Page 5 of Fighter

“You’re a bachelor?” I ask, but it’s not really a question.

“You think if I wasn’t, I’d be bringing a girl back to my house?” he asks.

“Two girls,” Tressa corrects him.

Again he sighs and pulls me with him down the hallway toward the back of the house. My heart starts racing.

“Hey, where are you going?” Tressa asks, scurrying after us as he pulls me into a modest bedroom. Tressa tries to follow us in, but he slams the door in her face and twists the lock on the handle. As she shouts from the other side, my heart threatens to burst out of my chest.

“You better open up, you son of a bitch!” she hollers, pounding with both fists. “Or I’m calling the police!”

“Relax,” he calls back, his eyes on me. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

He’s speaking to her, but I can see in his eyes that he’s telling me. He’s not going to hurt me – I know that. My nerves begin to calm, but not a lot.

“It’s okay, Tressa!” I call back.

“There. You’ll find…suitable clothes in there.” He points to a dresser behind me. I hesitate, then turn and open the top drawer. It’s filled with T-shirts and shorts. I frown and glance back at him.

“You…you want me to change out of my dress and into this?” It seems pretty counterintuitive. I’m dressed specifically to attract men, and here’s Maximus telling me to dress more modestly? But, hey – I’m not about to argue. Neither the dress nor the lingerie is very comfortable, and he’s paying big bucks for tonight, so I better do what he says. I pick out a black T-shirt that is either vintage or completely destroyed by Maximus wearing it over and over, and a pair of yellow mesh shorts, then turn to look at him.

“These okay?”

He nods. “Yes.”

I wait for him to turn around or leave the room, but he doesn’t do either. He just stands there with his eyes on me like he’s waiting – waiting for a show that would be better performed at the club.

“Can a girl get a little privacy?”

“Oh, you want privacy now?” he laughs. “I thought you did this for a living?”

I frown and feel my lips twist with indignation. “First of all, bucko, I do not do this for a living. Tonight was my first night at the club, and you pretty much ruined it. Secondly, because of that, I’m not comfortable with men I just met seeing me in my birthday suit. So if you will kindly turn around, I will change.”

“I’m not turning around,” he replies. But he’s not just staring at me anymore; he’s smiling. Almost.

“Well, I’m not changing then,” I stubbornly reply.

“You want the money? Or you want me to take you back to work?”

I swallow and think back to the club…its stages…the other men and the lap dances I’d have to give. “Fine. But only because you’re paying.”

Maximus smiles again and nods as though he doesn’t believe one word of what I’m saying.

“Sure.”

With a deep breath, I start to take off my dress.

4

Maximus

I was expecting a gorgeous body, but as the little minx drops her dress, I almost fall over.

Every inch of her is perfection. My mind instantly is filled with all the things I want to do to her. But I can’t. Not tonight.

The thought that another man would ever get to see her body has me seeing red. Whoever this boyfriend of hers is better get used to the notion that she’s no longer his. I don’t care if I can’t claim her tonight; I will.

Christ, how easy it would be to take her right now. She may think she’s playing coy, but I see the way she’s looking at me. Her eyes are begging for my cock. I’d wrap her in my arms and pound her until she can’t remember her name.

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