“Will do,” Jessica told her, and she watched Tanya walk away.
Jessica’s heart pounded in her chest. Tanya was on to them—she knew it. They were too close, to each other, to the election. The stakes had never been higher for either of them. She was already committed to perform at Di Terrrestres the upcoming weekend, but she knew she should keep her distance until then, no matter how difficult it was.
Her phone was still in her hand, and she opened Rafael’s contact information. No matter how badly she wanted to see him that night, she had to protect herself.
She typed out a quick message to him. I can’t meet you tonight. I’ll see you Friday, when I perform. And then she turned off her phone, put it in her purse and made her way from the festivities, before he even had a chance to respond.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JESSICA TOOK A deep breath, as she stood behind the curtains of the stage that had been erected in the club. As Rafael had told her, the floor, normally used for dancing, rose into a platform for performances. The club had installed a pole in the middle and new stage lights just for her. She still felt a niggling of doubt about her interactions with Tanya Roberts, but she’d been assured by Alana that she would be fine. There was nothing to worry about. Cell phones would be collected at the door, and no member of the press would be admitted, under any circumstance. She was safer at Di Terrestres than anywhere else.
“Hey, are you ready?” Alana came up to her. “Everything is ready to go for you.”
“Yeah, I definitely am. I’m nervous, though. More nervous than I’ve ever been,” she admitted, tightening the mask over her eyes. “I guess it’s because I’ve never been the only one performing. There have always been other women sharing the stage.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the club’s announcer started. “Get ready, because you are in for a treat. Making her first, and only, appearance at Di Terrestres is world pole-dancing champion, Jessie M.”
Her music started, and she pushed past the curtains and onto the stage. The room quieted, as dozens of eyes stared rapturously at her. She loved that part, holding the audience in her hand as they watched her every movement, owning the stage. She loved it, and it loved her.
For that evening’s more dramatic act, she’d worn a long flowing black silk skirt, which matched the lace mask that covered the top half of her face. Her hair was curled and piled in a gravity-defying style high on her head, courtesy of the hair and makeup artist that Alana had arranged for her. For her performance, she’d worked with the in-house DJ and created a medley of songs, starting with sultry music that had a slow, driving drumbeat and then progressed into faster dance music. That way, she could give the audience a taste of each of her routines.
She did her best sexy strut across the stage, on precariously high stilettos that lengthened her already long legs. She looked and felt incredible. She danced toward the pole, her movements seductive. Even with the lights shining in her face, and the eyes of every patron on her, she could still look around the room and find Rafael, sitting at his usual table with his friends. She was surprised that he would support her in the career he didn’t approve of, and that he would sit by and watch as she took off her clothes in front of others. Everything she knew about the man told her that he didn’t share well.
But he and everyone else kept watching as she ripped away her dress to reveal the sexy, black sheer bodysuit she’d worn under her gown. The music changed and sped up, her cue to approach the pole. Giving a couple of cursory spins around the pole, seductively spreading her legs, grinding against it, she then got down to the work that had won her many awards around the world.
Grasping higher up on the pole, she spun again, this time pulling her legs from the floor, letting her upper-body and core strength, and the momentum of her arms, swing her around the pole. Then, keeping her arms in the same position, she inverted her body, so that she was holding herself upside down. She heard some impressed gasps over the music, and she smiled at their reaction.
You haven’t seen anything yet.
She wrapped her legs around the pole. Gripping it with her thighs and using her abdominal muscles, and even now, still spinning, she sat upright. Then, she grabbed the metal with her hands and performed a split before contorting herself around the pole so that it rested in the curve of her lower back. With her legs still split, and circling the bar as if she were a perpetual motion machine, she took one ankle and held it near her head. She continued to spin down the pole in lazy, languid circles, her speed decreasing until her lower foot hit the floor. The lights went out as the music ended.
Jessica gathered her breath, and let her spent muscles contract, as the room erupted into thunderous applause. She took a bow, blew a kiss to the audience and left the stage.
Alana stopped her first, and handed her a bottle of water. It was just what she needed. “Oh, my God, that was amazing!”
“Thanks,” Jessica said, before gratefully gulping back the water.
Alana took a covert look around to make sure they were alone. “God, Rafael said that you’ve won championships, but, girl, pole dancing should be in the Olympics. Do you think you could show me some moves?”
“Yeah, definitely. Let’s get together sometime.” She looked past Alana to see Rafael coming toward her. His gait was rigid, his eyes were dark and she knew the one thing that was on his mind—her. Alana glanced over and saw him approach before she turned back to Jessica. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later.” She walked away, and patted Rafael on the chest in greeting without actually speaking. If he noticed her, he didn’t say anything.
“What’d you think?” she asked.
The water bottle she’d held in her hand crashed to the floor, as he pulled her to him, almost whipping her to his chest. His response was a kiss so heated, so demanding that she couldn’t breathe as his tongue struck into her, plundering, fighting hers for domination. He pushed her to the wall and kissed her senseless until he pulled away.
“Fuck, that was so goddamn hot, I could barely stand it,” he muttered low against her lips. She could feel his cock, hard steel against her, and she rubbed against it. “I didn’t think I could watch you take off your clothes in front of a room of strangers again, but I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“I kind of thought you would change your mind. Cancel my appearance. Tell Alana I wouldn’t do it. Just so no one would be able to see me.”
“I’ll admit. I was close,” he said with a smile. “But I’m so glad I didn’t. You’re beautiful, talented, and while everyone in that room wanted you, only I know how smooth your skin really is,” he said, trailing his fingers down her arms before pinching a loose tendril of hair. “Or what it’s like to twine my fingers in your hair, and what it’s like to have your thighs wrapped around me like that pole. The sounds you make when you’re turned on, and what it feels like to push inside of you and fuck you until you scream,” he finished, his lips against the overcharged nerve endings of her neck.
Rafael seduced her with his words, her body threatened to orgasm just with his breath on her skin, and she moaned.
“Although, there’s one thing I don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“You told me that night at Charlie’s that you don’t give private dances, but I’m dying to know what it’s like to have you dance for only me.”
“You want a dance?”
“More than anything.”
Jessica thought about it and decided there was no way she wouldn’t dance for the man in front of her. She took his hand. “Let’s go.”
“We can go to my room. It’s private.” Lacing his fingers with hers, he led her away from the backstage area, and to the staircase that led to the exclusive suites.
When they entered his, she went to the sound system and selected a song. A slow, steady, sexy beat that would allow her to get up close and personal.
Feeling the
song’s pulse course through her, she sauntered over to him. His eyes were molten, his nostrils flared, and she looked down and saw the bulge in his lap, tenting his pants. All telltale signs that he was as turned on as she was.
She put her hands on the arms of the large chair, and leaned over Rafael, letting her breasts come within a hair’s breadth of his chest.
Jessica backed up, and then turned around so that her ass was to him, and she bent forward, thrusting her ass in his direction, until she heard his low growl, which told her the moves were successful. She turned to face him and dropped to the floor, spreading her legs, and then pushed back up to a standing position.
Kneeling on the chair, straddling his thighs, she ground herself against him. He was hard and hot, and she wanted him. She reached between their bodies and grasped his hard cock and rubbed him through his pants. He closed his eyes and moaned as his hands cupped her hips. She whipped them away. “You can’t touch.”
“Why not?”
“Those are the rules,” she told him. “No touching.”
“I guess I forgot. Why don’t you just keep touching me, then?”
“My pleasure,” she told him. The music forgotten, she slipped off the chair and settled on the floor between his knees. She unbuttoned his jeans, reached into them and pulled out his cock. It was hard and pulsed in her hand. A drop of pre-cum crested the top and she leaned in and collected it with her mouth, the saltiness lingering there. Not taking her gaze from his heavy-hooded stare, she flattened her tongue against the bottom of his erection and ran it up the sensitive underside, and then swiped it around his crown before taking him fully into her mouth. She took him deeply enough to feel him hit the back of her throat, and then slowly drew her head back, almost releasing him, before swallowing him again.
His hand found the back of her head, his fingers twining in her hair, guiding her pace. “Fuck, Jessica,” he muttered. His breath was a hiss between his teeth. His breathing quickened, and she knew he was close, but he pushed her away. He reached out and grabbed her, seated her in his lap.
He took a condom from his pocket and held it out to her. She took it, ripped the foil package open and rolled the latex over him. His jaw was tense as he fought for control, and her fingers on him hadn’t much helped matters. Gripping his base, she aligned him with her sopping wet, needy opening and she seated herself fully over him.
As she moved her hips, riding him, he kept pace, thrusting into her. Her body was so swollen with desire, so ready that within just a couple of minutes, she found herself cresting, climbing higher and higher, until she reached the top. She felt like she was floating above herself, watching herself as she rode Rafael’s lap. Until with one final thrust, she felt herself leap off the edge, and his loud groan told her that Rafael had jumped with her. They stilled, and out of breath, layered in sweat, Jessica and Rafael watched each other. She felt a tightness in her chest.
Jessica smiled, inhaling his scent deeply. His sweat and cologne together were a strong aphrodisiac, and as spent as she was, she couldn’t help herself from wanting him again.
He continued to gaze at her. “You’re amazing. But what happens in a couple of days?”
“The election.”
He nodded.
“I don’t know. I guess we should just wait and see what happens. We’ll see who wins, and then we’ll just have a difficult conversation about what happens next.” Jessica knew she was in love with the man who was holding her. Her heart broke in two thinking about not being with him. But no matter what happened, she would go about her life without him, if she needed to, and forget the nights they’d spent together.
“I guess we’ll just wait to see, then,” he said, and she didn’t miss the way his arms tightened around her. She looked up at him, and saw that his eyes were as busy and anguished as hers, and that there were words he was leaving unsaid.
Jessica snuggled closer, but she was transported back to the real world. The election was next week, and whatever was on Rafael’s mind threatened to put their night to an end. She didn’t want it to. She wanted to stay in their cocoon, just a little longer, so she closed her eyes and rested against him, and listened to the sound of his breathing.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“MR. MARTINEZ,” Jillian buzzed through Rafael’s office. It was after hours, and as usual, he had continued working out of his office in the BH building. “Tanya Roberts from LVTV is here to see you.”
“I don’t have an appointment with her, do I?”
“No, you don’t. But she insisted on seeing you.”
“All right, send her in.” He stood to greet Tanya, curious as to why she would come by his office. “Ms. Roberts,” he said to her when she entered, shaking her hand. “How are you this evening?”
“I’m great, and you?”
“Busy,” he said pointedly. “With the election in a few days, there’s a lot of last-minute things to get done. What can I do for you?”
“I’m here to give you a heads-up. Tomorrow, I’m going to run a story about you and Jessica Morgan.”
Rafael’s heart raced, but he tried to not let it show. “What kind of story?”
“One that details a romantic relationship between the two of you.”
Rafael scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. I would have expected more from a reporter of your caliber.”
“I searched through some back photos of you both and it seems as if there’s some chemistry between you.”
“That’s ludicrous, and it gives you nothing,” he insisted.
“Is it?” she asked, producing a tablet, and she scrolled through several photos of them at public events, during what they thought had been private moments, where they’d been captured leaning close. They’d only been talking, but he recognized the way they looked at each other. Like the lovers they were.
“Is this all you’ve got?” he asked her. “I’m not overly impressed by your scoop, if you only have photos of us talking. You’ll have to try harder.”
She scrolled across to another photo, one of them embracing, outside his home, as he ushered her inside. He was holding her close, his hand settled on the curve of her ass. Not great, but it could definitely be worse.
His fists clenched at his thighs, and he had to step away from the woman so that he wouldn’t whip the tablet from her fingers and fling it across the room.
“And there’s also this.”
He looked and saw a picture of Jessica entering Di Terrestres the other night before her show. “And I’ve got more salacious video and photos of her. She’s quite the dancer, isn’t she? Among other things...” Tanya raised a knowing eyebrow. “Plus, a little digging told me that you are indeed one of the owners of that club. You’ve been removed from the books, but you still own an equal amount of interest, as does each of your friends. What do you have to say about you being romantically involved with your opposition in the mayoral race?”
He sobered. “How did you get these?”
“I have my sources.”
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered to himself. “What do you want?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“You came here for a reason instead of just running with it.”
She shrugged. “I am going to run the story. But I wanted your reaction first.”
“Has Jessica seen it?”
“Not yet. I came straight to you. I only waited in taking it to Jessica because I’ve also been doing some deeper research involving a strip club in San Francisco.”
“Why are you doing this? The election is this week.”
“And this is one hell of a story, don’t you think? Breaking this will launch my career into national news.”
“By reporting on our personal lives? I think you’ve got a great tabloid journalism career ahead of you. Maybe TMZ is hiring.” He met her eyes directly. “I thought you were credi
ble. But you should know that the minute you leave my office, my lawyers will be on you. It’s over. This story won’t see the light of day.”
“You’d better hurry, then. In this day and age, a lot can happen in a couple of minutes.”
But Rafael didn’t fear her. He’d tangled with adversaries far more frightening to him than some local reporter. “Sure can. To both of us.”
“Is that a threat?”
He shrugged.
Tanya smirked. “Good luck, councillor,” she said, before turning and walking out of his office.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JESSICA FOUND OUT about it when the rest of world did. She had been given no advance notice, no call from the news stations that had picked it up, and she was preparing her dinner when the news broke. She saw the television screen flash pictures of both her and Rafael, followed by a video clip of a woman giving a man a lap dance. She recognized the room before she recognized the people. It was her. And Rafael. The night they’d gone to his private room at Di Terrestres. Then a video played of her onstage performance that night.
She dropped her wineglass on the floor, the glass shattered on the hardwood, splashing red wine all over everything.
“No, no, no, no...” she whispered to the television as a cold shock completely stilled her. She watched herself on camera, gyrating over Rafael’s lap, her hand reaching down to grab him, before she slid to her knees in front of him. Luckily the video stopped there. But not soon enough to halt the sheer damage that had been done in twenty seconds.
“A source close to the story has confirmed that mayoral candidate Jessica Morgan is also an exotic dancer.”
A source close to the story?
Her cell phone rang. Panicked, she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Ms. Morgan? This is Terrance Beady, Tanya Roberts’s PA from LVTV News, do you have any comment on the sex tape that has been leaked, showing you and Councilman Martinez in a compromising situation?”
“Uh, no, no comment,” she stammered, before hanging up the phone. She looked at the screen. In the seconds that she had been on the phone, she had already missed ten phone calls, and the voice mail notification listed corresponding messages. Still in her hand, the phone rang again. Startled, she tossed it aside. The world had gotten ahold of the most private things in her life, and it was running with it.
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