When he produced the engagement ring, she knew she didn’t have a choice. She had to say yes. But even when she did, her heart broke a little bit more. When she met Simon, he was everything she thought she wanted… But how wrong she had been. She hadn’t known him at all, and once his true personality came bursting free, it had taken all of hers along with it. She was a shell, a broken woman… Candace, as she knew herself, was gone.
Over a year into their relationship, Simon booked a trip for a weekend with the boys. The night before he left, he beat her black and blue and left her to sleep on the floor in the corner of the bedroom. She shivered and whimpered the entire night and vowed it would be the last time. While he was gone, she would disappear. She would leave everything and run.
The next day, she did exactly that and never looked back. She couldn’t be Candace anymore. She couldn’t be the smart, well-educated woman who had been broken by a monster. She wanted to be someone ditzy and innocent who no one would want to hurt. And when she stumbled into Slate Springs after being on the run for almost two weeks, she knew that she had found the place for her.
Simon would never go looking for her there. He probably thought she was still somewhere in the city, hiding out with a friend he knew nothing about, or laying low until he had moved on. But she had really outsmarted him this time. She had gone far away and had a new personality and a new life. He probably wouldn’t even recognize her.
She wiped her eyes and sighed. She had given in to the memories, and now that they were out in the open again, she knew a dark cloud would be following her around all day. She looked down at the clock on the dash and realized she only had several hours before she had to be back at the club. It was Friday and likely to be a busy one. She smiled at the thought of being around lots of people. When she was in one of her funks, that was what she needed more than anything.
“Okay girl,” she said to herself. “Time to pull it together. You can’t keep sinking back there.”
She opened the door to the car and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The warm sun hit her shoulders, and Mrs. Smith, one of the old ladies who worked at the florist’s, smiled and waved to her. She instantly started to feel more like herself, and she shook it off. She wasn’t going to be defeated by him again.
She wandered down Main Street and kept her eyes peeled for Lexi. If she saw her anywhere, the first thing she was going to ask her was what was the deal with Marv and the bikers and why they had come into the club and threatened him. She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes and walked slowly, looking into the store windows and hoping that at least one of them had a good shade she could buy to replace the godawful lantern that swung above her head every night.
Just when she was about to give up and walk back to her car, she caught sight of a lovely silver chandelier in the window of an antique shop, so she skipped lightly across the road for a closer look.
She peered through the glass and shaded the reflection from the glare of the sun behind her. It was big, probably too big and overbearing for her bedroom, but she didn’t care. It had an opulence about it that screamed “Parisian chic,” and she felt she deserved some decadence in her life, especially in her boudoir. She giggled to herself and made for the shop door.
“The chandelier,” she smiled to the store owner. “I’ll take it.”
The day had gotten off to a bad start, but now she had cheered herself up and was determined not to sink. Simon was her past, and Slate Springs, at least for now, was her future. And now that she had caught sight of that sexy biker, maybe it would be worth sticking around there for some time yet.
As she walked back to the car with the antique store owner lugging along the huge chandelier for her, she realized that even after everything that happened, she was still very lucky.
She had the chance to start again, and she was in the perfect place to do it. Now she just needed to relax and go with the flow.
5.
“Do you think I’ll be any good?” Destiny asked as she stood looking at herself in the mirror. Her nipples were covered with blue glittering pasties, and her long brown hair tumbled down over her shoulders.
“I think you look gorgeous,” Candy giggled, trying to give her as much encouragement as she could.
“I see you all out there every night, and I honestly don’t know how you do it,” Destiny swallowed. “I’m so goddamn nervous… I feel sick.”
“Jeez, you don’t have to do it,” Candy said with concern. “How did he talk you into it, anyway?”
Destiny shrugged and sighed.
“After last night, he said we have to bring in as much as we can tonight.”
“So who’s on the bar?” Candy asked, confused.
“Marv is!” Destiny wailed.
“Wow, things must be bad,” Candy shook her head.
In the whole time she had worked at Red X, all she had seen Marv do was prop up the bar or hide out in his office pretending to work when he was probably just snorting coke.
“You don’t have to do it,” she said as she took hold of Destiny’s shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes. “He can’t force you. He hired you as a bartender… Okay?”
She blinked a tear away and nodded.
“I just don’t want to lose my job,” Destiny whispered.
Candy hated to admit it, but she knew that’s exactly what would happen if Destiny refused to get up on stage. Marv was in deep shit, that much was obvious, and he clearly wasn’t taking any prisoners.
The door burst open and Renee, one of the other dancers, came flouncing into the changing room. She was completely naked, apart from a tiny G-string and a slick of sweat from being underneath the stage lights.
“It’s full of pricks out there tonight,” she sighed before she turned to look at Destiny and noticed her wearing the nipple pasties. “What are you doing?” she said with amusement and Destiny slammed her hands down over her nipples.
“Fuck, you’re right—I can’t do this,” she said. “I can’t even stand you guys looking at me when I look this ridiculous… Never mind the eyes of a hundred men.”
“Who you calling ridiculous?” Renee jumped to her feet and got in Destiny’s face.
“For god’s sake, girls,” Candy interrupted. “Let’s not all turn on each other. We’re supposed to be sisters.” She smiled sweetly and put on her ditz voice.
Renee eyeballed Destiny and backed down.
“You’re right,” Renee crossed her arms over her chest. “We should be sticking together. Who knows what’s going to happen to this place? But I know one thing… I’m not going back to escorting. I’m telling you that right now.”
“Escorting?” Destiny repeated with disgust before Candy jabbed her in the ribs.
Over the last couple of months of working at Red X, Candy had learned that not all the girls there were as placid as she and Destiny were…and Renee was most certainly one of them. She had a hard, nasty edge that Candy never wanted to be on the wrong side of.
“Okay,” Candy said tentatively, “I may have a solution.”
She turned back to Destiny and smiled at her warmly.
“Why don’t we go up there together?” she suggested. “You cover yourself up more than that, and then when you whip off your bra, the pasties will still be covering your modesty, okay?”
Destiny seemed calmed by the idea and nodded slowly.
“I’ll take it all off, and then you don’t have to. You can twirl around, follow my lead… Take your time getting off your bra, and then leave it at that, okay?”
Destiny nodded again.
“That way you’ve fulfilled your duty to Marv…and he can’t say you didn’t give it a shot.”
“My duty?” Destiny scrunched up her face.
Candy knew it sounded awful putting it that way, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“You don’t owe him anything,” she reassured her. “But if you want to keep working here, I guess you’ve got to make him think you did what he
wanted, that’s all…”
That was the game Candy had been playing for months and even though she may be giving herself away now, she couldn’t throw Destiny to the wolves. She had to try and make her feel better.
“Okay,” Destiny sighed. “I guess it won’t be so bad…”
“I won’t let him hassle you into it again,” Candy promised her. “And you never know, with any luck he might not be in charge here much longer.”
“What do you mean?” Renee interrupted as she filed her frighteningly long false nails.
“Nothing,” Candy said, winking at Destiny.
She took hold of Destiny’s hand and pulled her towards the door of the dressing room. She passed her a sequined bra and helped her fasten the clasp at the back.
“He’s a complete asshole for making you do this,” she assured her as they walked down the hall towards the boom of music coming from the club. “But I know you’ll rock it, and once it’s done, it’s done.”
“But what if he tries to make me do it again?” Destiny asked nervously.
“He won’t,” Candy told her. “He’s testing you, that’s all. He’s pushing you to see how far you’ll go… But once you’ve done this, he’ll drop it. He may even stop being such a ball-buster. He was like this with me for over a month, but I outsmarted him in the end.”
Destiny smiled and seemed to relax, but Candy was very aware that she had just told her more than she had told anyone since she arrived in town. She knew that Destiny was from Ironhill and barely knew anyone in Slate Springs, but she still hoped that she wouldn’t repeat it to anyone else. Candy had a dumb blonde reputation to live up to, and she wasn’t ready to give it up just yet.
“Come on then,” Destiny giggled. “This actually might be kind of fun… All of those lustful eyes on me.”
“You have no idea,” Candy laughed. “It really is something else…”
The girls pushed through the heavy swing doors and entered the club. The lights were flashing bright pinks and yellows across the stage, and Destiny squinted as the spotlights flashed over her.
Marv watched them from behind the bar with his eagle eyes, and when Candy looked up at him, she felt nothing but hate. He really had done it this time.
Destiny took hold of Candy by the arm and whispered into her ear, “Do you really think I can do this?”
Candy smiled and nodded. She looked out at the sea of faces, the smattering of truckers’ caps and the smoke curling from the ends of all of their cigarettes, leaving a heavy fog throughout the room.
“Of course you can,” Candy told her. “Look at how pathetic they all are… Get up there and exploit them.”
She winked at Destiny and suddenly Destiny seemed empowered. She climbed up onto the stage and stood there proudly, waiting for a new song to start. One of the guys Marv regularly had in to handle the music screeched the record to a halt and put on something heavy and seductive. Candy smiled and climbed up alongside her. She remembered exactly how it felt the first time she had to get up there and strip, and she was determined for Destiny to feel as relaxed as possible.
The men all started cheering, and the girls stood on opposite sides of the stage. In the crowd Candy could see Renee working the room, sweet talking the customers and letting them tuck dollar bills into the line of her G-string. Even though it was easier work being down on the club floor, Candy would always prefer the stage. She liked looking down on them all and perfecting her act, and she loved conning them all and making them truly believe she was as silly and girly as they wanted her to be.
She looked across at Destiny as she hooked her leg around the pole and smiled. She knew she could handle it, and she also knew she would be popular with the crowds. Destiny was completely different from all of the other girls who worked at Red X. She was tall, leggy, brunette and classy looking. Apart from Candy, all of the other girls were on the rough side and had tattoos.
As Candy started to take off her clothes and dance seductively in front of what felt like a thousand eyes, she felt empowered. She flicked her hair back and shook her hips. She grinded against the floor of the stage and kicked her legs high in the air, pointing her toes in her sharp stilettos. She sucked on her finger and bent over so some of the truckers could reach forward and tuck money into her panties, and as she cleaned up, she felt the familiar feeling of satisfaction. These men were so dumb… She really was the one exploiting them.
She was about to head back to the pole when suddenly she felt a pair of eyes on her that stopped her in her tracks. She looked out into the crowd and there was no mistaking, even in the half light, that it was him. His piercing light blue eyes followed her every move, and a wicked grin crept across his lips.
Candy couldn’t believe it. The biker, whoever he was, had returned. And like the previous evening, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. As she hooked her fingertips into the straps of her bra and pulled them down to reveal the pert swell of her perfect breasts, she saw his mouth sag slightly open. Now that they had locked eyes, she wanted him to know that this dance was only for him. It didn’t matter that there were a hundred other people in the room. At that moment, they could have been the only two people on earth.
He watched her intently as she bit the end of her finger and thrust her hips. She draped her leg sexily around the pole and swung down to the ground before she opened her legs and popped up onto all fours. As she prowled around and stared straight at him, she knew that something had been set between them. He was watching her with so much hunger that she could feel his heat from across the room. She lifted her finger and beckoned him to come closer, and his grin widened. Suddenly she didn’t care who saw; she wanted him to know that she was his and he could do whatever he wanted with her.
Destiny bowed and left the stage, but Candy just didn’t want it to end. The song was coming to a close and she knew she had to get down, but having his eyes on her was the single most exhilarating experience of her entire life. She had never even spoken to this man, but she knew that once she did, everything would change.
He stepped closer as she picked up her bra and collected the twenty dollar bills strewn around the stage. The crowd roared with appreciation, and Candy smiled as she climbed down and moved back towards the door of the hallway.
She waited there for a moment and let him watch her, his wicked grin still fixed on her and his white teeth flashing.
“I’m going to get you,” he mouthed at her.
Candy felt a pulse of excitement between her legs, but she was also afraid. Could she even consider getting involved with another man after what had happened with Simon?
She dipped the end of her finger into her mouth as if she was shy and blew him a kiss before she pushed open the doors to the hallway and disappeared inside. As they closed behind her, she collapsed against the wall and breathed in deeply.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “What the hell am I going to do now?”
6.
Destiny leapt forward and hugged her as she came into the dressing room, and Candy smiled and patted her on the back.
“You did great,” she told her. “How do you feel?”
“I feel great!” Destiny grinned. “I’m so glad I just took the bull by the horns and did it!”
“Well, at least Marv can’t blame you,” Candy smiled. “But seriously, if it’s not your thing, don’t feel pressured.”
“Yeah,” Destiny smiled. “It was fun once, but I don’t want to do it every day, no offense.”
“None taken whatsoever,” Candy laughed.
She spritzed herself with perfume and put on a lace teddy and suspenders. She reapplied her lip gloss and flicked her hair. She really did feel amazing, especially after the day’s emotional rollercoaster, and now she was on a high.
She left the changing room and went back down to the club doors. She peered through one of the small, circular windows and looked out at the crowd. It was still heaving in there, and Marv looked like he was struggling to keep on top of everyt
hing behind the bar. Renee came back towards the doors and pushed them open.
“We swapping over?” she asked aggressively.
Candy nodded and made her way out into the crowd. Even though there were a hundred men in there she could chit-chat with, there was only one on her mind, and she wasn’t going to stop until she found him.
She moved into the crowd and the scented mix of sweat and cigarettes filled her lungs. She breathed out and turned towards the bar, hoping that someone, anyone would buy her a drink.
A leery old man put his arm around her and started to ogle her cleavage, and Candy politely moved him away and carried on walking. As she turned past a group of men, another man reached out and grabbed hold of her and dipped his fingers into her bra.
“Excuse me,” she pouted, just wishing they would all leave her alone.
Another one of them squeezed her butt cheeks and pulled her close to him. She was trapped in a circle of lecherous hands, and although she knew she could handle it, she just wanted to scream at them all and tell them to back off.
“Hey!” a deep voice came from behind her.
She turned and looked over her shoulder to see him standing there, his fists clenched and his eyes full of rage.
The men encircling her dropped their hands and looked nervously at each other and then back to him. He was standing there, his wicked smile turned into a sneer and his chest heaving.
“Sorry, man,” one of the customers said. “We didn’t know she was with you…” He trailed off and disappeared back into the crowd.
Candy looked up at him and realized she was smiling. He had come to her rescue and now all she wanted was to get him on his own.
“Come with me,” he said as he took hold of her hand and led her through the crowd to the bar.
He pulled out a stool and sat her down right in front of Marv before sitting down next to her. He pulled her chair close so their legs locked together, and Candy’s heart was racing so fast she almost forgot to breathe.
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 158
