by Brandy Ayers
Apparently breaking from her trance, Harper let the door shut behind her and she made her way across the back of the club with her eyes down. Just as she reached the door to the backroom, she turned and their gazes connected. The heat there should have singed the air between them. Suddenly everything fell into place deep in Jax’s chest. A puzzle piece he’d never realized had been missing snapped into position, completing him in an unfathomable way. The pounding of his heart matched the throbbing bass lines of the music filling the building. Their eyes connected for no more than a few seconds, but in that short span of time it all came together for him. Their future. His purpose on this Earth. The reason for every breathe he took. It was all for her. He needed inside her more than he needed his oxygen.
Harper gasped, and he saw in her eyes a perfect reflection of his own feelings. Breaking the connection, she smiled and glanced at the floor, heat coloring her cheeks. Jax wanted to make that pink pinged skin flame with pleasure. He wanted to lick, kiss, and bite every inch of it. One last peek at him and Harper continued to the room where she would get ready to entertain the waiting men.
Anger boiled in Jax’s blood. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t let the woman who had so possessed him body and soul take her clothes off for the scum of the Earth. He wanted to go caveman and throw her over his shoulder, drag her from the club and keep her for himself. Steal her away only for his eyes. Jax gripped the edge of the bar until he feared he might crack the weathered wood top. His knuckles turned white and the skin around them an angry red. His teeth ground together almost painfully.
“Hey baby, you going to get those drinks for me or do I have to come back there and help you?” The waitress’ voice in front of him broke through Jax’s fogged brain. The thinly veiled suggestion in her words was obvious and unwanted.
“I got it.” He set to work pouring the shitty ass beer on special for the night into three mugs, placed them on the tray, then dismissed the woman with a hard glare.
Jax paced behind the bar like a caged tiger, waiting for Harper to come and take her place on stage. He both longed for and dreaded her performance. Nothing in the world could compare to the grace and beauty of Harper doing her main dance on the pole. He loved seeing her up there, bending and moving in time with the music. But he also knew as soon as the song ended she would have to take her top off and gyrate for the tips the men would throw on the ground at her feet. Knew they would all be thinking about burying their cocks inside her supple body. And that set his nerves on edge, gave him a hit of aggression that he normally only felt during a take down.
The door to the back room opened, and Harper stepped out with her hair in big waves around her face. Makeup covered up the freckles he knew lingered underneath and colored her lips a red so vibrant he couldn’t help but picture it staining his dick as she sucked it into her mouth. The long silk robe all the dancers wore before taking the stage skimmed over her curves, begging for him to unwrap her like the gift she was.
Unlike the other times she had walked past him to make her way backstage, this time she paused at the door, glancing toward him under her eyelashes.
She looked nervous. She gave Jax a small, shy smile and his dick twitched in his pants. Not waiting for him to respond with his own smile, she turned and walked along the wall to the curtain blocking the small backstage area from the audience.
After a moment, the lights on the two side stages dimmed, leaving the main stage and pole the center of attention.
As Harper stepped out, a song Jax didn’t recognize started playing, the beat slow and sensual.
The lights illuminated his woman and Jax’s breath caught in his throat. She stared directly at him. Everything else faded away. Only Jax and Harper existed at that moment.
Chapter 8
Harper
In the two days since Harper had seen Jax he had never been far from her mind. Partly because no one had ever made her come so fast and hard without ever having to really touch her. But also because the way he looked at her made something inside of her feel safe. Protected. There had never been a doubt in her mind that he was different than every other man that walked through the door at The Beanstalk. Every instinct inside her body told her she could trust him. It had been a long time since anything other than red flags and sirens went off inside her mind when meeting a new man.
She had no doubt he hid something, a lot of somethings. But she didn’t care. Or at least not enough to stop her from getting closer to him.
Walking into the club that night, she knew immediately. They were inevitable. Before morning came, they would be intertwined, body and soul. The way his eyes captured hers stole her breath. As if he already owned her.
Now, being in this place, getting ready to take her clothes off for other men seemed more wrong than it ever had before. Of course it always felt wrong to her; she hated it. Hated the lingering stares. Hated the men thinking that because they threw a few dollars at her feet they had a right to touch her body. Hated that something she had loved before working there, dancing, would now always be tarnished by this place.
Standing behind the curtain, she dropped the robe wrapped around her shoulders. Tonight would be different. She wouldn’t dance for tips or for survival. She would dance for Jax, and only Jax. Her costume was different than what she usually wore. Almost modest. High waisted panties covered her taut belly up to her belly button, the legs cutting across her ass so that the rounded cheeks peeked out just below the silky fabric. Her corset cinched in tight above her belly button, leaving only an inch or two of skin at her midriff exposed. It laced up tight, pushing her breasts high so they nearly rested under her chin.
She knew eventually everything would come off except for the G-string hidden beneath her panties. George would be pissed enough when he saw what she wore on stage tonight, but she didn’t care. For the first time since she started working in this place, she felt sexy, in control.
The first sultry notes of “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande started just as Harper stepped through the curtain. Usually during her main act she would climb to the top of the pole as quickly as possible, getting far away from the men she loathed, get lost in the intricate tricks and music. But tonight she wanted to see Jax. Make sure he saw her. Saw this was all for him, even if they weren’t alone. Instead, she stood in front of the pole, feet planted on the stage and eyes locked on the man who so captured her entire being from the first time they spoke. He stared back, eyes filled with lust.
Harper blocked out everything except the music and his eyes on her. Slowly, she wrapped her forearm around the pole high over her head and performed a series of seductive steps with her toes leading the way in indecently high heels. She swept down around the pole and raised one leg parallel to the bar before bringing it down on the other side and ending in a back bend with the pole supporting her. While her head hung upside down, her hair billowing in waves, she locked gazes with Jax once more. He stood leaning against the bar, both elbows firmly placed on the wood surface, his entire focus on her.
She stood back up, undulating her body to the beat, imagining the gleaming silver pole was instead the man she wanted to plaster against and take into herself. Gripping the metal, she lifted herself up, spinning and inverting until her ankles wrapped around the pole, holding her entire body’s weight aloft. She arched her back and let her arms sweep back, grazing over her body and combing through her hair, then dragging them back down her face and neck, picturing Jax’s hands following in their path, setting her skin on fire.
As the song continued she ramped up the tricks and acrobatics, returning to what she actually loved about pole dancing. The strength and grace it truly took and that no one appreciated. When she started working at The Beanstalk she had never expected to fall in love with the complicated art of pole dancing. But from the first lesson she’d taken, she had, one hundred percent.
Of course lessons were not required to work at the seedy club. But being able to dance on the pole meant a reprieve f
rom the constant lap and table dances, so she had found one of the other girls willing to work with her in exchange for a few bucks. She quickly surpassed her teacher and found herself looking up videos on YouTube, and attempting to recreate the tricks on the practice pole in Kandy’s basement.
But George didn’t like when she did tricks that had nothing to do with getting more money out of the customers. After all, he took 15% out of their tips. So she had to simplify her routines to appease the giant asshole.
But at that moment, as she danced for Jax and herself, she didn’t give a fuck if she pissed off her boss. The stretch and tightening of her muscles as she performed some of the hardest routines made her blood pump in a way it hadn’t in years. The burn of Jax’s eyes on her body made arousal flood her panties. The lyrics pouring from the smoky voice of the singer spoke of a woman empowered to do things she had never considered before, of giving and taking, savoring the flavor of her man, all things Jax made Harper feel on a core deep level.
She lost herself in the lyrics, let them take over her body and allow her to just react to the lusty atmosphere of the song. The moves she executed were instinct, not planned ahead of time.
But far too soon the song ended, and she came to a rest on the stage floor once again. It had been the first time she performed on the pole with her eyes open, always seeking Jax. And as the fog created by her dancing and the music faded, the faces of the men she despised began to filter in again. Suddenly she knew she couldn’t do it. Not tonight. She couldn’t take her clothes off for them. Straddle them and feel their arousals against her thigh as she danced for them, all while trying to avoid their wandering hands. The thought made her sick to her stomach.
Instead of moving to one of the side stages and removing her outfit, she stepped down from the platform, and started to make her way toward the bar. Harper kept her eyes on Jax, feeling his strength anchoring her in the moment. He nodded, obviously deducing just from looking at her what was going through her mind. And she knew by looking at him that he would take care of her, even though she could take care of herself. He understood.
Harper’s head snapped back as someone gripped her arm in a too tight hold that she knew would leave bruises the next day.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Harper?” George’s gruff voice broke through the trance she found herself in as she made her way to the man she was prepared to give herself to in every way. “Get your ass back on that stage.”
“I can’t George. Not tonight.” She looked at the large, disgusting man, pleading with her eyes, begging him to be human for one night. “Please, I don’t feel well.”
“You felt well enough to do whatever the fuck that was just now. You didn’t even show your tits. What the fuck am I paying you for, if not to show your fucking tits and ass?” Spittle sprayed from his mouth as he shouted at her, not caring that the customers watched their entire interaction.
Harper needed to get out of there immediately. But there would be no way she could shake his hold on her arm.
“I let you keep that fucking G-string on all the fucking time, when all the other girls show their pussies to the men like good little sluts. But you think you’re better than everyone else just because you had some schooling before landing here.” His foul breath swept over Harper as he brought his face closer to hers. “Get back up on that stage and take off your clothes or I’m going to forget the promise I made to your little friend that I wouldn’t touch you.”
Harper’s mind spun. Who had he made that promise to? She thought he had just accepted her unwillingness to do anything sexual with the customers and him.
“Let her go, George.” Kandy appeared behind him, seemingly out of nowhere, completely bare except for her towering stilettos. Even naked, she stood tall and confident, unconcerned about the way she spoke to the large man.
Their boss turned to Kandy, his eyes narrowing and his face turning a bright shade of red. “Stay the fuck out of this. This has nothing to do with you. This bitch has a job to do, and she damn well better do it.” His grip on Harper’s arm increased, making her wince in pain.
Harper whipped her head around to see Jax launching across the bar, the intent to do damage plain on his face. Harper widened her eyes and shook her head. Everyone knew the damage George could do. He knew people. People disappeared. Harper couldn’t let that happen to Jax.
The man who so entranced her moments before stopped in his tracks, hands fisted at his side, balancing on the balls of his feet, ready to take action if needed.
“George, I think we both know it is my business. And I think you know exactly how good I am at my business. Let her go.” Kandy propped her hands on her slim waist, staring down George like he wasn’t twice her size. When he hesitated, she raised one eyebrow.
“Fucking women.” George shoved Harper as he released her arm, and she went flying back, unsteady in her heels.
Just as she thought she would end up sprawled on the floor, two large hands wrapped around her waist from behind, steadying her. “I’ve got you.” Jax’s warm touch soothed her after the strange confrontation.
She looked up into his deep brown eyes, seeing his concern for her warring with anger.
“You need to get back out on the floor and get to work.” Kandy’s no nonsense voice broke through the intense connection between Jax and Harper.
Harper turned her attention to the woman she had known most her life. “What was that, Kan?”
Kandy sighed, giving a small shrug. “Let’s just say I know things about George that he doesn’t want out. But there is only so much I can do to protect you. If you start stepping out of line now, George isn’t going to be so forgiving next time.”
“I can’t go out there. Not tonight. I can’t do it.” Harper shivered, and she felt Jax’s arms tighten around her waist, offering her his strength. The truth was she didn’t know if she could do it at all anymore. The thought had been turning over in her head the past two days. Since the moment she’d come all over Jax’s leg. The idea of another man touching her after Jax had made her ill. And as much as they weren’t supposed to, the customers always tried to rub a little more against her, no matter how many times she pushed them away.
“You have to, Harper. Listen, just do table dances tonight. No lap dances. I’ll stay close, make sure you don’t get in trouble. But if you don’t go out there, George is going to start suspecting something.” Kandy’s gaze slid to Jax. “And it will not be pretty if he knows there is something going on between you two.”
Harper knew her friend was right. She didn’t want to put Jax in danger. Or herself. There was a little girl an hour away depending on her.
“Fuck.” Jax’s grip on her tightened again. “I hate saying this, but she’s right. I don’t want you out there any more than you do, but it has to happen.” His arms loosened then fell away, and he planted a light kiss on the back of her head before backing away a step. “I’ll be waiting for you after.”
The absence of his heat at her back made Harper dizzy. She needed his arms around her again. Closing her eyes, Harper steeled herself. Called all the strength she had needed in the years since Goldie’s death. Pushed aside the feelings Jax had stirred in her for the past two weeks. She could do this. For Rose. For Jax. For herself.
Opening her eyes she turned to Jax, and for a moment she thought he flinched as her gaze landed on him. “Okay.”
Without another word she began to unlace the corset holding her breasts high and tight to her chest. While she undid the top, she walked slowly to the nearest table, stepped up onto a chair and then the table, before removing her clothes for a pair of men in suits. They looked respectable on the outside, but she knew underneath they thought about all the disgusting things they wanted to do to her body.
But she did as Kandy, Jax and George had asked of her. She slid the satin corset from her torso, tossed it on the ground, then turned around and bent at the waist, removing the high-waisted panties she’d danced in, revea
ling the G-string underneath. Refused to think about anything other than the movements of her body as she danced for these men. Kandy came over, climbing on top of one of them and giving him a lap dance, her bare pussy grazing against his tented pants.
For the next seven hours Kandy and Harper worked around the room, never more than a few feet from each other. When Kandy went up to do her main dance, Harper went with her, giving the audience the girl-on-girl show that brought out the wallets.
At the end of her shift, Harper raced back to the dressing room, stripped down, and stepped into the locker room style shower installed there. She never used that shower, hated knowing girls occasionally gave private shows back there. But she couldn’t wait until she got home to wash off the smell of men and beer that permeated her skin.
Dressed and feeling a little more herself, Harper walked out into the parking lot to find Jax sitting in his truck behind her shitty car, waiting for her.
God, she needed him inside her. Needed him to chase away the demons she couldn’t seem to shake. She climbed into her car, then looked in the rearview mirror, connecting gazes with Jax. He nodded, and she knew he would take care of her, in every way.
