Page 1 of Casino King

Chapter 1

Tessa

The music flows through me like a warm breeze, touching me with heated possession as it takes me over entirely. I pull the audience into my orbit, entrancing them with every movement and look.

The bass drives my heartbeat.

The rhythm moves my body.

The tempo thrums my senses.

The lyrics sway my emotions.

Here on stage, I’m the me I need to be. Everything I hold onto all week comes out, and I feel free. I feel lighter. Everything I do and don’t have doesn’t matter when I’m up here. It’s just me.

The lights swirl and flash, and in between the beams, I look out to the first row, seeing him.

I knew he’d be there.

Every Friday night for the past month, he’s sat at the same table against the wall, half in the shadows, watching, his eyes always on me.

I can feel them caress my body like he’s undressing me, possessing me, and covering every inch of me in all of the thoughts running through his mind of what he wants to do to me.

From the glimpses I’ve gathered over these four weeks, I still haven’t seen him fully. His face remains either partially or fully in the shadows, only his square jaw making an appearance when he leans forward to reach for his drink.

His dark suit is tailored perfectly to his built frame that I know holds great power beneath the expensive material. Even from up here on stage, I’m drawn to him. To the air of authority, strength, and confidence he exudes.

My eyes slide over him as I spin, bend, lift my arms in the air, and sweep my leg up and around. They’re like magnets being pulled towards the force that wants them the most.

After the second show with him in the audience, I came back to my dressing station to find a bouquet of black roses, and I knew right away they were from him.

The next week, the same thing, this time accompanied by a little black velvet box containing diamond stud earrings and a note with a simple Aas a signature.

Then last week, another bouquet of black roses and a velvet box. Only this time, it was a diamond tennis necklace, and the note had more than just a single letter.

I want to see how this looks on stage next week.

-A

I have both the earrings and necklace on now, and I know the diamonds are catching the lights in blinding glimmers.

My back arches as I lift my leg in the air and spin, my red sequin fringed skirt fanning out from my body, my eyes sweeping over him again, giving him a small smile there in the shadows.

I feel weightless – my limbs moving through the air like they’re a part of it.

His hand tightens on the whiskey glass in front of him as I glide across the stage, the song almost coming to an end. With one final fan of my leg, I hold it near my ear as I lift up on my toes and spin, then end in a split with my back arching to touch my thigh behind me.

The clapping of the audience fills my head as the lights fade and the curtain falls.

I only started dancing here at The Aces six weeks ago, and I already have a solo. The show’s manager saw something in me right away, and while the other girls who have been here longer might have a slight issue with that, I couldn’t care less when I’m up here.

Tonight is the first time I’m performing my solo, and for these three and a half minutes, I can let myself break free and become one with the inner me that fights to find her way out every other minute of the day.

Every time I practiced this week, I thought of him sitting there watching me, knowing the feel of his eyes on me would make me better and would drive me deeper into a trance.

And I was right.

The Friday night show at The Aces is something unlike anything I’ve ever known or been a part of. The casino has a number of other shows they put on the other days of the week – burlesque, comedy, dance companies, unbelievable talents. But the Friday night snow is a combination of show girl and modern and contemporary dance and ballet, with a touch of burlesque in how we dress and perform. It’s an overall sexy show, and I have to admit the costumes were a big draw for me.

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