Page 29 of Strip Search

“No,” she said reluctantly. “But if every night was like this one . . .”

“It wouldn’t be.”

“I know, but if that’s the only way to see if that guy who was interested in Lisa comes back and to get the other dancers to trust me with what they know, I want to do it.” She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re a distraction for me. A fantastic one, don’t get me wrong. But I can’t run my club with you on the stage. I’m not wired that way. If you’re with me, then you’re mine.”

Jackie shivered and I started to reconsider round two. She could sit on my lap and grind on me to her heart’s content. I took a step forward to lead her back to the couch.

“My sister has to be the priority,” she said. But she was looking at my cock and licking her lips.

“Then, let’s go see what we can find at Zeke’s and Dee’s homes. They could be dead ends or we could find out something worth pursuing. And then I want to take you out to a nice dinner, maybe a show.”

She smiled and my heart stuttered. What the fuck was that all about? This was sex. Raw, hot, horny sex. When she smiled I should be thinking about her lips around my cock, not having my hormones flutter like I was a kid with his first crush.

“And then we’re going back to your hotel room,” I said, yanking her to me. Tossing the blanket aside, I slid my hand down the silky smooth skin of her belly. She parted her legs for me and I dipped just one finger inside her sticky wetness.

Gasping, Jackie clutched at my shoulders. I fingered her softly, aware that she might be a little sore after I took her so roughly. “And then, I’m going to explore every inch of you with my tongue.” I murmured in her ear, nipping at her earlobe.

Reaching out, she trailed her fingernails up the shaft of my cock. “I’ve got plans of my own for you and it involves you flat on your back.” She rubbed me just as slowly.

“Babe, why don’t we go upstairs to my apartment? We can start the search tomorrow. Right now, I don’t have the strength to let you go.”

She eased away so my fingers fell out. She stroked me a few more times before letting me go. “No, I need a few hours to recover. I want some serious wall-banging sex later. After I give you the best damn blow job of your life.”

Holy shit. I swallowed hard and couldn’t move as she wrapped the blanket around her like a toga. Jackie walked out of my office, tossing me a saucy wink over her shoulder.

She’d make me a fortune if I let her work prime hours. But she was leaving as soon as she found her sister, and for the first time in a long time I was feeling selfish enough to want something for myself.

I turned my Bluetooth back on and listened to the security chatter, hoping that would settle down my raging hard-on. Nothing unusual was going on. I hadn’t even been missed. Maybe I didn’t have to work twenty-four seven in the bar. Jackiewas a good way to ease into some kind of life-work balance. And then I remembered that my uncle’s employees bailed on him before some assholes burned his place down with him in it. It had been three years since I got that terrible phone call from the Las Vegas police department and I thought about it every damn day since.

I couldn’t afford to let myself be distracted and miss something important. My uncle had enemies and that animosity should have died with him, but I was more than prepared to take the fight to some of them out of revenge as well as self-preservation. The local gang was the Rivs and, after a rocky start when I first opened Dalton’s two years ago, we’d come to a mutual agreement. However, I had to put about half of them in the hospital first. It almost came down to gunplay, but my reputation saved me. Leonidas, the leader of the Rivs, had a few Eurotrash cousins who owned some clubs I had worked at. Once I made a few phone calls, they told him to lay off Dalton’s.

My entire life savings was sunk into this place and I had loyal employees who relied on me to provide them a paycheck and a safe place to work. I couldn’t let them down. Taking the back entrance out of my office, I got into the elevator and keyed it for the top floor. After letting myself into my apartment above the club, I took a quick shower. I probably should have brought Jackie up here instead of fucking her on the couch in my office, but we would have never gotten out of bed. My cock still twitched from her touch and I would be hearing her eager screams in my head for a long time.

I threw on another pair of black jeans and a matching T-shirt. It was our club uniform, but it would be passable for a night on the town. Going back downstairs into the club area, I did a walk-through. It was getting busier and if it kept up, we were going to have a good night.

Darcy was still missing and I could only hope he was enjoying himself with any other stripper than Jackie. Sienna gave me a nod as she gave one of the Aussie rugby players a lap dance. She had ten-dollar bills sticking out of her bra and thong. Say what you want about the Australians, they weren’t afraid to tip the girls.

Later on, that might piss off the Americans who wanted the most bang for their buck. Little did they know it took a lot more than a few dollar bills to buy the kindness of the dancers. On stage Lavender was giving it her all to George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex.”

Highway raised an eyebrow when I walked up to him. He exaggerated an inhale.

“You smell pretty, sunshine. Want to fuck?”

“You’re a charmer. I’m taking the night off. I’ll see you tomorrow. Lock up and don’t take any shit.”

“This isn’t like you.” He looked over my head at something. “But I can see why you’re doing it.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a freshly scrubbed Jackie weaving through the crowd toward us. She wore a sundress with big purple flowers on it and sensible shoes. Her hair was back in a slick ponytail and she didn’t look anything like La Vie Bohème in her street clothes. I wondered if she was back to wearing granny panties and her white cotton bra. I couldn’t wait to find out.

“It’s good to see you smile. You deserve some R&R,” Highway said.

“I wasn’t asking for permission,” I retorted. “Besides I’m not completely off the clock. I want to make sure these disappearances aren’t the harbinger of something more serious.”

“You’ve got to stop using that word-a-day dictionary calendar. I don’t know what those big words mean.”

Like hell he didn’t. Highway often pretended he was a dumb goon because it was easier.

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