Page 2 of Forgotten Deeds

I scan the crowd, making eye contact with a middle-aged man seated solo. Could be promising, and so I plaster on a fake smile as I shake my ass over to his table. “Hey, there. Having a good time?” I ask, giving my hip an exaggerated pop.

“Great time now that you’re here,” he says, looking me up and down with beady little eyes. “You’re new. What’s your name?”

“Pearl,” I say with a practiced smile.

“Pretty name. You like pearls? How about a pearl necklace?” He snickers like he’s done something big there. I really didn’t think my stage name through, as I’ve received some variation of this dumb question every time I’ve stepped foot onto the floor.

“Sure, I like all kinds of jewelry, but diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” I say in my best “dumb blonde” impersonation, pretending to miss his sexual innuendo. “How about a lap dance?”

“Depends. You do extras?”

“Extras” code word for sex acts. “No,” I say firmly.

“Then you’re not going to last long at this club,” he says dismissively, waving me away.

“Get the fuck out of here.” A menacing voice sounds behind me.

I freeze. Why, for the love of God is the devil back?

“Who the fuck do you think—” The man stops mid-sentence when he gets a good look at Hades. Jumping out of his chair, he high tails it to another section of the club.

“Now that the asshole is out of the way, I’ll take a lap dance,” Hades says, taking a seat.

“Why?” Trying to nonchalantly scan the crowd for the bouncer in case I need help, I don’t see him. Dammit.

He raises an eyebrow bisected by a small scar. “Isn’t that what one does in a gentlemen’s club?”

“Aren’t you the same gentlemen who just threatened me?” I say, channeling bravado I didn’t even know I possessed.

“One and the same,” he says with a wink, making my stomach do a little flip-flop.

“A hundred bucks for one song,” I challenge. My lap dance price just increased—call it hazard pay.

He pulls out a hundred dollar bill from his pocket and slaps it on the table.

Fuck, he called my bluff. I grab the cash and tuck it away in my g-string. A new song comes on, and that’s my cue. I begin to sway my hips to the music as he watches with rapt attention. The man has me on edge, but I try to ignore my nerves and lean into my Pearl persona.

It’s not working. Not with the way he’s looking at me like I’m the sexiest thing he’s ever seen. Which doesn’t make sense, because there’s plenty of sexy dancers at this club with bigger and better tits and ass than mine. Than Pearl’s, I correct myself.

Ugh, I’m too much in my head. Bubbly. Flirty. Confident. Dammit.

I nervously step closer to him, dropping to the floor and spreading my knees as I grab onto his muscular thighs and bounce my ass, smiling up at him. To my complete mortification, my stomach growls loudly. Damn, I hope he didn’t hear that over the music; I should have eaten something earlier.

He glances over my shoulder, someone snagging his attention; he must have noticed the bigger and better T and A. His eyes lock back with mine. “I want this moved to the VIP room.”

“Sure,” I say, dropping my hands from his thighs and standing to save a modicum of my pride. “Which dancer would you like so I can let her know?”

“You, of course,” he says with an amused expression.

Flustered, I blurt out, “Ten thousand dollars for an hour in the VIP room with me. Still interested?” I usually charge a thousand dollars for an hour of my time, but I’ve tacked on an extra nine grand to ensure I’m not alone with this dangerous man.

He rises from his chair, and without a word, he turns on his heel and walks off.

Chapter Two

Lily

Scanning the crowd for another customer, I try not to analyze why Hades blowing me off has left me feeling, I don’t know. Disappointed? No, that would be insane, so it’s got to be something else.

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