Preying on You (3 page)

Diamond laughed and shook her head
then jerked upright when she heard the final chords of Trixie’s
song. “Well, I guess I’m up.”

“
Knock ‘em dead,” I called
as she approached the stairs and waited for Trixie to bounce down
them. The thunderous applause behind told me that it was a full
house tonight. That meant I’d be able to pay my rent a month in
advance if I played my cards right.

“
Dazzle, you little minx!
How are you?” Trixie threw her arms around me and threatened to
knock us to the floor before she righted and released
me.

“
I’m good.” I rubbed my
neck as she plopped down into her chair and crossed her cowboy
boots one on top of the other. I could have reminded her that her
bra was still dangling from her elbow or that her panties were
bulging with bills but I knew her well enough to know she had a one
track mind and I was on it right now.

“
You sounded like shit when
you called in last week. I knew you weren’t faking it. Not like
Sapphire does when she’s got a hair up her ass.”

Christine “Sapphire” Cramer got her
kicks off on messing with guy’s heads. It was an adrenaline rush,
like those crazy loons that jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
She came in when she wanted to, made Johnny a lot of money and then
would disappear for weeks on end. I had my suspicions the only
reason why he kept her around was for the special “favors” she did
for him on the back end but it wasn’t my place to ask or care.
Better her than me.

“
That flu wasn’t pretty.
I’m good now though.” It had taken every bit of a full seven days
for me to stop offering sexual favors to Death if he would only
spare me of my misery.

She uncrossed her legs and leaned
forward to spank my ass. I cried out, shocked by the impact but not
surprised. Trixie may know how to make a guy scream her name when
she straddled him but she had little time for the opposite sex. I
liked that about her. She was open. Honest. I knew where I stood
with her.

In the beginning Trixie followed me
around like a lovesick puppy. I thought it was cute for a while but
one night, after a client had dumped a few too many drinks in her
she came onto me hard and heavy and I had to set firm boundaries. I
liked men. At least the ones I chose. Once she took the hint we
became as close to friends as you could be in this life.

“
You better put a little
extra in your show tonight. Word around the club is that creepy guy
came back and he’s got big plans for you.”

“
Plans?” I tugged my bra
straps into place, adjusting the length to ensure proper exposure.
That didn’t sound good. All he’d ever asked for in the past was a
private dance. Did he intend to escalate things?

“
Oh yeah. He booked the
entire VIP room for you two and you know tonight is jam packed. He
must have lined Johnny’s pockets really well to pull that
off!”

I frowned and glanced back toward the
curtain. “Am I not dancing tonight?”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Trust me.
This guy is willing to pay far more than those slobs out
there.”

I glanced down at the wad of cash in
her panties. “Looks like you didn’t do so bad yourself.”

“
Yeah.” She began to remove
each bill one at a time. I saw a many fives and tens but there was
the odd twenty and fifty in the mix as well. Trixie did a fair job
of avoiding the low ballers. “Not too shabby.”

Turning my back on her, I began to
apply my makeup. Dark hues for my eyeliner that made my hazel eyes
pop and mascara to lengthen the lashes. I decided to forgo my usual
‘cherry popping’ red for a more subtle sheer gloss. It was a nice
contrast for my tanned skin. I turned this way and that in the
mirror and smiled at the glittering jewels.

“
Don’t let Johnny sell you
cheap,” Trixie called. I glanced over to find her wrapped in an
emerald silk robe and cowboy hat tipped low. She only wore that
when she agreed to a little something extra with a client but if
the entire VIP section was rented out the only other place for her
to hook up was in the Johnny’s space. The thought made me shudder.
God only knew what that man had spent time doing in that closet he
called an office.

I tried not to let Trixie’s parting
words unsettle me but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was my
moment. That precipice that every stripper came to. When lines were
crossed and you dug in your heels and refused to budge, come hell
or high water.

A knock on the door
surprised me. I spun around expecting to find Johnny lounging in
the doorway, openly taking in an eyeful but instead I found a
barrel chested man in a suit. Clean cut. Freshly shaven face. Hands
the size of small dinner plates and zero hint of an
erection.
Interesting.

“
Can I help you?” I asked,
planting my hands on my hips and pretending not to recognize him,
even though he’d handed me six grand over the past month right
after I finished my dance with my mystery client in the VIP lounge.
If he was going to look at me so openly then I was more than happy
to give him an eyeful.

“
Mr. Dorian is ready for
you now.”

“
Mr. Dorian? That’s a
terrible name.” I snorted and turned back to the mirror, pursing my
lips together. “And I’m not the type that likes to be summoned.
I’ll be along when I’m ready.”

He stepped inside and closed the door
behind him. I glanced once toward the curtain, knowing that if I
needed to I could use the stage as my getaway but I decided to let
him make the first move.

“
My employer is not a
patient man, Ms. Hildebrand.”

My lip gloss clattered against the
tabletop as I whipped around to face him. “What did you call
me?”

A knowing smile tugged at the corner
of his lips and I felt dread pool in my stomach. “We are very
thorough, Ms. Hildebrand. Would you like me to demonstrate the
extent of that knowledge for you?”

I was tempted to say yes, be
belligerent and demand to find out how much he truly did know, but
at that moment Cheyenne and Roxy stumbled into the room, giggling
like the school girls they were only a few months ago. Cheerleaders
gone bad. I straightened my spine and offered the man a tight
smile. There was no way in hell I was going to talk about my
private life in front of those two gossips. “I think I’d rather
speak with your employer face to face.”

“
I thought you might say
that.” He held out his hand. “This way.”

“
I’m only partially
dressed.” I glanced toward the rack of heels, still mentally
debating on a pair of silver stilettos that would wrap around my
calves or the pair of clear platform heels that made my legs seem
endless.

“
Not patient,
remember?”

I scowled, grabbed a hair tie from
around the end of my brush and finger combed my hair into some
semblance of a style. “If he hates my hair that’s on you,
buddy!”

I marched past him and yanked open the
door, ignoring the curious glances from Roxy and Cheyenne. They
didn’t bother me. What bothered me was that this snobby high flying
gentleman had decided to treat me like an animal that could be
crooned at his bidding. The fuck I am!

From the corner of my eye I saw
Diamond lying prostrate on the stage, her head dangling over the
edge while a man slid money between her breasts. It was amazing
what a supportive bra could do.

“
This way,” the bodyguard
said.

“
I know where the fucking
VIP lounge is. I work here, remember?”

I caught his smirk and decided that if
I ever got the opportunity I was going to wipe it clean off his
face. I passed a sheepish Johnny backing out of his office, his
hands filled with crumpled twenties. Trixie’s tell-tale moans had
already begun before the door lock sounded.

“
Johnny!” I
shouted.

He nearly tossed the cash into the air
as he spun to face me. His eyes lowered to take in the new outfit
and he smiled. “Well don’t you look like a panther on the
prowl.”

“
Can it.” I shoved his
shoulder so that he was pressed against the wall and was forced to
step back as a man stumbled past on his way to the bathroom. When
the door swung open I saw Cassidy on her knees with her mouth full
and grimaced at the realization that I had inadvertently forced her
into that nasty room by taking over the VIP space.

I turned away as the door swung
closed. “You want to tell me why the hell this gorilla just came
into the dressing room and manhandled me?”

“
Manhandled?” Johnny looked
past me to the body guard. “I’m sure there’s a better choice of
words for what happened. Invitation perhaps?”

“
I want to know what you
agreed to.” I wasn’t going to let him weasel out of
this.

“
A private show. Nothing
more.”

“
Nothing more? I’ve already
danced for this guy three times and he’s never treated me like
this, or sent this buffoon in after me. Something’s up.” I
pressed.

“
Ok. He might have added a
little feel up to that deal. That’s it. I swear.”

I glanced back at the man behind me
but his expression was impassive. “How much?”

The bodyguard’s gaze lowered to meet
mine. “Five to you. One to him.”

“
Five thousand?” Even I
heard the surprise in my voice. Hell, I’d be an idiot to pass up
that kind of cash for just a thirty minute peep show and heavy
petting. “What’s the catch?”

“
Secrecy.”

And then I began to understand.
Whoever this Mr. Dorian was he had things to hide and that meant
big things for me. Maybe that’s why he stayed in the shadows. He
was afraid I’d recognize him.

“
You good now, Dazzle?”
Johnny’s nasally voice grated on my nerves. No more so than the
wiry hair escaping the gaping V of his button down shirt and the
thick gold chain he wore. Trixie told me once that he was something
like 5% Italian so he tried to play off that. Pathetic.

“
Never do that again.” I
jabbed Johnny in the chest with my finger. “You speak to me first
or I walk. Got it?”

He swallowed and in the dim lighting I
was sure that his face paled a few shades. “Clear as the crystals
you love so much, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved past him.
The floor felt sticky beneath my bare feet as I passed the bathroom
and I prayed that it was urine and not a more disgusting bodily
fluid.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I
reached the upper floor quickly. It was really more of a floor and
a half, a balcony with curtains that could open to look down over
the stage or be sectioned off into smaller private rooms. When I
yanked back the curtain I saw that the entire room was an open
space. A single chair sat in the middle of the room. All others had
been shoved back along the wall.

A man sat with his back to me. He was
ramrod straight, his hair cut short from what I could see. His gray
suit was well tailored around his shoulders. As I stepped forward I
noticed the shine off the lights overhead in his polished dress
shoes.

“
You can go now, mutt,” I
called over my shoulder.

“
No.” The man spoke but did
not turn around. “Cullen stays.”

“
The hell he does!” So this
Mr. Dorian
had
decided to change the game. He rose to his feet and
straightened his shirt collar before turning to face me.

I’m a woman who likes nice things.
Fancy clothes. Sparkly baubles with big price tags. A nice
apartment with a view. I admire beauty and the man standing before
me took my breath away.

Strong jaw. Piercing grey eyes that
felt oddly familiar. Strong hands that tucked into his pockets.
Tapered waist. A pair of cheeks that I would bet money on that
would reveal dimples if given the opportunity. And a silver mask to
conceal everything else from my sight.

“
Cullen stays,” he repeated
with lips so full I knew they would feel amazing on my skin. Not to
be swayed by the mystery of my client, or the obvious barely
concealed beauty, I gritted my teeth and stared back. He met my
gaze evenly. “Surely you are not opposed to him watching. You do
this for a living after all.”

“
He wasn’t part of the
deal.”

“
Ah.” Mr. Dorian
approached. When he drew near I realized that he dwarfed me by
nearly a full foot. Standing at 5’7” myself, that was no small
feat. “Perhaps I shall have to amend our agreement then, Ms.
Hildebrand.”

“
How do you know who I am?”
I stepped forward, meeting his challenge head on. I was never one
to back away from a fight and I damn well was not going to go down
without a good punch.

“
That is irrelevant. What
is relevant is what I am offering. You have two deals on the table.
Five thousand dollars for a dance and a little extra for my
bodyguard or ten thousand dollars for sex.”

I blinked. “Hang on a second. The
dance is for your bodyguard? Not you?”

He dipped his head but said nothing. I
glanced at the bodyguard and sized him up. There was no way I could
take him if things got rough or kinky. What the hell did Johnny get
me into?