Secret Love (Love Stings Series Book 2) (13 page)

I turn so I’m facing her. She looks beautiful. Her hair hangs down in russet waves, and her eyes are done in a glittery, smoky look that makes the blue stand out. Her lips are painted the most enticing deep pink. She’s already been out to dance once, so she’s wearing a silver glittery string bikini. My cock is trying desperately to get hard, but I’m fighting it every step of the way.

“What’s up? You know us talking isn’t a good idea,” I tell her. Her eyes clench shut tightly, and I regret the harsh tone I’ve used.

She shakes her head and says forget it and walks away as fast as she can. Carrington is making me want to fucking claim her in front of everyone, but fuck, it’s a bad idea. I hate the hurt look on her face before she walked away. She disappears toward the back.

Brett, one of the guys working the private rooms, approaches me. “Have you seen Pepper? There’s a guy that wants a private dance, and he wants her.”

“She went down the hall. Who’s the guy?”

I really hate that she does private dances, but again, I can’t stop it or they’ll suspect something.

“I don’t know, some Hispanic guy with a wad of cash.” At least it’s not the fucking teacher. I’ve been diligently watching for him, and he hasn’t shown up.

“Okay, I’ll send Taylor back to get her.”

Five minutes later, I see Carrington walk out from the back in a tiny skirt and the sparkly bikini top. She meets Brett at the mouth of the hallway and disappears down the hall.

Then, in a matter of minutes, shit falls apart.

Chapter Fifteen

Carrington

I don’t want to do this damn lap dance. This is, by far, the worst part of the job. Almost every time, the guys try to get me to dry hump them and want me to feel their erections. It grosses me out and makes me feel dirty. Luckily, security is never too far away from me.

Brett leads me toward the private rooms, and all I want to do is walk right out the door and never come back. I could. I’ve made enough money that I’ve got some savings. My boards are in a week, and I feel more prepared than I did before.

Damien is standing where I left him just a little while ago, and I try not to look at him. It really hurt me earlier when he was so cold and standoffish. I know we were supposed to keep our “relationship” quiet, but it’s starting to make me feel cheap and like I should be ashamed or maybe that he’s ashamed of me.

At the mouth of the hall, I feel a sense of foreboding and my steps falter. I shake it off because I’m just being silly. I take a deep breath and shake out my hands as I move toward the room. The rooms for the private dances don’t have doors, only curtains, and that’s a good thing because if there is trouble then security can reach the girls quickly.

Brett pulls back the curtain. “Remember, asshole, don’t touch her unless she gives you permission.”

I step into the room and the curtain closes behind me. The guy is standing in the middle of the room. A baseball hat obscures his face.

“Hey, there!” I say with fake enthusiasm. He moves closer to me, and I finally see his face. I move to take a step back. “What are you doing here?”

“I want you to dance for me, Carrington.”

Jackson Travis starts stalking toward me. I’m frozen in my spot until he’s almost to me, and then I move. There’s a lot of yelling out in the other part of the club, and before I can reach the curtain, he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me until my back is against his chest. He grinds his erection against my ass, and my stomach starts to roll. I open my mouth to scream, but he covers my mouth with his hand.

My heart beats a rapid staccato in my chest. His lips touch my ear. “I’ve waited such a long time for this. I only wish that asshole father of yours was here to see what I do to his precious daughter.” I struggle in his arms, and he just holds me tighter. “I figure we only have a few minutes before one of those meatheads comes in here. I better hurry.”

His hand slides up and covers my breast. I’m starting to hyperventilate. He starts dragging me toward the sofa. The heel of one of my shoes breaks, and I trip and fall forward. Jackson tries to get on top of me when I hit the sofa, but I roll off of it onto the floor. On my hands and knees, I scramble across the floor, picking up my broken heel.

He wraps his hand around my ankle and I kick out, catching Jackson in the face. “Fucking bitch!” He grunts. He grabs me by my waist and flips me roughly over onto my back. He tries to climb between my legs, but I kick at him and realize I’m still clutching my broken heel in my hand.

I let him think he’s got the upper hand until his face is up by mine. The heel bites into my skin as I grip it tight in my palm. “Don’t fight me,” he says. I nod my head, and when he brings his mouth down to mine, I lift my hand, bringing the heel down somewhere on his back. He howls like a wounded animal. I wiggle out from underneath him and hobble on my broken heel through the doorway, smacking right into a body.

“What the fuck! Carrington, are you okay?” I look up and see Rafe in front of me.

I shake my head and point to the room. “A-A m-m-man tried t-to attack me!”

Then, in a flurry of activity, Rafe, Tucker and Brett, who disappeared earlier, are all in that room. Bridgette and Damien come rushing toward me.

“What the fuck happened?” Damien grabs me and pulls me up into his arms. I’m taken aback by the tenderness he’s showing me, especially since Bridgette is right with us. “Are you okay? That asshole paid someone to start a fight out on the floor so we’d be distracted. Stay with Bridgette. I’ll be right back.” He moves me to stand with Bridgette, who wraps her arm around me.

All I hear from the room are raised voices and the sound of someone being punched. A moment later, Rafe comes out, followed by Brett and Damien, who are dragging Jackson out.

“You stabbed me, you bitch!”

Damien grabs Jackson’s hair and wrenches his head back. “You want to say that again, motherfucker!”

The men take him toward the back exit and disappear out the door.

“Let’s go to my office and get you a drink.” I let Bridgette lead me into her office. “Sit, take your shoes off before you hurt yourself.”

I sit down on the little sofa and slip my shoes off. A glass with amber liquid appears in front of me, and I take it graciously. I don’t even bother sipping it. I just slam it down.

The burn is a welcome feeling, and I hold out my glass for another, which Bridgette pours for me. Again, I slam it down, clenching my eyes closed. I feel the burn of tears. I bite my lip to keep from crying out, and it works until Damien walks in and I’m up and running toward him. With my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist, I bury my face in his neck and begin to cry.

“Shh…baby, it’s okay.” He starts moving toward the door. I hear Rafe asking Damien what he’s doing. “I’m getting her the fuck out of here.”

“Cari, we’ll talk tomorrow. I’m sorry that happened, and I promise it won’t happen again.” I look at Rafe through tear-filled eyes and nod my head before burying my face back in Damien’s neck.

Damien places me in the passenger seat of his Jeep and straps me in. I lean against the door, resting my forehead on the cool glass. The Jeep starts up, and then Damien places a jacket over me. I realize I’m still in my little bikini and no jacket. The scent of leather and Damien wraps around me, and between that and the two huge shots I had, I feel my eyelids droop. I welcome the sleep that overcomes me.

***

My eyes flutter open, and it takes my mind a while to wake up enough to figure out where the hell I am. Last night comes back to me. Damien wouldn’t tell me what they did with Jackson, but I could feel the anger radiating off of him in huge waves. When we got back to his place, he had gently woken me up and carried me inside, right to his bedroom, laying me down on his soft mattress.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered against my lips.

I snuggled into his blankets and felt myself slip back under. The feeling of his lips on my neck woke me, and then Damien’s softly whispered words were breathed against my ear. “Is this okay?”

Something inside me warmed at the thought that he was sweet enough to ask me if it was okay for him to touch me. I grabbed his hand, pulled it around to the front of my panties, and shoved them inside.

He’d made love to me, nice and slow. When I came, it was intense.

My body aches as I roll over and find Damien’s side of the bed empty. It’s cold, letting me know he’s been up for a while. I slide out of bed and gingerly walk to Damien’s dresser. Grabbing a t-shirt, I throw it on. It’s huge on me and hangs down to right above my knees. I step across the hall to use the bathroom and splash cold water on my face.

As I stare at my reflection, I can’t help but smile. Damien sure did his best making me forget about last night. My eyes are bright, my lips swollen, and there are whisker burns on my neck. I brush my teeth with my finger before rinsing my mouth. The smell of coffee and the sound of Damien’s voice entices me as I make my way down the hall.

“I want him picked up and thrown behind bars.” There’s a pause. “Yeah, I got it. I know. I won’t compromise anything.” Another pause. “We’ll talk soon. Bye.”

I’m assuming he’s talking about Jackson, but what could be compromised? I step into the kitchen and go right to the cupboard to grab two mugs. Today I need the extra boost of sugar, so I put cream and four sugars into my mug and a splash of milk into his.

I turn around as Damien comes toward me. He pulls me so my body is flush against his. With his lips against mine, I sink further into him. His fingers move up into my hair, and he tips my head as he inhales me. All too quickly, he pulls away, but he rests his forehead against mine.

“How’d you sleep?”

“I slept great, thanks to you.” Even with everything that happened last night, I still smile up at him. “Um…you do know that they probably know about us now, right?” I wasn’t thinking when I decided to jump him. Plus, he’s the one who always takes care of me.

“I don’t care, because from now on you’ll never be without me in that club.” He kisses me once more and then grabs his coffee, disappearing down the hall. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing, so I take my coffee into the living room and sit down. After last night, I’m more determined then ever to pass that damn test.

***

Damien pulls up in front of Charleston University and throws his Jeep into park. Today’s the day I retake my nursing boards. I bite at my thumbnail as I stare at the entrance.

It’s been a week since Mr. Travis attacked me at the club. True to his word, the next night Damien was right there everywhere I went. When I first showed up, I got called into Rafe’s office. Rafe, Tucker, Damien, and Bridgette were all sitting in there, waiting for me. For a split second, I assumed I was going to be fired. I figured I was becoming more trouble than I was worth.

Instead they were beefing up security for all of the girls, and due to the knowledge they now had regarding Damien and me, they were going to leave him to my personal security. They all talked about me, about us, like I wasn’t even in the room. Damien promised them that our relationship wouldn’t affect either of our jobs. I honestly don’t know why I even bothered showing up.

When it was over, they dismissed us. Damien threw his arm around my shoulders and led me out to the floor. As soon as Taylor had spotted us, she gave me the biggest, dopiest grin. The rest of the night went off without a hitch.

I finally got to meet Taylor’s boy, Grayson, the other day. He’s so freaking cute and doesn’t look anything like his mom. He’s six but tall for his age. His hair is blond and long, and she had it up in the most adorable man bun. His eyes looked almost silver. We had met for lunch and took him to the park. Grayson’s dad was Taylor’s high school boyfriend who split as soon as he learned she was pregnant.

Her parents threw her out, but her favorite aunt, who never married, took her in and helped with Grayson. They didn’t live with her anymore, but they still lived close so she was able to help with him when Taylor worked.

After our lunch date, I love Taylor even more. She’s so funny and smart, and it’s very obvious that she loves her son to the moon and back. After my lunch date with her, I spent a couple of hours searching for my maid of honor dress. Since it was going to be cooler out, I chose a dress that came with a wrap. The dress was emerald green, per the bride’s request. The style was like Abby’s dress, a form-fitting bodice with a full skirt, but mine ends at my knees. The top has capped sleeves, and the dress has a beautiful lace overlay.

For shoes, I bought a pair of silver sparkly strappy heels that were going to look killer. Abby tried to tell me that she was going to pay for my dress, but that was not going to happen.

Once that was taken care of, I buckled down and studied like crazy. Damien made flashcards for me and quizzed me over and over. I swear that even in sleep I was dreaming about the questions.

“Babe?” Damien’s voice pulls me back to the present. “You’re going to do great. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll be back to get you.” He pulls me toward him and kisses my lips hard. “You got this.”

I bit my lip and then take a deep breath. “Thank you for everything.”

As I step out onto the sidewalk, I close my eyes and take a deep breath before making my way inside. My steps echo as I walk down the corridor to the computer lab, where the test is being given.

Sweat starts to dot my forehead as I see my room up ahead. I take a second to take a deep breath and clear my head.
You can do this, girl,
I think to myself over and over. I remind myself that if I pass this test, then I am that much closer to quitting The Beaver. When I reach the room, I grab my paperwork and driver’s license, handing them to the older woman sitting behind the table.

She points out what computer is mine, and I grab my chair and have a seat. Again, I close my eyes, clear my mind, and begin.

***

Damien

Carrington just texted me and told me she was done and ready for me to pick her up. I look at my phone. It’s only been an hour. She said last time that it took her two hours to take it. This is hopefully a good sign.

While she was doing that, I met my mom for lunch. Of course, Victoria told Mom about Carrington, so I fessed up. She spent a good ten minutes chastising me for lying to Carrington about who I am, not bringing her to meet them, and asking question after question about her.