Page 12 of Strip for Me

"Yes, we are strippers, and we own that club, but come on, it's not that bad," he says and moves closer.

"Why don't you come back? I really wanted to bring you, not just to show you who we are, but we may have a job for you,"he says, his tone gentle, and it matches the soft look on his face.

"I'm not stripping for you," I say and glare at him as I cross my arms. He laughs, and a few people look over. Holy ducks, he has a really nice laugh.

"You might strip for me one day, and I will be averylucky man, but that's not tonight. No, tonight I want to show you the office, and the accountant job we have open," he says, and my red cheeks feel like they are burning. Nothing about that sentence was playful, no, it was sinful.

"I'm pregnant, you shouldn't want to hire me," I say and shake my head.

"That's the very reason we should, and you’re family to us now. Andre and all of us are like brothers and well, we want to keep you around," he says and moves even closer.So close I can feel how warm he is as he blocks the cold wind.

"We?" I ask, and he moves his head close to the side of mine, way too close, but I hold still as his soft lips brush the top of my ear.

"We," he repeats my word, but it's far more sensual and makes me close my eyes. After I take a deep breath, I force myself to open my eyes, and Kaiden is still so close to me. His lips inches from mine, his eyes searching me for something.

"Ellie," he whispers my name like a prayer, and just when I think he is going to kiss me, a girl’s, loud giggling interrupts us. I glance over in shock as I'm pushed out of the way anda blonde bombshell squeezes herself in front of me, so she is facing Kaiden. The woman has long, curly, blonde hair, and she is wearing a tight, red dress that matches her red heels. Holy ducks, I don’t know the woman, and I’m pissed off that she pushed me out of the way, but I want her shoes. They are some seriously hot heels.

"Kaiden, are you dancing tonight?" she asks, and Kaiden surprises me with his next words.

"Not tonight, my pregnant girlfriend needs me."

Did he really just call me his girlfriend and kind of imply my baby is his?

"Oh, hello," the woman turns and gives me a fake smile as she looks me over.

"Never mind, I will go and see Andre," she says, and I swallow the stupid amount of jealously I feel as I watch her walk off.Kaiden catches my eye for a second and frowns at whatever he sees.

"We don't sleep with the girls that come to the club, we are not that kind of strippers. Anyway, she is–"he tells me.

"Sure, you don't," I cut him off, as I watch the woman disappear into the club.

“Doesn’t mean they don’t try to get to know us,” Kaiden says, and I stare up at him as he smiles at me.

"Let’s go back home, and I will cook us something, food always makes things better,"he tells me, and as much as that sounds great, I don’t think I can. It was a bad idea to move in with them, I don’t know them, and finding out they are strippers could be just one of many things I find out that I don’t like.

"I think I should–"I get out, but I stop mid-sentence when I realise that I don’t know what I want. Walking away from them now seems like a choice, and it’s something I need to think about.

"Give us a chance? At least talk to me before you run," he says, and I look up to meet his eyes.

"Okay," I find myself saying and watching as his face lights up.

I have a feeling I might regret this.

Eleven

ELLIE

"Pizza?"I smile as Kaiden pulls out two frozen pizzas from the freezer.

"I'm a guy, this is the best I can do without burning something. Guys can't cook, well, except that Jamie Oliver. That man is a god," Kaiden shakes his head and gets some trays out.

"Why don't you go and sit in the lounge? I’ll follow in a minute," he says, and I nod as I slip my shoes off. I carry my shoes to the entrance hall and leave them next to the others. They really need to get a shoe rack, I think, as I look at the pile of messy shoes.

I walk into the lounge, and I'm a little surprised to see Dom watching football on the TV. He’s dressed in only black sweatpants, and he has a beer in his hand. Not that I mind the view, but these guys never seem to wear shirts. I guess they have the bodies and the confidence from being strippers. Dom turns his head to look at me.

"So, you didn't run," he says, I'm not sure if it's a question or not, so I don't answer. I go to sit on the other sofa when his voice stops me.

"Come here, Ellie," he says and pats the seat next to him. I hesitate and end up standing next to the sofa instead of sitting on it. I watch as his lips turn up in a smirk.

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