Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
G RANT
When Ramsey, Levi, and I walk into the private room we reserved for the bachelorette party, they’re in the middle of enjoying a demonstration from a stripper. But not some guy in a police outfit or a cowboy hat and assless chaps, no. These women decided they’d rather learn to give lap dances themselves and so all five of them, my sister included—God fucking help me—are bent over in front of chairs wiggling their asses at their imaginary clients.
“Bend like this and give him or her a nice preview.” The tiny woman, whose thick blonde hair overwhelms her stature, explains as she slowly rises back into a standing position. “Then stand and turn around. You have two choices, depending on the seating height and how comfortable you are. You can stand like this, one leg on either side of their thighs, or you can climb into their lap. If you’ve got a chair like this, I highly recommend reaching over their shoulder and using the back to help steady yourself and keep your balance. Use it like you would a headboard at home, okay?” She grins at them, and they all follow suit.
“Holy fuck.” Ramsey’s jaw drops next to me as he watches his once and future wife wiggle her ass and then start to dry hump the chair. “I’m not going to make it to the wedding night. This is unfair as fuck.”
“I think I would have preferred male strippers,” I mutter as I watch Dakota roll her lip between her teeth as she follows the motion with her hips.
“Fuck that. I don’t want some guy’s sweaty junk in her face,” Ramsey grouches, tearing his eyes off Hazel and looking at me. “And I don’t need you beating someone bloody because one of them flirted with Dakota.”
“Well, now we have to watch our sister learn to strip.” I wave my hand in her general direction while trying not to watch too closely.
“Let her have her fun. She needs her confidence back with everything going on.” Levi adds his two cents.
“Well, maybe you can send Hayden her way instead of after Dakota if he’s such a great guy.” I shrug. Ramsey shoots me an unamused look before we’re caught.
“Can we help you?” the blonde woman asks, her brow skeptical of our presence in her private session.
“It’s the groom and his brothers,” Bristol announces as she finishes her practice session.
“Oh, perfect! You can help them practice some of the moves we’ve been working on.” The blonde woman claps her hands together.
“Happy to volunteer.” Ramsey practically runs to be Hazel’s practice session .
The blonde looks at Levi and me.
“I actually need to go make sure all the stuff is set up for the whisky tasting before the Briggs brothers get here,” Levi announces.
“Fucking traitor,” I mumble under my breath.
“Like you won’t enjoy it.” He smirks before he disappears back out the door.
“Sure. I can help.” I make my way slowly into the room.
The lights are down low, and Dakota looks like a fucking smoke show in the dress she has on. She always looks sexy regardless of what she’s wearing, but her bar outfits are as much functional as anything else. Mostly jeans and shorts. Besides the sundress the other day, I’ve rarely seen her in one, and I had been secretly looking forward to getting to see her in the bridesmaid’s dress tomorrow.
“Come here, Casino Cowboy.” Dakota pats the chair she was practicing with and grins at me. I don’t miss the way Marlowe and Bristol both snap to attention when I make my way over to her. Their eyes follow me with skepticism and suspicion, but they don’t say anything when I sit down. The silent threat that I better be supportive without getting handsy still lies heavy.
“All right. Guess that leaves us three. We can practice together,” Marlowe announces, clapping her hands together.
“I can be practice too,” The blonde woman walks over and sits in the chair in front of Aspen before she pulls her phone out, and music starts to play over the speakers. “All right, ladies, let’s go through the steps from the top.”
I can still hear her voice over the music, but all my attention is on Dakota as she bends over in front of me. Her skirt is pulling up her thighs and teasing at the edges of her cheeks. She sways her hips back and forth before she straightens back up slowly .
“Not too much different from what I teach at the bar, I guess,” she says softly as she turns around and places her hands on my shoulders per the instructor’s orders.
“You start teaching country stripping instead of swing when I wasn’t looking?” I raise a skeptical brow.
I get a swift pass of her blue-green eyes before she lifts them to the ceiling. She lowers herself into my lap, though, her hand going to the back of the chair like her instructor told her to as she starts to grind over me.
“Did you hire strippers for the bachelor party?” she asks absently.
“So Hazel could rip me in two because one of them touched Ramsey? No thanks.”
“That’s too bad for you. You look stressed. Like you could use some relaxation.”
“I’m not worried. I have a woman who sends me photos every night before I go to sleep. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, she calls to tell me all the filthy things she wants to do to me. And if I earn it, she shows me what she wants me to do to her,” I whisper, making sure that her friends can’t hear me over the low thud of the music.
“I’m glad you found someone so supportive of your needs.” A wry smile forms on her lips. “I need someone like that tonight.”
“Yeah?” I ask. I don’t have better words when she’s grinding over my cock while I get harder by the second as everyone else we know, and don’t want to find out about our little indiscretion, is sitting a few feet away from us. “You need something tonight, Hellfire?”
“It’s been a stressful week with the wedding prep and the issues at the bar, and I still have all my maid of honor responsibilities tomorrow night. I just need someone to take the edge off. Blank my mind out, and let me switch off for a little bit. You know?”
“Is this someone Jim or Jack tonight? Maybe Johnny?” I smirk.
“Smartass.” She grins at me before her eyes take on a devilish glint, dancing with mirth as she leans in, dragging the heat of her cunt straight over my cock. It soaks in as she whispers in my ear, “His name doesn’t matter. I’ll call him whatever he wants me to call him tonight. Let him have me whatever way he wants. As long as he finally stops teasing and takes.”
“He sounds like a lucky man,” I choke out.
The alarm bells are all going off. Telling me to get the fuck out of here. Telling me her entire hit squad is right here in the room with us, ready to bury me if I look at her wrong. But I can’t be bothered to stop, and my hand ghosts up the side of her thigh as I shift my hips and let her have a better angle. Her tongue teases along the edge of my earlobe, and her nails slip into the hair at the nape of my neck as she grinds down on me.
“I’m going to be such a good girl for him. So fucking good he won’t even believe it’s me on my knees for him.”
“Hellfire…” I say it like a warning for both of us.
“Yes?” She says it in the sweetest tone, her big blue-green doe eyes shifting to mine like she’s just waiting to be told how to please me. And fuck me. I’m not built for this. I want her so badly, even when I know I shouldn’t.
“You don’t want that. Not really. You’ll end up with rug burn over the bruises on your knees and a second set of marks on your neck when the first ones are just now fading enough that you can cover them with makeup. Can’t have that before the wedding.”
There’s a little growl of irritation in her throat, and she nips at my neck before she whispers in my ear.
“I could find a Jim or a Jack or a Johnny, you know. Maybe all three.” It’s an empty threat, but I can tell she’s frustrated that I keep putting her off.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
I just need a little longer. If we can figure out who has the relic, who is behind everything, I’ll be able to plan for the future. I might be able to find a way to keep everyone safe and turn this business more legitimate. Create a world where I could be something more for her than just a guardian. But I need those answers first, and I haven’t found a way to tell her yet.
“I’m starting to think you need a push.” Her eyes search mine. “I don’t know what else you’re waiting for.”
“We need to talk first.”
“All we do is talk.” She sighs softly as she pulls away from me, and I hear the disappointment in her voice.
“All right, ladies. That was a good practice session for lap dances. Time to take a quick spin on the poles.” The blonde stands and claps her hands together, pointing to the portable poles she’s set up on the far side of the room. “We’re not gonna do anything too advanced, but I can at least show you a few basics to get you started. Gentlemen, I think this will work better if the women have some time to themselves again.”
I hear Ramsey grumble to my right, and I’m not thrilled about standing up right now either. But at least the lights are dim, and we can sneak out the side door.
“I’ll find you later tonight.” I run my fingers down the back of her forearm, risking getting caught to make sure she knows I mean it.
“Have fun with your whisky tasting.” She flashes a bright smile, one meant for everyone else in the room, that stabs me in the chest.