Chapter 35 Hollie
HOLLIE
“Are you sure about this?” The car glides to a stop outside the club and a rush of nervousness pulses through me.
The last time I was here, I learned the truth about Maxim and while I don’t regret gaining that insight, I can’t stop thinking about that man.
Vinnie is his real name, apparently, and he’s still not been caught.
“I won’t tell you to stop worrying,” Maxim says as he takes my hand.
“But I will tell you to trust me. We’re here to have a good time and I want you to relax and have fun.
My entire team is here, and the girls are more than aware of the situation.
So if you can trust me, this night will be amazing. ”
He’s not wrong.
Inside, the club has been transformed from the glitzy, burlesque decor I saw last time into a complete winter wonderland.
White and silver glitter and tinsel wrap around the back of every chair, the legs of every table, and each pole not in use by a dancer.
Large stars, candy canes, and Christmas stockings hang from the ceiling, the fog machine hums thick and low to the floor, creating the impression of snow, and every girl is dressed up in festive wear.
We pass two sexy snowmen, a nearly nude elf, and a sexy Mrs. Claus on our way to the bar.
It’s as if the blizzard outside has swept right in through the doors and brought with it all the beauty of snowy New York, minus the cold.
A number of patrons mingle on the floor.
As we reach the bar, Toto and Stu break off and melt into the crowd with a few more of Maxim’s men to check things out.
Perching on a stool, my hand remains in Maxim’s as Xena pops up behind the bar with a wide smile.
Before I can greet her, she leans over and slides some sparkling antlers onto my head.
“There! All dressed up.” She chuckles, then she looks at Maxim. “I thought you weren’t coming?”
“Hollie deserves a night of fun, and what better place than this?” His grip tightens briefly around my fingers. “Two cocktails for me.”
“A mocktail for me,” I cut in quickly. “I think I ate something not quite right.”
“Aw, chick.” Hollie pouts sympathetically. “Coming right up!”
Christmas music fills the air as the lights dim and each occupied stage becomes highlighted by a spotlight. As the music swells, the girls start to dance and I watch in awe of their flexibility and sensual moves all while spinning around a pole. It would be tempting to try, but I can’t.
I managed to sneak away from Mom yesterday and visit my doctor who only had time for a quick physical, but everything seems alright with my baby.
Without a proper scan, though, she couldn’t tell for sure.
It was enough to reassure me, but I’m now overly cautious about anything that could affect this pregnancy.
But the reassurance brought me to one decision.
I need to tell Maxim. Regardless of how he takes the news, I need the freedom to see my doctor as often as I need.
But as much as I want to tell him right now, this night is about letting go and forgetting the stress of the past month.
I’ll tell him tomorrow.
“Do you want to dance?”
I swivel in my seat to face Maxim. “You can dance?”
“Is that surprising?”
Xena snorts from behind the bar.
“Not surprising,” I assure him sheepishly. “Just… you look more like you know how to dance around a boxing ring than a dance floor.”
“Are you judging me?” Maxim raises his brows and slides off his stool, pulling me toward the dance floor. “I’ll have you know that the real reason this place does so well is because people come to see me dance.”
“Oh, is that right?” I giggle. “You draw in more money than these beautiful, half-naked women?”
“Definitely.” Tucked into the crowd a little, Maxim’s arm snakes around my waist and pulls my body tight against his. “If you have any doubts, just follow me.”
“Oh, I can dance. In fact, I think you might be outmatched.”
“Am I?” He doesn’t hide the way his gaze roams over me as our aligned hips begin rocking from side to side in time to the music.
Despite our height difference, Maxim’s crouched stature keeps our hips aligned, but he soon abandons that as we part and the music takes us.
He’s not wrong about his ability to dance.
Every rock, sway, and bob to the music draws my eyes to his hips and his chest. He spins around me, keeping close enough that the warmth of his body envelopes me, but far enough that he doesn’t disturb my own moves.
It’s like I’m the pole and he’s the dancer the way he sways around me, his body like liquid with how he flows back and forth to the music.
My heart races. Glitter in the air clings to my skin. Strands of hair escaping my bun stick to the back of my neck, and I’m slowly overheating as the sensual rock of his body close to me ignites desire deep inside me.
I let him dance until the song changes, then I clasp his shoulders and he becomes the pole with little complaint.
Where he might have the moves, I have one thing that he doesn’t.
He’s strong and bulky enough that I can lean against him without him wavering, so I use that to my advantage.
Mimicking a few of the tamer moves I’ve seen from the dancers around me, I lean against his back and slide down until I’m on my haunches, then I spin around to his front and climb to my feet while arched into him.
My breasts drag against his body from his thighs all the way up to his chest, and Maxim’s breath catches in his throat.
Determined to win, I continue my swaying dance and grind around him while occasionally stepping away from him to close my eyes and dance to the music.
It’s freeing.
Within minutes, my worries melt away. Nothing exists but the pulsing music that vibrates through my bones, the soft fog caressing my bare ankles, the warmth of Maxim acting as my anchor, and the pleasant ache in my muscles that develops the longer I dance.
When did I last do this?
Just… stop and enjoy things?
No thoughts or work, family or stress. No worry about bills, the mold in my apartment, or where my next line of work will come from.
There’s just me and the music, and that’s all that matters.
And Maxim.
The music shifts to a slow tune and Maxim’s arm returns to my waist. I open my eyes with a soft gasp as he pulls me snug against his hot torso.
He leans into me until I’m arched back over his arm.
Nose to nose, we breathe the same bubble of air for a few silent seconds and then he smiles and kisses me slowly.
“Maybe you win,” he murmurs against my lips. “Maybe I win.”
“You win?” Looping one arm around his damp neck, I tease the softer hairs at his neck. “There’s no way you win.”
“I get you.” He leans back and our eyes meet. “So I win by default.”
I roll my eyes but his affection warms my heart and a shiver moves through me.
How can such an intense, intimidating man be so soft?
He’s like the grumpiest golden retriever I’ve ever met.
Looking back at when we first met in that club, it must have been this energy that drew me to him in the first place.
If I’d found him again in any other place than that pizzeria, maybe our relationship would have been like this from the start.
Instead, we’ve been through it, which only amplifies my feelings for him. Feelings that clash with a burst of reality in my mind. I don’t know how he truly feels, and it can all change when I tell him the truth.
I choose my fantasy for one more night and kiss him deeply, arching into him while we sway and grind around the dance floor.
The crowds seem to melt away, and it’s just us under one glittering spotlight.
He grinds gently against me, swaying back and forth and lightly twirling me around.
As we dance, his thigh ends up between my legs as if he’s helping guide me through the moves.
Sense escapes me. The pressure of his thigh against my core is enough to melt my mind and I can’t stop my hips from moving like they have a mind of their own.
My hands clutch the side of his neck and face, kissing him messily while his arm tightens around my waist and he supports me without a word.
My hips rock, dragging my core against his thigh while chasing the rush of pleasure that sparks each time I grind a certain way and rub my clit against his firm leg.
We might as well have been alone with how desperately I’m humping his leg.
Our tongues slide and weave together in a separate battle, each fighting for dominance, and while I don’t give up, I adore his effort to claim me.
His other hand roams over my body, caressing my hip, then up to grope at my breasts before finally settling on the side of my neck with his thumb against my racing pulse.
I’m floating, gasping and whimpering against his lips. He doesn’t give me space to breathe. My air comes from him while he drinks down every sound that erupts from me, yet all of it stays secret under the thrum of the music.
I reach climax with a gasp, clutching at Maxim and losing all footing.
His grip prevents me from falling and he holds me close as if we’re one.
When his lips curl into a cheeky smirk against my mouth, I bite his lower lip as sharply as I can while I tremble in his arms and my core clenches repeatedly.
“See?” Maxim grunts after freeing his lips from my hungry bite. “I win, no matter what. Because I have you. And the next time you want to be sassy, I’ll remind you how you humped my leg in a club in front of everyone.”
Heat immediately rushes to my cheeks as if I’ve been slapped, and reality comes crashing back.
The crowd around us is none the wiser, though.
Not a soul saw what we were up to and if they did, then they didn’t care.
The music seems louder now, and the crowd is a lot closer as I lean away from Maxim and fight to catch my breath.
“Later,” I gasp softly. “You’ll be debating whether this was my plan all along and I won because you’re easy to trick.”
“You sure about that?” He captures my lips in another strong kiss, then nudges his nose into mine. “Come on, I’m parched.”
Hand in hand, we weave through the crowd back toward the bar while I adjust my clothing to account for the new dampness in my underwear. But as the crowd surges, someone’s shoulder crashes into mine with such force that Maxim’s hand slips out of mine as I fall to the ground with a yelp.
“Hey! Watch where you’re go—”
It’s him. Time slows as the man vanishing into the crowd glances back with a single, hateful look. Half of his face is covered in small cuts. It turns my blood to ice and my heart stalls in my chest.
It’s him! Mr. Havershire— Vinnie. How is he here? How did he get in?
“Hollie!” As soon as Maxim’s over me, time seems to restart and I clutch at his arm.
“Maxim, that’s him! Right there! It’s Vinnie!”
Maxim scoops me up into my arms and then turns, glaring through the crowd while I fight to keep pointing at the rapidly disappearing head.
“Stu! Toto!”
I’m suddenly deposited into Rex’s arms and Maxim vanishes into the crowd, chasing after Vinnie.
My heart pounds as the crowd swells, swallowing them all from view. Rex carries me the rest of the way to the bar and sets me down while Xena climbs over the bar and clutches my hand.
“Was it really him?”
I nod, despite how doubt suddenly swells in my chest. What if I was wrong?
What if I was so caught up in the moment that I only saw someone I thought was familiar?
Xena presses water into my trembling hands as Vinnie’s face flashes, then deforms in my mind.
The harder I think about him, the less I’m sure of what I saw.
Did I just ruin the night?
Maxim and the others don’t return until the crowd has thinned several hours later. Hours I spent fretting about something happening to them. As soon as he appears, I lunge up from my seat and throw my arms around him.
“Oh, thank God, I’m so sorry!”
Maxim hugs me tightly and buries his face in my neck for a few long seconds. “What are you sorry for?” he asks as he pulls back.
“I don’t… The more I thought about it, the more I’m not sure I saw who I thought I saw.”
“Don’t doubt yourself. Stu saw him too and we have media of Vinnie. It was him.”
“How did he get in?” Xena, back behind the bar, nearly drops her glass. “How could he get here? Better yet, did you catch him?”
I gaze up at Maxim and see the answer in his eyes immediately. “He got away.”
Behind Maxim, Toto and Stu hunch over, slightly breathless. “Fucker’s fast,” Stu gasps.
“He’s one man,” Maxim growls. “One man has this entire organization chasing their fucking tails, me included. I refuse to let this continue. I want him dead, you hear me? I want him dead.”