Page 41 of Ghost

She’s testing me again. Thinking if she pushes hard enough, I’ll snap. This time, I don’t take the bait. I step back.

“I’ll show you what we’re doing in the VIP rooms, but then you’re leaving.”

“Yes, sir.” She rolls her shoulders back, and even if she’s trying to be sarcastic to piss me off, all her words do is make me want to put her on her knees.

We’re standing in the middle of a strip club, with tits and ass all around us, but I can’t tear my eyes off this girl. She tugs her lower lip between her teeth, and I mentally make note of exactly how long it’s been since I’ve let myself touch someone the way I want to touch her.

I think about how long it’s been since I’ve let anyone touchme.

It aches knowing I don’t deserve whatever heaven exists between her legs, but I sure as shit wish I did.

Turning, I don’t wait for her to follow me as I head toward the back of the strip club to the VIP hallway.

I could have turned her away with Venom the second she walked in the door, but fuck if I’m letting him have any more time with her before I get a sense of where her head is at. She can’t be mine, but she is. And if he so much as looks at her again, I’m going to take a razorblade to his eyelids so he’s forced to watch me pull his intestines out of his stomach.

Stopping at the end of the hall, I hold the door open for Luna and watch as she walks into the private VIP room ahead of me. The lights are low in here, and the music is quieter. A couch sits against one wall, and there’s a private stage directly across from it.

When the door clicks shut, all I smell is Luna’s honeysuckle shampoo.

“I thought we were checking out the new security system.” Luna’s eyebrows pinch when she looks at me. “What are we doing in here?”

“I can’t run the software update until tomorrow.” I pull out my phone, stepping to the far wall. “The updates will take a while, and Steel doesn’t want the cameras down while the club is open.”

She nods, watching me move around the room. I walk slowly along the wall, making note of any blind spots as I monitor the feed on my phone.

“What are you doing?” Luna paces, stopping at the stripper pole and running her fingers down it.

“These are new cameras. I’m just confirming we have full coverage and no blind spots.” From the corner of my eye, I watch her skim her hand down the silver pole. “People like to fuck with the cameras in these rooms, so I set tampering sensors that will alert us if that happens.”

“Wouldn’t want anyone getting away with something under your watch, huh?” Luna turns her back to the pole, slowly starting to sway to the music. “Is that camera recording already?”

“Yeah.” I glance down at the feed, where I can see Luna on my phone, gripping the pole behind her.

“So, you can see this?” She lifts her arms slowly, grazing them over the sides of her breasts and into her hair until she’s gripping the pole overhead.

“What are you doing, Luna?”

“Helping you work.” She bites her lower lip.

The girl who is trying to break me is coming out to play again. She’s inching under my skin, and my defenses are weakening.

“How is what you’re doing going to help?” I ask, trying to ignore her as I start walking the length of the room again to make sure nothing mirrors.

Luna grips the pole, spinning her body around so she can slowly walk around it. She’s teasing the line between playing and dancing. Her weight is in her hand as she spins, but she doesn’t do much more than that.

“I’m making sure you don’t have any blind spots. You said that’s what you were looking for, right?”

“The stage is clear,” I tell her, seeing the full view of her on my screen.

“All of it?” Luna spins again, flipping her hair this time. “Wouldn’t want you to miss anything.”

She pauses to toe off one of her sneakers, kicking one across the room so it lands in the corner. On my screen, I see her shoe lying sideways on the floor.

“How about that spot?”

“It’s good.” I swallow hard.

Luna kicks off her other shoe. “What about over there?”

---