Chapter 13
HOPE
“Girl, don’t tell me that you have both Mr. Hottie and the boss wrapped around your finger now,” Diamond says the minute I walk into the dressing room. “I saw you getting out of Harvester’s truck.”
“No, he was giving me a ride to work,” I answer, shaking my head. “Styxx got tied up with something.”
“And you couldn’t drive yourself, seeing as your car is still in the parking lot,” Trixie adds.
“Yeah,” I agree, wishing I weren’t having this conversation.
“You know the other girls are fuming mad with you right now,” Sugar states, without looking away from her mirror as she does her makeup to get ready to go on stage.
“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.” I didn’t think I had at least.
“There’s a rule that the guys who are members of the club don’t go for their employees, yet Mr. Hottie has taken to you,” Diamond points out while pulling out an outfit to change into. “Which should I go with? Black cat suit or red devil tonight? Maybe schoolgirl?
“Please don’t do schoolgirl.” I groan and flop down in my chair.
“Why not?” Trixie asks.
“Because . . .” I take a breath and let it out, knowing these three girls are friends of mine. They’ve unloaded the heavy shit in their lives with me before, and I can trust them with this. “Because my uncle tried taking my sister from school today and I’m more than a little freaked out.”
“He did what?” Diamond snaps, tosses the outfits as she stomps across the room, and drops to her knees next to me.
“He tried taking her out of school today. This is after he showed up at my house yesterday and showed up here when I got off work before that.”
“What does he want?” Sugar asks, her hand taking mine and squeezing reassuringly.
“Honestly, I don’t know. He keeps fighting me for custody, claiming I’m unfit to raise Promise.”
“That’s bull, and everyone knows it. That girl is amazing, all because of who you are and how you work your ass off to give her the life she deserves.” Diamond fumes, eyes narrowed on me. She’s angry, and I can see it’s on my behalf.
“What does Styxx have to say about this?” Trixie demands.
“He’s looking into my uncle, that’s why he didn’t bring me tonight.
” I’m still not sure how I feel about him doing that, but I really don’t know if I should care.
I get it’s invasive. It’s intrusive. His digging into my uncle goes against the grain, however, after what he did today, I’m done playing nice.
I want to know what his endgame is here.
“Well, let him do his thing. He’ll take care of it, and you will be free and clear to not worry. You always take so much on,” Diamond murmurs softly.
“Let him handle this. You just worry about raising that kid.” Trixie adds.
“That’s right,” Sugar agrees. “You handle you and let that hottie do the rest. If these other bitches in the basic stripper room have anything to say about you getting with Styxx, then we’ll deal with them. They just don’t have what you got, and that’s magic when you’re on stage.”
“Sugar’s right. You got that magic when you’re dancing. Styxx saw something he liked and didn’t mind going for it,” Diamond states, getting to her feet. “Now, which outfits should I do tonight? The schoolgirl is out.”
Just like that, these girls have helped me calm my nerves and get us back on task of getting ready for tonight’s shows. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
If I have to deal with another basic bitch getting in my space, I’m going to lose it on one of them and end up losing my job in the process. I can’t afford to get sacked because of petty bitches who are not happy and getting their way.
I don’t know how many times I heard one of them call me a slut, a whore, easy, and a lot more creative words I don’t even want to think about. All because I was with a member of the Satan’s Keepers MC.
One more time, and I was going to knock the bitch who spoke in the teeth. I wasn’t one for violence, but I also wasn’t one for not sticking up for myself.
Thankfully, the night’s nearly over. I have one more dance, then I’m done, and I can get out of here and get home or wherever I’m going tonight.
I step out into the hall, prepared to go out on stage, when Mandy, one of the regular strippers, steps out across the hall, glaring daggers at me.
“I don’t know what Harvester sees in you, claiming you as one of the best dancers. You’re nothing more than a fat whore.”
At her words, I’m done. So done with the ugly words tonight.
Stomping in her direction, not caring that I’m dressed in nothing more than a leather and lace corset and lacey cheeky panties.
It was an outfit I’d ordered before opening night, and it finally came in yesterday.
I had the perfect song picked for this outfit.
I stop directly in front of Mandy, bring my hand up, and slap the hell out of her. “You need to watch your mouth.”
“What the hell?” Mandy screeches, crocodile tears filling her eyes as she cups the side of her face.
“The hell is going on here?” Harvester’s booming voice bounces off the walls. Styxx was right behind him.
“She just slapped me,” Mandy cries, rushing to Harvester.
“Temptation?” My stripper name is said in question.
“Yes, I slapped her.”
“She had good reason for it,” Diamond says from the door of our dressing room at my defense. “All of them,” she points in Mandy’s direction, then the door to their dressing room. “Have been giving her a hard time all night. Calling her names and shit.”
“No, we haven’t,” Mandy protests, still crying.
“If that’s true, then when we check the cameras . . .”
“Cameras have audio, so we can hear everything that was said,” Styxx grunts, interrupting Harvester. “If I find out that you’re lying, it’ll be you that will reap the repercussions, not my woman.”
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Mandy cries and looks at Harvester. “You said the rules in the beginning, and all of us except her have abided by them.”
“Those rules being?” Harvester demands.
“That . . . that we are to stay away from the members of the club. Lap dances only at requests . . .”
“What’s that got to do with Temptation being my brother’s woman?”
“It’s the rules. Everyone knows it.” Mandy fumes. Tears gone from her eyes, and her face clearly turning a bright red, even in the darkness of the hallway.
“My woman is not club business,” Styxx growls while showing Harvester something on her phone. “It might be a rule for you all, but if a member of the club wants someone, his brothers will stand by it.”
“Pack your shit, Mandy, you’re done here.”
“What?” Mandy gasps, looking on with wide eyes. “You can’t do that?”
“Video says otherwise,” Styxx grunts and looks to me. “Next time someone’s talking shit to you, you don’t put up with it. You call me right away, and I’ll deal with it.”
“I’m not—”
I don’t get to finish what I was going to say. Not when Styxx moves into my space, curls his arm around me, and walks me backward farther down the hall.
“Styxx, brother, she’s up next,” Harvester calls out.
“She’ll be ready in a minute,” Styxx tells his brother without stopping from moving me backward.
When he finally stops, it’s at another door where he reaches out with his free hand, opens it, and pulls me inside with him.
“What are you doing, Styxx?” I ask, my voice no more than a whisper.
“You still have to be dealt with for striking a fellow employee,” he says, letting me go and grabbing a thing of ropes.
“What . . .”
Again, my words trail off as he turns his attention back to me.
“Top off, Hope,” he orders. “This last dance, you’re doing it tied how I see fit.”
“But I don’t show my breasts, but barely glance.
“Tonight, your dance is for me. You’ll do it as I say.”
A shiver rushes down my spine at the thought of dancing just for him. I knew there were people still in the audience. There always is until closing.
“I can’t get the top off by myself,” I tell him, quietly. “Diamond had to help me.”
Styxx steps behind me and unhooks the back of the corset, letting it drop to the floor. “You’ll have to dance in that another night. Now, put your arms at a bend behind your back and stand still for me. Do not move until I tell you to.”
“Okay,” I whisper and do as he says.
Within moments and with expert hands, Styxx has the ropes on both my nipples shielded by two portions as he wraps them firmly around me. The friction of the material and pinching is nearly too much for me to take. Styxx further wraps it downward over my panties, pressing it against my pussy.
“I don’t think I can dance like this.” I swallow, nervous and completely turned on.
“You’ll dance, mo chathú.” The certainty in his voice as he finishes is like a praise and something else altogether.
Like his tone is a dominance all in itself with how he assures me I can do something.
“Now, you’ll go out there, dance, and when you’re done, you’ll be rewarded for doing as you’re told. ”
“Okay.” I nod, suck in a breath, and allow him to escort me out of the room he pulled me into.
I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I could pull this off, but I was going to try. How could I not? Who was I kidding? I’m totally out of my element here.
Styxx guides me to the side of the stage, stops me there, and tells me to wait until the beat of the music starts. I knew this, but I have a feeling that he’s changing my music for my last dance up. He leaves me standing there, wondering what he’s doing.
A moment passes before I hear the first beats of “Night Temptress.”
I suck in a breath and step out into the pink lighting on the stage. I sway and move across the platform to the pole. I’ve never done this without being able to use my hands, but if Styxx wants me to dance like this, I’ll give him a show.
I curl one leg tight around the pole, squeeze, and add my other leg.
It takes a lot of leg muscle to pull it off, but I manage to sway my upper body, arch my back til my shoulders hit the floor, and release the pole, shoving myself back, legs spread wide, flipping myself on the floor to my knees, and pulling myself upright.
By the end of the song, the ropes had me nearly panting as I strutted off the stage. Styxx is there waiting for me. Eyes dark with lust meet mine, and I swallow, unsure if speaking right now would be the right call.
Styxx grips my hips and lifts me off the floor. “Legs around my waist, mo chathú,” he orders.
Wrapping my legs around him, I have only to trust that he won’t drop me as he carries me down the hallway back to the room he’d taken me to before.
Without dropping me, he shoves me against the door the second it closes behind us.
“So fuckin’ beautiful, mo chathú. Watching you dance like that, fuck, my cock is hard enough to slam nails right now. I’m gonna fuck you right here against the door. You ready for that?”
His words send heat straight to my core, and I nod frantically, unable to form coherent thoughts as his hands grip my thighs tighter.
“Use your words,” he demands, his voice husky against my ear.
“Yes, please,” I gasp out, the ropes pressing deliciously against my sensitive flesh with each tiny movement.
Styxx growls, pressing me harder against the door as one hand leaves my thigh to work his belt. The sound of his zipper coming down makes my breath catch. I’m already wet, have been since he first tied me up.
“This pussy is mine,” he says, spreads the rope over my panties, and pushes them to the side. “Say it.”
“It’s yours,” I whimper as I feel the head of his cock press against my entrance. “I’m yours.”
“Damn straight you are,” he snarls. He slams into me without warning, filling me completely in one brutal thrust.
I cry out, my body jolting with pleasure as he fills me completely. The ropes dig into my skin with each movement, enhancing friction against my very sensitive nipples. The ropes are rubbing against my folds, causing a pleasure I’ve never known before.
“Fuck, you feel good,” Styxx growls against my neck, his hips starting a relentless rhythm. “So tight, so perfect. All mine.”
“Yes.” My head falls back against the door as he pounds into me, his powerful thrusts lifting me higher with each movement of his hips. I can’t touch him as I want to, can’t do anything but take what he gives me, and somehow that makes everything more intense.
“Brian,” I gasp, my legs tightening around his waist. “Oh God . . .”
He shifts his angle slightly, hitting a spot deep inside me that makes stars explode behind my eyelids. “That’s it, mo chathú. Take all of me. Give me what I want.”
My body convulses around him as my climax hits me like a freight train. I’m vaguely aware of my own cries echoing in the small room, but I can’t control them, can’t control anything as wave after wave of pleasure crashes through me.
“That’s it, baby. Let go for me.” Styxx growls, his thrusts becoming more erratic as my walls pulse around him.
I’m completely at his mercy, bound and helpless against the door as he takes what he wants. The ropes tighten with each movement, the sensation pushing me higher even as I’m coming down.
“Fuck, Hope,” he groans, burying his face in my neck as his hips slam into mine one final time. I feel him pulse inside me, filling me as his body tenses against mine.
For several moments, we stay like that, both breathing hard, my legs still wrapped tight around him.
The rest of me limp in his arms. Never have I experienced something so intense and erotic as what we just shared.
It makes me want to do it all over again.
Then repeat once more. Maybe after that I’d be sated, but I’m not so sure about that.
Sex with Styxx is intoxicating in the best of ways, even when he uses it as punishment.