Ride (3 page)

Obviously embarrassed, he shook his head and pulled against Holly’s grasp. He made a half-hearted attempt to sit back down with the other guys rather than be dragged into the spotlight. Even as he laughed off the ribbing from the other guys, there was a look on his face that said he’d rather be an observer than the center of attention, especially when Holly pushed him into the chair on stage. His Adam’s apple bobbed wildly in his throat as Holly cuffed his wrists behind the back of the chair.

Holly started the show, circling him like an animal sizing up its prey while the crowd cheered. Even under the bright spotlights that washed out all but the most intense colors, Leesa could see his face grow red.

His surprise was nearly palpable when Holly whipped off her corset and her breasts bounced just inches in front of his face. Then Holly turned away from him to face the admiring crowd and started to strut toward the far end of the stage, leaving the cowboy alone in the chair watching her leave. He looked almost relieved she had walked away and taken the attention off him.

Poor guy. Little did he know that was Leesa’s cue to join the routine. After climbing the stairs onto the stage, Leesa circled the chair. Holly returned and they stalked him together, while the expression on the poor guy’s face became almost comical, a cross between embarrassment and anticipation, as though he wasn’t sure if what was to come would be good or bad.

Somehow his shyness emboldened Leesa. Standing facing him, she bent from the waist, giving the crowd a nice shot of her ass. The whistles and calls from the audience clearly showed their appreciation. Bracing a hand on each one of his knees, she yanked his thighs apart and spread his legs wide. His eyes flew open at the action. She laughed and a feeling of power surged through her.

Up close he looked a few years younger than her own age. He was probably right off the farm, here in Sin City for one wild night. She could give him that. A night he’d never forget. She liked that idea.

Donning a smile, she leaned in closer to his ear so he would hear her over the noise. “Relax, cowboy. Enjoy it.”

He jumped when she spoke. She pulled back enough to see his deer-in-headlights stare as it focused on her face. He swallowed hard again and then nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled at his down-home politeness even in this situation as she straightened up. He was as sweet as he’d first appeared. Leesa liked that he looked so innocent and squeaky clean. For some reason it made her want to dirty him up a little. Now that she’d wrapped her head around giving him something to remember tonight by in the back room, she was really starting to get into it.

Stepping into the space she’d created between his knees, she turned her back toward him and whipped off her skirt. She jiggled her butt cheeks in front of his face to the accompanying whoops of the other cowboys. Leesa couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder. Mouth slightly agape, he stared mesmerized directly at her ass. Her gaze dropped and yeah, other parts of him had taken notice of her too. That was clearly outlined in his jeans, and she had to admit, it appeared pretty impressive from where she stood.

As Leesa strained to watch over her shoulder, Holly stepped up behind him and ran both of her hands down the front of his shirt, then started to unbutton it. Holly tugged it from where it had been tucked neatly inside his belted jeans and pushed the shirt open to expose a nearly hairless chest. He was lean but definitely fit judging by the sharply cut outline of his chest and stomach muscles.

Meanwhile, the cowboy squirmed in his chair beneath the scrutiny.

Turning to face him fully again, Leesa planted her costume’s high-heeled fringed suede boot on the edge of the chair between his thighs. His gaze dropped to the long expanse of her exposed leg in front of him. Visually, he followed the line of her thigh up to the glittering G-string that covered what the law said had to be covered, but not much else.

While Holly took another turn around the stage and collected some more dollar bills, Leesa took the show to the next level. Straddling the blushing cowboy, she ground against him. The only thing separating them was her G-string, the denim of his jeans and whatever underwear he was wearing. She couldn’t stop wondering exactly what kind that was. She supposed she’d find out soon enough.

Gyrating her hips, she felt the bulge in his jeans personally. Leesa watched his quick intake of breath at the contact. She couldn’t help her own gasp when the friction of rubbing against him caused nerve endings long ignored to wake up. Now that her sex drive had been pulled out of hibernation, it screamed for attention.

She met his gaze and felt her own cheeks grow warm. Their faces were so close, he must have noticed her getting flushed.

In spite of the public venue and the fact it was supposed to be all for show, it somehow became an intimate moment. Leesa shook that thought from her head. She hadn’t been with a man since she finally broke it off with her rotten ex. She hadn’t even looked at a man with romantic or sexual interest since then because she’d been so turned off after him. She was turned on now though.

The loud whoops from his group of friends in particular served as a very real reminder she was here to entertain the crowd, so entertain she did. Leesa whipped the two sides of her vest apart just inches from the cowboy’s face.

Beneath the rim of his hat, his baby blue eyes followed the action before coming back up to meet hers. For a moment time seemed to stand still. It was like they were no longer under the hot spotlights in a crowded, noisy room. A crazy image crashed into her mind of staring into those eyes as he braced above her in her bed. Need coiled within her, poised and begging for release.

Her body was simply reacting with raw animal instinct. He was a desirable male specimen, and she was a woman who hadn’t been with one of those in a while. That explained the spreading warmth she felt between her legs. She pressed one last time against the bulge beneath the rough denim before she rose and turned toward the audience.

She may be playing to the crowd for tips at the moment, but Leesa remembered her promise to Holly. Soon she’d be getting up close and personal with this man. Very soon. She tried not to let the unwanted lusty thoughts about this stranger scare the hell out of her. Last time she’d felt this way about a man and let other parts besides her brain do the thinking she’d made the worst decision of her life. She’d ended up dropping out of college in her senior year. That led to her being here now, mostly nude on stage in front of a bar full of men and about to take one of them back to a private room to earn some cash by pleasuring him.

The thought lodged a lump of fear in her heart even as her stomach fluttered at the idea of being alone with him—intimate with him—a man who blushed and called her ma’am and at the same time had her absolutely saturated with desire after one glance into his baby blues. Not to mention the temptation of what was contained within those jeans.

Leesa put some space between herself and the cowboy by doing a lap around the stage. As large, sweaty hands shoved bills into the feather-covered garter around her thigh, she couldn’t resist one more glance back at the birthday boy on stage. Leesa also couldn’t stop her heart from picking up speed when she realized that even though Holly was dancing directly in front of him, his gaze had followed her.

The song came to an end and so did the birthday routine. One song per customer. That was Jerry’s rule, mainly because a customer who was up on stage was not down on the floor ordering overpriced drinks. It was time for the private, behind-closed-doors portion of the evening.

Amid the whoops and cheers of the crowd, she steeled her nerves but couldn’t quiet her racing heart as she walked to where the cowboy still sat. From behind Holly uncuffed him from the chair. He didn’t move except to bring his hands around front and rub where the cuffs had been. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal strong forearms. Then Leesa noticed the red lines on his wrists, as if he’d pulled against the restraints. In spite of the fur on the metal, the cuffs had marked him.

“Are your wrists okay? Do they hurt?” She shifted her gaze from his injuries to his face and saw him smile.

“Hurt? Nah. This is nothing.” He shook his head and laughed, a sound that sent warmth coursing through her.

Leesa swallowed hard. It was now or never. “Okay. Good, because your buddies are treating you to one more birthday surprise.”

“They are?” His voice squeaked a bit with the question. She smiled.

“Yup.” Reaching down, she grabbed one of his arms. His skin felt warm and slightly rough from a fine layer of hair.

He rose willingly when she tugged him from the chair. “What kind of surprise?”

Swallowing hard past the lump in her throat, she pictured that surprise. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

One handed, he attempted to pull the open sides of his shirt closed and button them while they walked. She shot him a sideways look as she led him down the stairs. “Don’t bother. I’m just going to undo it again.”

His eyebrows shot up beneath the brim of his hat and she swore his cheeks got pinker than before. “Oh.”

Laughing, she pulled him toward the back.

A bouncer nodded to her as she went past and into one of the private rooms, which really shouldn’t be called a room at all since it was more the size of closet. It contained a chair and not much more. Someone had left a box of tissues on the floor next to the chair. The sight of that made it all seem more real. She pulled the door closed behind her and heard it latch with a click. Then they were alone.

Leesa glanced sideways and saw the cowboy staring at the chair and the tissues too. If she didn’t do this now, she feared she’d chicken out. With one hand she pushed him into the seat. He gazed up at her and waited. She had a feeling he’d wait there all night if she made him. She was definitely in charge here.

There was a knob on the wall behind his head. She leaned over and spun it. Music filled the small space and made it seem like they were even further removed from the crowd outside that door. When she pulled back, she saw his eyes focused on her breasts. She couldn’t blame him, after all, she was topless and they were in a strip club. He may be shy, but he was definitely all male.

Leesa ran one fingernail slowly down his bare chest, all the way to the fine line of hair showing just above his buckle. If she wasn’t mistaken, he’d shivered from the touch. It made her want to see if she could make him react that strongly to all her touches. “What do you want me to do, cowboy?”

She wouldn’t have asked that question of just any man, but this guy seemed different somehow. Safer.

He swallowed hard before he spoke. “What are the rules?”

Hmm. Maybe this wasn’t his first time in a strip club if he knew there were house rules. “That doesn’t matter right now. Tonight, I make the rules.”

“Oh.” For a second she thought she’d scared him away with her proclamation, until his eyes boldly met hers from beneath the brim of his hat. “What do you want to do?”

She liked his response. Her choice. She was in control. That thought calmed her nerves a bit.

As Leesa felt the persistent warmth that began between her legs and spread throughout her body, she definitely couldn’t tell him what she really wanted to do with him. Things couldn’t go that far. Not here. Not now. Another time, another place, another lifetime perhaps, maybe it could have happened between her and this sweet guy.

Suppressing that wistful thought, she instead focused on all she could do here and now. “Why don’t I just show you?”

He took his hat off and hooked it on the doorknob. After running his hand through his dark blond curls, he nodded. “Okay.”

Leesa smiled at how he seemed to brace himself in the chair, as if ready for anything, good or bad. She decided to begin slowly, thinking being gentle with her shy cowboy at first would be the best course of action. Swinging her hips in time with the music, she started by running her fingers over her body, from her bare breasts down to the thin string stretched across her hips.

His gaze followed the motion of her hands, but then returned to settle on her face. The intensity in his gaze was starting to make Leesa self-conscious. She turned so she could no longer see him watching. She moved backward, closer until she hovered just above him, then she got even closer. She pressed against him, her ass grinding his crotch. His hands, warm and large, moved to rest lightly on her hips.

Normally the customers weren’t supposed to touch the girls, not even during a lap dance, but tonight Leesa didn’t ask him to remove his hands. Instead, she ground against him harder. His hands slid up to her ribcage. One thumb lightly brushed the side of her breast, sending a tingle through her. Again she could have asked him not to touch her. Again, she didn’t.

She could feel the outline of him, hard as steel, pushing into the soft flesh of her butt. How in the world would she go about doing what Holly had told her to do? Did she just open his pants and grab him? Should she tell him to undo the belt and jeans himself? His massively ornate buckle looked like it wouldn’t be easy to open. Especially since her hands were shaking.

Entertaining all these errant thoughts still didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t been this aroused by a man, a stranger no less, in a very long time.

Rotating beneath his grasp, she slowly turned to face him again. She straddled the cowboy in the chair and pressed close. Once more she felt the electricity coursing between them. Her breath caught in her throat.

The sexual chemistry was palpable. He definitely felt it too. Leesa could tell that simply by looking at him. His eyes, heavily lidded with wanting her, focused intensely on her face. His hands grasped her hips tightly. She felt every quickened breath he took, even as her own gasps filled her ears. He pressed her closer, guiding her gyrations against him. His gaze never left hers, as if he was watching for her to react.

If a reaction was what he wanted, he got it. Every movement increased her need and brought her closer to orgasm. Gripping the back of his chair for support as her legs weakened, she leaned forward until her nipples grazed his bare chest. At the contact he let out a sound that seemed half-pleasure, half-pain. He increased the speed of their thrusting and Leesa’s body erupted in waves of pleasure.