by K. M. Scott
Of all the costumes they wore, Abbi’s alone seemed sexy to me now. Even the dancers who wore just pasties were nothing next to her. My gut knotted up thinking about her dancing for some of our members even as she seemed thrilled to begin her first night of work.
All my people filed into their break room, and walking in, my very presence there made everyone go silent. All eyes focused on me, as they did every night, but all I could see were Abbi’s blue eyes staring at me from the corner of the room.
“We’ve got some new dancers here tonight, so you veterans keep an eye out for them. If they have any questions or run into any problems, help them out. I’ll be out there like always keeping an eye on things, so those of you who are new I want you to know I won’t let you get hurt. Anyone have any questions?”
One of my dancers who’d been with me for nearly three years raised her hand. I nodded in her direction, and with a silly grin Simone, the dark haired beauty with a body all our members loved asked, “When did you get so nice, Kane? I’m just wondering since last week you didn’t speak to any of us for two days straight and the best we could get from you was a grunt anytime we asked a question.”
A few of the dancers who’d been with me almost as long as Simone laughed and repeated her question.
“Simone, just for that, I’m going to make sure you get stuck in every freaky room,” I said with a smile.
Batting her eyelashes at me, she said in a syrupy voice, “Oh, Kane. You always say the nicest things.”
“Just have a good time tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Remember if you run into any problems, I’m never far away.”
The dancers filed out one by one until the only people left in the break room with me were Gemma and Abbi. Walking toward me, Gemma winked at me, whispering, “You did the right thing. Thank you, Kane.”
Abbi stopped in front of me and looked up with fear in her eyes. “I hope I don’t mess up and make you regret this.”
“Don’t worry about that. You’ll be great. I knew you would from the first time I saw you dance.”
Reaching out, she gently squeezed my forearm right above my wrist, sending a rush of heat over my skin. “Thank you. It’s nice to know you’re watching over us making sure we’re okay.”
“You’ll do fine, Abbi.”
She flashed me a sweet smile and headed out to where Samson had their first assignments as the knot in my stomach tightened its hold on me. Every jealous need to protect her screamed not to let her dance, but I couldn’t stop her now. As long as I watched and made sure she was okay, I could handle this.
Her first room was right down the hall from where I stood every night. Just a few yards away from me a middle aged man with a penchant for young, beautiful blondes sat on a chair he’d dragged close to the window separating him from where she’d dance. I saw in his face how eager he was tonight and instincts normally reserved for the dancers who worked inside the rooms kicked in to high gear. I wanted to grab him by the collar and throw him out of that room before he saw her. I’d met this member before and knew what he used the rooms for.
I watched as the wall lifted and Abbi appeared before him. A pale light washed over her, and the combination of that and her white dress made her look like a goddess. As I watched her, I wanted her. I knew he did too.
Soft music flooded the room, and she began to dance just like she did that first night I sat in a room just like that one and fell in love with how her body moved. Her eyes closed, she looked gentle and innocent and with each moment that passed I got lost in her all over again.
A sudden movement jarred me out of my fantasies, and I saw the man yank his cock out of his pants and begin stroking it. I’d seen this on my monitors thousands of times. Never once had it bothered me before. Now I could barely hold myself back from charging into his room and beating the fuck out of him to show him jerking off as Abbi danced wasn’t okay.
Her first assignment and already I was barely able to contain my jealousy. Fuck. This was a mistake.
But I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the monitor, even as the guy went to town on his dick. Abbi never noticed anything, entirely consumed by her desire to dance. She was pure and sweet, and the man watching her fed on that as he jerked off, no doubt fantasizing about fucking someone just like her.
For fifteen minutes he slid his hand up and down his small cock as he licked his lips at the sight of her so close to him, separated by just a pane of glass. I’d watched people fuck nearly every night for years, and never once had any of it seemed wrong or dirty. This was what my part of Club X was. Sex. Lust. Fantasy. But now as he masturbated to Abbi’s dancing, all I could think was how much I hated watching him do it.
He came with a rush and a long groan, covering the front of his pants and his hand in cum and sickening me, but as I moved my gaze to see if she’d noticed, I saw her eyes still closed and her dancing as if the simple movement of her body to the music made her happier than she’d ever been in her life.
The man’s time in his fantasy room ended, and he cleaned himself up before leaving without a glance more in Abbi’s direction, his fantasy fulfilled. I watched her finish her dance and saw her open her eyes just as he closed the door behind him. For a moment, she looked around the room but then she left, never knowing anything had happened other than she’d danced.
I caught Samson as he walked past me on his way toward the dancers’ break room. “The room you had Abbi in needs to be cleaned before the next person scheduled.”
Looking down at his schedule, he nodded. “Okay. I have a fantasy scheduled in there at the top of the hour, so I’ll get the crew in there. They’re down on the third floor cleaning up after a couple got a little wild with Simone.”
“Wild? She okay?”
“Yeah, nothing she can’t handle. You know her. She likes to get her freak on. They had a thing with flavored oils and some toys, I think. She’s fine. Just needs a shower. The place was a little greasy after them. Thank God they only had a short time. A few hours and we’d have to hose the place down, you know?”
Samson smiled at his joke, and I pretended not to suddenly hate what I did every night. “This is why they pay us the big bucks, right?”
“You know it, Kane. How’s your new dancer doing on her first night? That whole innocent Lolita thing is a huge favorite for a lot of our members. Great recruiting on that. She’s going to have them lining up around the block to get a room with her.”
Samson’s all-too-accurate description of exactly the vibe Abbi gave off made me hate my life even more. “Yeah, she’s doing fine. I’ll keep an eye on her for a while.”
“Good idea. She’s close to Gemma, though, so I bet she’s tough.”
As I tried to pretend I didn’t care about Abbi any more than I did for the other dancers, Samson got to work getting the room cleaned and handling some security issue down at the front door. Normally, I took care of the bouncers. Not tonight, though. Tonight I planned on staying put right where I was in front of my monitors.
I fought the urge to go back to the break room to see Abbi and waited for her to appear in Room 12 for her second assignment that night. Just before midnight, I saw a man and woman stumble into the room and collapse onto the couch. Obviously drunk, they had their hands all over each other, so they’d likely fuck right there as Abbi danced. At least it wouldn’t be some sad old guy jerking off to her.
The music began playing, a far more sexual piece than in her first room, and I watched as the screen lifted to show Abbi standing there with one of the male dancers. I hadn’t paid attention to the list Samson gave me at the beginning of the night because I’d been too preoccupied with Abbi. Quickly, I found it next to where I stood and scanned the schedule to see this assignment was exactly what I hadn’t wanted her doing on her first night.
Reservation: male and female dancers—basic package with erotic dancing
Who the fuck was I kidding? I didn’t want her doing that any night. At least these members only reserved the
basic level so they wouldn’t want anything but dancing.
Behind Abbi, Rhett stood with his hands on her shoulders as she leaned back against him. Nearly six foot, he had short brown hair and brown eyes, but what members loved about him was his body. The man looked like he lived in the gym, and while I’d always appreciated how much in demand he was, especially for bachelorette parties, at that moment I hated him, his look, his fucking abs that made me money whenever he danced, and every inch of muscle that now pressed up against Abbi.
Eyes closed, she slid her hands up to circle his neck, and I watched as his hands slowly crept over her breasts down to her hips. He nuzzled her neck and looked out to flash a predatory smile at the couple in the room who’d stopped mauling one another to watch with rapt attention the scene in front of them.
Rhett knew how to sell sex without actually having it, but that didn’t make the scene in front of me any easier to watch. Turning Abbi around, he began to do something I’d seen him perform hundreds of times before. Sliding his hands under her dress, he slowly lifted it to the tops of her thighs and pulled her into his body.
For the first time, Abbi opened her eyes and looked up at him, clearly surprised at what he’d done. She searched his face for reassurance, no doubt frightened at her first time dancing with Rhett. Why the fuck had Samson put her in there with him on her first night?
Always the professional, Rhett gave her a smile and winked to let her know everything would be okay. Her blue eyes still showed how unsure she was, but I doubted the couple watching them noticed any of what I was seeing. All they likely saw was two dancers giving them exactly what they’d asked for as Rhett knelt before her and lifted her leg onto his shoulder to simulate him going down on her.
If Abbi’s first assignment had made me want to march into the room and beat the hell out of the guy, this one made me want to grab her and take her back to my rooms and never let her dance again. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the night watching her like this.
Engrossed in the torment of seeing her dance with Rhett, I didn’t notice anyone standing in front of me until I saw out of the corner of my eye a hand tap on the counter. Looking up, I saw Cash standing there.
“Hey, what are you doing up here?”
“Nice to see you too. I work here. I used to know one of the other owners, a guy named Kane who used to come to our meetings.”
“What’s up, Cash?”
“I just figured I’d come up and see how things are with you these days. You don’t seem to come downstairs anymore.”
Glancing down at the monitor, I saw Abbi slowly lower herself to her knees in front of Rhett and looked away before the urge to yank her out of there took over.
“I’ve been pretty busy. You know how it is.”
My vague answers might have put Stefan off, but Cash was different. He was like me, so while he might want to respect my desire to keep whatever I was hiding private, his need to make sure I was okay took precedence.
“I do. I’ve been involved in the whole wedding thing, so I understand being busy. I’m just wondering if you’re okay up here.”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I asked as my gaze trailed back to the monitor with Abbi and Rhett.
“I don’t know. Because you’re acting strange?”
I folded my arms across my chest and sat back on the barstool behind me. “Nothing strange here. Just me and my people doing our thing like every other night the club is open.”
“I guess I’m just used to you coming to the meetings. It’s strange when Stefan shows up and you don’t.”
“What meeting are you talking about?”
“The one we had scheduled for this afternoon. I know it wasn’t a weekly meeting, but it would have been nice to have you there.”
Had I known about this meeting? When the hell was it? I drew a blank and shook my head. “Sorry, Cash. I didn’t remember. What did you have to tell us?”
He began to explain about the councilman wanting more perks at the club, but I couldn’t help looking at the room Abbi was dancing for. The couple had moved on from watching her and Rhett to fucking. Obviously, the dancing had done its job, which didn’t make me feel any better about it. The fact that Abbi and Rhett’s erotic dance had been convincing enough foreplay made me more jealous than I thought I possibly could be.
“Kane, did you hear a word I said?”
I looked up to see Cash staring at me with frustration written all over his face. I was used to seeing that look when he talked to Stefan, but not me. Quickly, I tried to guess what he’d said, but I merely stammered out a few words before admitting I hadn’t been listening.
“Sorry, Cash. I’m a little distracted tonight.”
“What’s going on? Who are you watching?”
“Nobody. Just want to make sure everything’s okay in the rooms.”
“Are you expecting a problem?”
“No. Just like to keep on top of things.”
Whatever I thought I looked like, Cash saw right through my act. “What’s going on with you, Kane? Is there something I should know?”
Below on the monitors I saw Rhett’s lips slide down Abbi’s neck and I couldn’t help but stare. Cash came around the desk and followed my gaze to see what I was looking at. Quietly, he asked, “Is that the girl you didn’t think could dance?”
I nodded as I continued to watch her lean back in pretend ecstasy as Rhett slid his hand over her breast. “Yeah. That’s her.”
Cash stood there watching for a few more moments. “Wasn’t she bartending for Stefan?”
“Yeah.”
“So other than the fact that you’ve never been that wrong about a dancer, what’s going on here?”
I tore my eyes away from her and shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Kane, this is Cash you’re talking to. Remember? We’re brothers and partners here, and I like to think we’re friends.”
Letting out a sigh, I hung my head so I didn’t have to face him when I said the words. “I’m doing my best here not to fuck everything up, Cash.”
“Fuck everything up? What are you talking about?”
“She was dancing over at The Carousel Club and I brought her back here to dance for us. I can’t explain why I gave a damn about her, but I did. From the first time I laid eyes on her. I never do this with any of my dancers. You know that. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t let her dance at that shithole.”
Cash smiled and looked over at the monitor before looking back at me. “I don’t think that’s the problem, Kane. You can’t take your eyes off her, and if you clench your fists any tighter, your fingers will be coming out the tops of your hands.”
I realized he was right and slowly opened my hands from the tight fists they’d been in since Abbi had begun dancing with Rhett. Stretching my fingers, I felt an ache travel up through both my palms.
“I thought I could handle it, but this is only her second room and I’m fighting myself from marching down there and carrying her back to my apartment. I’m acting like a jackass. She’s no more mine than anyone else’s, even if she is staying with me.”
“Ah, so that’s what borrowing Olivia’s clothes was about.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to fuck up the club. I think she has a boyfriend or something anyway. Some asshole who beats the hell out of her.”
My hands balled into fists again, and I slowly eased my fingers out of my palms.
“And she’s staying with you? Sounds like that boyfriend is an ex-boyfriend.”
“She doesn’t need me in her life. It’s already fucked up enough.”
Cash patted me on the shoulder and walked toward the stairs. “I think she could do a hell of a lot worse than you, Kane. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“What did you want to talk to me about anyway?” I asked as I watched Abbi and Rhett disappear behind the screen.
“Mason wanting more extras here. He’s becoming more demanding by the day.”
�
�Well, just let me know if you need anything from my area. We aim to serve here.”
Smiling, he nodded. “That we do. See you later, and don’t forget what I said. You’re part owner of a business that makes millions each year. Remember that.”
“What happened to the idea of not fraternizing with the people who work for us?”
My brother gave me a sly smile. “I’m pretty sure that went out the window when Olivia and I got together, don’t you think? Anyway, you’re not like Stefan used to be. I know we won’t end up at some lawyer’s office because of this.” He stopped for a moment and then said, “She must be someone pretty special for you to take a shining to her, Kane.”
Cash left me standing there at my usual post, but no matter what he said, I couldn’t believe Abbi would be better off with me in her life. Whatever I was now because of Club X, my past hadn’t changed and neither had I.
And she didn’t deserve to have to deal with that.
* * *
I RETURNED to Kane’s apartment feeling like I was walking on air. Never before in my life had I experienced anything like how I felt when I danced for the first time. I’d performed as a cheerleader, but that didn’t compare to the exhilaration of standing behind that glass and knowing the men and even some of the women watching me dance were there just to see me. For the first time in my life, I was the center of attention for those few minutes each time. I, Abbi Linde, was the reason they were in those rooms.
Kane had already gotten back before I arrived. Seated in his tiny living room, he looked angry about something. Or maybe that’s how he usually looked and I was just finding that out.
Still excited from my first night of work, I twirled around in my costume and wished he wasn’t so miserable. I’d expected him to say something about what he saw of my performing, but he seemed not to care.
I stopped in front of him and smiled. “Did you see any of my dancing tonight? Did I do okay?”
