This. I'm taking this and I am never letting it go. I'll tell him tomorrow and we can go from there. It'll be fine. It'll all be just fine.
8
Magnolia
I tie my mask behind my head with a smile on my face. The text message I got an hour ago comes back into my head and I feel my body tingle with delicious anticipation.
Landry: So, I got this gold card membership to the most prestigious gentlemen's club in Atlanta. I know we had plans, but Madam Siren is calling my name and a mere mortal man like myself can't deny her. Will you forgive me if I allow her to lure me to her grotto of pleasure?
"What are you smilin' about?" Eden drawls, leaning against my locker with her arms crossed over her scantily clad chest.
I open my mouth to respond but am interrupted by Addison from my other side. "Lover boy is already front and center."
I roll my eyes and try to hide my smile. "I—"
"So when's the wedding?" Everleigh interrupts from behind me.
I turn, facing my three best friends and groan. "I...I didn't tell him yet," I mumble quietly.
"What!" they all yell in unison.
"I am, I'm going to...tonight. I'm gonna tell him tonight, I swear, I just...I'm nervous. Everything is goin' so good I…"
"Lia," Eden chastises. "The longer you wait, the worse it's gonna be. You're just gettin' more and more pregnant!"
"You're pregnant?" a voice squeaks from the side of us. Quinlin covers her mouth with a gasp.
"Shh," I hiss. "Quinlin, you okay?" I ask, ignoring the girls, seeing panic on Quinlin's face.
"I...yeah, I...I'm fine."
I know she's not but I can only push so far. She's been distant these past few weeks but I can't blame her. I was that way for years after I finally left Giacomo.
"You know I'm here for you if you aren't."
She nods.
"So you plannin' on tellin' him while you're in labor or after the baby is born?" Everleigh sasses.
"Everyone drop this, okay?" I snap.
I brush past all four of them and walk toward the stage, waiting until I hear the music start as I walk out onto my platform.
As soon as my eyes connect with Landry's, I lose all my nervousness and the feelings I get dancing as Siren are heightened to a level I've never experienced in my entire life.
I perfect my pole routine, twisting and turning, feeling my muscles shake and protest how hard I'm pushing them but I can't stop. The look in his eyes, the hunger I see is absolutely incinerating every nerve ending in my body.
Without thinking, I hop down off my stage, sexily sauntering over to Landry's booth and climb across the table, seeing his jaw flex. I straddle his lap, tilting his chin up to look at me as I run my nose up the front of his neck and hover my lips above his.
Ripping his tie from his neck, I fold his hands behind his head, tying them in place as I back away, pulling on his belt loop to bring him to the edge of the booth.
The music changes beats and cheers and cat calls echo off the walls but I ignore them, I ignore it all except for the look Landry is burning into my skin like a brand.
She's mine. Y'all can look but only I can touch.
It stirs me, brings me to life as I kneel before him, slowly grinding my body against his. His biceps flex through his light blue button down shirt as he keeps his tied hands behind his head. Inch by inch, I climb higher until I'm in his lap again, grinding my center against his, trying not to moan at the friction.
I see his hands start to move from their confines and I grip his wrists, moving my lips to his ears.
"Be a good boy and keep your hands where they are, my lowly sailor."
He sighs, dropping his head back as he pumps his hips up and my palms slam against his chest to stop from falling.
He smirks and as if the timing couldn't be any more perfect, the song stops. I hastily untie his hands and drag him like a petulant child about to get a spanking. Damn, I wish I was the one getting the spanking.
Something has crawled into me tonight and she wants to control this. I can't let her but damn do I want to.
I unlock my door, pushing Landry inside and lock it behind me. "You can't do that," I snap, realizing I intend for my voice to be hard but it sounds breathless.
"Do what?" he asks, coyly.
"Anything aside from sittin' there. You can't grind up into me, you can't—"
"I can, Madam Siren, and I'm gonna do a hell of a lot more than that."
I back up until my bare skinned back presses against the door and close my eyes as Landry's body collides with mine and his lips engulf my own, hungrily.
"Landry," I gasp, my hands moving to rid him of his clothes, fumbling with his jeans as he unties my halter lingerie, the cool chill of the room now tightening my bare nipples.
He drops his head, sucking one into his mouth and I gasp, my eyes shooting open in shock.
Well, that's new.
"Shit," I pant, "too much. Landry it's...it's too much." I grip his hair, pulling his head back to me and finally free his cock, stroking it against the inside of my thigh. "Tear my thong," I demand against his lips. "Tear it to pieces."
"Fuck, just like I'm gonna do to your pussy, baby. You're mine, Siren. You're all mine tonight."
My fingers fist in his hair and a pit forms in my stomach as he latches onto my neck, his fingers finding my clit as he tears the flimsy thong from my body. At his first flick against my bud, it takes every single thing I have and then more to do what I'm about to do.
"Wait, wait," I breathe. "I...I don't wanna do this here. Not like this. I don't wanna be Siren, I wanna be me. I want you in my bed and—"
His lips kiss me again but this time, they're soft. They don't devour me whole like they did a few minutes ago; this isn't rushed.
"Okay," Landry whispers, smiling against my lips. "I want in your bed."
I smirk and nod, patting his chest as he backs away, watching me walk to my armoire and take out some clothes. I feel his eyes on me as I glance over my bare shoulder and smirk.
"Strip for me," he whispers. "No touching. I just wanna see you peel away every layer blocking my heaven."
I freeze, slowly turning, and before I can overthink it, I nod, pulling the rest of my halter lingerie off my body and dangle it in the air from my pointer finger.
Landry sighs, leaning back onto his palms as he lifts his hips in the air, his proud cock standing straight up.
"P-put that thing away if you want me to do this," I whisper.
"Not a chance," he says with a wicked grin. "I want you to see what you do to me. Now the wig and mask, contacts too. Give me my Magnolia."
I close my eyes and sigh, smiling as I reach behind my head and untie my mask, feeling it fall to the floor. A weight is lifted off my shoulders and I know I still have to tell him the whole truth, but he wants me. Not just Siren. Not just my body. He wants me.
My Magnolia.
Everything is going to be okay. With that new realization, I slowly unpin the wig from my hair, setting it onto the side table and shake out my blonde locks. My contacts are next as I gingerly reach into my eyes, one then the other, and toss them into the small trash can in the corner.
I reach for the remote for my stereo, clicking play as Selena Gomez croons "Fetish" through the speakers. I saunter over to the side chair and lift my heel, giving Landry a full glimpse of my butt as I run my fingers down my legs, pulling down my stocking.
I drop my leg to the floor, bending forward to slide the other stocking down my legs and keep my eyes on Landry's as he follows my every movement.
I kick off my heels, pulling both stockings off and run my fingers through my long blonde hair as I walk toward Landry, naked and barefoot. Naked. A bead of sweat drips down my back as I stand before him, wondering if he could see the small swell of my belly. Do men get weird vibes like that like women do? Can he tell his baby is growing inside my belly right now, mere inches away from his face?
His hand comes to t
he back of my thigh, sliding higher and higher as he gently cups my butt and I brace my hands on his shoulders.
"You said no touchin'," I sigh.
He groans, nodding as he drops his hand and leans back on his elbows on my mattress, his cock still hard and free, begging me to sit on it and my self control should win me a gold freaking metal.
"Let me get dressed before we do something we shouldn't," I mumble, walking back to my armoire and shutting the music.
I dress quickly, pushing down the desire, and thankfully, Landry has mercy on us both, staying where he is on my mattress and pulls his pants back up.
When I'm fully dressed, I turn toward him and feel the nausea creep up to my throat. This is it. I commit the look on his face right now to memory because I have to tell him tonight. "Landry. I...I need to tell you something tonight, okay? Don't let me get distracted. It's important and…"
I trail off as he pushes my hair behind my ear and kisses my forehead. "Okay. Let's go."
I nod, walking out of my room, our fingers intertwined as we take the back hallway and head toward the locker room doors. I ask him to wait, heading in as I say goodbye to a few of the girls and grab my duffle bag from my locker cabinet, heading back toward the hallway.
I hurry when I see Addison talking to Landry and grab his hand, pulling him toward the back doors.
"Hi, Ember. Bye Ember!" I yell.
"Bitch!" she yells back. "I'm coming over for the tea tomorrow morning!"
"The tea?" Landry laughs. "I thought you drink coffee?"
"Gossip," I hiss. "God, all of them are so damn nosy. I swear I—" My words are cut off when I see Landry's car surrounded by glass all over the asphalt and his front tires slashed. "What the hell," I whisper.
I hurry toward his car as Landry pulls me back. "No way. Go back inside. Let me make sure there's no one still out here."
He pushes me toward the door, and I fight against him. "I ain't leavin' you out here by yourself. Let me call the cops." I reach into the side of my duffle bag as I call nine-one-one, relaying all the information as Landry cautiously walks around his car, shaking his head. "They'll be here soon. Jesus, who in the world would do this?"
"No idea but all four tires are done and every window is busted. Headlights and taillights too."
I run my fingers through my hair, a sick feeling settling in the pit of my stomach and a tingle at the base of my spine.
"Come inside. We have cameras, I'll tell Zeus to pull them up. The cops are probably gonna wanna see them too."
I walk over to him, grabbing his hand as I unlock the back door and head toward the security office. I knock twice, followed by two more quick knocks and Zeus opens the door with a big smile.
"My favorite girl. What can I do for you Madam Sunshine?"
I laugh, rolling my eyes as I turn to look at Landry. "Zeus this is my...Landry," I introduce, unsure of what to call him, now feeling awkward and embarrassed. I've never introduced anyone as my boyfriend before. Giacomo was my husband within a week.
"Your Landry, huh? Well nice to meet you, buddy. Call me Felipe. Only my girls call me Zeus. You got a gold one right here. If she's letting you lock her down, you must have a magic cock. Everyone with a dick has been trying to chain this one down since the club’s been opened."
"Nice to meet you too," Landry hisses.
I scoff, slapping Zeus's chest and point to the cameras. "Can you check the back lot? About two hours back? Landry's car got busted up."
"No shit? Sorry, my dude. Of course, gimme a second." Zeus presses a few things on his keyboard and I see a few of the rooms, girls half naked giving private dances, some even doing more than that.
I know what goes on, hell, I had Landry in my room a few months back, but we're different. None of these girls are forced to do anything. Eden, Addison, Everleigh, and I weren't given that choice when we started out working at Eden's Uncle's club. That's the difference in all this. I know the stigma of it. Hell, I wasn't convinced at first, but dancing, stripping, is freeing. We own it, we don't let it own us.
"There's cameras in every room?" Landry angry whispers in my ear.
"Yes, it's for safety reasons," I say back, defensively
"So your buddy Zeus here saw that little strip tease you gave me earlier? Saw me fuck your brains out a few months back?"
I furrow my brows, turning toward him. "Can I talk to you out here for a second?"
He huffs out a breath and leaves the room, running a hand down his face. "I'm sorry, I just—"
I put a finger up to his lips to stop his words.
"Number one, I get your frustration right now but I am not the one that slashed your tires or busted up your car so don't sling that attitude at me. Number two, no one asked you to come into my room a few months back to fuck my brains out, and number three, there are bad men out there, Landry. Men that think they can do whatever they want to women that do this and those cameras are for our protection. Those videos will never leave that room, and Zeus knows that. It's his job, Landry, so if this is too much please let me know because I will never give up this club. Not ever and not for no one."
I'm panting, my southern drawl thick and angry, and I slowly drag my finger away as he opens and closes his mouth.
"I...I'm sorry, I. I'm just not used to this, Magnolia. I don't know how to...share. I don't want to share you."
He steps up to me, cupping my cheek and I close my eyes, turning my face into his palm.
"You don't have to share me, Landry. I'm yours. I may dance out there for them but at the end of the day, I'm here with you."
"Do you...do you ever strip out there?"
I shake my head.
"I don't. I may wear super skimpy lingerie but it never comes off and it never will. My...my butt shows sometimes but that's—"
"Okay," he finishes. "That's okay, I don't want to be that insecure boyfriend and I swear I'm not. I mean, am I a boyfriend? You didn't introduce me as your boyfriend so I…"
I smile, cupping his cheek. "I'm new at this too. I want you to be my boyfriend if you want me as your girlfriend?" I ask, hopeful.
"I want you as my girlfriend, Magnolia Giordano." He smiles, kissing me quickly on the lips. "So Zeus, huh?"
"He's like our God. Watching over all of us, making sure we're all safe, he's—"
"Huge."
"Yeah," I laugh. "The nickname just stuck."
"We got something," Zeus says from the doorway.
Before we can go back into the security room, there's banging on the back door and I flinch. Landry walks toward the door, but I stop him, walking ahead of him.
"Magnolia!"
"Atlanta PD?" I yell.
"Yes ma'am," a rough voice yells back.
"What if they're not, Magnolia!" Landry questions, pulling my arm back.
I put my hand into my duffle bag and take out my Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-auto and Landry freezes. I feel him watch me as I open the door and the officers flash their badges. I tuck the gun back into my bag, taking my hand out as I put both in the air. The officers nod to me then to Landry as I lead them into the security room and Zeus tells them what he found.
"It's legal," I assure Landry as he paces in the hallway. "I have my concealed carry permit, all four of us do. Everleigh's father is a cop and he trained us all. We go shootin' twice a week."
"That the one that looks like she's gonna cut my balls off everytime I see her if I fuck this up between us?"
I smile. "I think they all look at you that way."
The tension in his face finally breaks and in its place is that squinty smile I've come to adore. "Come here," he demands, opening his arms as he wraps me into a hug. He kisses the top of my head and then the two officers come out to the hallway, briefing us on the situation.
"We got down the description but he wore a mask so it's like a needle in a haystack. Any idea why someone would do this? We're trying to rule out a targeted attack or just a random coincidence."
I move out of
Landry's embrace, but he drapes his arm over my shoulders, keeping me close to him. "Not a clue."
The officers look between the two of us and I feel the question coming before they even utter the words. "Is this new? Any ex boyfriends that may not be happy about this?"
I think about that phone call from Giacomo a few months back and shake my head. He doesn't want anything to do with me, he just wanted to rub it in my face. Well screw you too, asshole. I can get pregnant.
My doctor's words from that appointment a few weeks back come to the forefront of my mind.
"Sometimes these things can't be explained, Magnolia, but it sounds to me that your body knew what it was doing. Stress is a very big reason for infertility. You were under so much pressure, so much distress your body knew it couldn't handle growing a baby. When you finally decided to let go, it's no surprise it happened. I see it more times than I can count. Couples finally conceiving after they've given up trying."
"Ma'am?"
"Hmm?" I mumble, shaking my head, bringing myself back to the moment. "Oh, no. Nope."
The officers aren't convinced and I don't think Landry is either. They ask a few more questions and advise us to come down to the station to sign our statements sometime this week.
I wave to Zeus as Landry and I make our way back out to the parking lot and I pull him to my car.
He laughs, stopping in the middle of the parking lot and shakes his head. "That's not your car."
"What?" I ask.
"That's your car? Of course it's your car. My dream car, driven by my dream girl. Fuck me. Jesus, this is beautiful."
I laugh and roll my eyes. "Okay, okay, settle down. You wanna drive it?"
"Can I?"
"If you're secure enough to drive a silver and purple car, then go for it."
"It's a 2019 Mustang GT, Magnolia. I don't give a shit if it was hot pink, I want it."
I shake my head at him, tossing the keys to him across the car as I slip inside and he turns the key, letting out a moan as the engine purrs to life.
"Holy shit," he gasps. "Fuckkkk."
"Okay, good Lord, are you gonna make love to it or drive it?" I cross my arms over my chest and he smirks.
Delivered in Sin Page 12
