I let out a little laugh and stand up, fixing my black lingerie. It’s barely covering anything, yet it makes me feel more confident and alive than I have felt in years. “You know I just get a little stressed on free nights. I worry about you girls roaming around where I can’t see you all. That’s all.”
Jade gives me a look as if she wants to say something. She almost looks nervous. She opens her mouth a few times and then shakes it off before starting in on her makeup. “Yeah. I know,” she says softly. “We do fine though. You taught us all well. Stop worrying so much.”
I stand here for a few seconds before I realize that Lily isn’t here yet, or that I’ve seen. The girls usually show up together since they’re roommates. “Where’s Lily?”
Jade nervously clears her throat while walking over to the closet to grab her outfit. “She’s here. She’ll be back in a minute. She’s, ah . . . showing someone around.”
“Alright,” I say softly. She’s definitely acting a bit strange right now and I’m not so sure that I like it. “I’ll see you out there.”
“Sounds good. See you in a few.”
After walking through the door, it takes my eyes a couple minutes to adjust to the dim lighting. The music is playing loud and the room is filled with a light fog so I can barely make out Ash and the other girls dancing at tables for the overly eager dirtballs.
I barely get ten feet into the room before I am called over to a table. Although I’m still feeling a bit off, I shake it off and walk over with a seductive smile.
“Hey, boys,” I say sweetly.
“Mmm . . . very nice.” One of the three men holds up a handful of cash as I lean over and grab his tie, winding it up in my hand. I hear him let out a little moan, so I wrap it tighter and pull myself to him, straddling his chair.
“So you like it rough, big boy?” I yank his hair back and starting moving my hips to the music, grinding myself against his erection.
He bites his bottom lip and gets ready to place his hand on my ass, but I yank his hair as hard as I can, causing him to growl. “Damn, you’re rough, baby,” he says with a hint of laughter. “I would love to see the things you do in bed.”
“That won’t be happening,” a deep, rough voice growls behind me.
My heart instantly drops to my stomach as soon as the words leave his lips. It doesn’t take me having to look behind me to know who it is. I’ve heard that voice a million times before and I’ll never forget it. The only difference is, now it has a deeper edge to it.
“Excuse me,” the guy below me bites out. He lets out a sarcastic laugh and places a possessive arm around my waist. “She’s in my lap. Wait your turn. If it ever comes.”
With my left hand, I choke him with his tie while yanking his head back with my right. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
The guy starts choking and I look back at Hemy to see his fists balled at his sides. I don’t need him to protect me. He has a history of fighting and that’s the last thing that I need him doing right now. He would kill this guy. This douchebag is nowhere even close to Hemy’s huge build.
“Don’t even think about it, Hemy.” I push away from the guy and he starts fighting for air and pulling at his tie. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Crazy, bitch,” the guy chokes out through breaths.
Hemy looks down at the guy with a hard look, so I place my hand across his chest and push him away.
He takes in a deep breath and exhales, his jaw steeled. I can tell he’s fighting really hard right now to keep his control. “I could ask you the same,” he growls. “This place isn’t you.”
“Ha!” I walk away from him, but he keeps following at my heels. “Like you have room to talk. You’re a male stripper. Do I need to remind you of that?”
He grabs my arm to stop me from walking. “Yeah, and I’m a piece of shit. That is the difference.” He turns me around to face him and backs me up against the wall with his arms and body blocking me in. “You are too good for a place like this. What the hell, Onyx? You could get hurt here. I would fucking kill someone for hurting you. Do you get that?”
I find an empty room in the back and push him into it. Then I turn away and fight to calm my breathing.
Neither of us speak for a few minutes.
“What are you doing here, Hemy? How did you . . .” I stop as I put the pieces together. “Damn you, Jade,” I whisper.
I feel the warmth of Hemy’s body as he steps up behind me. A part of me wants to lean into him, but the rational part of me moves away. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Onyx. You’ve been on my mind every day for ten years.” He wraps an arm around my waist and presses his body against mine. It feels good. So damn good. “Don’t tell me I haven’t been on yours,” he whispers, leaning into my ear. “Tell me I’ve been on your mind.” He pushes my hair behind my ear before brushing his lip piercing up my neck. “Say it.”