Page 4 of Dragon in Boots

Peepers hadn’t given Jac any rules about who was or wasn’t allowed behind the bar, so…

Jac ran off to the bathroom to relieve herself. While she was washing her hands, she suddenly heard the audience’s screaming dial up.

Probably the fireman showing them his hose.

Jac exited the bathroom, her eyes gliding toward the stage. In the center was a tall, shirtless man wearing worn blue jeans, a tool belt, and work boots. His light brown hair had a sexed-up mussed look, and his skin was smooth and golden like warm, buttery caramel. Very sensual. But it was his eyes that grabbed her attention even from the back of the theater. A stunning light blue.

Wow. Jac’s feet stuck to the floor as she drank him in, unable to look away. Not from those eyes or the magnificent swells of his chest or arms. Not from the muscled slopes of his tanned shoulders. And certainly not from the beautiful, pillowy lips framed by short brown scruff. He was positively deific, radiating some kind of mystical masculine energy that made her want to lick every inch of him until her tongue fell off.

Jesus.Jac pressed her hands to her temples.What the hell is the matter with me?She wasn’t a man-ogler.

She gave her cheek a little slap and walked back to the bar. By the time she got there, she noticed the guests pouring drinks over their heads, trying to cool off. Their enthusiastic screams turned to hysterical crying.

“I need you, Dash!”

“Dash! Take me! Take my money! I want you!”

“Dash, I bought you a Lamborghini! And a condo in Spain!”

Jac would’ve started making fun of the women if it weren’t for the fact she wanted to join in and offer him anything he desired—her wingless cockatoo, Bertha; Ramon, the blind hippo; or Putt Putt, a very incontinent fruit bat. All of them were precious to her, yet she’d give them up in a heartbeat for this gyrating, sexy beast if it meant making him happy.

Must…have…him…

Meanwhile, wads of money in tight rolls piled up onstage. The women were hurtling thousands of dollars at the stripper’s feet.

Jac looked down, noticing her hands reaching for the hem of her shirt.No! No! Don’t you dare take off your clothes. But she really wanted to. She felt hot and dizzy. She could hardly breathe right.

What’s happening?

Suddenly, a woman with short dark hair managed to climb onstage. Mink appeared from behind the curtain, grabbed the woman, and dragged her off as if she weighed nothing.

Another woman in her sixties shimmied up the edge of the stage, flashing her beige granny panties as her dress hiked up, only to be carried off by Mink, too.

“This is madness.” Jac wiped the sweat from her brow. The heat in this room was intense.Like a sex cave. She grabbed a bottle of water from under the bar and poured it over her chest.

All the while, Dash was charging down the catwalk, removing his tool belt to the electric pulses of some techno song that repeated the words “so hot” in a loop.

The women screamed louder.

Then off came the breakaway jeans, leaving Dash in his boots and the smallest pair of black Speedos to ever caress a man’s—

Holy crap! Does he have a bazooka in his underpants?Whatever he was packing down there could not be real!

The women’s yelling rose another octave. Any higher and glasses would start shattering.

Dash dropped to the floor and began doing pushups with one hand, his strong arm effortlessly lifting his weight.

The guests lost what was left of their minds, and Jac was right there with them. She couldn’t see straight, and her heart was thrashing against her ribcage.

I think I’m going to die.She grabbed a rubber band from her purse and pulled her hair into a messy topknot. She took a fist full of ice and pressed it to the back of her neck.

That was when she noticed the little kitten from earlier perched at the edge of the stage, its gray eyes observing the crowd as if laughing at everyone for behaving like animals.

Dash hopped to his feet and then snapped his fingers. Heebie ran up behind him, climbed right up his back, and perched on Dash’s shoulder.

Jac covered her mouth.Ohmygod. I’ve never seen anything so adorable. And hot! So hot.Nothing like a big manly man with baby animals.

Apparently, Jac wasn’t the only one who thought so either, because the venue devolved into pure chaos. The women began tipping over chairs and tables, rushing toward the stage. Women in cocktail dresses were climbing over each other, completely flashing their goods, in order to get to Dash.

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