Page 10 of While She Sleeps

The music is muted in here, playing quietly in the background as tables of men keep their gazes locked on the women dancing in front of them.

I recognize most of the dancers, but none of them so much as lift their eyes to meet mine, not when there are sizable tips at stake. But I doubt I’ll get to keep any that I earn.

Lucas pays me a wage for the work I do for him, which is barely enough to make ends meet, and everything else goes straight to him. It’s hard to believe I still have so much to pay off from our debt, but every time I’ve mentioned it to him, he’s flipped his switch so quickly it’s like I’m speaking to another person altogether.

I glance around and find a table of men in the corner that don’t have a dancer with them and head their way. I’m not in the business of getting in anyone’s way, especially when I shouldn’t be here in the first place.

“Hey, pretty lady.” A short man eyes me as I approach. His beady eyes are filled with lust that makes my stomach churn, and the sweat stains at his armpits make it hard not to wretch at the idea of allowing this man to touch me. “I’ve never seen you in here before. You new?”

The man beside him, as tall as he is lean, makes a sound in the back of his throat that doesn’t help my case, but I pause at the edge of their table, nonetheless.

“Kind of.” I flick a piece of hair over my shoulder. “I’ve worked for the boss for a long time, but I don’t normally work here.” It’s as truthful as I plan on being with these complete strangers. The fewer people who think I’ll ever be in this room again, the better.

“Why don’t you come sit between us, sweet thing?” The skinny guy asks as he readjusts himself. Stupidly, I allow my eyes to drop to the bulge in his pants, and I quickly avert my gaze, looking for any opportunity to not take a step closer to these two.

“Can I get you a drink?” I ask, reaching for the bottle of vodka sitting in the middle of the table. I know better than to drinkanything that wasn’t sealed when it was handed to me, but I’m happy to liquor these two up until they’re too drunk to put their hands on me.

I don’t give them a chance to respond before I refill their empty glasses, but it doesn’t waste anywhere near as much time as I would like.

A loud cheer catches my attention, and I look over my shoulder to see Kelsey lying on a table with one of the more attractive patrons here tonight pouring tequila over her bare stomach while the rest of his group watches.

“You up for that, sweetheart?” The bigger man asks, his eyes still glued to the scene playing out in front of us.

“I’m not dressed for that, unfortunately.” I giggle, the sound grating on my own nerves.

“I’m sure there’s something pretty under that dress you could show us,” he replies, and I swallow heavily. Lucas is a real fucking asshole for putting me in this position.

I’m so distracted by trying to think of a reason to not strip out of this dress that I miss the drunk asshole stumbling toward me until it’s too late, and given the sky-high heels, I can’t catch myself before I fall.

The filthy carpet rushes toward me, and I hold my breath, preparing my body to hit the ground, but I never do. Instead, a set of strong arms wrap around me, and I find myself against their chest.

“Animals,” he mutters against the shell of my ear. “Are you okay?”

I nod, attempting to look over my shoulder at whoever is holding me, but he doesn’t give me enough room to see him. “I’m okay. Thank you for catching me.”

He rights me, holding onto my hips until he’s sure I’ve got my balance before he lets go. “Have a good night,” he says quietly, and slips away into the shadows before I can turn around.

If it weren’t for the way the two men in the booth were staring behind me, I’d wonder if I imagined the entire interaction. But then I notice the drunk guy who bumped into me on the floor beside me and know I definitely didn’t dream up the way those arms wrapped around me, or how his hands squeezed my waist.

“Come have a seat, sweetheart.” The skinny guy wraps his hand around my wrist and tugs me toward them before I can say no.

I stumble again, cursing these stupid heels, and I don’t get a chance to right myself before they have me trapped between them, each placing a hand on my exposed thigh.

“There. Isn’t that better?” The sweaty one leans closer and breathes me in. Could I have picked a creepier pair to walk toward? Suddenly it’s making a butt load of sense why none of the other girls were over here.

I want to tell him that, if anything, this is much worse, but I snap my mouth shut. These assholes manhandling me is not how I saw tonight playing out, but I don’t have a lot of choices other than to grin and bear it.

Almost at the same time, their hands move higher, and my breath stutters in my chest as panic knocks the air from my lungs. After my session a few hours ago, I was already feeling vulnerable. But now, trapped between these two men with no choice but to allow this to play out, I’m struggling to see past the dark spots filling my vision.

“I bet you’d take our cocks so fucking well,” the skinny one murmurs against the shell of my ear as his fingers reach the edge of my panties. “Whores like you always do.”

I swallow heavily, my stomach rolling to the point I’m sure I’m about to lose the only thing in my stomach, the iced coffee I had this morning.

“Ember,” Lucas snaps from the other side of the table. When did he get here? I didn’t see him walk up, but then again, I’ve been too focused on not having a panic attack to see much of anything happening around me. “You’re needed in one of the private rooms.”

I open my mouth to ask what he means, but he’s already gone.

Being trapped between these two assholes in the middle of the VIP section is one thing, but being locked in a room with no one to save me?

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