Page 18 of Hell & Back

Tuck tried not to laugh, but failed. He placed a hand over his side and grinned. “Like a son of a bitch, but it was worth it.”

JED

Jed, Tulsa and Lance decided to visit Bottom’s Up and have a little fun, seeing as they might not be around for a while to enjoy the lovely ladies shaking their asses off on stage. As of tomorrow, Tulsa and Lance were heading to Taos, New Mexico to do a little recon on those fuckers, the Phantom Furies. Chris wasn’t going this round, but wanted to join in the fun anyway so he tagged along.

As for Jed, he’d come up with the idea that he would seek out Sadie Swallow and find a way to insinuate himself into her life. They weren’t exactly sure how she was connected to the Phantoms yet, other than her name was on different property leases in Redemption and one in Taos. Whether or not she was aware that she was responsible for all those properties remained to be seen. If she was and had stupidly used her own real name, that wasn’t good for her. If she was unaware that her name wason those leases, as he suspected, the woman was in way over her head and it was his job to figure it out.

The opening strains to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” started to play, directing their attention toward the main stage. From the shadows they were only able to make out the faint outline of one of the dancers and what looked like a prop in front of the curtain. Like a lightning strike, a spotlight snapped on, illuminating Tessa sitting on a smaller version of a mechanical bull. She was wearing a blue and white costume similar to one of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader uniforms, tall white boots and all. Her natural dark hair was half up with the other half falling seductively around her shoulders. She flashed the crowd a sassy smile and mounted the bull, swinging a long, lean leg over the saddle. With a nod to signal she was ready, the bull started its slow spinning and bucking motion.

Just like the professional bull riders he’d seen at the county fair growing up, she gripped the pommel with one hand and raised her other arm in the air above her head while rocking and gyrating in the saddle. Her hips moved forward and backward in perfect rhythm with the bull. It was fucking hypnotizing. So much so, his dick started to stir. From the way Tulsa was squirming, he was falling under her spell, too.

This being their last night in Redemption for a while, maybe he should invite Tessa back to the clubhouse tonight for a little cowgirl action. He’d have to see to it before one of these knuckleheads beat him to it or he might have to compromise and share her with one or both of them.

The bull slowed until it came to a stop, the music still playing. Tessa swung her leg up and over the bull, gracefully landing on her high-heeled boots. She moved down the stage in perfect time to the song, ripping her shirt open along the way. She had on a white lacy bra beneath the shirt and as she proceeded to shimmy out of her short shorts, she had on a matching white lace g-string. She did a few twirls around the pole and some sexy dance moves, slipped her bra off and shook her tits at the crowd, and the song was over.

Holy hell. Was it hot in here or was it just him?

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my dick is about to punch out of my jeans after that little number.” Tulsa, always one to goof around, rubbed his cold beer along his forehead.

So, no, Jed wasn’t the only one getting worked up. Scanning the crowd, he found the entire audience was feeling the same pain. He almost choked on his beer at the severe frown on Lance’s face and the way he was trying to find a more comfortable position in his chair. What made it even funnier was Chris losing it and laughing his ass off at their brother’s obvious discomfort.

Their waitress, Violet, stopped by their table while the next girl was getting ready to come out on stage and asked if they needed another round. Jed asked her to bring four more and a round of shots.

While they waited for their drinks, Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” blasted through the speakers at the same time the spotlight blinked on revealing a dancer he’d never seen before. Her costume consisted of a short-sleeve white button-up shirt tied just under her tits. Not only did it give him a generous amount of tan tight stomach to gaze upon, but it also revealed some very nice cleavage. Below that expanse of creamy, smooth skin she wore a red plaid, pleated skirt with a big gold buckle on her right hip, the length of which barely covered her ass cheeks. His gaze slid farther down, taking in her long, lean, shapely legs and ended at her shiny black platform high-heeled shoes. All that and her black hair pulled into two low ponytails, and she looked like an innocent school girl. Until he took in her bright red nails and lipstick. That just reeked of all kinds of naughty naughty.

His eyes were glued to the sultry sway of her hips as she advanced down the stage in time to the music. She passed the pole, stopped, moved her hips in a wide circle and slammed her closed fists onto her hips. Turning her back to the audience, she did another hip roll, making sure to stick her ass out and giving the crowd a quick glimpse of her smooth, flawless globes beneath her tiny skirt. Tossing back her head, she flung her arms to the sides before giving the crowd a side view. With her fists together in a right angle in front of her, she fell to her knees, slapped the floor and fell to her side with a big flourish of dark raven hair. She rolled to her hip, got her feet beneath her hand and popped up so that her legs were straight and her ass was in the air. Slowly rising to a standing position, she seductively slid her hand up her side and bit into her full bottom lip.

From there she sashayed her way to the pole, gripped the pole with one hand, smacked her ass with the other, then did a dip, bounced back up and arched her back while thrusting her hips toward the pole in one smooth, hot as hell move.

Next, she leaned her back against the pole, gripped it above her head and kicked her legs above her so she could wrap one leg around it by the back of the knee. She did the splits upside down and in the air with her hands secured to the pole below her, then glided slowly down until her hands came to a rest on the floor. She untangled her legs one at a time, like she was doing some gymnastic trick so that she was free of the pole. Squatting on her heels, her hands flat on the floor in front of her, she once again popped her ass up in the air at the same time her head popped up. Her bright smile told him she was enjoying herself as she flirted and teased the crowd. From the looks of it, the audience was enjoying it, too. They appeared to be captivated and sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what she’d do next.

Strutting to the front of the stage, she turned her back to the audience and teased them over her shoulder while workingthe buttons on the front of her shirt. She parted the two sides dramatically, then turned to face the front again, twirling her shirt in one hand. Damn. Cheers and wolf whistles erupted from the tables. Her bra was sheer red with beads or crystals over her nipples, giving the impression of pasties. She danced around a bit then reached for the gold buckle at her hip, removing it with a bit of showmanship.

Jed rubbed his hand over his mouth, his throat suddenly gone dry.

As he stared transfixed, she returned to the pole, leaned her back against it and slid down. When her ass hit her heels, she settled both hands on her knees and spread them open, winking at the audience. Leaning into a crawling position, she moved across the stage like a feline on the hunt, then rolled to her back and thrust her hips in the air as her hands slapped the stage at her sides. The crowd went wild. She danced a bit more, then suddenly, the routine was over and she was leaving the stage.

Violet returned about that time with their drinks. She laughed and shook her head. “You like the new girl, I take it?”

Jed realized at this point that his mouth was hanging open like some goob who’d finally seen his first semi-naked woman. Thankfully, glancing at his friends, he found them looking much the same as he must. He cleared his throat and thanked her for their drinks. “Yeah. Who is she and how long has she been working here?”

“Her name is Avery and she’s been working here for about three weeks I think.”

“Why haven’t I ever seen her before?”

“She only works Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.” Violet passed out the shots. “She’s getting to be really popular. They’re thinking of offering her weekends when Denise leaves.”

“Denise is leaving?” Tulsa leaned forward to be heard over the loud music.

“Yeah, she’s getting married to a lawyer she met here. He told her she could quit and be a stay at home mom.” Violet’s wistful smile said she wished she’d be as lucky and find a rich man to take care of her, too. Jed couldn’t fault any of the women working here for that dream despite how well the Sons took care of their employees. Who wouldn’t pass up the idea of not having to work nights and weekends, especially since he knew Denise had a young son at home she was raising all by herself. He truly hoped it worked out well for her.

“Do me a favor? Ask her to meet me upstairs for a lap dance in one of the VIP rooms.” Jed wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he did know that he needed to meet this woman.

“Sure thing.” The waitress hurried off to do as he asked.

“You’re going to fuck the new girl?” Chris smiled behind his beer.

Jed shrugged. “If she’ll let me.” He got up, took his beer with him and headed upstairs to the VIP rooms.

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