CHARLOTTE

If I could be anywhere right this very minute, it would not be here. The compound was void of men except for Squid, who was sitting over by the bar, looking incredibly uncomfortable and not too happy.

Of course, I wasn’t too happy myself.

Deck told me yesterday after he was dropped off at the day care school to drive Shiloh and myself home, that he and the other men had a ‘run’ planned for tonight, and Vegas had something planned for us as entertainment.

I had a few problems with that.

One, I had been looking forward to the end of the school day so I could sit in the driver’s seat of the big, black beast of a truck and drive it again.

Two, tonight I had planned to take Shiloh to the recital hall to check things out.

Both were vetoed. Without argument, apparently. Well, the way Deck got his way made my core clench with need. Again. But if he thought he could win everything by rendering me speechless with oral sex followed by effing me senseless until my bones turned to jelly—well, yeah, that would only work several dozen more times before I began to question his methods. And I was firm on that. No more than five or six dozen times.

The giggling and cackling interrupted my daydreaming and brought me back to one of the worst possible moments of my life thus far. Shaking my head, I honestly believed being cut by a glass door while trying to flee a burning building was better than sitting here in a circle while dildos and vibrators and fluffy pink handcuffs were being passed around the group of women for a closer inspection.

“Now, ladies, this is the most popular of the vibrators with a tickler. Pass it around, feel it, hold it firm. Try all the speed settings, and see how you like it. Then we can start with my new line of blow-up dolls—truck drivers with flannel shirts,” Tori, the loud and proud sex-party lady, announced as if she were telling us about a new cheesecake or something.

“Are you fucking shitting me?” I heard from across the room and gave the poor prospect a sympathetic look as elicit giggles erupted from some of the girls. Not me. I felt the same way as Squid. I wasn’t a prude—well, not much of one, anyway. After all, it took me twenty-four years to lose my virginity, but this party would make a callgirl blush, I was sure of it.

Although not a stripper and a housekeeper slash cook, no way. There in the middle of it all was Vegas, Rainn, and Stella, the beautiful pole dancer and the club’s amazing cleaner helping Tori, sex-party extraordinaire, blow up the male truck driver sex doll.

The alcohol consumed throughout the night was obviously kicking in big time.

“Should we stop them from drinking anymore, or, at least, take the doll man with the silly dick thing away from them?”

I turned to face the woman beside me. As if she didn’t want to turn the attention to her, her question was posed in a hushed tone. Tori was gleeful in her quest to call the quiet ones in the group out. Thankfully, she left me alone so far, but I saw Rainn giving me a look, and I was afraid she was up to something.

I wished I could disappear from here. Go to the room and join Shiloh sleeping. Sighing, I returned my attention back to the pretty woman beside me.

 “Hi, I’m Mia Stone. I work for the bar and grill.”

“Nice to meet you, Mia. I’m Charlotte, Shiloh’s dance teacher and Deck’s girlfriend.”

Mia’s eyes lit up. “How is Shiloh? I haven’t seen her for a few months.”

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Mia. Surely, she wasn’t a soul girl, too. She didn’t look the type.

Mia must have caught on to what I thought. Instantly, she shook her head. “I’m not a club girl if that’s what you are thinking.” She laughed as she denied my unasked question. “Deck has used me in the past as a babysitter for Shiloh,” Mia explained hastily.

But it still stirred jealousy in me. Mia was absolutely gorgeous. Her long chocolate hair was halfway down her back, and her fringe cut in a choppy style and pushed back over her forehead. Her eyes were the most expressive deep golden-brown eyes I had ever seen, but there was something a little familiar about her. I couldn’t put my finger on why I thought I knew her.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of laughter from the main circle of girls, startling both Mia and me. A blonde woman was sitting on the ‘lap’ of the male sex doll, gyrating and pretending to ride him.

She looks rather vulgar, I thought to myself as I watched. I really needed to plan my escape. I wondered briefly if Deck and the others knew this was what Vegas had planned during their absence.

“Oh, God, must she do that?” I heard Mia mumble as she, too, watched the display before us. Then, suddenly, a light went off in my brain. The woman gyrating on the sex doll was why Mia looked so familiar to me. It wasn’t Mia who was familiar, but the woman on the doll. Though Callie’s hair was blonde from a bottle and a lot longer, there was a definite resemblance between the two, except for the eyes. Mia’s were kind and welcoming, friendly. Callie’s had a calculating look to her, and I got the feeling she wasn’t too keen on her quiet sister.

“Relative?” I asked Mia knowingly.

Mia nodded her head and grimaced. “Sister,” she whispered, confirming what I’d just figured out. “The guys let me hang around because of Callie. Then one day, Steel offered me a job at the bar and grill.”

I didn’t miss the way Mia said Steel’s name. Oh, Lord, I saw trouble brewing. I hadn’t missed how wrapped up Steel was in Callie over the last few weeks. She, however, didn’t appear to be as wrapped up in him, especially when I remembered, not long ago, Callie took off with one of the prospects.

“Charlotte!” Someone shouted my name loudly. A very drunk Rainn was on the end of that shout.

I knew this was coming. I had a feeling Vegas and Rainn had something planned after the night they had given me a tutorial of sorts on oral sex. My desperation to give Deck a blow job had just come back to bite me on my small and inadequate arse.

I blew out a frustrated breath and accepted an apologetic look from Mia, whom I noticed was inching slowly away from me now. Coward.

Rising to my feet, I reluctantly made my way towards the club’s number one strip dancer.

I liked Rainn. Her interest in my past career in ballet led us to create some choreography together for one of her new routines. I’d even loaned her an outfit for it and was really looking forward to dancing it with her here in the club. The guys let some of the girls put a few poles off the main room for some fun. But the rule was Shiloh was not to see anything too sexy or inappropriate.

Vegas looked a little uncomfortable. I noticed she looked at Squid for guidance, and even though he was shaking his head, Rainn was too far gone on the fruity cocktails she has been devouring all night to notice or even care.

“Okay, being Deck’s girlfriend, you know how the big man uses his dick. So here, tonight, I want you to take this huge dildo and show us how far you can take it in your mouth,” Rainn shouted out for the whole room to hear.

Oh, God, this was so humiliating. I saw that Rainn, in fact, did have an insanely massive dildo in her hand, and she was waving it around in my face. Seriously, what woman can take something that big without being torn in two? I couldn’t stop the silly thought from entering my mind.

“Rainn, I think maybe we might give Charlotte the benefit of the doubt and just let her sit this one out.” Vegas tried to settle her, but Rainn wasn’t having it. The alcohol was driving her.

Flapping the dildo around like a baton, she nearly fell over.

“Rainn, I think you have had enough,” Squid barked from his seat over at the bar.

“Phish posh, we all know how good Deck is with his cock, don’t we, ladies? Now it’s time for Charlotte here to tell us what we’ve already had.”

I was stunned silent and still. What in the dickens did she just say? Rainn had slept with Deck? Who else? What about Vegas? I knew he wasn’t a choirboy and had a ton more experience than I had—after all, he had a daughter—but I honestly never even considered that these women had been with my man in any intimate way. I suddenly felt stupid. Humiliation like I had never experienced washed over my face. All eyes were on me. Vegas looked furious with Rainn, and Mia and Stella, who had stopped playing with Rainn, had much the same looks on their faces. Even the skanky Ingrid and Callie were somewhat surprised by how far Rainn was taking this. The tears were threatening to spill, but I tried hard to stop them. I was a grown woman and sensible enough to know a man like Deck at his age had a sexual past. But damn, my heart hurt from Rainn’s drunken admission.

Suddenly, I saw Stella turn her head, and her low curse caught my ears. “Oh, shit, fuck, bugger.”

In my peripheral vision, I caught a movement near the entrance of the main room. Looking over my shoulder, my gaze collided with the deep, dark blue eyes of my man. And he was not happy.

Oh, bugger.

“What in the ever-loving fuck, Rainn?”