Burned

by Gabrielle Gibson

  Jack turned away. He couldn’t watch anymore.

  As hot as she looked, as sexy as it was to watch her on that stage, it was pissing him off. He knew they had a job to do, but he still couldn’t stand it. Jessie was better than this.

  He got up and walked out of the bar, his back to the stage.

  Watching Jessie strip had put him in a bad mood and also totally turned him on. He’d never felt so horny and pissed off at the same time.

  A part of him hated to leave her here, but he knew he couldn’t be here every minute she was working anyway. They didn’t know how long this job would take or how long she would be undercover. And there were plenty of bouncers, so if anyone got too out of line, she would be okay.

  JESSIE THOUGHT HER FIRST NIGHT had gone well. She had met and socialized with the other girls. She had listened carefully to the conversations going on around her in the dressing room, putting together who was who and which girls were friends and which didn’t like each other.

  One of the girls, an exotic, dark-haired beauty who went by the name Skye, had befriended her. She had helped calm her nerves, given her advice and complimented her.

  Jessie suspected that Skye might be into girls, as she was definitely checking out Jessie’s body in a way that seemed a little more than curious. Jessie wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Flattered, maybe, but also a little… apprehensive.

  Her first time on stage had been as successful as she could have wanted it to be. She had been so nervous but she thought she’d done a good job hiding it.

  Jack watching her had made her the most nervous of all. She had tried not to look at him, but she hadn’t been able to help it.

  He had watched her from his table, his eyes roaming all over her. His facial expression had never once changed, which was so like Jack. He had seemed unfazed, even when she was practically naked, doing the stripper routine Savannah had taught her.

  She had noticed him get up and leave and she had swallowed her disappointment.

  Wow. He could have at least stayed through one set. Maybe it was too weird for him. But not likely. Jack didn’t get weirded out by stuff like that. More likely he was bored. She doubted there was anything about her novice performance that would be very exciting for him, considering he was practically a strip club connoisseur.

  She changed back into the cute pink and white dress she’d worn to the club and got all of her things together.

  She walked outside to the parking lot where Jack was waiting for her in the black SUV that they had rented. She opened the back door and threw her bag in and then climbed up in the passenger seat.

  “Hi.” She gave him a shy smile as she pulled her seat belt on.

  “Hey.” He barely looked at her.

  He pulled the car out of the parking lot, heading back to their hotel.

  “How was your night?” Jessie asked.

  She thought he looked irritated.

  “Fine. How was the rest of yours?” he answered, his voice steady.

  When he’d left Blow, he had gone to another strip club. He’d had a few more drinks and gotten a lap dance from a stripper with long legs and serious daddy issues.

  She’d whispered to him during the dance that if he wanted to fuck her like the dirty girl she was, she would meet him after she got off work. Considering how hard his cock was as she was grinding against him, he had almost agreed.

  He’d ended up declining her extremely tempting offer. He had to make sure Jessie got safely back to her hotel room. She came first.

  “Fine,” Jessie said flatly. “I made a lot of money. The other girls said that I did really well for my first night.”

  She laughed and dumped the roll of money, secured with a rubber band in the console next to her.

  They rode in silence for a few minutes.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Jessie asked.

  Jack didn’t answer.

  “Really? No comments, opinions, thoughts?”

  She felt annoyed. Was he purposely trying to make her feel bad?

  He sighed. “What do you want me to say, Jessie?”

  “What did you think? How did I do?”

  He sat quiet, concentrating on the Strip, which was still packed despite the fact that it was almost three o’clock in the morning. Las Vegas was pumping almost all of the time.

  “Okay, fine. Forget it,” Jessie sighed. “I guess it would kill you to say something nice to me.”

  “What could I say that you didn’t already hear a hundred times tonight?” Jack rolled his eyes.

  “I want to know what you thought. I don’t care what other people said.”

  Jack shrugged. “Are you insecure or on an ego trip?”

  “Neither,” Jessie answered him. “I was just curious what you thought. It’s a simple question. I don’t know why you’re making a big deal about it.”

  “You know what I was thinking. You just want to hear me say it.”

  There was no way he was going to tell her how horny and pissed off watching her dance on that stage had made him.

  “No. I don’t know. I never know what you’re thinking. But never mind. I don’t even care anymore.” Jessie sighed in frustration. The man was impossible.

  “So what was it like?” Jack asked. “Dancing and stripping on a stage in front of all those dudes.”

  “I don’t know. Scary at first. But then… kind of… I know it sounds weird, but I felt kind of… sexy. I never felt like that before.” Jessie glanced at Jack but he looked indifferent.

  “You never felt sexy before?” His voice was tight.

  “No, not really. I don’t think of myself as sexy. Cute, maybe.”

  Jack was quiet for a minute. How could this girl be so clueless about how others saw her?

  “So did you get off on it?” Jack smirked.

  “What?” Jessie looked confused.

  “All the attention. All those guys watching you, getting their dicks hard, knowing that they all wanted to fuck you.” Jack sounded pissed.

  “Of course not! I thought they were gross! How could you ask me that?”

  “Sure seemed like you were enjoying it. You looked horny enough, grinding all over the fucking place. Looked like you couldn’t wait to bend over and get hammered by a big cock.” Jack’s voice was hard and angry.

  “Gross! I hate when you talk like that, Jack! I was acting—playing a role! You know that. Plus what do you care? Thought you would love to see me like that… you and Sean are always hanging out at strip clubs. You’ve hooked up with enough strippers. Suddenly you have a problem with it?”

  “I don’t have a problem with it in general. I just have a problem with you doing it,” Jack clarified.

  “Oh! Okay. And why is that?” Jessie was defensive.

  “I just… don’t like seeing you like that. It’s not… you.”

  Jack wasn’t about to tell her that he hated seeing her exposed like that in front of all those men. Hated knowing that they were imagining fucking her. Hated that they were seeing her practically naked when that privilege should be reserved for someone special.

  He certainly wasn’t going to tell her how hard his dick had gotten watching her like that. The confusion he felt at hating it and loving it at the same time was something he wouldn’t know how to explain even if he wanted to.

  Jessie tried not to feel hurt. It was ridiculous.

  So Jack didn’t think she had what it took to be a good stripper? Big deal.

  Obviously he didn’t think she was sexy enough to pull it off. She stayed quiet and looked out the window. Why did it bother her so much? Who cared what Jack thought?

  “How did you know how to swing on the pole like that?”

  “Savannah taught me,” she answered shortly.

  They didn’t say anything else for the rest of the drive back to the hotel.

  Once there, Jack walked her to her room. They were both staying at The Mirage, but Jack had insisted on separate rooms this trip. He thought it wa
s too risky for them to stay together this time.

  For more than one reason.

  Jessie slid her key card in the slot and pushed the door open. Jack stood there, looking down at her.

  “Do you want to come in? I’m too pumped up to go to sleep right away. We could watch a movie or something. Order room service? I’m starving!” Jessie looked up at him, her pretty blue eyes almost tempting him inside her room.

  Almost. Not quite.

  Hanging out with Jessie had, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, become one of his favorite ways to spend his free time. But tonight he was too worked up. He wasn’t willing to risk what might happen if he went inside that hotel room with her.

  He shook his head. “Not tonight, princess.”

  “Other plans?” Jessie asked, keeping her tone light.

  She didn’t know why she asked. She really didn’t want to know.

  Jack shook his head.

  “Yeah, right. Who’s the lucky girl?” Their eyes met and Jack’s expression was indifferent.

  “No one. Seriously, I’m just tired.”

  Jessie nodded. “Well… hope you sleep well.”

  “You too. We’ll catch up tomorrow. Lock the door behind you.” He leaned toward her and kissed the top of her head and then he was gone.

  Chapter Fifteen

  JACK LOOKED UP AT THE stage. He had purposely avoided watching Jessie dancing to Cherry Pie, although he couldn’t help himself from glancing at her every so often.

  She was dressed like a sexy little schoolgirl for this set.

  It reminded him of the costume she had worn last Halloween. Looking at Jessie in that outfit all night had gotten him all kinds of worked up. So much so that he’d picked up a girl that very night wearing a similar outfit and fucked the hell out of her, shamelessly fantasizing about Jessie the whole time.

  As her set ended, an unbelievably hot brunette took the stage, catching Jack’s eye.

  Jessie and the girl seemed friendly. In fact, the brunette took Jessie’s hand and pulled her back to the front of the stage. Jack watched with interest as the girl wrapped her arms around Jessie.

  He watched, breathless, as the brunette pressed her lips against Jessie’s, kissing her. He saw their tongues touch as their kiss deepened and the crowd burst into applause, with guys hooting and hollering.

  The brunette gently swept her hands over Jessie’s breasts and bent down and sucked a nipple into her mouth. Jack’s cock felt like it was going to tear through the denim of his jeans as he watched every swirl of the girl’s tongue around Jessie’s erect nipple.

  It was so fucking hot watching Jessie make out with a girl. His cock was so hard and throbbing that it was painful. He was in a trance as the brunette gently pulled Jessie to the floor of the stage and hovered over top of her. They kissed and grinded together for a minute or two. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything hotter.

  The crowd was going crazy and money was flying. The entire interaction lasted no more than a couple of minutes before they stopped and Jessie left the stage.

  Jack came back to his senses and remembered what he was doing there. He had to talk to Jessie. Now. Discreetly.

  He had scoured through all of Sasha’s emails and found out that one of the other girls working tonight, Amber, had done a private party with Sasha at Isaac Moss’ house a month and a half before she’d gone missing.

  According to Sasha’s journals, Isaac Moss was a sick mother fucker, but he had provided her with more money than any of her other regular customers. She had written about him at length.

  Suran De Silva had divulged to Jack that Sasha planned to write a book someday, chronicling all of her adventures as a Las Vegas stripper. That was why she kept journals, documenting the most interesting stories so she could use them later in a juicy, tell-all book.

  Sasha’s most recent journal revealed that Isaac Moss had hinted to her that another dancer he had been interested in years ago had not shown him the proper appreciation for his attention and money, and she had been punished accordingly. Sasha wrote that it had scared her.

  She hadn’t mentioned it to any of the other girls, though. Isaac Moss preferred Sasha, but he was a good tipper to all of the girls and there was fierce competition among them. A regular like Isaac Moss was something just about all of the girls would fight dirty for. Sasha was afraid to reveal anything, lest one of the other girls use the information in an attempt to lure Isaac away from her.

  Jack wanted Jessie to cozy up to Amber and see if she could find out anything from her. Maybe there was something she could remember that might help them find this guy. So far Jack’s attempts at getting an address on him had proved fruitless.

  He couldn’t send her a text. There were only two sets left in the shift and there was no way to guarantee she would check her phone.

  The club didn’t let the dancers spend time talking with customers unless they had paid for a private dance. Even then, the dancer was required to actually dance. This was the club’s way of trying to prevent prostitution. It didn’t prevent anything of course, but the club could claim they had taken steps to curb illegal activities.

  Jack let the waitress know that he’d like to get a private dance with “Ashley” and she nodded, taking the money he handed her.

  A few minutes later, Jessie approached him. She knew he must need to tell her something. Otherwise he would have never asked for a private dance.

  He followed her down a hallway and into a small room. She had already told him that the private dance rooms were monitored by management with video surveillance to make sure no sex was going on.

  She opened the door and led him inside.

  Jessie started to get nervous as he sat down in the chair in the middle of the room. Jack could tell by the way she was fidgeting with her skirt.

  She walked over to a control panel and pressed a button. A slow, rock ballad song came on, and she came and stood in front of him.

  He avoided looking in her eyes as she started moving slowly. She ran her hands down his arms and across his back as she circled around him in a sexy dance as music poured from the sound system.

  “That was so fucking hot,” he whispered. “Was that planned?”

  Jessie looked at him questioningly. “What?”

  “Making out with that chick. What’s her name?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, Skye. No, it wasn’t planned.” Jessie smiled shyly.

  She removed her skirt and top and continued to move seductively in front of him in her bra and thong.

  Jack cleared his throat. “Did you… did you like it? I mean, was it real or just for show?”

  Jessie blushed. “That was to get the crowd going so Skye makes more money during her set. I’m not a lesbian, Jack.”

  “I know that. But did it… turn you on?” His eyes skipped down between her legs, wondering if making out with another girl had gotten her pussy wet.

  He felt himself start to get hard again at the thought of Jessie and the hot dancer with their faces buried between each other’s legs. What he would give to watch that.

  “It was… interesting,” Jessie said.

  Jack caught his breath.

  “She’s a good kisser and her touch is really nice… soft. I think she’s bisexual. She might have a crush on me.”

  Jack stared at her. “Fuck. I’d love to watch the two of you go at it.”

  “I guess Skye is your type. She has that look you like.” Jessie looked away.

  Damn. Why the hell was he talking about another girl right now? Couldn’t he just let her have her moment? She was dancing around him practically naked and he was barely looking at her.

  “Fuck yeah, she does. She’s hot as hell,” Jack agreed.

  Jessie felt the familiar pang in her chest.

  “I wouldn’t hook up with her, Jack,” Jessie sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “Why not?” Jack asked. “You just said you liked it.”

  “Because I’m not interested in casual sex. Not
with anyone, guy or girl. Plus I don’t think I would want to go any further with her than what we just did.”

  His eyes were all over her. He couldn’t believe how sexy she was right now. His head was spinning he was so turned on.

  Jessie watched Jack’s face, looking for some kind of reaction. He seemed indifferent and in control, as usual. If it wasn’t for the heated look in his eyes which were practically burning holes into her skin, she would have thought he was immune to seeing her this way. But those blue eyes told a different story.

  She was giving him a more enthusiastic version of the private dance that Skye had taught her to do in the dressing room. Skye had performed the dance on her a few times and then had Jessie practice it on her.

  So far, she had managed to avoid having to do any private dances, by charging the highest price allowed and making it clear that she refused to do anything outside of the rules. The couple of times she hadn’t been able to talk them out of it, she had feigned a stomach ache so she wouldn’t have to do it.

  Jack let out a harsh breath as he watched, his cock hard and thick already.

  Jessie looked in his eyes, which were dead serious, no trace of their usual joking and teasing. She reached behind her to unhook her bra.

  He was breathing heavily as she pressed her hands over her breasts to catch the bra as it loosened from her body. Slowly, she removed it, one strap at a time, watching his expression as he looked from her eyes, down to her breasts, back up to her eyes, and down again.

  She moved closer, straddling him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. Her breasts were only inches from his face and he could smell the coconut-scented lotion that she sometimes used.

  She sat down in his lap, grinding herself against his erection through his jeans. She leaned forward.

  “So, what’s up?” she whispered.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Jack said, his voice low. “Actually, I would prefer if you didn’t.”

  “Liar. Thought you said you didn’t like seeing me do this. Thought you said I wasn’t any good at it,” she whispered, making a point to press harder against his throbbing cock as she spoke.

  He met her eyes briefly before looking away without responding.