Page 29 of Undercover Desires

“Mr. Rivera,” he corrects me. “Your name is right here.” He points to it, tapping the board three times.

I break into a cold sweat. “This has to be a joke.” I look for Xavier to save me, but she’s serving a drink at the other end of the bar.

The announcer calls my name, and I freeze. Looking to the stage, then back to Kobe.

“I can’t get up there. Please, get my name off the list.” I feel my face heat.

“Once it’s on there, you have to take part in the show. Those are the rules. Come on, Bella, it’ll be fun. Live a little. I can see you’re the type of girl who likes a good time. Don’t let nerves get in the way,” he teases me, thinking this is all some big fucking joke.

I turn toward him, anger radiating off my face. “No chance in hell.” I poke him in the chest. “You own this place, so fix it. Get me off the list.” I stare at him, desperate for him to help me.

He smirks back at me like this is how he gets his kicks, messing with people. People being me. This is fun for him. “Please,” I beg, hating to have to ask him so nicely, but can’t he see I’m not that girl?

“Once your name is on the list, that’s it. If you’re a no-show on stage, the bidders will place their bets based on your profile picture, that will be flashed up on the screen.”

“You would force me to sign a contract that I have no say in!? That’s illegal!” I whisper cry, my hands trembling with anger.

He grins. “Of course not, we’re not monsters.” A chuckle escapes him. “But you would still have to go up there and put on a show.” He motions to the stage where a lineup of beautiful women pose for the crowd.

My eyes go wide. Is he messing with me or is this shit for real? I can’t tell. I shake my head, not able to find words, dread filling me.

He stokes a finger up my arm. “Sweetheart, I can see this whole thing is making you uncomfortable, so how about I do you a favor. I will tell the announcer a private bid has been accepted, and you and I can work this out between the two of us.”

“What do you mean by that?” I mutter, not agreeing to anything I don’t truly understand.

The announcer calls my name again. “Last chance for Bella Jones.” My heart races, not sure what to do. I don’t like being rushed into making decisions, especially ones I don’t really understand.

“Last chance, Bella, what’s it going to be? You let one of the other patrons in the club place a bet on you and you go off into one of our rooms with him to discuss the terms of your contract, or you and I come to an arrangement behind closed doors.” His lips twitch up at the sides. He can't even hide his excitement. I want to slap him across his pretty fucking face for being such an asshole. He takes my hand like he can read my mind—or my glare of disgust for him, more likely.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, trying to pull out of his grip.

“Leading you to the stage, sugarplum.”

“Fine, we can work it out,” I mutter, defeated. There is no way in hell I’m going up there in front of this crowd or having my face splashed all over the screen. It would be mortifying. Other cops come here. I will be the laughingstock of the station if anyone ever worked out who I was up there, selling my body for cash. It’s one thing to work behind the bar here, another entirely to sell my body.

“Good girl. Stay here. I will let him know.”Good girl?What the fuck was that?

He casually strolls through the room and takes the stage like a natural, accepting the microphone from the announcer. “Unfortunately, fellas, the beautiful Bella Jones has already accepted a private bid and is no longer available.”

The crowd sounds disappointed, and I stare at Kobe in utter disbelief, my heart racing in my chest. Part of me wants to run in the opposite direction as fast as my feet will take me. But the other part knows I will stay and fight Kobe on whatever he has planned. He thinks he’s just won something here tonight, some fucked-up scenario I’m sure he set up to mess with me. More Kobe games. But I will do everything I can to get out of it. Whatever it is I just agreed to with him.

CHAPTER 12

KOBE

I stride back tothe bar, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction. That was too easy. She might be the cop trying to take us down, but in my club, she has no jurisdiction, and she’s about to find out just what that means. “Follow me,” I call to her.

She shadows me reluctantly, a scowl on her pretty face. I shove open the door to room one, where I have our contract already lined up. She couldn’t have played into my hands any better. “Please take a seat, Miss Jones.” I smile playfully. I enjoy messing with her. It’s fast becoming my favorite thing to do.

She hesitates, glancing at me, unsure if it’s safe to sit. I should tell her it’s not, but that would ruin my fun. She’s panicky, her normally confident facade slipping. I have her rattled. Why is that thought so satisfying? Probably because from the moment she stepped foot in this place, she’s had me on edge. It’s nice to get a little payback.

“The couch is Italian leather; make yourself comfortable, sugar.” I pat the seat beside me, beckoning her to join me.

She sits tentatively at the edge of the couch, as far from me as she can manage, with her hands tucked under her legs like she’s trying to stop herself from lashing out. “What the hell was that, Kobe? Did you just set me up?” I can see the pain in her eyes.

Hurts, doesn’t it, sugarplum? When you think you can trust someone, and they screw you over.I grin back at her, enjoying her discomfort. “Nope. I just did you a massive motherfucking favor. You should say thank you, Mr. Rivera, not be looking like you want to slap me.”

“I want to slap you,” she bites back, her teeth gritted together, her glare deadly. Yeah, she’s on the verge of losing her shit completely.

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