Page 23 of Strip Search

He licked his hand and I dotted the salt on it. I filled the shot glass with the Cuervo. Sucking the salt off his hand, he then tanked the shot and I popped the lemon wedge into his mouth. He grinned, showing me the rind of the lemon over his teeth.

I laughed at his antics and relaxed a bit.

“Your turn,” he said. “You look like you could use one.”

“It’s my first night.” I licked my hand and blushed at his appreciative look.

“No shit.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Only because you haven’t sat on my lap yet.”

I nearly dropped the shot I had just poured myself. “Am I supposed to?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” he said with a smile, and took the shot out of my hand and tanked it.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” I said, reluctantly. I handed him a lemon slice, but he waved me off.

“It is with me. But Iamgoing to make you pour me a real drink.”

I couldn’t believe how relieved I was to hear him say that, and I quickly blinked back tears so he wouldn’t see. My bravado that had gotten me this far was rapidly fading away as the adrenaline from being on stage wore off. Darcy Ross was hotter than the sun, and was even more attractive because he was kind and funny. But I didn’t want to grind on his lap. I didn’t mind being nearly naked in front of him, mostly because he wasn’t leering, and his admiration was a confidence builder. But there was only one man I wanted to rub against in the VIP room, and he probably was busy in the club making sure no one was out of line. “How would you like your drink?” I asked.

“On the rocks with a salted rim and a twist of lemon.”

I figured out how to create that, and handed it to him.

“Feel free to make yourself one.”

Looking at the tequila bottle longingly, I sighed. “If you want me to dance, I shouldn’t.”

“Are you okay with dancing?”

“I love it.” I felt the last of my nervousness slip away. Darcy didn’t turn me on, but he made me feel safe.

Leaning back into the couch, he waved at me to start.

“Music on,” I said. “Play ‘Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing’ by Chris Isaak.”

“Good choice.” He crossed his legs and winced. It reminded me of Lisa. Darcy must have hurt his knee at some point.

I lost myself in the music, using the entire room to dance, leap, and shimmy. It should have been tawdry, and I should have been embarrassed that I was, for all intents and purposes, nakedwith a strange man. But I wasn’t. When I looked over, Darcy was smiling at me, content to watch. Considering all the times I’d stared at his ass on Lisa’s poster, it felt like turnabout was fair play.

He even clapped for me when the song was done. I gave him my best diva bow. A deep curtsy where I pretended I had a large bouquet of roses in my arms.

“Have a drink and a seat. You deserve it.”

“I do,” I agreed. “Let me refresh yours.”

“That’s a good girl,” he said with that sexy accent, flirting with a smoldering look through impossibly long lashes.

It was the same one from his calendar and I couldn’t help grinning back.

After I fixed our drinks, I joined him on the couch. He turned to face me, and I tried not to think about yesterday when Miles and I almost broke rule number one. I shoved down the disappointment that we hadn’t.

“I’ve got to know,” Darcy began.

“What’s a nice girl like me doing in a place like this?” I finished.

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