Deliciously Damaged (Reckless Bastards MC 3)

“Show me some skin! You said nude!”

A wave of nausea hit my stomach but I kept dancing and started to unzip my leather jacket. I was wearing a red tank top underneath. Once that was exposed, I unzipped my jeans

and wiggled out of them, a challenge with my riding boots on but I improvised and put one leg up on the bench, leaning into Marco as I unzipped the first boot and slid out of it—forcing my mind off the myriad of germs on the floor as I set my foot back down—and went to work on the second boot. Once freed, I slipped out of my jeans and danced in my black panties, swiveling my ass into Marco’s face while I pulled off my tank top.

Marco whooped and ran his hand down the side of my body and I turned to face the wall to hide my cringe at his touch. I unhooked my bra and slowly slid it down my arms, holding the cups against my breasts, not wanting to expose them. Marco grabbed my hips and spun me around and the bra slipped from my fingers. I leaned forward, my bare breasts in his face as I straddled him. I started to grind against him, my hips moving with the music, I laid my head back, looked up at the ceiling and tried to stop the tears that were burning in my eyes.

Marco’s hands roved over me as I waited, willing the song to end, but it kept going. I pulled away, climbing out of his lap to remove my panties, when his finger slipped up my leg and rubbed over the fabric of my panties between my thighs. He pressed his fingers harder against me and my whole body shuddered with disgust at his touch.

“You like that, do ya?” he whispered, pressing harder, his fingers searching for the edge of the fabric.

Before I could stop myself, I slapped his hand and then pinned him against the bench with my arm. “You’re done,” I said right to his face. “Show’s over.”

He held up his hands, surrendering, and I released him and quickly started to get dressed.

“You always were a firecracker, weren’t you, Allie cat?” He laughed as I scrambled back into my clothes.

I zipped up my jacket and then, fully clothed, turned back to face him. “Do we have a deal or not, Marco? If not, I’m sure there are other clubs around town that will meet my terms.”

He laughed. “The gig is yours. I just lost my best gal, knocked up.” He said it like it was terminal. “Anyways, come back tonight. I’ll make you the main event. You should easily pull in five hundred or so, more on the weekends of course. You remember.”

I nodded and he vanished from the room, leaving me alone to put my boots back on. I sank down onto the bench and leaned forward onto my knees, trying to catch my breath. It had taken all of my mental resolve to not burst into tears during the dance, but once alone, they were still waiting and started to slide down my cheeks. The whole thing had been so insulting and reminded me of nothing but bad memories from the past. I knew it would be different that night. When on stage, everything seemed more anonymous and there would be security guards in place to keep the pervert guys like Marco from touching me, but I wasn’t sure I would be ready to perform.

Chapter Six

I managed to get myself together and left the club as soon as I got my boots back on. I rode home and immediately took a long, hot shower, desperate to scrub away Marco’s paw prints. My tears were dry, but pieces of my past were shifting in front of me, like a kaleidoscope. When I got out of the shower, I wanted to call someone, to not be alone, but couldn’t think of who to call. No one would understand what I was going through, and if I told anyone what I was about to do, they would all beg for me to change my mind. I was already teetering close to the edge of backing out. I didn’t need anyone else voicing the same concerns that were rattling around my mind.

A glance at the clock told me I only had a couple hours left until I had to be back at the club to perform. I made a salad but couldn’t bring myself to eat any of it and ended up throwing it all down the disposal, which then led to a deep clean of the kitchen just to keep my mind off everything else. By the time my kitchen was sparkling, it was time to leave. I carefully selected what I wanted to wear, threw it into my black messenger bag and left.

I arrived at the club, just as dusk was falling over the city. There was already a group of shady-looking men standing outside, waiting to be let in. I pushed past them.

“Hey, mama! You gonna shake that ass for me tonight?” one of them called out as I opened the door. His buddies cheered, whooping and hollering along. I gripped the handle tightly and mentally counted down, resisting the urge to turn back and say something insulting to them. I looked back and winked before disappearing into the dark club, their catcalls silenced when the door swung shut behind me.

It was surprising how quickly the routine came back to me. I strode to the back of the club, rounded the corner, and entered the backstage area where all the dancers were milling around. There was a wall of lockers on one side of the room and a large mirror on the other side. In the very back of the room was a small bathroom for employees only. At first, no one even noticed me, and I looked over the girls gathered around getting dressed and realized that I didn’t recognize any of them anymore. As far as I could tell, all the girls who had worked here when I was a dancer were gone. I was happy for them, that they had all been able to move on, but there was also sadness as I had been hoping for at least one or two familiar faces to help me get more comfortable.

If that was even possible.

“Allie?”

I turned at the sound of my name and my face lit up, spotting Trudy coming up behind me.

“Trudy!” I stepped forward into her open arms. “Did Marco tell you I was coming tonight?”

“No, but I would recognize that ass and those tats anywhere, girl!”

I laughed. “It’s good to see you.”

She frowned at me. “I would say the same, but girl, what are you doing back here?”

“It’s temporary, I’m running a little short on cash,” I explained, trying my best to play off the severity of my current situation.

She looked like she was about to speak, but stopped short when Marco came around the corner, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Good evenin’ ladies,” he said. Most of the girls barely glanced up at his arrival. “This here is Allie. She’s our new girl.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and I shrugged it away.

“As our new girl, I think we’ll have her go out there first, gets the crowd going. It’s gonna be a good night! Allie Cat, you’re up in five.”