Captivated: A Mafia Romance (Carfano Crime Family Book 6)

~ Chapter 1 ~

Cassie

I keep my eyes cast downward, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel every pair of eyes in here pass over me.

Be brave, Cass. You’ve got this.

This is the only way you know how to help Sean, and you’re going to fucking do it.

I lift my eyes and quickly scan the room, seeing nothing but beautiful girls, all at various stages of doing their hair, makeup, and getting dressed.

Well, I use dressed as a relative term, considering what’s being put on covers less than what they had on to begin with.

“Hey, Newbie,” the striking brunette who’s applying eyeliner at one of the vanities greets, then meets my eyes in the mirror. “I’m Kay.”

“Hi.” I clear my throat. “Cassie.”

“You can use this station,” she says, pointing to the vanity next to her. “Kendra isn’t working tonight.”

“Thanks.” I place my duffel bag down on the floor and pull out my makeup bag, taking a deep breath while I stare at my blank reflection in the mirror.

“Nervous?” Kay asks after a moment.

“A little.”

“First time?”

“Yeah. I’ve been taking classes for fun for the past few years, but…” I trail off, glancing over at her.

“You never thought you’d be doing it for money?”

I huff out a short laugh. “Something like that.”

“We all have a story, honey. We all have something that brought us here. Good or bad.” I nod in agreement. How spot on she is. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure.”

“When you solve whatever problem brought you here, quit.”

“I plan to.”

“It’s not always that easy,” she says with a distant look to her eyes. Then, coming to her senses, her eyes clear and she studies me. “Do you have a stage name yet? Or an act?”

“An act?”

“Yeah. A persona you can slip into. It helps keep distance between you and them. You don’t want them knowing your real name.”

I pause to think, and Kay smiles. “I have something for you if you don’t know yet.” She walks over to her locker and shuffles a few things around on the top shelf before grabbing something in the back. “I bought this a few months ago thinking I was going to change things up, but it didn’t work for me. For you, though, I think it will. Especially with that gorgeous red hair.”

Kay holds up a lace mask with cat ears and I can’t help but smile. It will match what I’m going to wear perfectly while also covering the top half of my face.

“What are you wearing?” she asks me, and I bring my bag to my lap. I pull out a pair of black lace cheeky bottoms, along with a matching black lace corset top. “Good. It matches. You can be the sexy little red-haired kitten all the men wish they had purring in their laps.” She winks, sitting back down at her vanity.

I scoff. “I won’t be purring in anyone’s lap.”

“Unless they want a lap dance. But another piece of advice… Don’t mix business and pleasure. These men will see you as their fantasy, but outside of these walls,” she pauses, lining her bottom lip with red lip liner, “that fantasy bubble bursts. I made that rookie mistake when I first started dancing, and I learned the hard way that these men think we’ll do anything for a few bucks. Even when we’re not clocked in. And when you don’t act like their fantasy, they’ll show you what they really think of you.”

I swallow hard and clear my throat. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, honey. I was na?ve then. I danced my way out of that naivety real quick.” With a little smirk, Kay finishes lining her lips and then glides a matching red lipstick across her lips. “I can already tell you’re not as na?ve as I was. But I’m here if you need anything. We all are. This isn’t a caddy place where we’re all out for our own gain. We look out for one another.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

I go behind the room divider curtains and change into my stage outfit, and when I emerge, Kay leans back in her chair and looks me up and down with a wide grin.

“You were hiding a killer body under those sweats, girl.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I laugh, and sit back down to finish my makeup. I had my base face makeup done, but not my eyes or lips.

When I came in for the job, the manager told me the main stage is where girls make the most money, but they have to earn their place there. I told him I was more comfortable as a side stage dancer anyhow.

On the side stages, I’m able to do my own thing. No one can get close enough to touch me, and I don’t need to take anything off unless I want to. Even if I did take my clothes off to get more tips, this is a titties-only club, which was why I chose it over the others in town. I don’t want to be forced to show more than I’m willing to or am comfortable with.

If I’m being honest, I don’t even want to show my boobs to a room full of strangers, let alone my entire ass and pussy. I’m confident, but not that confident.

For the women who do go full nude, I admire their confidence. Plus, the power they must feel when they have every set of eyes in the club on them must be like nothing else. Admired and desired, yet still untouchable and unattainable.

When I’m finished with my makeup and hair, I stand in front of the mirror. Noticing the slight tremor in my hands, I fist them at my sides and take a deep breath, remembering why I’m doing this.

Just pretend I’m in the studio and having fun.

No one will recognize me.

No one will touch me.

I grab the mask Kay gave me and tie it around my head. I pull out the top layer of my hair and pin the ribbon in place to hide it in my hair and keep it in place.

“I knew it’d look good on you.” Kay gives me a smile and a wink. “Have fun out there, Cassie. Men are easy.”

A laugh I didn’t expect bubbles out of me at that statement. “That they are.”

“Kay, you’re up in 5 minutes,” the house mom says. “Cassie, you’re going out there with Jaylan in 5, too.”

I look around to see who Jaylan is, and Kay points to a girl curling her hair across the room.

“That’s Jay. She’ll be up on the other satellite stage while I’m on the main stage. After I’m done, you’ll stay there for the next two girls while they’re on the main stage as well.”

“Alright.”

“Just vibe to the music and do whatever you want, basically.”

“Got it.”

I’m nervous, but also a little excited now. I barely recognize myself in the mirror, and it helps with my nerves.

I’ve fucking got this.

I’m the bitch who does what she wants.

I’m the bitch who knows she can get whatever she wants.

I’m the bitch who can conquer the damn world if I so well please.

Turing so I can see my reflection from all angles, the sparkles imbedded in my nude fishnet tights twinkle, and I do I few stretches before I slip my feet into my black pleaser heels. Once they’re secured around my ankles, I do a few more stretches and meet Jaylan and Kay by the door.

Jaylan gives me an encouraging smile. “Just look to me if you freeze or need inspiration, okay? I’ve been doing this a while.”

“Okay.” I nod, taking another deep breath.

The music had been a dull thumping beat in the background while in the dressing room, but once we leave, it starts to pulse through my veins and my hips automatically sway with every step down the hallway and out onto the main floor.

Kay walks down into the VIP pit area and steps up onto the stage while Jaylan and I separate and walk on either side of the club to our satellite stages. A security guard holds his hand out for me to take and he helps me up the hidden stairs to my platform.

There’s a pole in one corner to use for balance and as a prop rather than for a full performance, as well as a waist-high railing around the platform to grab onto.

My eyes sweep the club, taking in every pair on me, feeling even the ones from the shadows. I want to hate it, like I’m doing something wrong, but that’s not it at all. I don’t hate it. I feel sexy and desired.

I just can’t think about what they’re thinking.

I can’t think about how they see me.

I can’t think about anything.

I close my eyes for a moment and let my body feel the music and move however it wants.

I open my eyes again and they lock with a man sitting three tables away. I run my hands out along the railing, bending forward. The songs blend together and I make sure I lock eyes with different men every minute to keep them on me.

As Kay said…men are easy.

Each one makes their way to me and I snake my hips down to their level so some can slip money into the waist of my bottoms, while with others, I take it from their hands and slip it between my breasts while giving them a little wink.

Again, men are easy.

When my songs are up, the security guard helps me down, and I saunter back to the dressing room. A huge smile spreads across my face when I see Kay.

“I’m guessing you had fun?” she asks.

“I did. It was like taking candy from grown babies.”

“Exactly.” She smirks.

“Cassie, you were great,” Stella, the house mom, says. “You three are up again in twenty.”

Taking the money out of my waistband and top, I shove it into the zipper pouch I brought with me and Kay does the same. “If you ever make it up to the main stage, the money thrown at your feet will be swept up and brought to you, along with whatever clothing you take off.”

“Good to know. Thanks.”

I touch up my makeup and hair, drink some water, and when it’s our time again, I take Jaylan’s stage while she goes to the main stage, and Kay takes the stage I was on.

There are more people in here now, but with a deep breath, I once again let the music pulse through me and let the beat move my body.