Tease (9 page)

I shrugged it off and went to check myself in the mirror and decided to just wear this outfit while I served for the hour. Instead of just shoving my cash in my bag and letting it lay back here, I straightened it all out, folded it, and put it in the pocket of the little black apron that I tied around my waist. I would rather have it on me than just sitting back here. I didn’t think the girls would take it, but I didn’t know them and I wasn’t about to trust them.

Roxie was putting on some barely there spandex number when I ducked out of the room to head for the bar.

Cam waited with a tray full of drinks. I smiled when I saw him and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t help but wonder if he liked my dance, if he thought it was sexy.

I grabbed for the tray as he leaned way over the bar and reached out his hand. Using his thumb, he swiped along my lower lip. “Lipstick,” he said only loud enough for me to hear.

His touch sent little delicious shivers racing down my back. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, gorgeous.”

After that, the bar got really busy, really fast. I didn’t have time to talk to anyone, including Roxie. I was so busy laughing and smiling and serving drinks that the hours went by without me even thinking about my next dance.

Each one was similar to the first one, but all my outfits changed, the music changed, and I tried to move around to different tables and places. One time I even sat in a man’s lap. The whole time I did it, though, my mind screamed for me to find the hand sanitizer when I got up.

For my final dance, I repeated the one from the night before, with the cut-offs and the white tank top. Except this time I didn’t spill a pitcher of beer; I only poured water over myself.

I made six hundred dollars just from dancing. I made another two hundred from serving drinks. I was practically giddy with the fact I made eight hundred dollars
in one night
.

I barely made that in an entire month at the snow cone cart.

Did I like this job?

No.

Would I admit to anyone that I was a stripper?

Probably not even at gunpoint.

Was I going to keep doing it?

Hell yes.

Once my shift was over, I changed into my cotton shorts and baby tee, finally slipping off the stilettos (my feet were officially dead) and getting comfy with my flip-flops. I used a face wipe to take off most of my makeup and then pulled my hair back in a high ponytail. It made me feel more like me and less like Violet.

I was beginning to think I was creating some sort of alter ego for myself with Violet, the more outgoing, crazy me. Or maybe I was just trying to find a way to deal with the fact I was a stripper.

On my way out, I stopped in the bathroom to wash my hands, and Roxie was in there, on her cell, and she was saying, “Why should I be the one to move out when you’re the man-whore!”

The line was silent for a second and then she snorted. “Fine! I don’t want to live there anyway. The whole place is probably infested with herpes!”

She hit a button on the screen and made a sound, then spun, her eyes going wide when she saw me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that anyone was in here,” I stuttered, trying to cover the fact I pretty much just eavesdropped on her conversation.

“It’s fine.”

I moved to the sink and washed my hands. When I grabbed a couple paper towels, she said, “I caught my boyfriend in bed with some nasty skank and now he wants me to move out.”

“He wants you to move out?”

“He says because I’m the one who broke it off, I should be the one to leave.”

“What a douche bag.”

“Right?” She half-smiled. “This isn’t the first time I caught him cheating, but it’s going to be the last. He thinks because I’m a stripper he doesn’t have to be faithful or something. He thinks he doesn’t have to respect me.”

“You’re so much better than that,” I told her.

“Yeah. I know.” She gave me a watery smile. “I haven’t even loved him for a long time. He’s just really good at getting me to stay.”

“Well, if you keep staying, then you might miss a really great guy when he comes along.”

“You think there are any good guys left out there?”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

She laughed.

“Hey, why don’t you move in with me?”

She looked up. “Really?”

I nodded, getting excited. “It would be perfect. I used to have a roommate, but she graduated in the spring and left. Starting next month, I was going to have to pay all the rent and everything by myself. Which means I was going to have to move, but if you move in, I wouldn’t have to.”

“How much is rent?”

“It would be five hundred a month for each of us. We can split the cable, but all the other utilities are included.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Are you a big partier?”

“No.”

“Do drugs?”

“Gross. But I do drink occasionally.”

“Are you a morning person?” I asked, inwardly groaning at having a roommate who wakes up at the crack of dawn to bang around in the kitchen.

“Are you kidding? I work ‘til three a.m. every night. My idea of morning is noon.”

“When can you move in?” I asked.

She squealed. “Is tomorrow too soon?”

“Nope. If you want to come by tonight just to see the place before we make it official, you can. If you like it, I’ll be sure to tell the landlord and you can drop by and sign the lease and get some keys tomorrow.”

“Let me just make sure it’s okay if I leave too and then I’ll follow you to your place.”

At the bar, Cam had a water with ice and a straw waiting for me. “Do I owe you for this too?” I asked as I reached for the drink.

“Nah, this one’s on the house.” He winked. “Hey, I seem to have lost the napkin with your address on it. I probably accidentally threw it away. Will you write it down again for me?”

“I don’t know. Seems to me if you had really wanted it, you wouldn’t have lost it.”

His eyes narrowed. “Maybe I wouldn’t have been so distracted if someone hadn’t been strutting around half naked all night.”

“If the sight of a half-naked woman distracts you, I think you are in the wrong line of work.”

“Harlow,” he growled.

“Cam,” I growled back.

He leapt over the bar… like right over it. I made a little squeal and a couple of the people still lingering inside glanced our way. But we must not have been exciting enough (or maybe it was because I was overdressed now) because they looked away in seconds.

Cam backed me up so my shoulders were pinned against the bar and his arms rested on either side of my head, creating a cage. He was no longer wearing the motorcycle jacket—only that bowtie and trousers—and I stared at the way the muscles in his shoulders bunched with his movements.

A deep craving slammed into me and it wasn’t for a cheeseburger or a donut. It was for him. Was it possible to crave another human being? I looked at his lips and the way they moved as he spoke. But I didn’t hear a word that came out of his mouth.

He snapped his fingers in front of my face, and I looked up. “What?”

“What’s the matter with you?”

I put my hands on his chest and shoved. He didn’t budge. He smiled and leaned closer, his breath fanning out across my cheek and his lips grazing my temple. “I have ways of getting what I want, you know,” he whispered.

I swallowed, desire curling up from deep inside me and saturating every part of my body. I didn’t really know what to do with so much of it literally weighing me down. I was supposed to be the tease and here I was the one being taunted. By him. By my own body. By needs I’d never had before. “You do?”

“Oh yes. And if you aren’t careful, you’re going to find out all about my ways.”

He stroked my collarbone with his finger.

I bit down on my lower lip. “I’ll give it to you,” I whispered.

His chuckle was rich and warm against my ear. Then he pulled back and slid a pen out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I turned away, grabbing the first napkin I saw, and scrawled my address with shaking hands.

When I handed it to him, he slid it into his pants pocket and smiled. Then he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and peeked up at me with boyish charm written all over his face. “You know, part of me is disappointed that you gave in so easy.”

“Well, since my address is in your pocket, I still say you came out on top.”

Roxie appeared and lifted her eyebrows at how Cam and I stood so close. I glanced back at him. “See you tomorrow?”

“Wear your bathing suit.”

I nodded and slid away from him, grabbing up my bag and heading for the door with Roxie hot on my heels.

Out in the parking lot, she gave me a long look.

“What?” I asked her.

“You know what.” She grinned. “You and Cam?”

“We’re just friends.”

“Right. And I’m the Easter Bunny.”

“You are! Where do you keep your tail?”

She laughed. “Well, I don’t even care now what the apartment looks like.”

“No?”

“Nope. I’m moving in purely for the entertainment of watching you and Cam. I can’t wait to see what happens.”

I had to admit, I wanted to see too.

7

Pounding on the front door of my apartment made me groan and roll over to look at the clock. Bleary eyed, I squinted at the little red numbers.

Six a.m.

“It does exist,” I murmured to myself as the pounding continued.

I stumbled out of bed, pushing the hair off my forehead and trudging toward the door. I yanked it open and peered into the hallway.

“I changed my mind. I’m not going,” I said and then swung the door shut and went back to bed.

I heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind me, but I was too tired to care. I crawled back onto the mattress and curled up on my side, pulling the covers to my chin. Didn’t he know this hour of the morning/night was what was wrong with half of America today? Forcing people to get out of bed at ungodly hours only made them cranky.

I was slipping back into blissful sleep when I felt the bed dip with new weight. “Go away,” I murmured.

I felt the blankets being tugged away and I tried to grasp them back, but it was too late. The covers were gone and the cool air brushed over my skin.

“I. Will. Punch. You.” I growled.

He laughed. “Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine in the morning?”

I swung at him. But seeing as how my eyes were closed and I was lying down, my aim wasn’t good. Okay, my aim sucked.

He caught my fist and pulled it behind me. My body rolled and I found myself lying on my back with him looming over me.

He smelled really good. Like coffee and the sea.

I probably smelled like dragon breath.

“What’s it gonna take to get you out of this bed?”

“An act of God.”

Something large and very warm settled on my leg just above my knee. My eyes remained closed, but every cell in my body went on high alert.

Slowly, his hand slid higher, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake, until the pads of his fingers brushed over the inside of my thigh. I didn’t mean to moan.

But I did.

His touch was like my kryptonite. Even the faintest, most accidental contact with him made every single living, breathing cell in my entire body explode with desire.

“Do you like that?” he murmured. His hand hadn’t gone up any farther, but he continued to caress the sensitive flesh just inside my leg.

I felt him settle further onto the bed and then he lifted his hand. Sorrow oozed deep inside me at the loss of the contact I so desperately wanted.

But then his hand returned. His fingers dragged across the exposed skin of my belly between my boxers and the tank, which had ridden up.

My body was utterly relaxed, still from sleep and now from his gentle caress. I wouldn’t have been able to run if a bomb landed in the living room. And then his fingers grew braver, finding the hem of my shirt and slipping beneath it.

I forgot to breathe as he traced the outline of my rib cage and dragged his nails gently across my abdomen. My nipples hardened into ultra stiff pebbles, and my breasts began to ache in a way they never had before. Without thinking, I arched up a little, trying to give his hand some direction, trying to get him just a little bit higher.

He paused, just slightly, as if he were debating on how far he was willing to go. And then his hand started moving again, until he palmed my breast completely.

“Harlow.” My name on his tongue was like pollen to a bee. “Is this okay?”

“Mmmm,” was all I could manage.

“Look at me,” he commanded, his voice a little less seductive.

My eyes opened, looking into his deep, chocolate irises. “Is it okay to touch you here?”

“Yes.”

His hand started to move then, and my eyes fluttered closed. He moved his hand in a circular motion, kneading the tender tissue and flicking his thumb over my tingling nipple. When he was done with one, he moved to the other, doing the exact same thing—kneading and moving, playing with my nipple until it almost hurt with need.

And then he lifted the shirt, air brushing across my overheated skin, and I felt his stare. I felt his eyes taking in every inch of me. I knew I was likely swollen with the blood that had rushed to the point of contact, almost like even the red liquid wanted to be close to him as well.

And then his mouth closed over the nipple closest to it. He latched on and swirled his tongue around the peak and nipped at it with his teeth.

I moan ripped from my throat as I squeezed my thighs together, feeling moisture pool between my legs, slicking my body for something it wholly wanted.

He kissed every inch of my chest, lavishing attention on both of my girls like a dying man in need of his final meal. At some point, my hands found their way into his hair and I clutched at his scalp, holding him still yet urging him on.

When my hips started to move restlessly, he lifted his head.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. His lips were slightly swollen. His eyes were so dark they looked like the moonless midnight sky.

He lay down, putting his arms on either side of my body so he was mostly on the mattress but partly covering me. Using his hands, he brushed the hair away from my face and then he kissed me.

It wasn’t like the first time, the feather-light, barely there kisses. This was the kind of kiss I read about in books, the kind of kiss that ended epic movies and completely altered the world as you knew it.

His tongue delved deep into my mouth, as if he couldn’t get close enough, as if he wanted to climb inside me and do things to my body that no man had ever done before. His lips were insistent, but not rough, the kiss moist, but not wet. Our mouths didn’t separate, not one time; we didn’t break contact. We just kissed—endlessly, deeply, feverishly.

I clutched at his back, pulling him even closer, sucking his upper lip into my mouth and running my tongue over its softness. He moaned so I did it again. He gathered me just a little bit closer and the hard ridge in his shorts wasn’t to be missed. I could feel it pressed against the side of my hip and the ache inside me intensified.

My chest started to squeeze and it momentarily distracted me, so I managed to suck in just enough oxygen to keep my lungs happy.

Cam stilled his lips and pulled back, resting his forehead against mine. Both of us breathed heavily, our chests pressed together.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice thick and deep.

My hips lifted at the sound and the inner muscles of my vagina clenched. “Hi.”

“Do you kiss everyone that shows up at your door at six in the morning like that?”

“Just you.”

“I’m one lucky bastard.”

I giggled.

He pushed off me and stood, adjusting his shorts and T-shirt. “The beach is waiting.”

I groaned. He hooked me around the ankle and pulled me across the sheets. “I brought you coffee.”

“Okay, then.”

He chuckled and pulled me onto my feet. My head felt dizzy, like I drank too much the night before, only I hadn’t drunk anything at all.

“Put your bathing suit on. I’ll wait in the other room.”

I grabbed the front of his shirt before he could move away and I laid my cheek against his chest. His arms came up around me and he expelled a long puff of air as he settled his chin on the top of my head. “You make it really hard to walk out of this room.”

“I didn’t ask you to leave.”

He groaned. “Trust me, the thought of burying myself deep inside you is going to haunt me the rest of the day. But if I sleep with you now, you will always wonder if it’s the only thing I wanted from you.”

“Is it?”

He lifted my head off his chest and pinned me with his dark molten stare. “At first, maybe. But then I spent five minutes with you and in those five minutes I realized you weren’t just a warm body… you weren’t just the kind of girl I could get out of my system with a fling. I’m not really sure what any of that means… but I do know I’m not going to fuck this up by sleeping with you too fast.”

And that’s how he claimed the first piece of my heart.

*    *    *

We drove to the beach with the top down on his Mustang. The air was warm, but the moving wind was slightly chilly. But I didn’t mind. It was a nice contrast to the warm cup of coffee Cam handed me the minute I came out of the bedroom dressed in a hot-pink bikini and a strapless, black cotton cover-up.

I didn’t bother to do my hair. Instead, I just pulled it back into a ponytail with a simple black band and slipped a pair of wide-rimmed black sunglasses on top of my head.

Thanks to our impromptu make out session, I was more awake than usual, but I was still practically a zombie. He chuckled when I clutched the coffee like a lifeline, and he guided me out the door while I thrust my keys at him so he could lock up behind us.

I don’t think I’d ever been to the beach at such an early hour. It was stunningly beautiful, with the sky a little overcast and nothing but the sound of the surf in the quiet morning air. It seemed like we were the only two people on this long stretch of empty sand, like everyone else knew we were going to be here and we wanted to be alone.

I sat down and pushed my toes deep into the sand and stared out at the morning waves, spying a shrimping boat off in the distance. Cam laid down his board and then took up the space beside me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and we sat there quietly as the waves lapped at the shore and the breeze swirled around our bodies.

“You do this every morning?”

“Every single day.”

“Have you lived here all your life?”

“Yep. Born and raised. My mom says I have salt water in my veins.”

I smiled. “Did you make your board?” I said, gesturing to the large surfboard beside him.

“Yeah.” He pulled it around and I pulled my legs in closer to my chest to make room. I didn’t know much about surfboards, but I did know this one was beautiful. It was fairly long and wide and I figured it was because Cam was at least six feet tall. It was shaped like every other surfboard I’d seen, coming to a sort of point at the top.

The board itself was white, but it had this beautiful sea-green design across it, kind of like a scroll but a little more intricate. The design was heavier at the bottom end and then spread out more as it reached the top of the board. At the very top there was nothing but the white background. Written amongst the scroll design down across the bottom were two words: