One Dance for Case (Possessed 2)

Nope, she was tearing up, and that pissed him off even more.

He was struggling for control. His mind and heart were fighting an inner battle over not wanting to hurt her but wanting to cause as much damage as possible to her boss.

“Case?” He heard the warning in Ace’s tone. Again.

“I’m cool,” he finally answered. It was a lie, but for her, he would cool it.

“I told you, Evelyn, I didn’t want him in here.” Hardy’s whiney voice was getting on his nerves again.

“It’s not like I invited him,” she softly defended. “Besides, you should have let me change. We’ve been over this shit, Hardy. I don’t understand why you keep making me do this ridiculous shit.”

“You made her come out here like this?” There was no mistaking the menace in his tone.

“That isn’t your business, boy.”

“The fuck it ain’t!”

“Casey, please?” Why’s she gotta beg like that? He cursed inwardly. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t give the woman, but this shit was too much. He wasn’t about to back down when he knew how uncomfortable she was.

“She doesn’t come out like this no more.” He nailed Hardy with an unbreakable glare. “She doesn’t fucking like it.” He wanted to hammer his point home.

“I feel a sense of déjà vu,” the other stripper pointed out with a laugh.

“Pixie, hush,” Ev plead.

“It’s true,” she mumbled crossing her arms.

Case was glad to see she had someone in her corner, even if she was a smart ass. “Casey?” Looking down into her tearful gaze, he knew he was done fighting. It was going to eat at him, but he knew he was done.

For now.

“I’m finished for the night,” she stuttered. “Could we, ummm, get coffee?” Her cheeks flamed in what he thought might be embarrassment. Whether from asking him out or from the whole situation, he wasn’t sure.

Tilting her chin with his finger, he searched her gaze as he asked her, “How about dinner instead?” Her eyes lit up like the Eiffel tower at his reply.

“I’ll go get changed,” she whispered before grabbing Pixie’s hand and darting to the back of the club.

Turning back to Hardy with a stone-cold face, he and Ace towered over the man. He backed up at the intimidation just as his own two bouncers came to cover his back.

They didn’t scare Case off, though. He and Ace just shared a look that screamed of their amusement. “You’re not gonna make her do any more shit like this again, Hardy.”

“You can’t control that buster,” he blustered back.

Taking a step closer, he got as into the other man’s space as he could without standing on him. “She’s not a fucking toy or a damn hooker, and frankly, I thought this place was better than that. So yes, I can and will control that. Whether I’m here or not.”

Having had enough of this shit, they both turned and walked towards the front of the club to wait on Ev. “Guess I’ll be finding my own way to the hotel,” Ace joked.

“Damn girl, that boy’s got a hard-on for you!” Ev blushed at Pixie’s crude words, secretly hoping they were true.

“It’s nothing,” she told her friend modestly as she changed into her street clothes. She needed to get away from the depressing atmosphere of the club. She still couldn’t believe she’d asked Case on a date. Or a sort of date anyway. She’d never been so bold before.

Suddenly serious, Pixie clasped both of her hands. “You be careful with him, you hear? He looks like he could eat you up and spit you out in the same breath.” Ev nodded at her warning. “Not that I think he will. Men don’t claim ownership like that unless they’re in it for the long haul. Just remember to take care of you first, all right?”

“I promise.” All her fears summed up in one short sentence made their pseudo-date seem even more ominous.

Finished dressing, she bid the other girls a quick goodnight before going to meet Casey out front. The short walk was filled with doubt that she was dressed like a slob in her tank top covered by a baggy sweater, plain black leggings, high-top chucks, and hair up in a messy bun. She certainly wasn’t dressed to impress. Her nerves were in high gear, too, making her fingers fidget with the frayed edges of her sweater.

Getting her first glimpse of him standing by the exit with his friend, she was enamored with his raw beauty. She had never thought of a man as beautiful before, but he was. His messy I just crawled out bed hair down to his cocky, casual lean against the door with his arms folded in front of him and one foot pressed to the wall was driving her crazy. His strong jaw held a confident smirk, and his eyes—Lord have mercy, his eyes—she could get lost in their dark abyss any day. They told a story of deep struggles and hard emotions. She knew from one glance into them that when he loved, he would love hard.