Page 28 of H E R

She laughs and holds it up. “This part is for the top—it's more or less a bra.” She shrugs.

“More like apieceof a bra.” It’s more material than she’ll be wearing, but shit, I’ll be walking around with bandages and harness bands that connect to my thong.Fuck. I swallow.

“You’ll look hot. Stop whining. You’ll come home with over a thousand tonight.”

I nod, allowing the idea of working a few nights while earning this amount to flow through me and hopefully ease the butterflies in my stomach. It’ll be our fucking salvation. Jule can return to school, and I know it will help our cause and we’ll be able to slip away, hopefully unnoticed, to the farm my parents left us. Unbeknownst to the police force, apparently. And we want to keep it that way. I never could get rid of the trailer, but my parents would want us to leave.

I try to keep my mouth closed as the click of my heels on the black marble floor is drowned by the music blaring through unseen speakers. The blue strobe lights blind me and I straighten my spine.Don’t fucking fall, don’t trip, keep walking. Back straight, shoulders stiff.

I’m on the second floor and I look up through the mask’s holes. I’m wearing a black mask with pointy ears, a fox.

The third floor is visible, and I can see a man leaning on the black metal banister. The lights pierce through the crystal chandelier and twist and bend past it. I turn and place the empty silver platter on the bar, and the masked man behind it produces a new one withshot glasses brimmed to the top with vodka. I can smell it and I wrinkle my nose. I’m a tequila girl through and through. Vodka fucks me up–I can’t hang.

I’m wearing black pleather gloves that go up to my elbows and they pull at my forearms painfully. Everyone is wearing a mask to conceal their identity. Men in suits hold leashes that lead to naked womens’ necks. Some of them walk and others crawl. I keep my eyes on empty hands, supplying them with shots if they desire. Another server walks around with a glowing tray carrying three bottles with shooters, and I twist away from the sparks. The move causes me to trip over a crouched Sub. The tray clatters to the floor and the glass shards fly like fucking bullets.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

She ignores me, doesn’t even look up or acknowledge me. A security guard dressed like aMen in Blackcharacter approaches me and helps me up, squeezing my arm in the process. He materializes a broom with an attached dustpan and hands it to me. I catch Jasmin’s wide eyes from across the room and she quickly sashays toward me.

She looks like a fucking mermaid dancing her way to me, her thin frame moves coquettishly, and I’m a fucking clutz gathering the broken pieces of my soul scattered on the pristine hollow marble. The Dom who’s mate I tripped over turns to glare at me, like I touched what belonged to him without his permission, and my face burns beneath the mask.

“Allow me to offer you a bottle of our finest, on the house. Please excuse my friend. She’s new.” Jasmin bows her head and then snaps her fingers to the bartender, who produces a bottle of red.

He takes it and then hands it to his mistress, who finally stands. Aside from sky high stilettos, she’s completely naked, only wearing a diamond encrusted collar with a chain linked to her Dom’s wrist. He tugs it gently and they disappear into the crowd.

“You’vegotto be more careful,please,” Jas whispers through tight lips.

I nod and hand the tools to the bartender. I don’t know anyone’s names. Jasmin does, and she hands him a twenty. “You’re costing us money tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” I offer sheepishly, and she sighs. I’m so fucking bad at this and my feet are killing me.

“When shit like this happens, Donovan has the girls wear a red collar, which tells the clients that they’re up for grabs. Idon’twant that to be you.”

Fuck, I don’t either. I’m sure they’re compensated, but I wouldn’t be good at that. It took me months, up to just recently, to let Noah touch me. And in the past, my one-night stands were rough and quick. My trust wears super thin. “Okay, I’ll do better. I promise.”

Jas wears a black collar, and I’m curious. I point to it.

“Black means I’m off limits to touching.”

I nod and she smiles, then gives me a quick hug before waltzing to her previous spot, where a band of men waits for her. They catch her walking to them, the ground her catwalk, and they hoot. I look to the first floor, eight steps in front of me, and take a new platter down.

Why can’t I wear a black collar?

I focus on the area that has a stage in the middle with three poles, each accompanied by nude dancers. I spot small round tables and place three glasses down for three guys with their eyes glued to the stage. I move and notice a man come through the curtain behind the dancers. He’s barefoot and sits between two poles and the nude dancers crowd him. They're taking his clothes off and one starts to rub his dick. Another straddles his face.

I look away and walk toward the next set of stairs that lead back to the bar when a man grabs my wrist, whipping me backwards to fall onto his lap.Don’t react, be nice, you need this job; you don’t want to wear a red collar.

“Haven’t seen you around here before.”

He smells of vodka, and I smile past an urge to gag. I peer over at his table and notice four empty martini glasses.

“I’m new,” I purr, eliciting a sultriness Jasmin grilled me with. “I’ll fill you up,” I say as I lean forward, pushing my ass into his hardening dick, and place the four empty glasses on the platter. Then I get up slowly and smile at him. “I’ll be right back,” I wink.

Ugh, I want to shake his stench off of me. But I manage to keep it together and bring back a platter with four martinis and a bottle of a bubbly, sweet wine I like.CloserbyNine in Nailsis playing, and the moans coming from the stage grow. I fight the urge to peek when I notice a second man walk onto the stage from my peripheral, and instead produce a skinny flute which I had snuck behind my back. It was tucked under one of the stretchy belts, and the man and his comrades smile big. I open the bottle and fill the glass with bubbly for myself.

“Cheers to meeting the lovely…”

I grin and coquettishly shake my finger at them. I tsk under my breath. “One mustn’t ask for what one can’t have.” I tilt my head back and sip on the wine. “I’ll leave you gentlemen the bottle, for when I come back.” I wink again.

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