking the aisle seat next to her.
“I'm still at Masters and Griffin, but I wanted a place of my own. One of their friends was selling their place so my parents asked if I wanted it.”
She kept gushing about her new place as the train started to move. I was happy for her, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be jealous. I shared a tiny two-bedroom apartment with another stripper and could barely make rent while her parents had bought one of those brick row-houses for what was probably just under a quarter of a million dollars. I looked out the window as we started to pass my old neighborhood. It hadn't changed in the past two years and as I saw kids playing basketball as we passed, I wondered if I knew any of them.