Page 62 of Off Limits
My expression reveals my true feelings.
‘Come on now, Serenity. You can’t raise a little smile for me?’
‘You’re running out of time,’ I warn him.
He’s drinking whiskey on the rocks. The glass is balanced on his knee and he’s manspreading. The lights are turned down and he’s put out a simple wooden chair in the center of the room, which I presume is my stage.
‘Kale tells me this is your specialty,’ he comments.
‘Are you gonna give me some music?’
‘Give me a twirl first,’ he says, and I note that he sucks his breath when I show him my almost bare ass.
‘You know,’ he muses. ‘If you didn’t belong to Kale, I’d make you mine, princess.’
‘I’m not your princess. And I’d rather we get this over with.’
His eyes flash at me givin’ him lip. ‘My little cheerleader then.’
I finish my turn and face him. He’s fired a warning shot.
‘Now let’s not be unpleasant,’ he warns me. ‘I paid for a good ol’ fashioned strip tease. So… let’s take it all off, shall we?’
No sooner does he switch on some upbeat music, my eyes glaze over. I remind myself that he’s just another redneck who takes pleasure from watching a pretty girl remove her clothes. I can dance for the man, keep him happy. I can show him my body, and he can look all he likes.
But he can’t touch me. He doesn’t get to have me. And I’ll never give myself to him.
This is just another job. A little titillation. It’s the tease he loves.
I straddle the chair. I make eye contact with a married Brody Conway. I roll my hips and work my body in time with the beat. As the outward layers come off, on the inside I steel myself. I think of Jake, and how I wish I’d given myself to him this evening. How I wish I hadn’t paused when he called me a virgin. Hell, maybe I should have pretended I was, but there’s so much he doesn’t know already that I don’t want to add that to the list.
The truth is I’m scared to be honest with Jake, because as soon as he knows the truth about me, I know he’ll walk away.
There are so many decent girls out there he could talk to, and he thinks I’m one of them.
I want to dance for him like this, then have him sweep me into his arms and take me to bed.
But the truth is I’m dancing for a client. This is my job. I do it for the money.
When the song is almost over, I ease the lace thong from my hips, and it drops to the floor. And, once more, I’m fully naked in Brody Conway’s presence.
When the music comes to an end, he leans forward and gives a slow clap. I stand there in silence.
Brody licks his lips. ‘Do one thing for me?’
I frown. ‘What?’
‘Sit down on the chair for me.’
I turn and go to plant my ass on the chair, but he stops me.
‘No, no, like you did at the beginning. Straddle it.’
I pause, because I know what he wants. The chair has an open back, and he wants me to spread my legs for him.
My jaw clenches. I remind myself that it’s all just for show, though the idea makes my stomach churn. I do as he asks, and his eyes come alive at the sight of my pussy, splayed open for him.
‘So, so perfect,’ he says in a low growl.
