Christy

 

The pounding of the sensual beat seemed to resonate in my chest as I swayed my hips to the music. I was in complete control, feeling eyes on every part of my body, clothed and unclothed. A sheer white baby doll teddy was the only thing that covered me, and it was so short that if I moved a certain way it would expose an indecent amount of my ass. My six-inch stilettos weren’t really a requirement; I was just in love with them.

 

The other two girls on stage with me were wearing the same thing in black, but they had two small stools as well to use as props. Jade and Sienna hated this routine because they were only my back up dancers and the spotlight was entirely on me. That meant fewer tips for them, but more for me, so I wasn’t complaining.

 

I knew I had limited time before the music stopped, and it was my last time on stage that night, so I was pulling out all the stops, bending this way and that, flicking my hair, and rocking my body. The tune reached its climax, and it was time for my last pose, one that needed to remain burned into the eyes of every single person that closely observed my movement. With both hands clasped high above my head, I shimmied while circling my hips until my back was to the audience. Then, with the final beat, I jutted out a hip, my arms leant to the side, and my bare ass was on full display.

 

Jade and Sienna had also finished strong, sitting on their stools to face the crowd, legs spread wide, so their knees were pointing east and west.

 

There was a half moment of silence before the whoops and cheers began and money was thrown on stage. I turned to smile at my girls as we walked off stage, but they were completely preoccupied.

 

“Girl, did you see that new bouncer?” Jade immediately burst out in the back room. I knew Jade would be the first to comment on him. She was a gorgeous caramel woman with more curves than a racetrack and enough sass to burn even a firefighter.

 

“I’m not blind, Jade,” Sienna said. “Christy sure noticed him, though.” That was Sienna, exactly like Jade, but paler than paper. They weren’t so much two peas in a pod as they were a replicated person.

 

Both girls turned to grin devilishly at me. If I was someone different, maybe I would’ve blushed. As it was, I returned the Cheshire cat grin and winked at them. I wouldn’t lie and say I hadn’t noticed the new bouncer, because I had. Oh, boy, had I noticed him.

 

That entire performance, I’d felt his eyes on me, and I’d thrown in some of my sexiest tricks, just to get his attention. I wasn’t sure if it worked. His face was completely stoic the entire time, but I sure as hell had fun doing it.

 

“He’s pretty cute,” I said with a shrug.

 

“Pretty cute?” Sienna demanded. “He’s a god. He looks like he could stop bullets with that chest.”

 

Her voice had risen enough so that the other two girls, Jasmine and Topsy, came sauntering over.

 

“Is this the new bouncer? He’s a looker that one,” Topsy said. She was the youngest of us all and by far the most innocent. She was barely five-foot and had wide innocent eyes that seemed to belong to a child. The men seemed to love that, and she loved the tips.

 

Whenever someone asked her why she was called Topsy, she would always reply, “I’m a little scatterbrained. You know, Topsy Turvey?” It was generally accepted. We got her drunk enough one time, though, that she admitted it was because her favorite sex position was when she was on top, so she could dominate any man she pleased. Let’s just say that wasn’t at all what we expected from tiny Topsy.

 

“I haven’t seen him,” Jasmine said with a frown. She was an Amazon goddess with long legs and dark hair to her waist, who was taller than all the other girls.

 

“How could you have missed him? One of the guys in the crowd spent more time looking at him than me, and I was on stage two feet from him!”

 

“Shut up, Jade, you attention whore,” Sienna said teasingly.

 

“Jasmine, come here.” I grabbed Jasmine’s arm, led her to the door leading out to the club floor, and opened it just enough for us to peek through. Of course, Jade, Sienna and Topsy followed Jas and I, so the door opened further to fit five curious heads.

 

“You see him?” I asked.

 

“I don’t know. It’s a little dark.”

 

“There—right there. He’s talking to the guy in the red shirt. Wait till he turns around and … now! Do you see him?”

 

“Holy shit.”

 

Holy shit was right.

 

We’d been told for the past week that we were hiring a new bouncer, and now, here he was.

 

King was a beast unto himself. He was tall, just over six-foot, but his hard exterior seemed to give him a few extra inches. He had a shaved head that made his chiseled jaw stand out and dark, brooding eyebrows. His body was insane. His fitted, black tee accentuated his sculpted form and made him seem even more intimidating. He was exactly what you would think of, if one were to say bouncer.

 

“Girls! What are you doing?”

 

We all jumped and staggered back into the room, turning to face a very loud and angry Jarren Rossi. Jarren was a mobster who was in charge of the Diamond Castle Exotic Dance Club, our boss, and a total pain in our collective asses. He was a complete sleaze ball, and it was the general consensus amongst the girls that we did our jobs as well as we could, just to avoid interacting too much with him. He always found a way though.

 

“Does this feel like working to you? Because it doesn’t look like working,” he sneered.

 

“Sorry boss,” Topsy said, looking down and biting her lip. “We’ll get right back to work.”

 

It was miniscule, but Rossi eased up a little. “All right, get outta here.”

 

We all started walking, trying to conceal our grins and patting Topsy on the back. The girls all kept walking, but I was stopped by a hand on my upper arm.

 

“Not so fast, Christy. You’ve got a client in room number four.” There was an unreadable expression on his face, something almost like a mixture of anger and lust.

 

“All right, I’ll go there now.”

 

Rossi ran his fingers up and down my arm, and I suppressed the urge to shudder.

 

“Was there anything else?” I said, voice tight.

 

All of a sudden, he completely let go of me and took a step back.

 

“Nope, nothing else. You know the drill.”

 

With one final, slimy look at me, he headed off, and I left in the other direction, praying for an easy night.

 

# # #

 

“Bye, sweetheart,” I call out saucily behind the man that was leaving my private room. “I’ll see you next time?” He was by far my favorite customer—a sleek, rich man who didn’t say much but who tipped well. Everyone said he looked like a mob boss, but I didn’t really care, as long as he kept doling out the cash. Jade and Sienna would bitch and moan all the time about how I always got the good ones, but I was the headline performer, and I’d worked hard to be where I was.

 

He didn’t reply, but acknowledged my words with a nod. That would probably be the best I’d get, and that was why he was my favorite.

 

“Hey, Christy!”

 

Sienna was walking over to me, a huge smile plastered on her face.

 

“Jade’s made a bet with the girls to see who the new bouncer speaks to first. Word’s gone around that he hasn’t spoken to a single girl all night.”

 

“None of them?” I said, shocked. We had a large variety of women here, all attractive, all sexy, and all different shapes and sizes. How could he not talk to a single one?

 

“None. You gonna try?”

 

“Do you know me at all?” I asked with a teasing grin. Of course, I was going to try. It didn’t matter how hard and brooding he was. I knew I could make him melt. It was my specialty.

 

“I’ll go over now. I have time.”

 

“Good luck. You’ll need it.”

 

I winked at her as I walked off, mentally prepping myself for what was to come. Though I wasn’t as curvy as Jade and Sienna, by any means, I still had enough that I wouldn’t be passed over. My platinum blonde hair fell in soft waves half-way down my back, contrasting against the black satin dress I’d changed into. All in all, I was ready for a little fun, and I knew King would be just the guy to help me out.

 

“Hey, gorgeous.” I walked right up next to King and stood before him, a hand on my waist and an inviting smile on my face.

 

I wasn’t put off by his lack of response.

 

“So, how’s your first night?”

 

Still nothing.

 

“I heard it got a little rowdy earlier. You had to throw out some guys?”

 

Jade had told me a story about a man who had gotten too drunk earlier in the night and was getting a little insistent with a dancer. We’d all had our fair share of men acting like assholes, so it was no big deal. But it was still nice to know we had a bouncer like King at our side, in case things ever got worse.

 

“Thanks for doing that, by the way. I know it’s your job, but the last bouncer we had was a total waste of space. You don’t know how many times we’ve all been cornered, without him raising a finger. I’m surprised it took Rossi so long to hire someone else.”

 

King actually acknowledged this, giving me a firm nod before his eyes returned to scanning the crowd for any signs of danger. I took it as a good sign.

 

“So, were you always a bouncer, or is this a new profession?”

 

Still no answer, though I could tell that I was beginning to entertain him a little. Or that’s what I kept telling myself.

 

“See, I’ve always been a dancer. I’ve ever only had two skills in my life, dancing and keeping up one-sided conversations with tall, dark, and brooding men.”

 

The corner of King’s lips tipped up, and I almost laughed in delight. I knew he found me entertaining.

 

“Oh, would you look at that,” I said instead. “Looks like you are listening. The girls made a bet to see who can make you talk first, but I think a smile might be even better. What about a hello to seal the deal?”

 

“Would you leave me to work in peace then?”

 

I almost froze at the sound of his voice, not expecting him to actually deign to speak with me. It was deep, rumbling, and pure sin. It was a voice that I could see myself taking demands from as I lay spread eagle on a bed, waiting to be dominated.

 

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I focused back on King.

 

“Oh, it speaks!”

 

King shook his head in defeat.

 

“Well, now that I know you’ll respond, I’m Christy.”

 

“King.”

 

“I know, gorgeous. Every single girl knew everything about you the second you stepped foot in here. We’re like vultures, you know?”

 

“That’s… concerning.”

 

“Don’t worry, we’re mostly harmless,” I looked up at him from under my lashes and smiled seductively.

 

“So, how’re you liking the place?”

 

“It’s fine,” he said, eyes flicking back to me every few seconds.

 

“That’s good to hear.” I waited a second as someone walked behind me and stumbled forward into King, pretending that I’d been jostled. Just as I’d planned, I fell straight into his waiting arms, my breast pressing firmly into his side. I could tell that he felt my nipples brush him through the fabric before he pushed me away from him.

 

“You okay?”

 

“Yeah, sorry, just tripped.” I bit my lip and looked up at him. He’d placed his hands on both sides of me, just above my waist, when he’d caught me, but he still hadn’t let go. His thumbs were touching the underside of my breasts, something easily accomplished with the thin fabric I was wearing.

 

Apparently noticing what he was doing, he pulled back quickly and stood back to attention, scanning the crowd once more. It was too late though. I knew he liked it. Teasing him was just too fun.

 

“So, King, there’s a Diamond Castle tradition for all the new staff.”

 

“Oh, yeah?”

 

“It’s just a welcoming dance routine. I know you saw me on stage, but this one will be a little different. You’re off soon right?”

 

“I might be.”

 

I stepped forward so that our bodies were flush against each other, and King made no move to stop me. This was going to be too easy.

 

“Will you come and let me dance for you?”

 

King gave nothing away, but his eyes were darting over my face, and I could tell that if he wasn’t so good at his poker face, then he would be granting me the small smirk from before.

 

“Well, who am I to argue with tradition?”

 

I grinned up at him and moved impossibly closer, opening my mouth to speak when I was interrupted by a voice that naturally made me cringe.

 

“Christy! What do you think you’re doing? That’s twice in one night now.”

 

I took a few steps back from King and turned to Jarren with an innocent expression.

 

“Sorry, Jarren. I was just welcoming our new bouncer. Much better than Jim, wouldn’t you say?”

 

“Christy, come with me.” His voice was hard and unrelenting, and I internally rolled my eyes as he stalked off and expected me to follow.

 

“Bye, gorgeous,” I said to King, as I followed behind Jarren.

 

We reached his office, and he waited until I entered before slamming the door shut behind me.

 

“What the hell was that, Christy?” he demanded angrily. “Do I pay you to work, or do I pay you to flirt with the bouncer?”

 

“Jarren, I bring you more customers than any of the other girls.”

 

“But the other girls aren’t even half the amount of trouble you are.”

 

Something seemed off with Jarren. He was normally sleazy and slightly crazy, but I’d never seen him this riled up. I wondered sometimes if he had anything against my favorite client, since he always acted like this after he came by for a session.

 

“Just do your job,” he growled. “And leave my bouncer alone!”

 

“All right, boss,” I muttered.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Yes, Jarren. I’ll be sure to do that,” I amended. “Is that all?”

 

Rossi let out a sound of frustration. “Get outta here.”

 

I didn’t hesitate to leave, never wanting to be in his presence for long. I may not have gotten to dance for King, but at least I’d won the bet. Jade would be so pissed; it was almost worth having Rossi on my ass.

 

And King … Shit, was he sexy! I had a feeling things were starting to look up.