Dark Desire: A Paranormal Romance Novella (The After Dark Series, Book #1)

by Foote, Rebecca

  DARK DESIRE: A Paranormal Romance Novella

  (The After Dark Series, Book 1)

  By

  Rebecca Foote

  Dark Desire: A Paranormal Romance Novella

  (The After Dark Series, Book 1)

  Copyright © 2012, Rebecca Foote

  Cover art by For the Muse Designs © 2012

  ISBN: 978-0-9855756-0-1

  Dark Desire is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or person, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter One

  Juliet Northman opened the letter addressed to her from Jackson College. The notice warned that her college application for financial aid wasn’t completed on time and she would have to find alternative means to pay for school. Juliet shook her head in frustration, crumpled up the letter, and dropped it in the garbage. She gathered her long, blonde hair into a ponytail, hastily put on her blue fleece hoodie, and headed over to the college’s financial aid department to clear up the misunderstanding. Juliet gripped the steering wheel of her car as she drove down the street, anticipating the worst. If her financial aid fell through, Juliet wouldn’t be able to finish her last term.

  Once there, Juliet spoke with the financial aid manager who looked through her paperwork glumly. “Miss Northman, in order to complete your final term, you will have to cover the balance on your account. Your school grant won’t cover it all. I suggest you go to the student employment center,” advised the balding, financial aid manager.

  “But, I already work and can hardly keep up with my studies as it is. I have a full class load and I don’t think I can jam anything else into my schedule. Isn’t there something you can do? Please, this is my last term.”

  He shook his head wearily as he continued flipping through her financial aid file. “Sorry, Miss Northman, but your only recourse is to find other means, or you won’t be able to complete your term. Could your parents help you?”

  Juliet felt momentarily insulted by his suggestion. Her mother died two years ago and the pain stayed with her in the back of her mind. Her father was MIA and had never been part of her life.

  “No, she can’t,” Juliet said flatly. Although she understood the manager didn’t know that her mother had died, the suggestion still felt like a slap in the face.

  “Miss Northman, I suggest you try the employment center. There are new job postings every day. Go talk to one of the counselors and see if they can help you.”

  Juliet frowned in disappointment at the advice she was given. She didn’t see how going to the employment center would make her situation better. She was already working as many hours as possible at Terry’s Grill, a local restaurant. She scrimped and saved to make ends meet, yet barely accomplished that.

  Dejected, Juliet walked down the hall and turned the corner into the small, onsite employment office. A young female receptionist sat behind the front desk taking calls. As one conversation ended, another one started. Judging by the amount of calls pouring in, the employment center was very busy.

  Juliet glanced around the office and noticed a large bulletin board hanging on the wall. At the top of it was a yellow banner that read “Employment Opportunities.” Feeling immediately interested, Juliet walked over to the board and began scanning the available openings. Each vacancy was written on a postcard and pinned to the board in order by date. She sighed in frustration as her eyes traveled from job to job, for most weren’t any better than the one she already had, and all paid minimum wage. Hooray for low wage jobs! But, her interest peaked as she noticed a bright pink flyer at the top of the board. It stood out from the rest because of its flashy color. “Make big money working only a few hours a week” the job posting boasted—at the bottom was a phone number. Juliet took an employment pamphlet from a nearby table and used it as scratch paper to jot the number down. She quickly folded it up and placed it in her purse.

  At the end of a long, hard week of working extra hours at the diner and having hardly any time to study, Juliet collapsed on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, worried about her finances as she considered ways to pay for school. She remembered the phone number she had written down from the employment bulletin board and reached for her purse. Juliet dialed the number and a voice answered on the other end saying, “Bailey’s Cove.” This was a place she had heard of before, some kind of strip club. Feeling uneasy about working at that type of establishment, she almost hung up. Remembering her finances, however, she decided to at least check it out. Juliet made an appointment to meet with the manager next week.

  After a few more days of her exhausting schedule, Juliet looked forward to her appointment with the manager at Bailey’s Cove. She pulled into the parking lot and went up to the club entrance. The outside windows were blackened and boarded up, so people couldn’t see through the windows. A large, pink neon sign with the club’s name hung outside, above the entrance. Juliet hesitated for a moment before going in.

  Come on. I can do this. I’m just looking anyway…

  Juliet took a deep breath and opened the door. She had never been in a club like this before. Sure, she had gone to the occasional bar with friends, but never an exotic dancers’ club. There were several tables and booths at the back, a stage area in the front, and a bar against the wall. The stage was T-shaped and had a catwalk down the center with two poles at the ends--it was obvious what those were for.

  “Hi, are you Juliet?” asked a pretty, petite girl with short, black hair. She looked almost like a pixie, standing next to the bar in her cutoffs and tank top.

  “Yes. I’m supposed to meet the manager,” Juliet said, as she nervously bit her lip. Come on! Stop being a prude.

  “Oh, good we need another dancer. I’m Veronica and I’ll take you to the back to meet Gerald. He’s the manager.”

  Veronica led Juliet past the bar and behind the stage. They rounded a corner and went down a long hall. “These are some of the rooms the dancers change in.” Veronica pointed to a large room furnished with vanity mirrors and counters. Against the back wall stood a clothing rack, filled with a variety of outfits: pink boas, sequined tops, and a plethora of what looked like stage costumes.

  “You have to bring your own stuff for your show though.”

  My show? That’s one way to put it.

  “Gerald is in the office. It’s at the end of the hall.”

  Juliet followed Veronica into a small office where a stocky man with a black beard sat, looking through receipts and adding up amounts. He turned to look at them as they entered the office.

  “Gerald? This girl is here about the dancing job.”

  Gerald looked at Juliet, assessing her natural curves. “Very pretty…What’s your name?”

  “Juliet.”

  The man got up from his desk to take a closer look. “You’re about the same size as Crystal, our last girl; there are a few of her things still here. Yes. I think you’ll do alright. I need someone four hours a night, at least three nights a week. I’ll pay you an hourly rate, but most of your money will co
me from tips.” He sat back down at his desk and began to go through the receipts again.

  “You ever done this kind of work before?” he asked as he kept working and didn’t look up.

  “No,” Juliet answered honestly.

  “There’s nothing to it. Veronica will set you up…Well, if you want the job, it’s yours.” Gerald paused in his accounting and looked up at Juliet, waiting for an answer.

  She felt hesitant about accepting the job, but was determined to get out of her financial difficulty. “I’ll take it.” She was almost surprised to hear herself say the words.

  Wait a second! Wasn’t I just coming here to check out the club?

  Chapter Two

  Juliet looked forward to quitting her job at the restaurant, but still felt slightly apprehensive about her new job as an exotic dancer. After talking with Veronica a few more minutes, she decided it didn’t sound too bad.

  “It’s really easy. Just pretend you’re putting on a sexy outfit and dancing for your boyfriend. That’s what I do, then it doesn’t bother me at all.” Veronica smiled at her broadly.

  “I would if I had one, but I get the idea.”

  Veronica laughed at her comment. “Okay. I have to go over the club rules with you.”

  “Rules?”

  “Yes. Gerald tries to keep this place clean, or at least look that way, so the city won’t shut it down.” Veronica walked around the back of the stage and Juliet followed her out onto the catwalk.

  “So we’ve got the poles over here, and the more tricks you can do, the better your tips will be. We have two girls here, Ginger and Stacey, who are really good at pole-dancing.”

  For a split second, Juliet felt nauseated at Veronica’s description of the girls’ tricks on the poles and laughed nervously. Veronica noticed her tense reaction.

  “Don’t worry, Juliet. Nobody gets it perfect the first few times. The key to it all is to just relax,” she suggested, patting Juliet on the arm lightly. “You’ll do great. I can tell.”

  Juliet tried to listen to Veronica’s advice with optimism and detachment. It was the only way she could get through it.

  “Like I said before, you have to bring your own stuff for your show. But, there are a few outfits that Gerald keeps around for everyone, just in case we need extras.” Veronica led her back to one of the dressing rooms down the long hall. She selected a flimsy, but very sparkly G-string that barely stayed hung up on the rack.

  “This is pretty, but I wouldn’t use it. I’d stick to the boas or tops… never the bottoms.” Veronica continued her cautionary advice on the best outfits to use, as she proceeded to lift items off the rack. She held up a school girl uniform in front of Juliet to see how she looked.

  “See? I think something like this would be great for you. A lot of girls like to perform role play shows—it really gets the customers going.”

  Juliet turned to look at her reflection in the mirror as Veronica held up the outfit. She didn’t know what she thought about it. She looked kind of cute, but knew that ultimately, she would have to become comfortable, and quickly, at being naked in front of strangers.

  Can I do this? she wondered as she considered her reflection.

  “Oh, yeah…the club rules are no drugs and no sex on the premises,” Veronica paused for a moment. “Some girls do though, but you’re not supposed to. If the cops find out, the club will get shut down.”

  Momentarily, a wave of nausea rippled over Juliet as she listened to Veronica speak casually about drugs and sex. She grew quiet as she contemplated how far Veronica went to earn tips.

  “Well, that’s most of it anyways. Come early on Friday and I’ll get you set up and introduce you to the other girls.”

  Juliet smiled, holding back feelings of uncertainty, as she agreed to return on Friday. She left the club and traveled home. Once there, she flopped down on her bed and pondered her situation as she drifted off to asleep. Exhausted with life’s tribulations, Juliet’s sleep took her to unfamiliar places. In her mind’s eye, a silhouette began to form from the blackness—a figure of a man with beautiful, intense, blue eyes that glowed as he watched her. He haunted her, for she could never fully see him, only his silhouette as he lurked in the shadows. The dark stranger called her name in a hauntingly familiar way.

  ****

  Unsettled by her nightmare, Juliet attempted to get ready both physically and mentally before going to the club as scheduled on Friday. She wondered if her strange dream meant anything, but shook it off when she met Veronica at the club. They walked down the long hall toward the dressing rooms and entered one room where three girls were getting dressed in stage outfits and fixing their makeup in the mirrors. One had short, curly, blonde hair and wore the sparkly G-string that Veronica showed her before and nothing else. The second had artificially bright red hair and a small dragon tattoo that went over her shoulder and down her back—she wore red-tasseled pasties. Red grabbed the pink boa and flung it around her neck as she leaned in toward the mirror to apply a generous coat of bright red lipstick.

  “Howdy,” said the third girl with long, brown hair as she looked over at Veronica and Juliet. The fringe on her gloves swayed when she adjusted her cowgirl-style bikini.

  “Hey, girls. How’s it going?” Veronica greeted them cheerfully. She nudged Juliet forward, who was standing beside her. “This is Juliet—she’s Crystal’s replacement.”

  The cowgirl smiled and winked at her. “Hey there, Juliet. How you doing? I’m Dixie.” Juliet smiled at her and the others.

  “Hi, Juliet. I’m Stacey,” said Red. Now she could put a face, among other things, with the name. “Are you starting tonight?”

  “Yes. I’m a little nervous though. I’ve never worked as a… a dancer before.”

  The blonde stepped forward. “Oh honey, don’t sweat it. You’ll be alright. Everyone gets the jitters on their first time out. I’m Ginger, by the way.”

  Juliet listened to the girls as they gave her the rundown of a typical night at Bailey’s Cove, each one embellishing the others’ advice.

  “You see, Juliet. You’ve got your pervs, spenders, and partiers. Everyone wants the spenders because that’s where you can make the most cash,” said Ginger with a smile.

  “Yeah. And the partiers are fun. They pay pretty well too, especially if you get a large group from a bachelor’s party. It’s no big deal. You just have a little fun, dancing and providing some excitement for the groom,” explained Stacey.

  “But, nobody wants the pervs. Stay away from those if you can. They are the creepy ones that come around and sit for hours, just staring. I had a perv follow me out to the parking lot a few months ago. Thank goodness Jim saw him and stopped him.” Dixie turned back to the mirror and began reapplying her lipstick.

  “Who’s Jim?”

  “Oh, sorry about that, Jim is one of the bouncers. He helps keep things under control if someone gets out of line with one of us.”

  “That sounds dangerous.” Juliet shifted nervously as she imagined what types of things could happen in the club.

  “Well, it looks like we’re on now, so we’ll see you out there.” Stacey smiled as she and the others sashayed out of the dressing room.

  As Veronica and Juliet entered the hall, Gerald walked up briskly. His expression was stern and demanding. “Make sure you take her up front and go over the club rules.”

  Veronica nodded. “I did, but I wanted her to meet Jim.”

  “Okay, but hurry up. We’re about to open and you two need to be ready.”

  Veronica quickly led Juliet down the hall, past the stage and over to the entrance of the club where a large man stood wearing a black T-shirt with Bailey’s Cove written across the chest. His arms were folded and he had a mean expression carved into his face. Juliet thought he fit the part of a bouncer and was glad to see him standing there.

  “This is Juliet; she’s starting tonight. I thought I would bring her by to meet you.”

  Jim looked at Juliet and simply
nodded his head in acknowledgement.

  “Um, well anyway, we’re running out of time. Let’s go get ready,” Veronica chirped as she guided Juliet back to the dressing room.

  Chapter Three

  Veronica suggested that Juliet use some of the extra stage costumes until she was able to buy her own. Veronica handed Juliet the school girl uniform and she put it on. Juliet felt silly as she peered at her reflection.

  “You’ll be with me, working the customers today, until it gets too busy. Gerald likes us to interact with them, to get them to buy more drinks.”

  Juliet took in a nervous breath.

  “If you have to, just pretend you’re someone else. Make up a stage name if you want—half of the girls do.” Veronica looked at her for a moment. “What do you think?”

  Juliet thought it might be a good idea to use an alias. “Hmm, how about Delilah?”

  “Okay, sounds good to me. Come on; just follow my lead,” coached Veronica.

  They walked out to the main area. Several men were seated at tables, and a few couples sat at the bar while music piped loudly through the club. Stacey and Ginger were coiled like snakes around the poles, and Dixie danced seductively at the end of the stage. Veronica approached a large table of men, putting an extra sway into her hip, and blazing a flirtatious smile. Juliet followed her, trying not to appear nervous.

  “Hey, baby. I haven’t seen you around here before,” said a guy sitting nearby who looked as if he recently came from an office meeting.

  “These guys are regulars,” whispered Veronica.

  The man pulled Juliet toward him. Her natural reaction was to push him away, but she forced herself not to respond with repulsion. Veronica interjected on her behalf. “Delilah is new, so go easy on her.”

  “Go easy on her, huh?” laughed Business Guy as he released Juliet. “Okay, okay, baby I will.”

  After a couple of minutes of talking with the men, they left and went over to the bar to interact with other customers. Juliet glanced over in the bouncer’s direction and watched how he kept an eye on the club. His gaze was skilled and focused as he scanned the club’s patrons.