Page 53 of Keeping Winter

“All right! Anyone wanting to take a shot with me tonight, now’s your chance. I don’t plan on passing out on the pool table by nine p.m., so pick your poison, and let’s go!” I shout over the music.

Shelby lines them up as everyone grabs a shot.

“To new friends and old, here’s to a long life and a happy one, a quick death and a happy one, a good girl and a pretty one, a cold bottle and another one!” I call.

Cheers erupt around me, and everyone downs their shot.

I slam my empty glass down on the bartop and point to Shelby. “No more shots for me,” I command, and she nods, her eyes growing wide momentarily before she giggles.

And that’s when the club girls enter. Rico stood by his word and managed to rustle up some beautiful women to keep around the club. How he did it, I don’t know. But as the girls stroll in, it’s clear that tonight, they’re geared for lots of fun, each scantily dressed in form-fitting outfits that leave little to the imagination.

“This is for you, boss,” Rico says as he and Knuckles grip my arms firmly and haul me toward the couch in front of the stripper pole.

Groaning, I reluctantly allow them to lead me over to my front-row seat. This isn’t for me, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the point. It’s the guys’ main duty to give me a hard time, and tonight, they’re taking full advantage, knowing this is the last thing I want or need. And besides that, as the president of our club, I can’t appear pussywhipped, no matter how okay I am with Winter maintaining her hold on me.

The other club members are thrilled with the direction this night is taking, so I bear up and hunker down as the girls start to dance. A busty blonde takes center stage on the stripper pole, her shiny black leather miniskirt and top barely covering her nipples or ass as she starts to dance.

Dallas slumps onto the couch beside me as a chorus of wolf whistles and catcalls bounce around the room.

“You look miserable,” he observes humorously.

“This is so stupid,” I grumble, scowling at the girl on stage.

She seems completely oblivious to my mood as she sensually slides down the pole with her back against the metal, arms overhead, facing me so that as her legs spread, she reveals the skimpy fabric covering her pussy as she squats in front of me.

Dallas chuckles darkly. “You brought it upon yourself when you gave the guys free rein.”

“I put you in that group too. Why didn’t you knock some sense into them.”

Dallas holds his hands up in defense. “Hey, I tried. No one wanted to listen to me. If it makes you feel better, we’re going to open up a fighting ring out back once this show is over.”

That does lighten my mood a bit. I never say no to a good fight, and after this, I wouldn’t mind challenging Rico and smacking him around a bit. I would think about challenging Knuckles, too, but though my ribs are fully healed, they’re still a bit tender at times, and I don’t really want to see how they hold up to my shorter friend’s knock-out punches.

I gulp down another mouthful of beer as I let my attention wander around the room, taking in the guys enjoying the party as they watch and dance up on the girls. Rico’s clearly in his happy place as he grips the hips of a club girl whose ass is pressed so firmly against his dick; I wonder if he’s managed to find a way to fuck her through his jeans.

Knuckles is at his usual game, playing pool and betting money. It’s a win-win for him. He’s a shark who can wring a person for all their worth, and either he gets to pocket the money, or the other person gets so pissed off that they challenge him to a fight. And then he gets to kick their ass before taking the money home.

I can see it in his eyes that he’s loving to work with the new guys. The club’s been open long enough that some of them already know he’s good at pool, but no one has yet seen him on a party night. This will be their first real taste of Knuckles and his game.

My attention snaps back to what lies directly before me as I feel the weight of a woman’s body ease onto my lap. The club girl, I think her name is Penny, has her back to me as she slowly rolls her ass between my legs.

She leaves little to the imagination in her nylon stockings and garter skirt. Her crop top is so tight that it looks like it’s been painted on, and her lack of a bra reveals the tip of a nipple as she rotates her body just far enough to peek over her shoulder at me.

She bites her full lower lip coyly as she tosses her mahogany hair and grips my knees to steady herself. I can tell she wants me to touch her as she presses against me more insistently, trying to get me to respond.

“Time for your lapdance, big boy. The girls heard you’re getting married. You sure you want to do that with things like this at your disposal?” she asks melodically.

Penny is young and fit and beautiful by anyone’s standards. At one point in my life, I would have jumped on this opportunity to fuck her, which she’s all but begging me to do. But as her ass presses against my cock, grinding against me through my jeans, I simply grip her hips firmly and remove her from my lap.

For a second, when I grabbed her, I could see the excitement in her chocolate-brown eyes, and then she yelps in surprise when she’s completely lifted off her feet.

I deposit her unceremoniously in Dally’s lap and stand from the couch. “Sorry, you’re not my type,” I say simply.

Dallas looks about as confused by Penny’s sudden appearance on his lap as she is, and I chuckle darkly as I leave him there to pick up the pieces. He can either enjoy the end of my lap dance or not. I don’t give a fuck. But I’m not interested in pussy tonight, and I’ve sat on that couch pretending to ogle the girls as long as I’m willing.

Heading to the bar, I order another beer.

“The new place is looking good,” Jeremiah says from his spot at the bar next to me. He’s one of the older members of the Blackmoor Devil’s Sons. He’s a beast of a man, around my height and both muscular and bulky. His wife, Debbie, mans the club bar in Blackmoor, and Jeremiah is my old president’s right-hand man. I’ve always liked Jeremiah. For all intents and purposes, he’s a good man.

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