Dark Desire: A Paranormal Romance Novella (The After Dark Series, Book #1) (2 page)

****

Unsettled by her nightmare, Juliet
attempted to get ready both physically and mentally before going to the club as
scheduled on Friday.  She wondered if her strange dream meant anything, but
shook it off when she met Veronica at the club.  They walked down the long hall
toward the dressing rooms and entered one room where three girls were getting
dressed in stage outfits and fixing their makeup in the mirrors.  One had
short, curly, blonde hair and wore the sparkly G-string that Veronica showed
her before and nothing else.   The second had artificially bright red hair and
a small dragon tattoo that went over her shoulder and down her back—she wore
red-tasseled pasties.  Red grabbed the pink boa and flung it around her neck as
she leaned in toward the mirror to apply a generous coat of bright red
lipstick.

“Howdy,” said the third girl with
long, brown hair as she looked over at Veronica and Juliet.  The fringe on her
gloves swayed when she adjusted her cowgirl-style bikini.  

“Hey, girls. How’s it going?”
Veronica greeted them cheerfully.  She nudged Juliet forward, who was standing
beside her.  “This is Juliet—she’s Crystal’s replacement.”

The cowgirl smiled and winked at
her.  “Hey there, Juliet.  How you doing?  I’m Dixie.”  Juliet smiled at her
and the others. 

“Hi, Juliet.  I’m Stacey,” said Red. 
Now she could put a face, among other things, with the name.  “Are you starting
tonight?”

“Yes.  I’m a little nervous though. 
I’ve never worked as a… a dancer before.”

The blonde stepped forward. “Oh
honey, don’t sweat it.  You’ll be alright.  Everyone gets the jitters on their
first time out. I’m Ginger, by the way.”

Juliet listened to the girls as they
gave her the rundown of a typical night at Bailey’s Cove, each one embellishing
the others’ advice.

“You see, Juliet.  You’ve got your
pervs, spenders, and partiers.  Everyone wants the spenders because that’s
where you can make the most cash,” said Ginger with a smile.

“Yeah.  And the partiers are fun. 
They pay pretty well too, especially if you get a large group from a bachelor’s
party.  It’s no big deal.  You just have a little fun, dancing and providing
some excitement for the groom,” explained Stacey.

“But, nobody wants the
pervs
. 
Stay away from those if you can.  They are the creepy ones that come around and
sit for hours, just staring.  I had a perv follow me out to the parking lot a
few months ago.  Thank goodness Jim saw him and stopped him.”  Dixie turned
back to the mirror and began reapplying her lipstick.

“Who’s Jim?”

“Oh, sorry about that, Jim is one of
the bouncers.  He helps keep things under control if someone gets out of line
with one of us.”

“That sounds dangerous.”  Juliet
shifted nervously as she imagined what types of things could happen in the
club. 

“Well, it looks like we’re on now, so
we’ll see you out there.” Stacey smiled as she and the others sashayed out of
the dressing room.

As Veronica and Juliet entered the
hall, Gerald walked up briskly.  His expression was stern and demanding.  “Make
sure you take her up front and go over the club rules.”

Veronica nodded. “I did, but I wanted
her to meet Jim.”

“Okay, but hurry up.  We’re about to
open and you two need to be ready.”

Veronica quickly led Juliet down the
hall, past the stage and over to the entrance of the club where a large man
stood wearing a black T-shirt with
Bailey’s Cove
written across the
chest. His arms were folded and he had a mean expression carved into his face. 
Juliet thought he fit the part of a bouncer and was glad to see him standing
there.

“This is Juliet; she’s starting
tonight.  I thought I would bring her by to meet you.”

Jim looked at Juliet and simply
nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“Um, well anyway, we’re running out
of time. Let’s go get ready,” Veronica chirped as she guided Juliet back to the
dressing room.

Chapter
Three

Veronica suggested that Juliet use
some of the extra stage costumes until she was able to buy her own.  Veronica
handed Juliet the school girl uniform and she put it on.  Juliet felt silly as
she peered at her reflection. 

“You’ll be with me, working the
customers today, until it gets too busy.  Gerald likes us to interact with
them, to get them to buy more drinks.”

Juliet took in a nervous breath.

“If you have to, just pretend you’re
someone else.  Make up a stage name if you want—half of the girls do.” 
Veronica looked at her for a moment. “What do you think?”

Juliet thought it might be a good
idea to use an alias. “Hmm, how about Delilah?”

“Okay, sounds good to me.  Come on;
just follow my lead,” coached Veronica.

They walked out to the main area. 
Several men were seated at tables, and a few couples sat at the bar while music
piped loudly through the club. Stacey and Ginger were coiled like snakes around
the poles, and Dixie danced seductively at the end of the stage.  Veronica
approached a large table of men, putting an extra sway into her hip, and
blazing a flirtatious smile. Juliet followed her, trying not to appear nervous.

“Hey, baby.  I haven’t seen you
around here before,” said a guy sitting nearby who looked as if he recently
came from an office meeting.

“These guys are regulars,” whispered
Veronica.

The man pulled Juliet toward him. 
Her natural reaction was to push him away, but she forced herself not to
respond with repulsion.  Veronica interjected on her behalf.  “Delilah is new,
so go easy on her.”

“Go easy on her, huh?” laughed
Business Guy as he released Juliet.  “Okay, okay, baby I will.” 

After a couple of minutes of talking
with the men, they left and went over to the bar to interact with other
customers.  Juliet glanced over in the bouncer’s direction and watched how he
kept an eye on the club.  His gaze was skilled and focused as he scanned the
club’s patrons.

After a couple of hours, the bar
became busier and Veronica told Juliet it was time to go up on the stage. 
“Don’t worry.  I’ll go up with you.”  Veronica and Juliet went around the back,
past another area that she hadn’t noticed before.  Long, blue, sparkly curtains
covered the entryway of four secluded rooms.  She paused next to one and peered
inside, spying a large plush sofa that curved against the wall.

“That’s the private area for
requests.”

“Requests?”

Veronica pointed at the room. “Right
now they’re empty, but in a little while, they’ll fill up.  These rooms are for
private dancing.”

Juliet felt a lump in her throat as
she wondered how safe it would be to perform a private dance for someone. 
Veronica noticed her expression.  “Don’t worry; it’s totally fine.  As a matter
of fact, you can make a lot of money doing a private session.  Usually, they’re
for spenders and parties.”

Veronica continued to lead Juliet
near the back entrance of the stage.  Another set of music began to play and
she approached the curtains to go out onto the stage.  Juliet attempted to let
her feelings of anxiety go as she followed Veronica.  Stacey and Dixie were
gone, but Ginger remained.  She looked over at Juliet as she emerged onto the
stage and winked at her.

The music’s rhythm thumped loudly and
filled the club like a heartbeat.  She walked over to the end opposite Veronica
and closed her eyes for a moment.  Slowly, she moved in time to the music, as
she imagined herself dancing alone in her bedroom.  Her imaging technique
helped Juliet release some of her nervous energy.  She opened her eyes, and
noticed that although the club was busy, not all eyes were on the stage.  Some
people were in groups talking and laughing at tables.  Others were at the bar,
watching and drinking.  Several men had tables right next to the stage, and
those men watched more closely.  Juliet closed her eyes again and the music
flowed through her.  She tried to let go and envision the music as a lover’s
touch, caressing and embracing her. 

“Hey, Delilah,” said Business Guy,
reaching up to her and offering some money.  She leaned closer to him and he
placed the cash in the strap of her top.  His hand lingered and the urge to
retreat spread over her, but she forced herself to ignore it.  To her relief,
he paused barely a moment longer and left.  As she continued to dance, other
men were occasionally drawn to her and gave her money.  Each one wanted to
touch her, but she carefully remained beyond their reach.  Strategically, she
moved so they could only get close enough to give her the money.   

She felt grateful when her shift
ended an hour and a half later.  Juliet walked back to the dressing room and
changed.  She gathered her tips together and counted them out. To her surprise,
Juliet had earned more in one night than an entire week at the diner! 

After collecting her personal items,
she quickly headed home to relax.  Once there, she took a long shower to wash
off the club and everything about it.  The evening had taken a big toll on her
emotionally, so Juliet collapsed on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

In her dreams, the dark stranger
returned from the shadow, reaching out to her mentally.  Sensing his
intelligence with a connection to her mind, Juliet felt a heightened sense of
transformation on the horizon. How it would happen she had no clue, only that
he would be part of it.  His beautiful, almost frightening, blue eyes shone for
a moment in the shadow before fading away. 

****

The start of the day was rough for
Juliet as she finished her classes for the term.  Her dreams were beginning to
haunt her in the daytime now.  Images of the dark stranger came to her from out
of nowhere.  Slowly, they had become clearer and more frequent over the last
few weeks.  Assuming it was a wishful fantasy, she pushed the strange
occurrences aside.  It had been a month since she started working at the club. 
She was able to find a way to push herself to perform, even though it remained
difficult.  

Juliet was scheduled again for that
evening at the club.  On the drive over, she decided to tell Gerald she would
no longer be working there after next week.  She had finally paid off her
school balance and her classes were through.  Although it had been difficult
for her at times, she couldn’t deny that the money had made it possible for her
to finish school.  She took a deep breath before entering the club, as she
always did, trying to mentally toughen herself up for the evening. 

Jim stood next to the club entrance
like a giant, brick wall.  Juliet said hi to him as she walked past and headed
to the dressing room to put on her stage outfit. She applied some makeup to
complete the look.  She walked down the hall and overheard a heated
conversation between Dixie and Gerald.  “I told you to please the customer!  I
don’t care what you have to do—
just do it
!”

“I can’t do it,” Dixie protested.
“Do it or you’re fired.”

Dixie silently turned away from
Gerald and hurried down the hall toward Juliet with tears in her eyes.  She
said nothing as she walked past her into the dressing room.  Juliet wanted to
console Dixie, but wasn’t sure what to say.  She was concerned about the way
Gerald had spoken to Dixie and worried that he would treat her the same. 
Reluctantly, she left the dressing room and headed toward the stage.  Ginger
was about to go on and turned to Juliet, joking about some guys at one of the
tables.  As Ginger began to go up on stage, she glanced back at Juliet to coax
her along.  Worried about Gerald’s behavior toward the girls at the club and
her own safety, Juliet reluctantly followed Ginger onto the stage.  The club
was more crowded than she’d ever seen it before and that made Juliet nervous. 

An exotic melody with a heavy beat
started as a new set began.  She stepped past the curtains and stood opposite
Ginger.  Stacey entertained the crowd at the end of the stage by wrapping her
body around the pole, her specialty. 

As before, Juliet closed her eyes and
began to move—she imagined she was dancing by herself to the music. Suddenly,
the dark stranger appeared before her through the shadow, as if emerging when
she needed him the most.  He remained hidden in the darkness, watching over her
protectively. When she opened her eyes, she saw him standing in the crowd next
to the bar, but when she blinked, he vanished. 

She looked for him through the
crowded club, wondering if she were going crazy.  After a couple of minutes,
she had to force herself to refocus on her job and finish the set.  The rest of
the night, she felt uneasy with restlessness, weary of her dark vision.

Chapter
Four

On Friday night, the busiest time of
the week at the club, Juliet was surprised when Gerald came up to her with a
request.  “Someone has asked for you to give a private session.” 

Juliet listened nervously as he
instructed her to go to the back.  Gerald’s tone was demanding and stern. 
“Don’t get uptight.  I expect you to make the customer happy, show him a good
time—he’s in the last private room.  I better see a smile on his face when he
leaves!”  And with that, Gerald stomped away.  Juliet watched him leave and
wondered if he felt any compunction about his abusive treatment toward women.