Chapter Five #2
For the tenth time in less than an hour, he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket with the urge to text Roxy.
Was she actually busy? Maybe he’d read her wrong and playing hard to get wasn’t her intention.
As the week wore on, it became increasingly obvious she was hard to get.
No playing involved. Saturday could not get here fast enough.
He wanted to see her face, talk to her. Figure her the hell out.
Even if her lack of enthusiasm in regards to going out with him was less than satisfying.
It didn’t hurt his pride at all. Really, it didn’t.
Work hadn’t exactly been great today, either.
In between meetings, he’d called his boss in Florida to get an update on his request to extend the pro bono work in his contract.
Doubleday still hadn’t had an answer for him, leaving him more than a little frustrated. What would he do if the answer was no?
He went to the fridge and pulled out a fresh beer.
The plan for the night was to meet at Fletcher’s Upper West Side apartment before heading out to dinner.
First, though, the group of ten guys was apparently waiting for some live entertainment to arrive.
Fletcher made a big show of protesting the stripper, but Louis had seen him glance toward the door on more than one occasion.
Louis couldn’t help but think the protesting had been for his benefit, in case tonight’s events ever got back to his sister.
Yeah, right. As if he would tell her about her fiancé getting a lap dance.
Knowing his sister, her reaction to that news would spur the apocalypse.
A chorus of half-tipsy cheers went up in the living room when the door buzzed, signaling someone’s arrival downstairs.
Louis leaned against the kitchen counter and sipped his beer.
He’d stay right here, thank you very much.
What he didn’t see might end up saving his and Fletcher’s lives if there was ever an interrogation.
What stripper? I never once saw a stripper .
Another skill he’d learned being a lawyer was to make sure you were able to tell the truth and mean it.
He heard the apartment’s front door open and close, and the silent anticipation from men who’d been shooting their mouths off moments ago was almost comical. Then the husky voice he’d been hearing in his fantasies reached him.
“I heard there’s an ex-quarterback in the house. Think maybe he needs a cheerleader?”
Louis’s beer hit the ground, splattering everywhere, but he barely saw it.
No way. Not happening . He shot forward from his position at the counter and strode toward the living room with a knot in his throat.
He felt sluggish and ill at the same time, dread settling over him like a fog blanket.
Just before he reached the living room, slow, pumping music started to play.
Roxy. His rabbit girl. Dressed like a cheerleader.
Hips swaying, hands clutching her own hair and piling it on her head sexily.
He couldn’t stop himself from acknowledging how truly fucking hot she looked, skirt so short he could see the tops of her toned thighs.
It rode low on her waist, exposing her stomach.
Against his will, his body reacted. Fast and painful.
Probably just like every other asshole in the room.
She had a smile on her face as she moved slowly toward a seated Fletcher, body undulating, but he saw the strain around her green eyes.
The trapped-animal vibe she was giving off was amazingly potent.
How could none of them feel it? He wanted to shout and rage and break things. Then she saw him. And froze.
It was the worst moment of his life. Hands down. Even losing his tooth in front of three hundred high school seniors didn’t compare. Her face fell, arms dropping to her sides. Pain slashed across her features and straight into his chest.
She thinks I did this. She thinks I ordered her. Again.
“Roxy.”
“You dickhead.”
“ Roxy .” He weaved through the group of guys ogling her, grabbing her hand before she could spin for the door. With a tug, he brought her back against his chest. “I didn’t. I didn’t know.”
Louis racked his brain, trying to figure out how a massive coincidence like this could have happened.
He hadn’t even known Roxy was a stripper, so ordering her here would have been impossible.
Deductive thinking wasn’t an easy feat when he was more concerned with shielding her from everyone’s view.
The answer finally struck him: Zoe, his one-night stand, worked with Fletcher’s best man.
She must have shared the details of the agency with the guy.
Ah, fuck . After he’d called Zoe asking for the agency’s phone number.
So he could get in touch with Roxy. This is what he got for doing something he knew was screwed up.
Zoe had obviously done this out of spite, sending the girl he was interested in to strip for his brother-in-law’s friends. And him. To shame her? Make him sorry?
His head dropped on her shoulder. “Goddammit, Roxy. I’m so sorry.”
She went very still, the tension slowly seeping from her body.
He didn’t understand the change. Any minute now, she would turn around and deck him, right?
A part of him couldn’t wait for it. Instead, she turned in his arms, a slow smile playing around her lips.
It stopped at her eyes, though. They were glassy, far-off. Slightly unfocused.
“You ordered a stripper, Louis. Didn’t you?” She shoved at his chest unexpectedly, knocking him back a step. Sauntering toward him, she did it again, his confusion sending him falling back into an empty chair. “Then it’s only polite to watch me do my job.”
To his horror, the men around him started whistling, excited by what was taking place.
No. No. He couldn’t let this happen. Not only did the idea of these guys seeing her naked make him livid but she didn’t want to do it.
He could see that. This was her attempt to maintain her pride, thinking he’d been the one to take it away.
In a sickening twist, he inadvertently had.
A fact he had a feeling would haunt him for a very long time.
Someone turned up the music until it pounded in his ears, mimicking the race of his blood.
Because despite the wrongness of it, Roxy was coming closer in a barely-there pleated skirt, little white panties peeking out to weaken his conscience.
Getting her out of this room required him to turn down a lap dance from the girl he wanted to take to bed so badly that he’d been aching for a week.
But while his brain might only be registering her in the room, they weren’t alone.
Wake up, asshole . “No, I won’t let you do this.
You’re going to come with me and let me explain. ”
“What’s to explain, baby?” She gripped his shoulders and straddled his thighs.
Then, oh sweet Jesus, she slid down onto his lap, settling her weight on his hard dick before working her hips in a circle.
Fuck . Stars winked behind his eyes. He started to sweat, fingers itching to smooth up her thighs and cup her ass, jerk her closer.
Those pouty lips grazed his neck just before she spoke.
“You wanted your fun, now you’re going to have it. Just sit back and enjoy the show.”
His hand shot out to stop her from removing her top. “No. You’re not doing this. I’ll carry you out of here if I have to, but it’s not happening.”
She ripped her hand free of his, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.
“Hoping if you take me somewhere private, I’ll do more than just strip for a twenty?
” Temporarily distracted by sickening shock, he didn’t manage to stop her this time from peeling the shirt over her head.
The bra she wore was little more than sheer, black material.
He could see right through it to her mouthwatering breasts beneath.
Which meant everyone else could, too. A growl ripped from his throat as he surged to his feet, taking her with him.
Their position left her legs looped around his hips as he stormed past the crowd of jackasses and into the nearest bedroom, leaving catcalls in his wake.
As soon as Louis kicked the door shut behind him, she started fighting to get free. He had no choice but to let her, even though he wanted to gather her close and squeeze as hard as he could. He’d have to settle for blocking the door. Until she heard him out.
“Get out of the way,” she grated.
“No,” he returned, shaking his head.
Her chest heaved. “Is this how you get off? Embarrassing girls by sending them around in costumes when you have a fucking whim? Pretending to like them, then revealing that you’re actually some kind of sick jerk?”
“I didn’t know you were coming here tonight, Roxy.” He reached a hand toward her, but she flinched back. “I didn’t even know you were a stripper.”
“Oh, bullshit. Then what were you apologizing for out there?” She cursed under her breath. “What about your text message today about wanting to switch our date to tonight? There was never going to be a date. I’m such an idiot .”
Seeming to remember then that she wasn’t wearing a shirt, her hands flew up to cover her breasts.
She looked so exposed, so fragile suddenly.
A state he’d never thought to associate with her.
He couldn’t take another second of it, so he went toward her.
She backed away and he kept going. As he’d anticipated, she struck out at him, pummeling his chest with her fists.
His arms wrapped around her in an attempt to prevent her, but she kept thrashing.
All Louis could do was hang on tight until she stopped, which she finally did with a sob.
“I’m not a stripper.” Her voice was toneless against his chest. “I know you won’t believe me or care, but I’m not. I needed some quick cash for rent on my new place. This was my first time.”
“Why wouldn’t I believe you?” he asked into her hair.
“Liars always assume everyone else is lying, too.” She sniffed. “Was the tooth story even real?”
“Afraid so. You thinking of knocking it out again?”
“In vivid detail.”
“Fair enough.” He tried not to be obvious about inhaling her scent. What if this was the last chance he got? The pit in his stomach yawned wide. “One of the guys out there is Zoe’s coworker. You know, the, uh—”
“Girl who penned an ode to your dong?”
“Yes. That one.” He cleared his throat, praying like hell his one-night stand never came up again in conversation. “She might have been a little on the upset side when I called her to get the agency’s number. So I could find you.”
“You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
“Ah, but I did. I thought being up-front was the adult thing to do. Would a liar do that?” No response.
His long exhale of breath ruffled the hair at her temple, fascinating him.
He wanted to brush it back with his fingers but didn’t want to risk her pulling away.
It felt so fucking great to hold her. “She gave her coworker the agency name. I had no idea you’d walk through that door.
Christ, the last thing I want is other men to see you naked. I haven’t even had a chance to yet.”
His attempt to make her laugh didn’t work. “Your chances are slim to none at the moment, dude.”
“That appears to be the sad reality.” He gave in to the desire to touch her hair, releasing his breath slowly when she stayed put. Time to take one more leap. “I guess I’ll have to start convincing you all over again on Saturday.”
She jerked her head up. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. I made reservations and everything.”
Her eyes were twin mirrors of confusion. “Even if I forgave you long enough to break bread with you in some snobby restaurant ...”
“What?” he prompted when she didn’t continue.
She pushed away from him, continuing to watch him closely.
A hint of insecurity showed through her questioning look before she hid it.
“Even then, you really want to bring out the girl who ...” She swept a hand down her body, clad in only a see-through bra and cheerleader skirt.
A sight that he felt slightly ashamed to be storing in his spank bank.
In a safety-deposit box all its own, sealed with a triple lock so it couldn’t get out.
Pay attention . “ ... the girl who showed up to get naked for your friends? I get the feeling you don’t date a lot of strippers. ”
“But you’re not a stripper. This is your first time.”
“What if I do it again?” She lifted one shoulder and let it drop, but he could tell her casualness was feigned. “What then?”
Honestly, he didn’t like it. No, he fucking hated the idea of her walking into a room full of douchebags with singles in their fists and no clue about the awesome girl she was.
Those faceless men were his worst enemies.
Above all, they could be dangerous to her.
When Louis felt his hands clench and shake, he breathed deeply through his nose.
While he might feel this way, something told him that if he was honest about it with Roxy, she’d walk.
She would see this as temporary before it even got started.
So he proved her right and made himself a liar.
“What you do for a living makes no difference to me.” The lie tasted bitter in his mouth, so he tempered it with the truth. “I want to take you out. I want to know you.” Better than anyone else does.
She cast a glance toward the door. “I can’t go back out there.”
Louis unbuttoned his shirt and draped it across her shoulders, watching as she did the buttons with trembling fingers. “See? Now I’m the shirtless one. They’ll all be too busy staring at my rippling muscles to notice anything else.”
Her soft laugh puffed warm air against his neck. “That’s the second time you’ve made me laugh today under impossible circumstances.”
Oh man, that made him feel good. Really good. Ten-feet-tall good. “That’s something, isn’t it?”
As they walked back out into the living room, a plan began to form in Louis’s mind.
A bad plan. The perfect plan. He wasn’t sure.
If he offered to loan her money until she got back on her feet, he risked his nut sack being torn clean off his body.
But he would do what was necessary to keep Roxy out of another dangerous situation.
If there were selfish reasons involved, too, such as wanting her to himself, he couldn’t help that.
No one was going to make her feel vulnerable again.