Stripped Bare (Stripped #1)

If he didn’t stop soon, I thought I’d orgasm on the spot.

Vicky took my glass from me as I watched him. The light over the chair came back on, and he went back to the girl, dancing for her once more. She tucked dollar after dollar into his briefs, and before I knew it, Vicky had put another drink in my hand.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a hint of a giggle. “Damn. He’s going for it tonight.”

I nodded slowly, transfixed. West Rykman’s dancing, even with another woman, was compelling. He was magnetic, and the way his body moved was so goddamn hypnotizing that looking away seemed like a ridiculous notion.

So I watched. And watched. And watched. He danced seemingly without tiring, pleasing the hordes of women who were waving dollars at him, desperate for his attention.

When the song had finally ended after what seemed like forever—a delightful forever—I had a serious buzz as as he made his way around the stage and let all the women tuck dollars into his pants. He stopped halfway around and put his jeans back on, only for the other side to stuff them in his pockets and cop a feel at the same time.

I didn’t want to think about how many dollars he’d just had stuffed into his pants.

He bowed at the end, much to the delight of the women, as the normal lighting slowly brightened, and then he disappeared through a door.

“Hey, Vicky?” I grabbed her arm before she went back behind the bar. “There’s a restroom upstairs, right?”

She nodded. “Did you need to use it?”

I glanced across the club, which now seemed too bright, at the groups of women heading in the direction of the hall that held the public ones. “Yeah. Pretty badly.”

She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and glanced at the bar. It was filling up now that West’s show was over. “Shoot. Go quick! West won’t mind.”

It might have been the alcohol—it was definitely the alcohol—but I was hoping I’d run into him.

I slipped through the door and looked at the stairs. Boy. That was a lot of stairs after a few cocktails and wearing these heels. Still... I gripped the hand rail and managed to get up there without falling. Success!

I paused at the door. What was I doing? This was insanity. I couldn’t go up there and attempt to get him. Not after my spiel earlier tonight.

“I can see you there, Mia.”

I looked up. The door was shut. How...

I pushed it open and stopped. He was standing by one of the computer screens that was apparently a CCTV feed. Sure as hell, one of them showed the staircase leading up there.

“Sneaky,” I said.

West turned, smirked, and threw a stack of dollars down onto the desk. “Now, what could have possibly brought you here tonight?”

“Research.” I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t exactly dissect your marketing last time I was here.”

“And now?” He perched on the edge of the desk and hit me with his bright gaze. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and although I’d barely glanced down, I knew he was still rock hard inside those sexy jeans. “What do you think?”

“You could do with drinks offers. You know, buy two, get one at half price. Buy three shots, get one free. Fifty percent off cocktails between seven and eight, Monday through Thursday. Fliers on each table, ads in local papers and on Facebook.”

“Come up to write it down, did you?”

“Yes,” I lied. “Absolutely.”

“And Vicky let you.”

“She thinks I’m using the restroom.”

“I see.” He didn’t look annoyed in the slightest as he pushed off the desk and walked toward me.

No.

Walked was an understatement.

He stalked toward me, his gaze never leaving me, his lips still curved on one side. He stopped right in front of me and cupped my face with both hands. Then he dove his fingers into my loose, fiery curls and pushed them back from my face. He leaned in, ran his nose up my jaw, forcing me to close my eyes, and stepped around my body, making sure my hand brushed against his hard cock.

“I think,” he whispered in my hair, sweeping my hair around to one side of my neck. “I think you came here for an entirely different reason, Mia.”

His hands burned me through my dress as he ran them up my sides, from my thighs right up to my breasts. His fingers crept around the front of me until he was cupping my breasts and running his thumbs over the exact place my nipples were hardening. Every time he swept across them, pleasure rocketed through my body and my pussy clenched in desperate pleas.

“I think you came here tonight because you knew I’d be hard for you.” He pulled me back against him. His cock pressed against my lower back, just teasing my ass. “And I think you came up here to do something about it.”

“So arrogant,” I breathed.

“Am I?” He dropped one of those large, rough hands to my thighs and hiked my dress up at the front.