“Hayley!” Candy shouts, but once again, she’s ignored. All eyes are on me and Hayley.
I can feel pressure building behind my eyes. Stupid tears are about to fall and mess up my makeup. I can’t believe I’m letting this bitch have so much power over me, but I can’t help it. Not when she’s highlighted every insecurity I have and rubbed it in my face. Thoughts of Damon enter my mind he said so himself—he held back with me. He wants to fuck me hard, and I don’t know if I can give him what he desires.
What if I can’t and he comes back to Hayley for sex?
The thought sickens me beyond belief.
Bile rises in my throat. This is the last thing I need right now—not when I have to spend an entire evening with people who want to kill me.
“Oh, I’m sorry did I upset you, sweetie?”
When I look up at her, I want to slap that stupid grin off her face. She’s close enough now that I could if I really wanted to.
“Maybe I should just teach you how to suck him off or fuck him better so you can last a little bit longer…since clearly it upsets you to know he’s going to come crawling back to me.” She snickers like it’s the funniest thing ever—and it hurts…it hurts so bad.
I can’t compose myself a second longer. The tears slip from my eyes. I know it’s weak and stupid to cry over something someone says to you, but I just…I can’t.
A large body walks up behind her, and I nearly flinch. The look in Damon’s eyes is sinister. It promises death and destruction.
“You’re fired,” Damon snarls.
Hayley’s eyes go wide before she turns to face Damon. As soon as she sees his face, she takes three steps backward, nearly running into me.
“Y-You don’t…mean that,” she stutters.
“Take your shit and get the fuck out of here!” He looks around at the other strippers. “And you all better get the fuck ready for work or else you can leave too.”
Hayley clutches her purse to her chest and starts crying, but even she’s not stupid enough to stand around and question him. She scurries away, pushing past Damon and through the exit door.
At the softening of his whiskey-colored eyes, I calm down, making the tears stop.
Never in my life did I think I would be happy about someone getting fired—let alone watching it happen right before my eyes. I hide my excitement of her release. I don’t hate many people, but after the things she said to me, I’m confident I hate her.
I want to jump into Damon’s arms and kiss him, but I know better—he wouldn’t allow that, not in front of other people…especially the people who work for him. So, I just clench my fists in my lap and wait for him to say something to me.
“Come on. We’ve got to go,” he orders, an edge to his voice. He doesn’t even give me a chance to respond. He turns around and heads out the door without looking at me. My legs move on his command.
I make sure my dress is in all the right places, covering everything it should be. I catch Candy smiling at me out the corner of my eye as I follow Damon out of the dressing room. I want to thank Candy for all she’s done, but I know I don’t want to speak out of line. I return the smile, hoping when and if I come back, I’ll get a chance.
I can barely keep up with Damon’s fast pace as he makes his way through the club. It doesn’t help my case of keeping up when he’s almost a foot taller than me and I’m wearing heels.
I see some of the men looking at me, their eyes lingering far longer than a moment, and I drop my gaze. I want to hold up a sign that reads Don’t look at me if you value your job or life to warn them to stop before Damon sees.
When we reach the back door, he finally stops, but by then, I’m out of breath. I suck in copious amounts of air, trying to figure out how the hell he isn’t struggling. When he turns around and looks past me, checking if we are alone, I don’t understand why—and then I feel his lips on mine.
His kiss is consuming and steals the remaining oxygen from my lungs. I moan into his mouth at the touch of his hands roaming my body, skimming over the thin material of my dress.
It feels like nothing separates his fingers from my skin.
When he breaks the kiss, I’m even more out of breath than before.
“You look so fucking beautiful. If we didn’t have to see my asshole brother right this second, I would lock us in my office and fuck you until Sunday.”