Fall Gently (Red Light: Silver Girls series) (11 page)

"She agreed to leave with you?" Jeremy folded his arms across his chest.

"Last night, she mentioned going back to Seattle." Dawson sat down on the couch. "I don't know, though. She's not saying much, and if I come right out and ask her, I'm afraid she'll step back. Hell, she might've even changed her mind already."

"You need to get her to commit to going with you. When she does, Tiff can make the call to the Network for her. They like two weeks warning to find another worker to send on to the next bordello but at this point with Red Light shutting down for good soon, I could give a rat's ass about the rules." Jeremy rolled to his hip and removed a can of chew from his pocket. "Any chance you can hurry Roni along and she can quit early?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Any reason why you seem to want her out before her contract is up?"

"Stress isn't good for Tiff." Jeremy pinched his fingers in the can and put the snuff between his lip and gum. "There's also talk about the new sheriff coming in to take the place of the retiring sheriff, and he wants a closer look at the county next month before he takes office. I'd like to have Tiff safe and no worries over any surprise visits while there are prostitutes in the upstairs of the Sterling Building. Trying to keep Tiff stress-free means I'm doing what I can to make sure she doesn't have a bunch of shit to handle."

Dawson stretched his arms along the back of the couch. He'd only known Jeremy for a year before he was transferred back to Washington State Penitentiary. The Moroad MC president served at least fifteen years in prison if the rumors were correct, and he couldn't picture him settling down with a wife and kid on the way.

"How's your dad doing?" asked Dawson.

Jeremy scoffed. "I could call him up and have him swing by, and you can see for yourself."

Dawson shook his head. "I'll take that as he's doing fine and skip the visit."

"Smart decision." Jeremy pushed off the windowsill. "If you're going back to Red Light tonight, you better get your ass in gear."

He grabbed his boots and slipped them on, lacing them loosely. When he'd left earlier to run back to the hotel, eat dinner, and grab a shower, he left his return to Red Light up to Roni. She hadn't asked, so he wasn't going to turn down Jeremy's offer to go.

Roni needed to work tomorrow night, and he planned on sleeping in her bed if she let him. He'd found out she slept better when he was there to put his hand on her head and calm her dreams. And, he liked that he could do that for her.

Outside on the sidewalk, he flipped up the collar of his jacket and walked into the snow flurries. Federal kept their streets plowed, and the shopkeepers kept the walk shoveled making the trek easy.

"What's the pass like going west?" He turned his head to Jeremy.

"If you time it right, and there's no freak storm coming in, you should be able to handle it with the tires you've got on your rig." Jeremy veered off the curb and walked across the street. "Once you get out of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, you'll be good to go."

The cold whipped along the back of his neck. He'd be glad to get home to Seattle and away from the freezing temperatures.

"What's with all the fucking cars along the street?" he asked, scoping the long line of vehicles parked along the curb and down the block.

"The customers are already here for when Silver Girls opens in a few minutes." Jeremy pointed ahead of them. "We'll slip down the alley and come in the back.

Inside the Sterling Building, he stomped the snow off his boots and brushed off the arms of his coat. The lights from the main room downstairs lit up the backdoor entrance.

Several women walked by, smiled at him over their shoulders, and headed into the main room. He watched their asses sway in the red, sparkly G-strings.

Jeremey lifted his chin toward the stairs. "Once we're upstairs and if any of the ladies are in the hallway, I'll take you to our suite. They won't question anyone if they believe you're with me. If nobody is out in the hall, you can go straight to Roni's room."

He nodded, taking one more look inside the main room at the dancers and followed Jeremy up the stairs. At the landing, Jeremy keyed in a code and unlocked the door. He stepped onto the second floor and found the hallway clear. Without waiting for Jeremy, he hustled to Roni's door, turned the handle, and slipped inside.

A gasp came from behind him. He turned his head and put his hands out in front of him. "It's only me."

Roni hugged a towel against her naked body. Her wet hair dripped on her bare shoulders. Make-up free, she stared at him without moving. He took in the long, slim legs, her bare feet—one on top of the other—and his cock throbbed and hardened.

The direction of her eyes lowered, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Her attention to his crotch only made his balls ache in pleasure.

She dragged her gaze back up his body and met his eyes. "I didn't know you were coming back tonight."

It took all his control not to take another look. He'd already seen her in sweats and jeans and at the beginning of his visits, she wore a robe she tied around her body. There was something incredibly appealing about seeing her only covered with a white towel.

"Do you mind if I stay tonight?" He approached her. "I thought we could hang out in your room, and I'd keep you company."

Her chin beat up and down as she nodded. "Can I get dressed for bed first?"

He couldn't help himself and leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "Sure."

She walked backward to the dresser, reached blindly into the second drawer and pulled out the clothes she needed and scurried into the bathroom, shutting him out, with only a second flash of her pale white ass before the door closed. He rocked back on his heels and smiled to the room. In her flustered state, she'd forgotten to grab a pair of panties.

He took off his coat and slipped off his boots. After a few minutes when Roni never returned, he went ahead and pulled down the bedspread on her side of the bed. He stood there staring down at the light yellow flowers on the sheet. He'd already thought of the bed as theirs. He'd spent a handful of nights with her and could ignore that she entertained other men in the room, but tonight the thought of her opening her door to customers left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He pulled out his phone and texted Jeremy.
Tell Tiff I'm buying every appointment with Tiff tomorrow. I don't want her seeing other customers.

Before he put the phone away, it vibrated. He read Jeremy's reply.
Ok

He set the phone on the dresser when Roni came out of the bathroom. She'd brushed her hair, and her lips were rosy red from brushing her teeth. A curl of lust settled in his gut remembering the minty kiss.

"I'm really tired tonight." She walked toward the bed and paused noticing the covers open to her. "Do you mind if I just go to sleep? I don't feel much like talking."

Hell no, he wouldn't mind. He wanted her in bed beside him. "Go ahead."

"Are you staying over?" She sat down on the edge of the mattress.

"Can I?" he asked. It took everything in him to seek her permission even though he was staying. Nobody could make him leave.

Her nipples peaked under her T-shirt. He raised his gaze to her face, wishing there was a way to get her past her leeriness. The attraction between them thick and unavoidable, she only made things harder on herself by denying herself pleasure. Though he still couldn't figure out how to broach the attraction knowing he needed to protect her from abuse or being used.

It would be like giving a smoker a cigarette while preaching cancer risks.

She nodded and laid down, cradling her head on the pillow. He turned off the light and laid down on the bedspread. He had no idea how to help her, except to show her he was a man of his word.

Her experience made his goal an impossible feat. He was no therapist or even a man who put energy into relationships. Hell, he wasn't even sure when he went from wanting to help her out of a bad situation to wanting her for himself.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Dawson latched his hands behind his head. His cock half hard as he tried to forget the sight of Roni's legs and the idea he'd like her thighs gripped around his hips and the soft scent of wintergreen blowing over his face.

"Are you a smoker?" His voice vibrated his aroused body.

"No."

"Just thought you might be using the Lifesavers to try and kick a habit," he said. "In prison, a lot of the guys who smoked on the outside would use candy when they got the urge to light up and had no cigarettes left for the month on the inside."

"I do have a bad habit." She turned over on her side and faced him. "Two, in fact."

"What would those be?" He turned and propped his head on his bent arm. Laying together but still a foot too far away, he wanted nothing more than to feel her body along the length of him.

"I bite my nails, and I'd like to stop." Her hand on her pillow fisted, and she hid her fingers from his view. "Nibbling on a Lifesaver gives me something to do with my teeth, and I can put the tip of my tongue in the little hole."

Motherfucker. This conversation was heading somewhere fast, and he had to get control. "What's your other bad habit?"

She raised her brows. "I use the flavor to get the taste of latex out of my mouth."

"La—" He shut his mouth, and his cock lost all interest in the conversation.

"I eat them all night long, and every twenty minutes or so during the day." Her lips puckered, and her gaze never left him. "Even when I'm not working I can taste the rubber on my tongue. Like right now. The aftertaste sticks around, and it makes me gag."

He rolled to his back. The direction Roni took the conversation went south. Her attempt to piss him off and disgust him with her claim to suck other men's dick only made him more determined to get her the hell out of here. No woman should ever rely on her body parts or sexual talent to survive or feel they are powerless.

"Even now, my lips feel swollen from the back and forth motion. Because of all the different sizes of dick I had tonight. My mouth has been stretched so far; my lips feel like they'll split right open at the corners." She paused, and he refused to give her the emotion she tried to draw from him.

He let her stew over what she'd disclosed. Her pathetic attempt to push him into forcing sex on her wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow her to blame him for when they ended up having sex, and they would have sex. Just not tonight.

When the time came that she'd come to him honestly, so he knew without a doubt that she wasn't testing or manipulating him, he'd be ready. When that happened, she'd see that it was him inside of her.

Not Vince.

Not her stepdad.

Not the customers at all the bordellos she'd worked at and the men she'd serviced.

She rolled back over to her side and put her back to him. Her breathing remained harsh and ragged to match the tension in her body. Out of patience, he reached over and put his hand on the back of her neck.

"Don't," she snapped.

"Accept it and go to sleep, sweetheart. I'm not hurting you." He left his hand on her and used his thumb to caress her the tight cords running up each side of her neck.

After several minutes, she shivered and let herself relax. Only when she'd successfully accepted his strength and position in her life and fallen asleep, he closed his eyes.

R
oni stood beside the bed with her hand at her waist ready to untie the belt holding her robe closed. Dawson left an hour ago, and though she hated servicing the men, she looked forward to getting her mind off Dawson's almost permanent presence in her life.

The customers were predictable. In and out. No talking, no hassle, no games.

Dawson thrust her into a whirlwind of conflicting emotions and lately, she found herself wound tighter than a bun on a librarian.

She wished he'd make a move to have sex with her. Tired of being on edge and the constant ache in her stomach, she wanted to get sex over with and move forward.

Tiff opened the door.

Roni stood straighter and smiled.

Her madam walked into the room and shut the door. Roni's shoulder's sagged. She'd forgotten to pick up the schedule from Marci.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot to see Marci before I came back to my room from lunch. I don't know what my first customer expects." Roni tightened her robe.

"You have one man who paid for your whole night," said Tiff.

She shook her head, making herself lightheaded. "No, I can't do that. It's too much. You can take the loss of pay out of my earnings."

It was one thing to blow a man off and have him in her room for fifteen or twenty minutes. She couldn't service a man for four hours. No, she refused. If Tiff wanted to reprimand her with the Network, she could. There was no way she could pretend to enjoy herself that long when she detested opening her mouth for strangers.

"The customer has already paid." Tiff's gaze softened. "Dawson wants you all to himself this evening, which seems to have become a habit with him, hasn't it?"

"For a blowjob?" she blurted.

Tiff laughed. "Honey, I'm not sure that man knows what he wants. Except you, and I have a feeling he'll be content to stare at a wall as long as he can sit in the same room as you."

She stepped back and sat on the bed.

"This is bad for your business." Roni clamped her mouth shut and exhaled out her nose. "You know what? I quit. He's done making trouble for you."

Tiff sat down beside her. Roni shook her head. Frustrated, she had no excuse to give Tiff. She certainly wasn't going to stick around and put the bordello in jeopardy. She was lucky the other sex workers were caught up in their own lives to question her lack of socializing. She barely had two conversations with them over the last week. Dawson took up all her spare time.

"Is that what you want to do?" Tiff waved her hand in front of her. "Don't give me the answer you think I want to hear and don't tell me what Dawson wants you to do. I want to know what you think about working here at Red Light and being employed by the Network."