Page 10 of Neverland

He loved every single bit.

His eyes were that of a madman.

Rage always reared its ugly head, often leaving me with bruises around my neck and between my legs that Momma G would have to conceal with stage make-up.

And then, just as he had my legs parted beneath him, Dominic Salvatore would still. The only movement would be his beating heart on my breasts, and his flaring nostrils as he attempted to regain a self-imposed self-control. Through the frustration of depriving himself, his hands would either fist in my hair, or he’d punch the brick wall behind him, leaving behind a smattering of blood. And without another word, he’d lift himself off my naked body, his hard cock bulging from his pants and he’d leave me.

Frightened and sore, I’d be forced to compose myself ready for the rest of the night. I only had to take to the stage once to get a lineup of customers waiting in the VIP lounge and if I was to make the money Dominic expected, I needed to feign confidence and wear a stage smile.

Tears streaked down my face, making a mess of my once carefully applied make-up. I slipped into my next outfit of lace and suspenders under a sheer gold dress, my movements slow and pained. The mirror revealed the mess Dominic left behind. Mascara stained my reddened cheeks, lips swollen, hair a tangled mess, and angry red fingerprints marred my neck.

Leaving the dressing room, I knocked into the girls who’d been ordered out. Their eyes avoided mine, keen to remain distant from the trouble that was my life. They wanted to stay under the radar. I didn’t blame them. I envied them.

I headed to the sound of Momma G’s voice in the kitchen. Stopping at the threshold, I waited and watched until she finished talking with Porcha. Porcha was a new girl struggling to build stage confidence and used lines of coke to soothe the nerves. Momma G was holding the bag of what was left behind her back with one hand and holding the girl’s wrist with the other.

“I just need one more,” Porcha insisted. “One more and I’ll go.”

“You’ve had enough, and if you don’t get ready now you’ll miss your set.” Momma G’s eyes found mine and her jaw twitched before addressing Porcha one last time. “Go clean yourself up, girl, and don’t think we’re not gonna talk about this later.”

Porcha wasn’t an addict. None of the girls were. They were either scared or lacked the confidence to take their clothes off in front of ogling men, and that magical white powder gave them exactly what they needed to get through the night. When she passed me at the door, I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and she thanked me with a smile. Small tokens of appreciation went a long way in this club.

“I heard the song,” Momma G said, pulling a chair out for me to sit. “Did he hurt you any more than usual?”

“No, but I feel like his self-control is becoming less… controlled.”

She retrieved her own make-up kit and we sat facing each other. “He’s done a number on your neck. Even I’m gonna struggle concealing his greasy mitts.”

Nobody really knew the connection between Momma G and Dominic Salvatore. Club moms were usually tied to the owner in some way. Either a family member or family friend. But if Momma G could throttle her boss with a baseball bat, she would. She’d have to get in line, though. That wasn’t to say she didn’t get along with him. We’d often overheard vicious screaming matches between the two. He’d let her speak her mind and then they’d have a nightcap of whiskey, laughing like they hadn’t just come close to killing each other.

“Cut his dick off, I say,” Momma G said as she dabbed concealer onto my neck. I smiled because the thought had frequently crossed my mind.

“I don’t know why he does this to you. He’s the fucking devil if you ask me,” she said with a sigh. “And a part of me doesn’t want to know. And then of course, what follows… is sickening. That part isn’t your fault and you shouldn’t take that on. You girls need to band together instead of letting him tear you all apart.”

I wanted to agree. But that was never going to happen and not because I didn’t want it to. It was because Dominic Salvatore was a force of nature no one was willing to take on. Momma G applied the last of my make-up and cupped my chin until I met her gaze.

“Diamond, don’t let him in here.” She tapped my head. “You’re far too smart for that to happen.”

I loved Momma G. She’d become a second mom to me even though I was cautious of what I did and didn’t confide. But some of the things she said, told me she didn’t really understand the volatile world Dominic kept me in.

Leaving as another girl required a strap re-sewn, I made my way down the hall to start my next shift. Getting to the VIP lounges required navigating through a few closed-off sections which helped to filter out the noise from the rest of club, and from the backstage area where the girls moved freely. The glow of the red light above offered barely enough light, but I didn’t need to see to know what was going on a few feet away. I stilled when I heard it, my body seizing. It was the slapping of skin combined with distressed whimpers. To the left, with a black curtain partially drawn, I saw Serena’s agonized face. She too was new to the club, keen to make an impression, but regretful once in the position. Dominic had her pinned to the wall, him fucking her from behind with a frightening ferociousness. His flat palm pushed her head against the bricks and with every thrust, Serena flinched with pain. When she opened her glistening eyes, I saw a familiar level of hate I’d seen many times before.

This was stage two of Dominic’s wrath. Once he’d forced himself off me, he’d hunt down a fresh-to-the-club girl and unleash his fury on her. From what I’d heard through the grapevine, he didn’t kiss them like he did with me. He did, however, do to them with a sickening brutality what he wanted to do to me, but wouldn’t. I was to blame for what he did to them, and that was why so many despised my existence.

The asshole saw me. A cruel smile spreading across his hateful face as he thrust faster.

I couldn’t stop him.

I wanted to beat him to death so he could never hurt another girl, but I would never make it that far. He’d put me six feet under in a heartbeat. So instead, I ran. I ran and left the poor girl alone where he would continue to destroy her. I ran because as long as I stood there watching, he’d continue to make her suffer. Bursting through the VIP door, I collided with the brick wall that was the bouncer’s back. He turned fast and caught me before I fell.

“Ease up, Diamond,” he said with a calmness about him that would normally put me at ease. Carter was the complete opposite to Anton. A large Polynesian man, he wasn’t the type players would want to mess with. In the VIP lounge, men were naturally on their best behavior because one look at Carter and self-preservation kicked in. What they didn’t see was that Carter was kind and had a heart of gold. Unlike Anton, he didn’t eye the girls when they stripped or make lewd comments about their bodies. His eyes were always firmly on the players ensuring no one ever stepped out of line. He was our protector and we loved him for it. And now was no different.

Carter’s brows creased as he used his body to shield me from others in the room. “What’s got you bolting through the door like a wild bull?”

Too scared to say a word, I shook my head. “Just lost my balance tripping over the step.” I hated to dismiss what I’d just seen. I hated to treat it like it didn’t affect me. Because it did. It crippled my soul that I couldn’t do anything to help not only Serena but every other girl he’d done it to.

“Must have been one asshole of a step,” he said giving a small reassuring smile.

“Asshole doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

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