Chapter 12
TWELVE
Addison
W hat is Ridge doing here?
That thought repeated in my head as I stood in the middle of the stage, wearing only a thong, my hands circling my breasts, my fingers sliding toward my nipples—a move that I knew would make the men in the audience go wild.
And it did.
There were moans and shouts, and for every second I held them, squeezing the peaks, acting as though it was the most satisfying sensation in the world, more money was thrown onto the stage.
It wasn’t like I was counting the seconds, stalled in this position to see how much I could make. The reason I didn’t move was because I was frozen, unable to drag my eyes away from Ridge’s stare—a stare that was making me feel completely lost and filling me with even more questions.
Why did he come back to see me? Hadn’t I made myself clear?
But, really, was I surprised he was here?
Did I secretly want him to be?
I turned my back to him, slowly bending over to give the crowd a view of my ass, the way I could shake it—first with each cheek individually and then both cheeks together.
The move, one I’d perfected over my last couple of shifts, caused an uproar in the audience. So, I gave them several more sways while balancing on heels that were equivalent to standing on needles.
Was Ridge looking?
Did it matter?
I glanced over my shoulder, bypassing the eyes of the first couple of rows to focus on the middle, where he was sitting. He didn’t have to lift his gaze, dragging it from my ass to my face. Because, like he’d told me, he was one of the good guys, and the good guy’s eyes were already locked with mine.
Since my chin was still resting over my shoulder, I left him and scanned the audience, giving them a wink before I walked to the pole. The song—something I’d chosen at the beginning of the night—had only about two minutes left. I needed to earn at least a few hundred, and the way to do that was to straddle the metal and climb to the top before slowly swinging all the way to the bottom.
Never had I thought, during all the years Leah and I had been taking biweekly pole workout classes, it would give me the experience I needed for this job. But here I was, looking like an expert to these men.
Once I reached the highest part of the pole, I held on with my legs and bent backward until my head was pointed at the ground, using gravity to bring me to the floor.
But not quickly.
I kept my legs intertwined, allowing the music to guide my moves, and I gradually lowered. Once I reached the ground, I stayed on my back, and I held my lower body high. I swivel- kicked the air, clapping my heels together, followed by my thighs, before I rolled over, pointing my butt upward to straddle the pole from behind.
I could sense what every man in this room was thinking as they watched me.
It was as though I were inside each of their heads.
And I used those thoughts as fuel while I bucked my hips and bit my lip, forcing the fake pleasure to spread across my face. The pole slapped my ass with each thrust, as though it were a man positioned in doggy style.
That was the fantasy I wanted to create.
Because the more I satisfied these men, the more cash they tossed onto the stage.
Stripping, I had learned, was a cat-and-mouse chase, except the cat never caught the mouse.
But as I crawled toward the middle of the stage, eyeing Ridge, I realized how that wasn’t true.
He had caught me.
He just couldn’t keep me.
And now, we were here again, his eyes devouring me, his tongue circling his mouth as though he were between my legs, one hand gripping his cocktail and the other the armrest of his chair, like they were somewhere on my body.
With a stare that made me feel as if we were the only people in this room.
A gaze so strong and overwhelming that I almost didn’t hear the song end, or hear the DJ saying my name, or see the security guard moving around the edge of the stage to collect my money. When the security guard finished, he stood at the bottom of the stairs, his hand out, waiting for me to clasp it to escort me down the steps.
As soon as I finished, I got onto my feet and slipped my arms through the straps of my bra, hooking it in the back. I accepted the security guard’s fingers and walked down the short flight, taking the cash he handed to me once I reached the floor. I tucked the thick wad into my bra and weaved my way through the main area, a sultry grin on my face to entice this hungry audience. I wasn’t more than a few paces past the stage when I felt a gentle swipe across my thigh.
It was so light that it could have been a feather.
But I knew it wasn’t because the feeling was so achingly familiar. So was the texture of his skin and the level of his heat—two things I could never forget.
Two things I had thought about since I’d left his house.
His touch impacted me in a way that made me stop and glance down, meeting Ridge’s seductive stare.
I’d been so far inside my head that I didn’t realize I’d reached the center of the main lounge, where he was stationed, his hand still raised from the armrest, his pointer finger triggered, showing me that was the one he’d used to touch me.
Those fingers. My God. They are … magic.
“Going somewhere important?” he asked.
“No.” My smile faded, my eyes narrowing at him. “I’m just … going.”
Except I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
“If you’re going, as in leaving, it’d better be with me.”
I laughed—a reaction that was easier, that came with less pressure, than saying words.
“Is that a yes?” He cocked his head.
I crossed my arms. “No.”
“Then, what will it take to get some of your time?” He reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and gave me a fold of bills as large as the one in my bra. “That amount should do it.”
There were so many layers to this. His money was burning the skin of my palm. My brain couldn’t keep up with all the noes that were accumulating each second in my head.
I shouldn’t take his cash.
I shouldn’t go into a private room with him.
I shouldn’t even be talking to him here.
But what I found myself saying was, “You want me to finally dance for you?”
“You know that’s not what I want.”
I swallowed, the tightness, the quivers both making it so difficult. “I know nothing, Ridge.”
He shook his head as though he were the teacher. “That isn’t true. You know just what I want. And if you didn’t know that the night I took you home, which would shock me, then I’m positive you can feel it right now by the way I’m looking at you.” He nodded toward me. “What are my unspoken words saying to you, Addison?”
I glanced to my right and left, checking to see if anyone was close enough to hear him. Even though they weren’t, I still said, “Addy.”
“I respect that you don’t want that side of you to surface while you’re in here. But you need to know I’ve seen straight past Addy and I’m looking directly at Addison. It doesn’t matter what you have on or what stage you just walked off. What I see is the gorgeous woman beneath.”
Why was that one of the hottest things anyone had ever said to me?
Why were there goose bumps on every inch of my body?
Why was air coming out of my lungs in fast, breathless pants?
“What do you want from me, Ridge?”
“Tonight?” He smiled. “Your time.”
“That’s it?”
He stalled for seconds, but what was showing in his eyes was louder than anything he could ever possibly say. “We can start there.”
I laughed again. “And you think us spending time together is safe, given our situation?”
“Safe?” His stare lowered down my body, and he let out a deep, gritty chuckle. “The thoughts in my head aren’t safe at all.” He locked eyes with me again. “But you can trust me.”
“What does trust have anything to do with this?”
“It has everything to do with it.” He moved his finger in a circle. “If you took any of these men into the back, you’d be filled with worry and what-ifs over what they were going to do. You don’t have the same fear with me.” His teeth briefly grazed his lip. “But you do have a fear …”
“And that is?”
“How are you going to stop yourself from sleeping with me tonight?”