The pair stopped to be vetted by the head bouncer that evening for the VIP rooms. After learning from Asher, Petey was as tough as nails when patrons entered the secluded area. Wearing his usual bad-boy getup, that was enhanced by his very muscular tattooed arms, he only had to focus his midnight-blue eyes on someone to instill fear, demand respect, and maintain decorum. Sienna watched him frisk the very willing man before arranging terms and explaining the code of conduct, taking his credit card for safekeeping, and opening a tab for time with her girl.
This was part of the life, and thankfully at the Tunnel there was absolutely no funny business when it came to the dancers performing one-on-one for the customers. With high-tech security cameras and the toughest bouncers in the business all over the club, customers couldn’t get away with anything raunchy or disrespectful.
Sienna had done a lot of lap dances—with no touching—in her short career on the floor before Asher had said it was enough. When Asher saw how customers gravitated to simply watching her perform, he determined there was no reason to ever place Sienna on the floor. When her stage persona clearly became the main draw to the club, Asher started paying her even better than he had been to simply dance.
She knew it was both a personal and a business decision. Asher was well aware how difficult it was for her to work the floor, but he also realized the benefits of Sienna dancing exclusively. Her shows brought customers back over and over again, while being good for the other girls on the floor. Following her stage numbers, the floor dancers were flooded with requests for lap dances. There was no denying Sienna was the draw, and limiting her to the big stage only amplified her pull.
Sienna never worked the private rooms, though. She refused to enter a space where she was alone with a customer, ever, even before she was famous. Asher understood this and never pushed it, even without knowing the entire reason. He seemed to sense that being in one of the rooms would push Sienna over the edge.
Years ago when Asher had first approached Sienna about getting on the stage, he’d rubbed his hands soothingly up and down her arms. “Sie, doll, you know I’m never going to make you go back there to those rooms, don’t you? I just think you should dance, and make more money. That’s it.” It was his gentle, assuring way with her that helped her find the path to a brand new identity, one that saved her life.
These days, there was absolutely no reason for Sienna to do anything she didn’t want to, now that she was an owner. An owner. It might not be what she dreamed of when she was a little girl, but she was a part owner of the Tunnel.
If my destiny was to be a stripper or strip club owner, so be it. Safety first.
Sienna was living life on her own terms, which was why she had no reason not to allow herself to head out early upon occasion. She was confused by her fixation on the dark-haired man, who only watched her and seemed immune to the sexual hum of the club, and she needed some time to herself, to appreciate what she did have and not what she was missing.
Like a gorgeous, dark, brooding hunk.
AS SIENNA exited the club Thursday night on Big Mike’s arm, unconditional love and affection emanating from the big bruiser in his running pants and matching warm-up jacket, she thought about her new family—Asher, Petal, Sydney, Penelope at the Meow, and her sweetie, Mike. It was more than she could ask for to have five people so intimately involved in her life.
Sienna had dreamed of having a big family with a bunch of kids when she was younger. When she ran away from the only family she’d ever known, she’d expected to be alone for the rest of her life, but she wasn’t. And for this, Sienna was grateful. The gang might not be much, but they were all she had.
Mike was the one who had surprised Sienna the most. He sort of crept into her life, and now was permanently fixed as her biggest fan and buddy. Not only did he take Sienna out when she needed to venture outside her house or the club, but he walked her to the club’s town car each evening.
Asher didn’t like Sienna driving herself to and from the club. When the billboard went up two years ago, he put an end to Sienna coming and going on her own. Tuesday through Sunday, Asher sent a town car to pick up Sienna, and then the same driver would return her home safely. Typically, Sienna found herself hanging on to the elbow of Petey or Mike, who escorted her out the well-lit back entrance to the Tunnel and deposited her safely into the soft, luxurious leather backseat of a town car. Like tonight.
The time each night when she was escorted out was special. It was something she looked forward to, relished even. It was a quiet moment when she truly connected one-on-one with another person.