Teased (The VIP Room, #1) (19 page)

“
Feeling nervous?” Vida smoothed out
her expression at Colton’s question.

“
Not really. It’s not like it’s my
first time.” Vida blushed when she realized her choice of
words.

Colton tried to smother his laughter. “Was
it bad?”

Vida shuddered, remembering. “It was a joke.
I’m surprised the men didn’t ask for their cover charge back.”

“
It couldn’t have been that
bad.”

“
It took my dance, and two other
women’s turns on the stage to just get my top off. It was a
nightmare. When it was over, I cried for two hours straight. You
don’t even want to know about my first lap dance. King did have to
refund the man his money for that one.”

This time Colton couldn’t hold back his
laughter. Rising to his feet, he took their dirty dishes to the
sink.

Vida stood up, going to get her bag, but
Colton forestalled her by taking her hand. “I’m not happy letting
you do this, but I know you feel that you need to do this for
Sawyer and the other women. No more after tonight, though,” Colton
forewarned her.

“
Maybe the club won’t be busy
tonight.” Vida hoped she was right.

“
It’s Friday, and all the horny men
with no dates who want something to jerk of to will be there,” he
said sarcastically.

“
Gee, thanks, I’ll have that picture
in my head now while I’m dancing.”

“
You better not be thinking of any of
them fuckwads jerking off. I’ll be there. Pretend it’s just me
you’re dancing for.”

“
I don’t think that will make it any
easier,” Vida said under her breath, not wanting to confess his
presence would make her even more nervous.

“
What?” Colton asked with a
smile.

His arrogant attitude reminded her of the
addition to her tattoo. “Why did you put your initials in my
tattoo?”

Colton lost his smile becoming serious.
“Because when other men look at you, both of us will know who you
really belong to, Vida.”

“
I don’t belong to you,” she
protested.

“
Baby, when you’re on that stage
tonight and I want to kill one of those motherfuckers staring at
you, the only thing holding me back will be when I see my mark on
you.”

“
Oh.” Vida stared at his composed
expression, sensing the lethal intent buried just below the
surface.

“
We done?” Vida nodded her head.
“Let’s go.” She followed Colton out the door, dreading the next few
hours.

It was going to be hard to go back on that
stage when she had been so overjoyed that she was free from the
humiliating experience. The lap dance she looked at with even more
trepidation of having to be so close to Briggs. She really hated
him and knew if he thought he could get away with it, he would take
her, with or without her consent.

When they finally got into the club, it was
immediately evident that Colton had been right. The club was
extremely busy.

With a nudge to her back, Colton left her to
go into the dressing room. Sherri was there, giving her a tight hug
at her sudden appearance.

“
I’ve been worried about you, kid. You
doing okay?” she asked.

“
I’m fine, Sherri,” Vida assured the
kindhearted woman who had taught her how to shed her clothes, not
in the least jealous of Vida’s popularity.

“
You can go on before me if you want.
They won’t be as drunk. You’re scheduled three spots after me. By
then, they’ll be so drunk the men will be trying to jump the
stage,” she offered.

Vida started to refuse.

“
I don’t mind. I’m used to them trying
to get a piece of me,” Sherri joked.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Positive. Besides, they tip better
when they’re drunk.” She rubbed her hands together.

Vida smiled at her antics as she dressed in
her outfit, putting on her stage make-up. Deciding not to tease her
hair into a wild mess, she left it straight and then put on her red
lipstick as the final touch. She stepped back from the mirror and
looked at her changed appearance. No longer the college student,
but a seductive woman with one goal; to see how much money she
could tempt out of the men in a ten-minute set.

“
You look hot tonight.” Sherri’s
experienced eyes ran over Vida’s body, taking in her new tattoo and
the little bit of weight she had gained over the last week.
“Something about you is different. That sexy ex-convict teaching
you a thing or two?”

“
No!” Vida evaded her question as she
passed Sherri going into the restroom. There was nothing worse than
a full bladder when you were shaking your boobs and ass at a
roomful of men.

“
Can he show me a thing or
two?”

“
No!” Vida yelled through the closed
door.

“
Damn.”

Chapter 16

Colton took a seat at a back table, facing
the stage. A vibrant redhead was currently on the stage, shaking
her tail for the front row, giving an incentive to place their
money on her body. He ordered a beer when the waitress came to his
table.

Colton’s brow lifted when King joined him,
taking a seat across from him.

“
I didn’t think you ever sat anywhere
except your booth?”

“
I can be flexible, especially when
they have my booth bugged.” Colton just bet King wasn’t happy with
that piece of information. He paid dearly for information from his
contacts on the force, someone must be wising up to be able to bug
King and him not know about it beforehand.

The redhead’s music ended and Vida’s began.
Colton tensed in his seat when she came strutting out as if she
owned the stage.

King smiled. “She’s came a long way since
her first night.”

“
So I’ve heard,” Colton answered, not
taking his eyes off her as she twirled around the pole with one
leg, her dark hair flying silkily around her.

“
I bet you have. Several of the
Predators became regulars on her nights. I don’t see any of them
here tonight. That’s interesting,” King said thoughtfully, staring
at Colton.

“
They’re not here because I told them
I would beat the shit out of them if they showed up,” Colton said
grimly as he watched Vida moving away from the pole, dancing
suggestively in front of several men on the side of the stage
before working her way over to the other side. She never glanced
back towards the table that Colton sat at with King.

“
That wasn’t very friendly.” King’s
amusement drew his attention briefly from Vida.

“
There are a few questions I need
answered, King.”

All amusement at Colton’s predicament ended
when he saw that Colton was serious.

“
What do you want to know?”

“
I find it very interesting that Vida,
from a neighborhood that’s high in crime and has more punks trying
to score pussy then any I know of in America, is a virgin who has
managed to escape their attention.”

King’s face became an impassive mask. “Are
you asking me why Vida is still a virgin? How would I know?”

“
Because my brothers and I did a
little digging, and I’m a little interested in what I found
out.”

“
Exactly what did you find out?” King
asked, his jaw tightening.

“
That you put out the word for the
punks and other unsavory elements to stay away or they would deal
with you,” Colton answered.

King shrugged. “I did that for Goldie.”

“
I don’t think so. This order went out
when she was just a kid, and it covered Sawyer. Seems this is what
led Digger to them. He was searching for a way to get to you. How
would going after them get to you?”

“
If that is why Digger went after
them, then that was his mistake. I have no emotional or physical
connection to either Vida or Sawyer.” King looked Colton straight
in the eye.

Colton looked back at King. He had known him
for years, ever since his stepdad had started bringing him in the
strip club with the Predators. They had struck up a friendship over
the years.

The man was lying, he could tell. What
worried Colton was that King was an expert at lying, so if he could
tell, his enemies could also, which placed Vida and Sawyer in
danger.

The music changed. Colton looked toward the
stage to see Vida taking off her red corset. Her pert breasts shone
under the lights of the stage. Colton wanted to get up from the
stage and punch a few of the men in the front row, but restrained
himself this time.

Colton looked up into Vida’s face, seeing
her eyes were on him. They were full of humiliation. She was
embarrassed she was doing it. Now, it was even worse because he was
watching her. Colton let heat flow from his eyes, giving her a
smile that let her know how pretty and fine he thought she was. He
leaned across the table so that the lighting could catch his
expression and let all the lust he had been holding back show in
his face.

He noticed she had a small stumble before
she managed to catch herself. Colton promised himself that one day,
not too long from now, she would be standing in his bedroom, giving
him the same exact performance, and he was going to throw her down
on the bed and fuck her until she couldn’t walk.

Vida turned red and Colton gave her a
satisfied smile. She walked forward when the music changed again,
getting close to the men in the front row, letting them slip bills
into the string around her waist. One bastard trailed his fingers
close to her pussy. Colton started to get up, but King’s hand on
his arm brought him back down in his seat as King motioned to Henry
to escort the overzealous man out of the club.

After several minutes, Vida went to the
stage, giving the men their last show of her ass.

“
If she bends down and waves at them
from between her legs, I am going to turn her ass bright red to
match her outfit when I get her home,” Colton
threatened.

The words were no sooner out of his mouth
than Vida did that exact move. Colton’s jaw tightened.

“
I don’t think she heard you,” King
said with amusement.

“
She’s never going back on that stage
again. I don’t care how many women’s lives she’s trying to
save.”

“
I agree.”

Both men watched as Briggs ordered another
whiskey.

“
I hope you’re giving him the good
stuff.” Colton eyed the liquor in Brigg’s glass.

“
What he’s drinking is almost pure
alcohol. Vida will be heading upstairs after she gets redressed and
takes a fifteen minute break.” King started to get out of his
seat.

“
King, what’s the connection between
you and the girls?” Colton tried one more time.

King opened his mouth then closed it
sharply. “There isn’t one, Colton.” He moved away from the table,
but not before he gave Colton a warning look to leave it alone.
Aware they didn’t know which areas of the club were bugged, Colton
didn’t go after him to find out what he needed to know to keep Vida
safe.

Instead, Colton sat at his table and
continued nursing his beer. Not long after, Briggs managed to
stumble up the steps after he finished several whiskeys. Colton
waited until he saw Vida climb the discreet stairway before he
started after her.

As he was going up the stairs, he noticed
several of the Predators entering the door, taking front row seats.
He should have known Max wasn’t going to miss Sherri’s show.

He entered the VIP room to see Vida already
being bought a drink from one of King’s private customers that had
watched her performance from the room. A huge, plate glass window
provided a view of the stage, but anyone outside simply saw smoky
glass.

Vida didn’t pay him any attention when he
entered the room and took a seat in the corner on an expensive
couch. King had spared no expense in decorating the private
room.

Two of the shot girls came to his table.
Colton ordered another beer and told them to leave him alone.

“
Not interested?” one of the shot
girls asked. She was shorter than the taller, curvier one. Colton
would have taken a shot from her once upon a time, before
Vida.

Colton shrugged. “No thanks.” He didn’t take
his eyes off Vida.

“
If you change your mind, let me
know.” The blond, short one bent over to whisper, “I get off at
three. I’ll let you take shots all night for free”.

“
No, thanks. I’m with someone.” Colton
nodded his head towards Vida.

She gave a smile. “Lucky girl.” The shorter
one went back to the bar for his beer.

The taller one bent over the table, giving
him a view of her tits.

“
My name’s Krystal. I can keep my
mouth shut if you change your mind later.” She nodded her head to
Vida. “She’s a sweet kid, but I can suck your dick like you’ve
never had it done before.”

The other woman returned, setting down the
beer. They started to move away, but Colton’s words halted them
both.

“
I won’t be needing anything else
tonight.” His cold voice left no doubt that he didn’t want to be
bothered again.

Taking a drink of his beer, he noticed
Briggs move to stand beside Vida, who was already talking to
another customer. She played it cool, gradually changing focus from
one man to the other, seeming reluctant at first then more willing
to talk to him.