Page 40 of Depraved Desires

The bartender was handsome with short brown hair and green eyes. He had an average build—much like Foster and Hunter in that regard. Sighing, I dropped my gaze. Why did those guys invade my mind so persistently?

Because they made you feel things no one has ever been capable of.

Sinking my teeth into my inner cheek, I focused my attention on the pain until copper filled my mouth. I wasnotgoing down that route. They were dead to me and could rot for all I cared.

I must have been so consumed by my own thoughts that when I looked up again, the bartender was staring at me expectantly.

“I’m sorry, what?”

He laughed, revealing a set of pearly white teeth and a chipped front tooth. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Oh, um…sex on the beach, please.”

He smirked and turned away from me to start preparing my beverage. He was cute but wasn’t what I was into.

You’re into psychos who take what they want.

My hands balled tightly into fists, my subconscious pissing me off. I wasn’t into them. It had always been…physical desire, curiosity, and my body betraying me of its own accord. Nothing more. They killed Raven, and they tried to kill me too. They raped me, they burned me, they did weird, unexplainable things to me that I still couldn’t comprehend fully. Like with the knife. Why would I want them? I didn’t even know them, aside from the fact that they were literally insane.

The bartender placed my drink in front of me and walked off. Sighing out in relief, I clutched the glass and took my first drink, the sweet liquid slithering down my throat. This was exactly what I needed.

When my drink was gone, some of my nerves had dissipated, leaving me with a much calmer feeling. It wasn’t enough to make me tipsy, but it did the trick.

Taking off toward the center of the club again, people danced all around me as I pushed my way through, trying to get to the other side. Just as I squeezed through the last of the dancers, mynamewas called through the microphone, making my heart jump into my stomach.

I’d always been a confident enough person, but this was completely out of my comfort zone. I’d never danced a day in my life and to be thrown out there like that without any prior training was nerve-wracking.

My hands shook as I made my way toward the left stage, my legs wobbling from the heels and how upright they made my feet; it was an odd way to walk.

Walking up the steps, a familiar song started blaring through the speakers.

“Buy You A Drank” by T. Pain. I snorted at that. This was an older song I grew up listening to, but it had a good beat, and I could make it work, so that’s all that mattered.

Hungry eyes tracked my every movement as I made my way toward the pole.

They’ll eat you alive if they think you’re easy prey.

Swallowing my discomfort, I loosened my joints and started swaying my hips to the beat, making sure one leg stayed in front of the other to create a seductive, confident walk. Reaching the pole, I grabbed onto it, and walked around it slowly, showing off all of my assets. When I was back where I started, I dropped into a crouch, spreading my legs outward and rolling my head back in a sexual manner before rising again.

More men joined the crowd, eyeing me appreciatively. The ages varied, ranging from old, to my age. Realistically, the older ones had the most money, so maybe I needed to pay special attention to them.

I wrapped one leg around the pole and then another, moving quickly to grip it with my hands. The pole spun with me, making it that much easier as I glided around and around until it slowed to a stop, and I was at the bottom. My back was now against the audience, so I made a show of bending over in front of them, grimacing at how degrading this felt, and then slowly rising while running my hands along my body before turning to face them again.

A younger guy stepped forward and threw a few ones, followed by an older guy who dropped a couple hundreds, and more followed suit as I continued to dance. The money flew around my feet as they kept throwing it and excitement coursed through me. Ones, fives, twenties, hundreds.

Dropping to all fours, I threw my head back, my hair flying with the movement and slapping me against the lower back. As I moved back onto my heels with my legs spread out like before, I hooked my finger into my G-string and moved in a snake-like motion, keeping my movements slow and sensual. Locking eyes with an older guy, I stared him down intently, my stomach twisting with unease, but I refused to let that show on my face. More money flew toward me instantly, right as the song came to

end an and I rose.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Collin

I wheezed, the air seeming to be sucked from my lungs with every step. Or,limpI should say. Hunter gripped my arm, trying his best to keep me steady, while Foster got me on my other side as we approached my door. Every inch of me ached, yearning for more pain medication.

I’d been an idiot throwing that fight, but I hadn’t expected Rocky to go as hard on me as he did either. Normally, he was a fair fighter. Something had definitely crawled up his ass and died that day.

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