WIth a Twist: (The Club #9)

by Stratton, M.

  I blinked and shook my head. What the fuck was wrong with me? Did they pump some kind of aphrodisiac through the air vents in here? Shit, I’m a guy, I can get hard if the breeze is strong enough, but damn, no woman has every made me feel like this before. Bringing out both the animal and protector at the same time.

  Suddenly the lights dimmed and she was bathed in a spotlight. I watched in awe as she stretched an arm high above her and grabbed onto the hoop. Gracefully, she was pulled in the air and moved around the hoop like it was nothing. As it started to move out over the crowd, I couldn’t stay hidden anymore. Without taking my eyes off of her and her beautiful erotic moves, I walked through the other people standing around watching her. I needed to be close to her and I didn’t stop until I was under her.

  When she bent backwards over the hoop and started looking around, I almost lost it when our eyes finally met. I suddenly remembered all those fairytales my mom would tell, over and over, when I was growing up. I felt like we were looking into each other’s soul. It was all I could do not to reach my hand out to hers when she reached down for mine. She felt it too, there was no denying it.

  I watched as the hoop moved back behind the bar and lowered her. I didn’t want her out of my sight, but since I knew she also wanted me, I decided to play it a little cool, besides, I needed a moment myself. The last thing I wanted was to fall to my knees in front of her and pledge my undying love. The crowd parted for me as I walked up to the bar. I couldn’t help it, I was excited about the prospect of getting to touch her. I knew what the night was going to hold and I couldn’t help but smile as I walked up to her.

  I held my hand out to her. “Bryant.” When her hand slid into mine, I casually turned it over in my hand and leaned forward and kissed her palm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” With my lips still hovering over her hand, I looked up at her and saw her blush. “And your name?”

  “Starr.” Her tongue darted out and licked her lips.

  “How many men have wished on you, my Little Starr?”

  She mocked me by raising an eyebrow at me. “Like I’ve never heard that one before.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you have.” I gave her wrist another kiss before I stood up and let it go. “But you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

  “And who’s to say I’m interested?” She folded her arms under her chest, heaving them up. It was all I could do not to stare at them.

  “Oh darling, you’re interested. What time do you get off?” There was no way I was going to let her go.

  Her head tipped to the side. “Now that’s a loaded question in this place.”

  “I want to spend time with you.”

  “I don’t do well with demands.”

  “That’s okay, neither do I. Why don’t we go out for a late night dinner when you’re done here?”

  “Hey,” A high pitched, male voice said next to Starr. “This guy bothering you?”

  My eyes narrowed at the man and immediately dismissed him as a threat, there would be no way she’d be interested in someone like that.

  “No, Ricky, I’m fine.” She nodded towards his end of the bar. “You’ve got customers.”

  “So do you.” His voice was filled with venom. “More than him.”

  “Ricky, I’ve got this, go.” My Little Starr narrowed her eyes at the boy.

  There was something primal in me that loved the fact she told him to go away. I wanted her more than I had ever wanted anything else in my life. “Dinner?”

  Her eyes swung back towards me, but I knew she’d give in. She was too intrigued to let it go. I decided to give a little. “Your choice. Anywhere, but it has to be tonight.”

  “It’s against the rules.”

  I frowned. “I thought the only rule was to keep your mouth shut.”

  “For The Club, yes, but I have rules, and one of them is not to date the customers here.”

  “Ahh, but see, here’s the loophole. I’m not a customer, I’m a guest. Now, where would you like to go?”

  “My mama always thought rules were made to be broken.”

  “A smart woman.”

  “She had her moments, however, she always had terrible taste in men.”

  “Which is why you are trying very hard to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me. “Why do you say that?”

  “I’m good at reading people,” I shrugged. “It’s a gift. Now, why don’t we stop all of this banter and you tell when what time you get off of work and where you would like to go?”

  She glanced down under the bar, and for a brief moment, I wondered if there was some kind of panic button there, like I had completely misread everything and she was going to call security on me, but when she looked up and smiled, I knew I was safe. “I’m done in an hour. There’s a diner around the corner, it’s called Up All Night. I’ll meet you there in an hour and a half.”

  “I can wait for you here, and we can go together.” I almost sounded like the love sick puppy I felt like and I wanted to puke.

  “No.” She shook her head. “I’ll be there.”

  I nodded, she wanted to keep a bit more control. That was fine. What she didn’t know, and I was hoping to keep from her for as long as I could, was she was in complete control. I’d give her whatever she wanted, all she needed to do was ask.

  “I’ll be waiting.” I gave her a slight bow and backed away. Turning around, I left The Club. I was going to use the next hour or so to do as much research as I could on my Little Starr. I wasn’t about to lose, and I wanted her. Wanted all of her.

  Chapter Five

  Starr

  The rest of my shift was a blur. I automatically filled drinks and stuffed more and more money into my tip jar. I couldn’t even be excited about the amount of money I was making, Bryant filled my head. Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe the irony of me saying I wasn’t interested in having sex with anyone. The way the man moved, he was pure predator, pure sex on a stick. But I had to give the guy credit, I had tried to see if he was going to be one of those typical males, especially in a BDSM club, that would be focused more on your body than your face. I had to admit I loved the fact he actually talked to me, not at me. Even when blatantly trying to pick me up.

  My shift typically ended before the bar closed. That gave me time to close out my drawer and get out of there before the customers. While there was security all over the place and suits to walk us to and from our cars, since I walked to work, the owners wanted to make sure I was long gone before everyone else. They were good that way, making sure the staff’s security was so important.

  Back in the locker room, I sighed when I took my shoes off. I did take about ten minutes and stuck them in the foot massager they had for us, groaning as it worked the cramps out of them. I tried breathing in and out slowly, focusing on letting the good in and the bad out like mama was always preaching, but it wasn’t working. You ever have one of those times in your life when you knew from this moment forward everything, and I mean every little thing about it, was going to be different? Yeah, that was me tonight. I knew if I went to meet Bryant nothing would ever be the same, but the big question was, would it be for the better, or worse? Did I even want things to change?

  I shut the machine off and stood up, carefully peeled my bodysuit off and put it back in my duffle. My normal clothing caressed my skin like a familiar lover and I stretched the night out of my shoulders. Taking a brush to my hair, I combed the mess out of it and carefully put it up in a high ponytail. Taking a minute to scrub my face clean, I looked back at my reflection and was happy with the person I was and with my life. Knowing that, I felt I was going to be able to handle whatever this night held in store for me.

  When I stepped out into the hall, I was surprised to find Ricky standing there waiting for me. “Hi Ricky.”

  “You’re going to meet him, aren’t you?”

  “It’s none of your business.” I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my arm and stop
ped me. “You might want to take your hand off of me.” I looked him square in the eye and didn’t back down. I had never seen this side of him and I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

  “Sorry.” He dropped my arm like it was on fire. “It’s just I worry about you, Starr. You aren’t like anyone else I’ve ever known, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  I smiled at him, he was really nice, a little socially awkward, but really aren’t we all, to some degree? “That’s okay, I understand, and you don’t have to worry about me.”

  “But I do.” He blinked his big puppy-dog eyes at me. “You don’t know what kind of people are out there. I don’t think I could live with myself if something happened to you and I wasn’t there to stop it.”

  “That’s really sweet, Ricky, but I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

  “You should have someone to take care of you.”

  I shook my head. “No, I can do it all on my own.” My mind drifted to Bryant waiting for me, I thought maybe he’d let me be my own person, but be there to help if I ever fell. At least, I liked to hope so. “You need to get back to the bar, I’ll talk to you later.” I waved and left him standing there and walked out of The Club and into the cool night air.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the stars twinkling above me, part of me wanted to do my own wishing on a star, but I felt too old inside to do something so young. Besides, after so many years of my dreams not coming true, I’d learned that if I wanted them to come true, I had to make them happen on my own.

  My soft footfalls filled the quiet night air as I quickly walked to the diner. I could see him sitting there, waiting for me, his arm resting across the back of the corner booth. His body language was relaxed, but as I got closer, I could see his eyes were always searching, always looking around. I knew he wouldn’t be able to see me until I was much closer, so I took this opportunity to watch him.

  Money, he looked like money. I knew that in the club, but seeing him now, I could tell this wasn’t just a man who had money, this was a man who could make and lose a lot of money and not even blink. The kind mama always warned me about. The kind she told me to run away from. But I want to run to him, not away. I took a step forward into the light coming out of the windows of the diner and his eyes found mine in seconds. Neither one of us broke contact. Here I stood, staring at him through the glass, and his gaze was filled with heat and warmed me on this cool night.

  There could be no going back after tonight. With a nod, I turned and walked towards the door, not pausing, quickly pulling the door open and striding towards my future.

  Chapter Six

  Bryant

  We spent the first half hour on small talk, getting to know each other, biding our time. I loved the sound of her voice and listen to anything she said. Sitting across from her, I was once again taken aback by her beauty, this time she looked so different from the pure sex personified she embraced before. I watched as she casually stirred sugar into her coffee. I was amazed how she could do something so simple, yet it could captivate me.

  As the night went on, we talked of deeper and deeper subjects, argued over politics and laughed at nonsense. I was amazed when I looked out of the window and saw the sky getting lighter. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had stayed up all night talking.

  I leaned on the table, getting closer to her and lowered my voice. “We’re both adults, we know exactly where this is heading. Why don’t we say no more games and get down to business?”

  She mimicked me and also leaned in. “Tell me, Bryant, is that all this is to you? Business?”

  “Do you believe in fairytales?”

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, there’s a change of subject.”

  “Not really, bear with me and answer the question.”

  “No, no I don’t.”

  “Hmmm… now that is strange.” I picked up one of her hands and started playing with her fingers. “I’m going to stereotype genders now, but typically the female is the one who believes in them, even to adulthood, and it’s the male who doesn’t. It would seem in our case, it’s reversed.”

  Starr shrugged. “I wasn’t raised with them. Since I didn’t have the typical childhood, I never had friends growing up to even know what I was missing.”

  “I’m sure it’s different for girls, but for boys, the fairytales were all about the adventure. Slaying the dragon, saving the princess. Even as adults, even though we would never admit it, we still want the adventure, we still want to find our princess and slay her dragons, keep her safe. So what I mean by getting down to business is the fact that I’ve found you, and now I’m looking around for your dragon that I need to slay.”

  “I don’t have any dragons.” She shook her head.

  “Are you sure? It doesn’t have to be your typical evil queen or wizard, maybe it is as simple as getting past the castle walls you’ve built around yourself and showing you it’s okay to let someone in. I’ve been listening to you talk all evening, and you’ve lived alone more than with someone, even when you were with your mother, she was never really there. I can be there for you, but you have to give us a chance.”

  “Do you understand how strange this all sounds? We just met for Christ’s sake. Things like this don’t happen unless…”

  “Unless you’re in a fairytale, or a movie. But really, go on any social media site and ask the question, ‘Does love at first sight happen in real life?’ and I’ll bet good money you will get dozens of stories within the first hour of people who met their spouses and fell in love at first sight, or at least within the first few dates. It does happen, Starr, and it’s happening to us.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “How can you not be sure? Tell me, has anything like this ever happened to you before? I’ll answer for you, no it hasn’t. Close your eyes.” I waited for her to do it and I laced my fingers through hers. “How does it make you feel when I hold your hand like this?”

  She took a shaky breath. “I feel your strength, your conviction, your honesty. My stomach is full of butterflies as I see a future like none I’ve ever dreamed of.”

  “Do you want that dream?” My voice was hushed, her answer meant so much to me.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Then just let it happen.”

  Opening her eyes, she looked deep into mine. “I want to, but I have a request.”

  “Anything.” If I could have her, I’d promise her anything.

  “I need twenty-four hours to think, by myself. Let me get my head around this. I feel like I’ve been blindsided and my heart and head are telling me two completely different things. Give me this time and then we’ll see where this crazy ride takes us.”

  “I know exactly where it’s going to take us,” I growled. I didn’t like the thought of her being up in her head for a whole day. I wasn’t too macho to admit it scared me spitless she would decide not to give us a chance, but I knew I had to give her the opportunity to figure everything out. In the end, there would be no second guessing herself years down the line. “But you can have your twenty-four hours. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven in the morning and we’ll spend the whole day together. Just the two of us.”

  “Thank you.” She slid to the edge of the booth and stood up. “I need to walk home, by myself. My time starts now.”

  I stood up and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close to me while the other cupped her face. Starr Fields, be careful, you are my everything now. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

  “I know.”

  She pulled out of my arms and turned away, walking out the door as the sun broke the horizon and bathed her in morning light.

  As soon as she was out of sight, my cell phone was to my ear, making sure my security team was following her. I didn’t want her running away in the middle of the night like her and her mother had done so many times, and I was sure there were more times than my team was able to find. Not to me
ntion the fact there was no way I would allow her to walk over here in the middle of the night alone, or even walk home without someone there to make sure she was safe. I wasn’t so naive that I didn’t believe in dragons. Dragons still existed, they’ve learned to mask their evil better. Now you could be sitting right next to them and you’d never know it.

  Chapter Seven

  Starr

  I sat there on the couch, twisting my fingers together, and then apart. I’d stand up and pace around, then sit back down again. Only to repeat the whole process over. I’d spent the past twenty-three and a half hours thinking in circles about everything that had happened since I saw Bryant at The Club. He was such a contradiction, somehow I thought he’d always keep me on my toes. And wasn’t that what I’d always wanted? I tried to think back about books or movies I liked, and I was always drawn to the ones where the main characters challenged each other, maybe brought out the best in each other.

  I’d spent a considerable amount of time doing research on the internet. Trying to forget everything mama had ever said about love, and took into account all of her failed relationships. After everything was said and done, what it boiled down to was if I was eighty and I looked back at this exact moment and I hadn’t trusted in Bryant and I hadn’t taken the risk and saw where this went, would I regret it? And the answer was yes, I had to see where this went. Sure, it could burn hot and burn out in days, weeks, months, but my oh my, what kind of days and nights would they be?

  Besides, I had always been an excellent judge of character, my “force” had saved me from getting into a bad situation many times in the past. If he just wanted to have sex with me, he would have tried something the other night, and there was no way he would wait twenty-four hours to see me again. He didn’t seem like the type of guy that ever had to wait for anything.