Claiming Menace (Ruthless Sinners MC 5)

“Yes, I’m aware. It was awful the way they died, but...I knew them before any of that happened. Look, I really need this job.” I heard the urgency in her voice, and I couldn’t deny it got to me. I wanted to know why Mr. Brant would suggest that a woman like her should come work in a strip club—a place she clearly didn’t belong. “I’m sure there have been lots of women who’ve applied for the position, and I’m sure they all would do an incredible job, but I give you my word that none of them will work harder than me. I just need a chance to prove it.”

Beautiful. Well spoken. Determined. I liked her, but the woman standing in front of me was no stripper. She was all class and could get a job anywhere, which intrigued me. I was curious as to why she was so desperate for a job. I shouldn’t have cared. It wasn’t my job to care, but I did. I wanted to know just how desperate she really was, so I said, “Okay, let’s see what ya got.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s see the moves. The goods.”

“You want me to strip? Right here? Right now?”

“If you can’t handle that, the door’s right behind you.”

Aubrey turned her head and glanced back at the door, and for a moment, I feared she’d bolt, but she didn’t. Instead, she inhaled a deep breath and slipped off her sandals. Her trembling fingers reached for the buttons of her shirt, and she started unfastening them one by one. Her eyes met mine as she slowly slipped the white cotton fabric over her delicate shoulders, letting it slide down her arms. That’s when it happened. All my good-guy, brotherly instincts went flying out the window, and my cock, which had been completely flaccid all morning long, stirred to life and started throbbing against my zipper. Fuck.

I wanted to look away, to have a moment to collect myself, but I was completely mesmerized as I watched her top drift down to the floor and pool at her feet. She was trying her damnedest to come off poised and self-assured, but I could see that glimmer of insecurity flickering in her eyes. Aubrey was clearly nervous, but she didn’t let that stop her from dropping her hands to her waist and unfastening the button of her jeans. With her baby blues still locked on mine, she lowered the zipper and hooked her thumbs in the waistband. I thought she’d simply stand there and undress, which suited my aching cock just fine, but then she started seductively swaying her hips from side to side, all the while slowly removing her jeans.

Her little show wasn’t like anything I’d expect to see on one of our stages, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t sexy as fuck. It was. There wasn’t a man on the planet who wouldn’t pay a pretty fucking penny to see her on stage, but that shit wasn’t going to happen. Hell, the mere thought of anyone else seeing her so exposed, so vulnerable made my stomach twist into an angry knot. When Aubrey reached behind herself and started to unhook her bra, I was done. I couldn’t take it a second longer, so I held up my hand and said, “Stop.”

“But—”

“I said stop.”

Parker

I couldn’t imagine feeling more mortified as I did standing there in front of the Stilettos’ manager in my bra and underwear. I don’t know what I was thinking going in there—I blamed the other applicants for my unexpected boost of self-confidence. Before going back for my interview, I’d overheard some of them talking about how they hated where they were working. Apparently, they were all tired of being harassed by their manager and hoped working at Stilettos would be the answer to their troubles. They all sounded so certain that things would be different, that they wouldn’t get screwed over working here and would be protected by the brothers. I didn’t know what they were talking about until it was my turn to go back to meet with the manager.

I was standing outside his office when I heard Mazie tell him about the issues she and the other girls had been dealing with at their other job, and he was pretty cool with her. Hearing that he’d help her out of a bad situation made me think Mr. Brant was right to send me here. Maybe these tough, badass bikers might have a good side to them—at least one of them did. I tried to hold on to that thought as I walked into his office and told him I was looking for a job. Sadly, that comforting feeling went flying out the window the second I started taking off my clothes.

I didn’t know the first thing about dancing or stripping. I’d never even undressed in front of a man—at least not in such an open manner, much less stripped for one in broad daylight. I was fairly certain Mr. Oh-so-sexy sitting behind the desk could see that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I was absolutely mortified. It might not have been so bad if he hadn’t been so damn good-looking with his stupid, smoking-hot build and piercing green eyes. He was one of those guys I could imagine seeing from across a crowded room and finding him staring back at me with one of those sultry expressions—like it was taking everything he had not to charge towards me and toss me over his shoulder, then carry me to his bed and have his way with me over and over again.