Chapter 6 #2
“Let’s not mince words, Riley. You’re a stripper,” I continue. “And what does a stripper do?”
“She strips…” For a moment she just stares at me and then she snaps. “What ridiculous game is this?”
“I should be asking you that. Why were you dressed like that during rehearsal?”
“So that’s what this is all about?” She raises an eyebrow.
“Yes, the rehearsal is meant for you to get comfortable with the routine you’re going to perform in front of our customers,” I slide on my chair to the big TV screen in the corner and turn on the security cameras.
“Everyone else is in costume, except for you. That makes me wonder if you are comfortable undressing.”
Riley just stands there watching the security footage with a serious look on her face. Then she tilts her head at one of her moves around the pole.
“It was just practice,” she finally speaks again. “I was told it wasn’t necessary to strip in practice.”
“True enough,” I turn off the security footage and return my focus to her. “But do you have a problem with stripping?”
“No,” she responds immediately. “I wouldn’t be here if I did.”
“In that case,” I get up and circle around the desk, dimming the lights in my office. “Show me what a real show would look like.”
“What?” The shock on her face is entertaining.
“You heard me,” I drop my body on the sofa, both hands stretched across the back. “Pretend I’m a client and show me what a real show looks like.”
Riley arches an eyebrow. “A client?” She takes a deliberate step toward the sofa, leaning in just enough to look down at me. “If you wanted a private audition, you could have just asked.”
My jaw tightens, a mix of irritation and dark amusement spreading through me.
“Just dance, Riley.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” She murmurs with a smirk as she gets up, getting her phone from the purse. A heartbeat later, the same sensual song she danced to during the audition starts playing.
With her back turned to me, she slowly starts swinging her body to the music. I recognize that same trance I saw earlier when she becomes one with the song.
She turns around to face me, slowly pulling her shirt up as she’s approaching me.
Before she takes it off completely, she drops it as if she had changed her mind in the middle of the stripping, but she continues swaying her hips.
One of her hands gently brushes the armrest of the sofa, teasing me just enough before her attention returns to the shirt.
This time, in one swift motion, Riley takes the shirt off, revealing a pink bra underneath. My throat tightens when she proceeds to unzip her shorts and then pushes them off her hips with ease.
She’s even more gorgeous in her underwear, the perfectly toned body surrounding me and playing with me without ever getting near enough for me to touch her.
“You like this?” Her voice is soft when she speaks, inviting me in, as her hands reach at the back, ready to take off her bra.
“Go on, take it off,” I move uncomfortably on the sofa, trying to find the right seating position.
With a smirk on her face, she drops the bra to the floor.
My jaw clenches so hard my teeth ache. I don’t think, instead I reach out to hook my finger into the string of her panties and to drag her body flush against mine.
Instead of flinching, she steps back––just an inch, enough to tease––and reaches into her bag.
My muscles coil, a lethal instinct instantly flaring at the sudden movement.
I could pin her to the floor before she even clears her zipper.
But I stay still, tracking every move, as she pulls out a long, silk scarf.
The fabric catches the dim light of the office as she steps back into my space. The scent of sweet vanilla hits me first, completely intoxicating, wrapping around my senses and messing with my head in a way I don’t even want to acknowledge.
She leans over me and everything else in the room vanishes.
Her full, perky breasts hover inches from my face, the soft curve shifting with every breath she takes.
They are a cruel, breathless torture, close enough for me to feel the radiating warmth of her skin.
They’re practically begging for my hands, my mouth, anything to break the agonizing space between us.
Before I can recover enough to wrap my hands around her waist, she uses my distraction against me and wraps the silk around my wrists, dragging my hands together.
Every dominant impulse in my blood screams to rip the fabric apart and show her exactly who owns this room. But the sheer audacity of her stops her. I let her tie the knot as I watch the fierce spark in her eyes.
“No touching,” She whispers against my ear, her warm breath sending a sharp, electric jolt down my spine.
As she pulls away to continue the dance, her gaze drops, pausing on my erection.
I don’t even bother hiding it, I want her to see it.
She begins to move again, a slow, almost agonizing sway, keeping herself just out of arm’s reach but the heat radiating off her bare skin keeps washing over me.
Every snap of her hips, every brush of her thighs against the air, feels almost physical.
The silk cuts into my wrists as I reflexively tighten my fists, the friction only making the ache in my groin more punishing.
“Come closer,” I command her, my voice rough and gravelly. She obeys, stepping into the narrow V of my thighs. “Are you having fun?”
For a short second, she doesn’t speak. Instead, she just stands there looking at me with raw, fierce intensity that catches me completely off guard. Her chest heaves, her ribs expanding as she takes a shallow breath.
“Yes…”
Neither of us is focused on the dance anymore and she’s close enough that if I were to move just a little, our lips would inevitably clash against each other. Her smell is sweet.
What if I…
“You can leave now,” I clear my throat and start untying my hands. “That was good enough.”
“Allow me,” she helps me out with the scarf and then nervously pushes it back into her bag.
I try not to look at her as she’s putting her clothes back on.
“Thank you.”
With that, she leaves. The moment the door clicks shut behind her, the silence in the office is suffocating.
I can hear the sound of her boots fading as she’s walking down the corridor.
The air still smells like her, the sweet vanilla scent mixed with the sharp edge of my own arousal. I look down at my lap.
Fuck.