“What’s going on?” Trina whispered into Kittie’s ear. Ten minutes earlier, Dana had called them all down to the parlor, where they were waiting in a strict line for her instructions.
“Don’t know,” Kittie whispered back. “Dana gets in some bad moods sometimes. We just have to wait it out.”
The next moment, Dana walked through the door, slamming it roughly behind her before walking in front of the group of working girls, her face looking strained and exhausted. “Good evening, ladies,” she said, but there was no hint of warmth in her voice. Her eyes darting back and forth between each one of them, her lips curled upward in a half snarl.
“Good evening, Madam Dana,” the girls all said back, except Trina, who hadn’t got the memo about how to refer to her boss. She filed away that information for later, but for now she concentrated on keeping her head perfectly straight to avoid showing any sign of nervousness or fear.
Dana opened her mouth to respond, but before she got any words out, the door to the parlor opened again. This time, a tall broad-chested man walked in, going over to sit in a chair in the corner without looking at anyone or saying anything to announce his presence. Trina noticed that Dana went stiff, her eyes narrowing as the man walked around her without acknowledging her.
The room was unbearably silent for several long moments, while Dana breathed noisily and appeared to be chewing on the inside of her cheek. She looks nervous, Trina noted. I wonder what’s going on.
“Lucas,” Dana finally said, clearing her throat and gesturing toward the line of girls in front of her. “Go ahead.”
“I thought you were going to make them give me a show first,” said the man, who apparently was named Lucas, a teasing smile spreading across his face.
But Dana was in no mood to be teased, snapping her fingers impatiently until Lucas sighed and got to his feet, walking over to the line of girls in the center of the room.
“All right,” Lucas said as he stood next to Dana. His eyes were alight with some inner fire as he glanced at each girl. It might have been Trina’s imagination, but his eyes seemed to linger over her, running up and down the full length of her body. “Take off your clothes,” Lucas said.
The girls rushed to comply, taking off their tiny negligees to stand side by side, totally naked. Trina went along with the rest of them, even though she felt her stomach turn over. You’ve been a hooker for years, she told herself. You have no excuse to hate your own body. Get over it.
Lucas started at the end of the line, inspecting each girl for a few moments before moving along to the next. By the time he got to Trina, her breath was caught in her throat and she was frozen in place. Maybe he’s from another brothel, Trina thought. Maybe they’re organizing a trade or something and he’s picking out the girls he wants for a new place. Trina felt a little sick at that thought; she’d just gotten used to Dana’s place. Now she might have to adjust to an entirely different brothel?
Lucas lingered for a long time in front of Trina, his eyes drifting down to her chest and his tongue coming to lick at his lips as he surveyed her body. “Hmm,” he murmured, biting his bottom lip as he reached forward and dragged his finger along Trina’s collarbone, making all of the tiny hairs on the base of her neck stand at attention, fully erect. Lucas’s gaze became more intense, practically burning with some internal source of heat, as his hand drifted lower, skimming over her breasts, making her nipples grow hard under his touch. Lucas laughed lowly, the noise coming from deep in his throat as he traced his fingernails over the flesh of her breasts, going back and forth several times until her entire body was covered with goose bumps.
“Turn around,” Lucas said, pushing lightly on her shoulder until she complied and turned to face the wall. “Bend over.”
Trina’s face and neck went hot in embarrassment, but she did as she was told, stretching her arms down to her feet, sticking her ass up in the air. She tried to keep her breathing under control, her lungs practically burning with exertion even though she was standing still. Stay calm, she told herself. Stay fucking calm. You’re okay. Everything’s okay.
Smack. One of Lucas’s hands collided with Trina’s left ass cheek, and her skin prickled hotly as his fingers trailed over her hips and the tops of her thighs.
“This one,” Lucas said. “I’ll take this one.”
“Ha! Of course,” Dana said from somewhere behind Trina’s back. “Lovely.”
“Have her ready as soon as possible.”
Trina was stiff for a moment, listening as Lucas left the room, unsure if she was allowed to straighten and turn around.
Finally, after a long silent pause, Dana clapped her hands together. “Everyone except Trina leave. Now.”
Trina’s whole body went on high alert, her heart thundering in her chest as Kittie left her side, shooting her an apologetic glance as she exited the parlor along with the other girls.
Dana walked across the room until she was standing in front of Trina, her eyebrows furrowed tightly together. “Trina. Trina, Trina, Trina,” she said in a low murmur. There was a smirk plastered across her face, but there wasn’t even a single hint of humor in her smile.
“Yes?” Trina said, keeping her voice steady and still even though her heart pounded insistently within her chest.
“Go get ready,” Dana said, sighing deeply and turning her head to stare at the wall behind Trina’s head. “For Lucas.”
“Is he already waiting up in my room?” Trina asked, referring to the space upstairs that had been established for her to deal with clients.
“No,” Dana said, sounding incredibly annoyed. She blew out her breath and shook her head to herself before continuing to speak. “You’re going home with him, just for tonight. Go get ready and be back down here in five minutes.”
Trina’s heartbeat shot up to her throat, pounding inside her neck as she tried to keep her breathing steady. If she left Dana’s brothel, that could mean letting go of the protection that came along with it. It wasn’t like Dana was offering to send one of the bodyguards stationed at the brothel to go watch over her. “Madam… I don’t think… I mean, I don’t think I want to do that. I’d like to stay here tonight if that’s okay with you,” she said.
“Well, it’s not,” Dana snapped. “You have to go with him. Now fucking move.”
Trina hesitated, staying in place and shivering from the cold air hitting her naked body.
“Move!” Dana screamed, launching her phone toward Trina and just barely missing her head. Trina turned around to watch it crash against the wall, shattering into four separate pieces. “Now! If you want to be a part of this house, you’ll do what I fucking tell you!” Dana screamed, sounding on the verge of tears.
Trina did as she was instructed, moving around Dana to get to the door, leaving her discarded negligee behind as she exited the parlor and headed upstairs toward her room.
What the fuck is going on? What the hell am I doing? Trina wondered as she hurriedly picked out something else to wear and shoved it over her naked body before heading back downstairs.
Lucas was waiting for her at the foot of the steps. “Ready?” he asked.
No, Trina thought. No, I’m not. “Yes,” she lied, following him through the front of the building. “Yes, I’m ready.”