WIth a Twist: (The Club #9)
Read WIth a Twist: (The Club #9) Online
Authors: M. Stratton,The Club Book Series
With a Twist
The Club Novella #9
By
M. Stratton
The rules at The Club were simple:
Keep your mouth shut.
Keep your mouth shut.
Keep your mouth shut.
This was a rule Starr Fields could follow. After searching for years, she finally found what she thought was home. A place where she could go in, keep a bar between her and the customers, pour drinks, make good money, and go home. A place where she didn’t have to worry about her mama’s boyfriends thinking she was fair game. A place where she could simply be.
Bryant Harrison was new to Karim, Texas. After years of moving around and buying one company after another, he threw a dart on a map and decided to move his home base from New York City to where it landed. Now he had every failing business man in town trying to get him to take their problems away.
One glance was all it took for these two to know this was going to be more than a casual meeting. Their feelings were growing quickly as the air became crisp and the leaves changed color. As Halloween approaches, it would seem the unknown monster that hunted Starr wasn’t going to just watch from the shadows for much longer.
Can Bryant be her Knight in Shining Armor and save her in time, or will she slip away as quickly as they fell in love?
**Warnings: This book is intended for adults over the age of 18, includes sexual content, language and possible triggers for certain readers**
With A Twist
Copyright October 2015 by M. Stratton
Cover by Covers by TOJ Publishing (
http://tojpublishing.com/
)
Editing by Amour the Line Editing
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
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With a Twist
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Paperback ISBN:
ISBN-13: 978-1517666118
ISBN-10: 1517666112
Contents
Starr
Their rules were simple. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your mouth shut.
I had more rules for myself. Keep your head down. Do your job. Poor the drinks. Smile, be friendly. Whatever you do, don’t get close to anyone. Make some money and get out in one piece.
My name is Starr Fields, yeah, you guessed it. My mom was a second generation peace and love hippie. She gave birth to me at 12:21 a.m. on the summer solstice in a field surrounded by wildflowers, her body soaked in sweat from the contractions as she focused on the stars twinkling above her.
Mama had it in her head that I was special, that I had some kind of mystical force surrounding me, guiding me, helping me. Well, I’ve never met this force, and I’d sure love for some help. Things had never been easy for us, we moved around a lot. People didn’t take kindly to strangers camping on their land. We won’t even bring up law enforcement. Whenever we’d have a run in, they’d tell her how I should be in school. Too bad homeschooling wasn’t big back then, it would have gotten us out of some tight situations. No, we’d have to tell them what they wanted to hear, and then sneak out in the middle of the night. I was an expert at that. When things got too hard, I left. It was the only way I could stay put together.
Mama also didn’t have the best taste in men. There was always a lot of ‘love’ going on, wherever we were. The older I got, the better I was at hiding. I learned quickly to size men up, know which ones would leave me alone and which ones were going to come looking for me after Mama went to bed.
Maybe my survival skills were the forces Mama was talking about. Once I was eighteen, I left Mama and went off on my own. I wanted to see the world on my terms, not hers. Going from place to place, never staying long. Nothing ever felt right, not like a home. Until I landed in Karim, Texas and The Club. There, I could be someone else. And let me tell you, everyone was hiding something there, and for the first time, I felt safe. Ironic, wasn’t it? Safe in a BDSM club. A place with four walls and not a lot of exits. A place where someone could either make all your dreams come true, or all of your nightmares.
I was one of the bartenders in The Club’s V.I.P section. I went in every day, did what I needed to do. Tried my best not to get to close to anyone, even the employees. I was friendly, no one can say I wasn’t, but I did at least try to keep my distance. The longer I was in The Club, the more I felt my walls crumbling, and I wanted these people to be a part of my life. On the other hand, no one there knows what really goes on in my life, and I liked it that way. Not like it was that exciting, but still, it was
mine.
I felt a chill go down my spine, and if I believed in that force thing mama talked about, I would say I felt something was coming, like maybe someone had walked over my grave. Grabbing my duffle filled with my work clothes for the night in it, I slung it over my shoulder, taking one last look around my place. I’d made sure I was within walking distance to work, so my place was part of the old district, gothic looking with wide planked wooden floors and huge windows that opened up to the street below. Little by little, I had been filling it up with things I loved. In the past, I always wanted to make sure I was traveling light, but now, now I was building a home.
Bryant
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Bryant Harrison. How long have you been in town?”
My poker face didn’t change, even though inside I wanted to punch the man, especially when he felt the need to pound me on the back as a greeting. Gordon Baldwin had one of the best business prospects for me to acquire in Karim, Texas. I had been trying to put off meeting with him until I had done more local research on the man. There was something about him I didn’t trust, I needed to find out what he was hiding before I went in for the kill and bought his company out from under him. He only wanted to sell a portion of his company and still keep controlling interest. Well, I had no desire in doing that. I wanted full control. I demanded full control.
“Hey, Gordo,” I greeted, giving him a tight lipped smile. I knew he hated that name and used it every chance I got. “I’ve only been in town for a few days. My assistant was going to call you to set up a meeting next week.” I wanted to curl my lip in disgust at him when I saw the pleasure in his eyes as one large hand rubbed his ample, sweat-stained belly. I couldn’t believe this man ran such a successful business.
“Looks like I’m ahead of the game.” Gordon pounded on my back again. “I’m glad I ran into you, buddy. Got any plans for tonight?” He didn’t bother to wait and see if I actually did before continuing on. “Well, see.” He looked around, and slightly lowered his voice. “See, there’s this club in town, it’s called
The Club
, exclusive. I think you’d enjoy it. We should go tonight. I can get you in.” His chest puffed out in pride.
The last thing I wanted to do was go into some, what he called “exclusive,” club with him tonight. However, the thought of getting ahold of his business was even more tempting. “Sure, that’d be great.”
Gordon pounded my back for the third time. “Great, let my secretary know where you’re staying and I’ll come by and pick you up.”
“Looking forward to it,” I lied and quickly walked away, already dreading tonight. Once I was out of earshot, I was on the phone to my assistant, hoping to dig up more information on the slimeball. I wanted this deal over with as soon as possible.
Starr
In the locker room at The Club, I exchanged my jeans and soft flannel shirt for a skintight leather bodysuit and black corset that showed off my ample curves. I wiggled my toes one last time before sliding them into boots with five inch heels. Standing up, I bent at my waist and flipped my head over, my hair touching the ground. Running my fingers through my long, brown locks, I made sure my hair was successfully messed up, the just fucked look I liked to call it. Without looking, I grabbed the can of hairspray which was always ready for us and, with a heavy hand, made sure it would stay sexy looking throughout the evening.
Whipping my hair around, I stood up to my full height, now over six feet. You couldn’t miss me walking through The Club. Most times, I hated to have men stare at me like I was a piece of meat, but here the rules were clear, while the only written rule was ‘Keep your mouth shut,’ the unwritten rules were long. One of them was certain employees were only employees, unless they
wanted
to fool around with the customers. On our own time, of course.
For years now, I wondered if there was something wrong with me, or if because of having mama’s boyfriends chase me around, I had somehow become numb to men. I wasn’t a virgin, I fumbled around in the backseat of a car just like most every other American girl at some point, becoming a ‘woman’ with that quick, tragic event. I’d even tried repeating the process with other boys in different situations, but they were all the same. Lacking. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a handsome man just as much as the next, but to actually have sexual thoughts about them? I think that part of me must have died before it ever had a chance to live.
Applying another layer of lip gloss over my sex kitten red lips, I tilted my head and cracked my neck. It was show time. I carefully schooled my facial expression to one of power and disinterest, I knew men were a sucker for going after what they couldn’t have, and it put more money in my tip jar.
I took a deep breath before I swung the door open and walked out into the short hall, almost running into Ricky, one of the other bartenders.
“Hi, hi, Starr.” He blinked his huge brown eyes at me from behind large, slightly fogged up glasses. Ricky had started about the same time as I had, we always seemed to be on the same shift. He had that whole adorable, shy geek thing going on that the ladies seemed to love here. They teased and flirted with him unmercifully, I suspected he played it up, just as I did, knowing he would get bigger tips.
“Hey, Ricky,” I smiled at him. I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t one of those pushy people who tried too hard to be your friend. “Hope it’s going to be a good night.”
“It’s Friday.” He shrugged one shoulder and pushed his glasses back up on his nose.
“Let’s see what we can do.” Looking around, I tried to figure out what seemed different to me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt off.
“After you.” Ricky slightly bowed and gestured for me to go first. I could see some of the ladies in the room visibly lick their lips when they looked at him as we walked by them.
I kept my head up and my eyes locked on the V.I.P bar, my domain. I was the best bartender here, and my jar was always full. I never forgot a face, or a drink. I knew the regulars, and I knew what they wanted and how they wanted it. Most times, I had it ready before they even made it over to me. I could pour and flirt with the best of them. Twisting them around until they didn’t know which way was which and then sending them on their way to live out their fantasies in the back rooms of The Club.
When the crowd was at its fullest, I flipped a switch under the bar and raised my hand high as a spot light focused its attention on me. One by one, the bar fell silent as all eyes turned towards me. I could feel the music starting to build, and as my hand clasped the large hoop, it exploded around me. I threw my head back and let it pull me up into the air, slowly spinning my body around.
I had come to Jet about adding an acrobatic act, once during the busiest time at The Club. There were dancers on the floor below, but nothing like that happens on the V.I.P floor. I wanted to do something different up here. He gave me a chance, and we’ve never looked back. The customers appreciated watching my body twist and arch, moving in and out of the hoop above them. I loved the extra money it brought me.
There I was, getting lost in the music and the feel of almost flying the hoop allowed me, when I felt another chill wash over me. Slowing my spin down, I turned and placed the hoop on the small of my back and arched backwards over it. Easily, I crossed one ankle over the other and grabbed a heel with one of my hands while I used the other to swing back and forth, offering me a view of the customers. I scanned and didn’t notice anything until I looked straight down under me. There he was. As our eyes locked, I swore the whole bar disappeared and the music faded into the background. Without realizing it, I stretched my free hand down towards him, wanting to touch him. Wanting to make sure it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. There was something deep inside me that needed him to be real.
My hoop gave a little shake, and everything came back into focus. The song was over and the mechanism was moving me back behind the bar and lowering me down. Quickly, I twisted around so I was sitting on the hoop, and tried to keep him in my sight.
For the first time, I was shaky when my feet touched the ground. I had years of practicing my resting bitch face and I used it now. I couldn’t let anyone know how simply seeing one man would make my world stand still. I couldn’t allow anyone to have that power over me.
My stomach was full of butterflies as the crowd parted and he walked up to the bar, a cocky smile on his face and one raised eyebrow. Damnit, from one look, the man knew he had me. I was so fucked.