The Burlesque Lounge

[xOxCherryxOx]

"Oh fuck" she growled when she found herself bent over and the tip of his dick teasing her soaked slit. There was no way she could wait, so she backed against him and purred loudly when his stiff cock filled her aching cunt. Her body had a mind of it's own rubbing back against him, a bitch in heat needing a hard fuck. And he gave it. Thrusting harder, deeper, biting, her tender nipples pinched and pulled until she let loose words that only he could make her say.

Her nails ripped down his arms as she bucked against him. She earned her kitten nickname from him by always, somehow, making him bleed for her. She didn't do it on purpose. Well, most of the time anyways. He always got her into such a frenzy she lost control. Rarely did they ever make love without coming out bruised and battered... and smiling like fucking crazy. That was just how they loved each other. It was animalistic. It was perfect. And now, now as he demanded from her, begged her to cum with him, asking for her love, she could no way deny him. She was his. There was never another for her.

His hand on her throat demanding her attention, turning her head enough she could see his face wrapped in emotion. Their lips met in a heated kiss, his fingers slid over her slick slit and coaxed her hard little nub of nerve endings shattering her. Cumming, tight and rippling over his cock she purred her soft words of love against his mouth as he came over the edge with her. Drowning in each other. Dying a thousand deaths. As if they'd never ever been apart.

 

[marauder13]

Her legs tried so hard to remain around him, to entrap him within their circle. But she was one of the younger race, too proud to see what they didn't know. She fought against him, yet answered that deeper tune within her, which sought to let her flow with what was happening. She strove to watch, to somehow ignore her body while gazing on what was occurring to her. One day maybe, but she had much to learn before she would be able to master that little paradox, as they so jovially called it.

"You seem to be over dressed, Sirrah. May I assist?"

His free hand found it's way to her mouth, the forefinger laying across her mouth, silencing her in the universally known movement. His finger curled within her. He stretched her in ways only the birth of a child would, until his fingertip found the rough patch within her. The very tip of his finger remained there, pressing firmly, occasionally rubbing as he pulled his finger out of her. As he had done deeper within her, he did the same to her entrance. He stretched it as his finger uncurled, maintaining that one steady point of contact. Only when the remainder of his finger was outside of her, did he finally break contact and extract his digit completely.

He firmly removed her legs from their station about his body, taking a few steps back. The single button at the top of his pants was undone, and the zip was eased down. He then proceeded to literally peel the pants off his body. With the passing of the fabric, his phallus came into sight, seemingly from nowhere. There was nothing overtly different about it. Not large nor small. Not long nor short. It hung as a flaccid member would hang. He showed no embarrassment, no pride, nothing except his previous joy at what was happening.

His nimble fingers made short work of her shoes, as well as her thigh highs, letting them joy the communal pile of clothing. With effortless ease, she scooped up Lanie and carried her to the sofa that lined one wall of the room. He laid her down, on her side. One hand soothed her hair as the other hand moved her limbs about until she was lying in a fetal ball. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before he scooped her up once more, inverting her completely against his hard, wiry body. His arms braced her, and somehow cocooned her again him. The sound of his heart beat filled the room as the light faded. A reassuring warmth enveloped them both as the room faded to complete darkness, and there was nothing but the strong sound, and feel of his beating heart.

His arms pushed her downward, through a tight space between his arms and his body. Lanie was compressed tightly as she was pushed through the gap, coming out into a bright light, and a much cooler place. Before her head could touch the floor, one hand firmly grasped her ankles, holding her inverted, turning her swiftly. A strong slap crashed across her buttocks, sending rippling echoes the length of her body. Lanie's world went spinning for a moment, only to find herself nestled in Alehandro's arms. He was sitting on the sofa, with her cradled in his arms, gently rocked. He softly kissed her crown as he continued to gently rock her and cradle her.

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

He turned his head one last time as she started walking away. That's when the stage lit up. It was another singer he had never seen before. She was good. But his thoughts were focused elsewhere. He could see everyone in that lounge was either sitting or standing still until the song ended, including Starlin. He glanced back towards his right one last time before she disappeared into the crowd. He knew she'd be back.

Several hours passed. The singers, dancers, and other performers kept the stage busy while the girls made their rounds, chatting with the customers, including him. He was not a man who could sit in one place for too long. He had surprised himself tonight. He had been deep in thought, almost ready to get out of there, not even noticing that she sneaked up from behind when he heard her voice.

“I believe this belongs to you.”

Charlie was startled as he felt the edge of the hundred dollar note brush against his jaw. The startled expression soon turned into an amused smile as he turned to look up into her eyes without touching the bill and leaned back slightly, one arm resting over the back of the chair. No more work clothes. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Still looked as pretty as ever, he thought. Girl next door? Charlie grinned inwardly.

"Welcome back. I was expecting you."

He shot a look at the note in her hand before gazing back into her beautiful eyes. Her expression didn't surprise him at all. He had known she would have a problem with him giving her money. He was amazed she had waited this long to hand it back to him. Not the girl you want to pay to have sex with. He had realized it right from the beginning.

"It did. A few hours ago. But I gave it away to someone as a token of appreciation for their performance," Charlie nodded his head towards the stage, "So, I guess it doesn't belong to me anymore."

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Lanie

A crash of cymbals. His expansion. That finger no longer felt like just a finger. It had expanded, filled her, brought her to the edge of bliss. From the silence? A single pan pipe. Light, lilting, sweet. A flute picked up the refrain. Running, like a stream over a rocky out cropping.

For long moments~those two instruments, that snatch of music, filled her head, became a crying in her heart. She couldn't focus. She couldn't think. Her body wanted to pull away, to retreat while she thought this over but he broke from her. His long digit found it's way to her mouth, stopped the words with one gentle admonishment.

Then, he simply stepped away from her enclosing legs. His stripping didn't seem hurried, yet the clothing that covered him from sight was gone and his maleness lay against his thigh, like a sleeping snake. She found herself unable to look away from him, from the flesh he showed to her. He did not show himself with pride, nor malevolent glee, but only with a simple disrobing, an abandonment of clothes. His fingers finished removing her thigh highs, shoes, and all of it was simply gone, as if they hadn't ever existed.

She was drowning, her heart racing, her brain trying to make sense of what she saw, what she thought, but the music had come back and that was impossible. The rising of cello, oboe, viola, violin, bass. It surrounded her, moved her, as he did. And when he lifted her, moved her, carried her? She fell under his silent spell and could no longer retreat.

There was a momentary panic as he released her, positioned her to his liking. In some way~ that made her feel as if she were about to be reborn and then darkness, warmth, heart beat. A drumming in her blood, a thrumming in her head as he enclosed her, as things shifted slightly. Is this birth? Her own thoughts sounded of querulousness. Squeezing down, into something slightly too small and then coolness, a rush of air, a slap. I know this...am I born?

Her body came to a sudden inner thump and her eyes opened. He was holding her, soothing her, touching her...and for just this minute, it was more than enough.

 

[Light Ice]

The rain was coming. Angry, dark clouds swirled overhead to forge themselves into a foreboding blanket of charcoal and black. Starless, the night sky was now given a swirling and malcontented expression. The entire city seemed to breathe a little heavily when it came on. There was nothing right about it. Nothing good. It inspired thoughts of a cheating woman in a cheap motel, curtains over the window, beating out their cadence on a crude bed. That was the romance of this city. The rain was coming.

I'd been a regular since I'd met her. Since the hallway.

Women were like product when you found the right one. You could know better, know the risks, and it wouldn't matter. When you found the right fix, something worth it, you took it. I'd always been so careful, so discreet, and then she'd come and lit up my life like a firework.

But she wasn't on tonight. The bar was staffed by a pretty, dark-haired woman who didn't hold my interest or fill my water fast enough. A part of it was my fault. She was stoned. Her eyes had the glassy, wild look of a woman partying her way through a long shift.

I liked Jamie. She was raw and real. Special. She didn't touch any product and she didn't drink - too much. In the night she'd stayed close, close enough to see the Glock holstered under my armpit, and stayed that way without asking why I had it.

It'd never been used. I was too careful for that. It was bad business to wave it around. It was stupid not to carry it. The .40 caliber compact was licensed and registered. I'd all the proper permits. Most had been arranged on a favor or two. Concealed to Carry was hard to get even with a clean record.

But I never, ever, carried product with me.

And none of the girls knew their shit came from me. That was good business and I was a business man. I'd been one my entire life. But being a broker hadn't stayed profitable. There was no security to begin with but when things had gotten bad, and I mean real bad, there'd been no money either.

And while I didn't mind a gamble.

I needed money.

I had a lifestyle to maintain.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

He didn’t take it from her fingers.

Fine.

She leaned closer. Her breasts touched the tops of his shoulders as she leaned over him using her long, slender fingers to tuck the bill into the space between the buttons on his shirt. She patted it once before she stood upright again and came around him. Starlin sat down in the chair she had vacated earlier. The shoulder strap of her bag fell off her shoulder as she set the bag on the floor.

Her eyes scanned the thinning crowds. Then did a quick scan of those still sitting at the bar. They passed over everyone until they came to him. She drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes shot away from his profile and she glanced at Charlie. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed her swift intake of breath. Nothing good could come of it if he had. She strove for normalcy. Leaning back in her chair, she regarded him with false comfort. She held her eyes steady on Charlie. She was new here. But that man? The one at the bar? She knew what he was. Some of the other girls had mentioned him before, pointed him out, just in case she needed a little somethin’.

“You were expecting me, hm? What made you so sure I’d be back?”

She gave him a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes.

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

Charlie had a suspicion all along that she wasn't going to take the money from him, even if it wasn't for sex or the image it. And now his suspicion had come true. He kept watching her with a smile on his face as she leaned closer and tucked the note between the buttons of his shirt. The softness of her breasts pressed against his shoulder for a brief moment, her scent reaching his nose almost making him close his eyes and lean back. As she took a seat in the chair opposite him, his gaze dropped down briefly to her bag slipping from her shoulder onto the floor.

His eyes never left hers even as she glanced around the emptying place with most of the customers gone by now. He had noticed him walking into the lounge earlier. And he was attentive and experienced enough to notice the discomfort in her body language as soon as she had averted her gaze from the man sitting at the bar and turned to talk to him.

He had heard her question. But it didn't fool him. Charlie had a feeling something was wrong. And it wasn't just because she had changed her clothes or because her shift had ended. It wasn't even due to the note he had given her which she had trouble keeping. He felt as if she was trying to hide something. Something that was bothering her. Inside. He decided to let it go for the time being, reminding himself that there was no need to rush into anything. He had to be careful, no matter what.

"What made me so sure? Well, for one, I had a feeling you might not accept this..."

Charlie paused before continuing, plucking the hundred dollar bill out from between the buttons of his shirt. It didn't belong to him anymore. He leaned forward to slip it under the empty glass he had been drinking from, lifting it with his other hand, leaned back in his chair and stared at her.

"Why did you come back, Starlin?"

He searched her eyes but there was nothing there. Who's benefit was she smiling for?

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

The man was stubborn. She stared at him in disbelief.

“Look. You can’t mean to leave that there for one of the waitresses. That’s too much. Charlie, come on, be reasonable, will you? I didn’t do anything to earn a hundred dollar tip.”

Her eyes went from the folded up bill under the glass to his face. The man was going to be stubborn, she just knew it. She crossed her legs, letting her arms rest on her upper thigh and shrugged.

“Why do you think I came back?”

Her mother had taught her it was impolite to answer a question with a question but there were a lot of things her momma had taught her that she no longer followed. Granted, some lessons were deeply ingrained inside her. There were times, when she worked in joints like these that she wondered what her momma would think. Starlin could almost her mother’s dulcet tone in her head. Maybe she did.

Baby girl, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do. Just you make sure you can live with yourself after you do.

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

He was staring back into her eyes as she spoke, lecturing him about the tip. He was slightly amused and a bit annoyed but decided to let it go, glancing around. The man at the bar had disappeared. Gone home? Highly unlikely. Unless he hadn't found what he had come there looking for. Still highly unlikely, Charlie thought. Unless, what he had come there looking for, was not a girl. His eyes shot to the note tucked under the glass and then moved to her face. He contemplated for a few seconds and then just shrugged.

"I don't have change."

He watched as her legs crossed once again. Answering a question with a question. This was getting interesting. He chuckled, glanced towards towards the stage which was now almost empty except for some of the staff that was getting ready to clean it up, and gazed back into her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious why you came back? You don't want my money. Even when I offered it to you for something that had nothing to do with purchasing your, " his eyes dropped briefly and roamed her figure all the way up before pausing on her eyes ,"Body, or any part of it. You came back because you are attracted to me, Starlin. You can't keep your eyes off me."

He leaned forward in his chair and with a slightly bent finger, motioned her to lean closer before whispering.

"Are you going to deny that as well?"

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

He didn’t have change. She rolled her eyes. She didn’t understand men like him. Men who had money to toss around so frivolously. She eyed that hundred dollar bill for a split second. What she could use that for. Pay some of her bills, put food in her freezer. It could help pay her rent. So many things. She inwardly sighed then shifted her vision from Charlie. It rolled over the what was the last of the crowd in the place. It came back to Charlie, catching his own gaze raking over her body.

She leaned toward him, at his gesture. She heard his words. He was right in one thing, her eyes kept coming back to him. His ego, on the other hand, was something else altogether.

“I don’t know you well enough to be attracted or otherwise, Charlie. You’re a well wrapped package, that’s for sure. I will admit that. It doesn’t mean that what comes inside that wrapping is a decent human being.”

If he took offense, let him. She sat back again. Her eyes were intent. Just watching him. There was a tension in her body that shouldn’t be there. She strove to control it and her heart rate.

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

He was attracted to her as well. And hadn't been able to take his eyes off her. It was one of the main reasons he was still sitting in that lounge. He would have been out of there a long time ago if it wasn't for Starlin. She had captivated him. Initially, he thought it was just her voice. Then, he wondered if it was because she seemed intelligent than most of the girls at that joint. Then, she started talking. Flaunting that ever so endearing girl next door look and demeanor. Until the words started flowing from her mouth. It made him grin in amusement. Just like now. Her honesty was refreshing. There was no doubt about it.

Charlie noticed she was still a little bit tense. He couldn't put his finger on why that was. But he had a feeling it wasn't just him, that was having this effect on her. Or maybe it was. Like she said. She didn't know him well. He didn't know her well either. A well wrapped package? A decent human being? That made him chuckle inwardly. This was not the place to find those things. Especially the latter. Not that she was looking, he was positive. She was smarter than that.

Her eyes were intently staring at him. It seemed as if they were the only two people sitting in that place now. Almost everyone had left. Almost. Charlie leaned back in his chair and eyed the bill tucked under the glass. The waiters and waitresses were not going to come pick it up. And this woman was too proud to accept it. Fair enough. He wasn't offended by it. Neither by what she had just said. Nor by her eyes that rolled at him earlier. He had never the one to toss money around like it grew on trees in his backyard. But he had his reasons. And he didn't need to explain them to her.

"Maybe we should get to know each other...better then."

Charlie shifted slightly, his eyes moving away from her face for a brief moment, turned to the side, grabbed the front of his jacket that was hanging behind him over the chair with one hand and reached into the inside pocket with his other as if to pull something out, glancing around the place, before his head turned and eyes shot back at her, hand still buried in his jacket, body slightly bent to towards the right.

"Hm? What do you think?"

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

“Why?”

There she went again, answering a question with a question. She couldn’t help it. Not with Charlie. She hadn’t been lying when she said he was a well wrapped package. He looked damn fine. But not refined. There was something a bit too rough about him. It was like the sharp corners were knocked off him, but he was all rough around the edges. She had this brief flash of imagery in her mind. Charlie. Her. Burning up the sheets until they both were wrecked. She gave her mind a mental shake.

Stop that!

Decent human beings came in here all the time. Most of them had wives. Some of them had girlfriends. A lot of them were just lonely, horny guys, hoping to get lucky. They never did. You got lucky in this place if you had the money to spend. The majority of them didn't.

He said he didn’t have a lady waiting for him. Did she believe him? She wasn’t sure yet. He came on to her strong and very quickly. She didn’t like that, even if she did work in this joint. Starlin didn’t like assumptions. She didn’t like it when someone considered her easy for the taking just because…

She watched him reach for his jacket, his hand sliding inside it. Now he made her curious. What the hell was he doing?

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

Charlie's hand stopped inside his jacket as he was fishing for something, his eyes shot back at her. Another question. Was she doing it on purpose? Or is that just how she was? Either way, she was something else alright. He wasn't able to figure out, but it was mildly amusing and he had an intuition it was only going to get better. Not easier. Just better. This woman was anything but easy. And by that, he wasn't talking about getting into her pants. Even though the thought wasn't too far from his mind. He saw the curious expression on her face as she watched him.

"Why? How else would you come to know whether there's a...decent human being inside the wrapping or not?"

People had their own definitions of decent. He wondered what hers was. There was silence around them now. The place had emptied out. It was just the two of them. At least it seemed that way. God only knew what was going on in the private rooms inside. He pulled out a pack of Marlboros as his hand finally emerged from the pocket and opened it before taking one cigarette out and just as he was about to place it between his lips, his eyes found hers once again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Smoke?"

He held the tobacco roll in his outstretched hand, offering it to her before placing the box on the table for a moment. His other hand slid behind and inside the jacket once again to find his Zippo.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

“Should I want to?”

There was a tone of humor in her voice. She canted her head, as she watched him. She waved away the pack of smokes he held out, wrinkling her nose.

“No, thank you.”

She didn’t take offense at his offer. Not many people realized that singers shouldn’t or didn’t smoke. It affected not only their lungs, but their vocal cords. She would have gotten up and left except she had asked him another question and since it was her question, unless she wanted to be blatantly rude, she’d stay and wait for an answer. Though working in a smoke filled room took its toll on her anyway. Her throat was starting to feel a little raspy. She’d have to take a little extra care between tonight and tomorrow night when she was due to sing again.

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

Another question. She was just full of them, wasn't she? His hand emerged empty from the pocket as he looked back at her. He had either forgotten or misplaced his lighter. The humor in her tone did not go unnoticed as she tilted her head and watched him. A wave followed by a cute wrinkling of the nose.

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you? Do you ever answer a question before asking another one?"

He pondered for a moment, eying her closely and then just grinned, grabbing the pack, shoving the cigarette back inside, slipping the box into his jacket and sitting straight in his chair once again, leaning back. He had been trying to quit for months. An year or two ago, that packet would have been half empty by this time if he were sitting in that lounge. But he hadn't smoked the entire day today. Maybe this was a good thing. Her refusal. It made him think. Charlie glanced around the place, got up from his chair, walked towards the bar, filled up an empty glass with water and returned to where Starlin was sitting, placing the tall glass in front of her on the table.

"I didn't know where the lemons are."

He sat back in his chair as if aloof before looking back into her eyes.

"Oh and to answer your question...Yes, I think you should want to."

He continued to stare at her with an impish grin, waiting for the next question.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie~


She grinned.

“Do you always ask a lot of questions? And look who’s calling the kettle black.”

She did cave however. Lessons learned from her mom went too deep for her to completely ignore. But before she could answer him. He got up and came back with a glass of water for her, sans the lemon. She was nonplussed. The unexpected gesture made her speechless for a second. Her eyes stared at the glass then moved toward him. She silently watched him. Then leaned over and retrieved the glass, taking a sip. She cupped the glass in her hand.

A slow smile formed even as her eyes remained guarded.

“Maybe I will.”

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Charlie was slightly surprised she didn't ask him another question, at least one that, he assumed, she didn't except an answer for. But he was inwardly pleased. He noticed the soft smile that appeared on her lips as she stared at him with a cautious look in those gorgeous eyes, cupping the glass of water he had brought for her.

"I do. Sometimes."

He answered anyway. He was beginning to like this girl. He wanted to see her again. Not just here in the lounge, making small talk and getting tangled in a web of questions. He wanted to see her outside of the club. Whether it was feasible, for both of them, that was the question. Charlie's eyes scanned the place once again before settling back on Starlin.

"It's getting late. Let me give you a ride home."

It was not a question. He was done asking for the night. He stood up from his chair, grabbed the hundred dollar bill from under the empty glass on the table and pulled his jacket from the back, ready to get out of the place, hoping the rain had relented by now. His eyes looked down at her expectantly even though his mind was firm.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie

She knew a moment’s panic when he offered her a ride home. She never let a customer take her home, ever. That was just asking for trouble. As he got to his feet, so did she. Leaning over from the waist, her fingers felt for the shoulder strap of her bag, bringing it up and over her arm to settle it on her shoulder. She turned back toward him in time to see him snag up the hundred dollar bill. Something inside her relaxed. She offered him a friendly smile.

“Thank you Charlie, but no thank you. I’ll see my way home. I’ll just grab a cab outside.”

She held out her right hand.

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you though and amusing to spend time talking with you. Don’t be a stranger. Drop by the club again sometime.”

 

[Mav Unlimited]

Starlin

His eyes shot up at hers as the sleeves slipped over both of his arms. He tugged at the jacket gently as it fit in place, the note still in his right palm. He wasn't surprised. Going home or getting too familiar with clients outside of work was neither encouraged nor beneficial. Charlie's eyes dropped to her outstretched hand as she turned back before settling on her mischievous eyes again. He reached for her hand, grabbing it gently in his palm. What followed was not exactly gentle.

"Okay."

His voice was soft but the tone had a certain rigidness to it. Before she knew it, she was breathing against him. Their eyes met for a brief second as he pulled her towards him firmly. His left hand had slid around her waist. Her body was pressing against him as he tilted his head to plant a somewhat forceful, somewhat passionate kiss on her mouth. Using his right hand he deviously slipped the bill into her bag that was ready to fall from her shoulder at any second. Along with the hundred dollars, he slipped a note as well that he had managed to scribble earlier while sitting at his table. As their lips parted, he let go of her waist and took a step back, gazing into her eyes only for a short moment.

"Pleasure has been mine," saying that, Charlie grabbed the glass of water that he had brought for her earlier. It was still half full. He placed it in her hand and wrapped her fingers around it, making sure it wouldn't fall. "Don't be a stranger." He then vanished from the lounge

She would eventually find the note in her bag. Either on her way home or after she reached there. He was certain of it. It was not the reason why he had kissed her though. He could have sneaked it into her bag in many different ways. He had kissed her because...it was what he had been wanting to do, since the first time he had seen her. He just wished he could be there to see the expression on her face when she saw the two notes. One would have a picture of Benjamin Franklin on it. The other would just read...

You can return it to me next time if you'd like. -- Charlie

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Lanie

It had all felt like a dream~a very surreal, almost unreal, dream. His beauty had compelled her, even when his words had angered or caused second, third, fourth thoughts. She had awakened from her stupor by the sudden darkness in the room, by the chill that had surrounded her, raising goose flesh on her skin.

She had been warm...and now...she was not. With a sigh, her brain still fixated upon his ethereal handsomeness, she slipped back into her costume and slipped from the room. It had all been just a dream.

It was still a dream. Somewhere, music played~a flute that echoed her pulse, a drum that picked up her heart beat. It didn't matter. The money had been real enough and she felt sated. Allehandro. Maybe he would come again, one day.

She shook her head and headed for the dancer's dressing rooms. Once there she slipped into black leggings and a loose long tunic. Soft, supple leather boots, a hat to hide her face. She hoped that she would see him again...

Allehandro.

The club itself was almost empty. The rooms held only a few die hard souls. With a soft smile, she left the building. She would return on her next scheduled shift...and maybe, just maybe, he would be there.

Allehandro.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Charlie~

Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t that. It had happened all to quickly and his sudden move had taken her completely by surprise. His arm was a band of steel around her waist as he hauled her close against him. His lips were forceful. Hard. Passionate. Then she was free. The glass of water she had been drinking was in her hand again and Charlie was gone. Son. Of. A. Bitch. She would have thought she had imagined it if she couldn’t still feel the impression of his lips on hers. Somewhat bemused, she raised the glass to her lips and drained the contents. She dropped the glass off at the bar on her way out.

Much later that night, at home, she opened her bag to take out a few things that needed washing. Two things fluttered to the floor. Her eyes tracked them. They immediately fell on the folded bill.

Oh no he didn’t.

Her fingers closed around it. Hell and damnation. He did. The man could be a pick pocket in reverse. Distract and plant. She reached for the white piece of paper next. She crinkled both in her hand as she dumped her laundry into her washing machine. Distractedly, she poured laundry soap and softener in, closing the lid and leaning against the machine filling up with water. She opened and read the note. A grin formed on her lips as she shook her head, refolding the note. She put both on the kitchen counter while she made herself something to eat.

 

[DemureDryad]

The rain was coming. Angry, dark clouds swirled overhead to forge themselves into a foreboding blanket of charcoal and black. Starless, the night sky was now given a swirling and malcontented expression. The entire city seemed to breathe a little heavily when it came on. There was nothing right about it. Nothing good. It inspired thoughts of a cheating woman in a cheap motel, curtains over the window, beating out their cadence on a crude bed. That was the romance of this city. The rain was coming.

I'd been a regular since I'd met her. Since the hallway.

Women were like product when you found the right one. You could know better, know the risks, and it wouldn't matter. When you found the right fix, something worth it, you took it. I'd always been so careful, so discreet, and then she'd come and lit up my life like a firework.

But she wasn't on tonight. The bar was staffed by a pretty, dark-haired woman who didn't hold my interest or fill my water fast enough. A part of it was my fault. She was stoned. Her eyes had the glassy, wild look of a woman partying her way through a long shift.

I liked Jamie. She was raw and real. Special. She didn't touch any product and she didn't drink - too much. In the night she'd stayed close, close enough to see the Glock holstered under my armpit, and stayed that way without asking why I had it.

It'd never been used. I was too careful for that. It was bad business to wave it around. It was stupid not to carry it. The .40 caliber compact was licensed and registered. I'd all the proper permits. Most had been arranged on a favor or two. Concealed to Carry was hard to get even with a clean record.

But I never, ever, carried product with me.

And none of the girls knew their shit came from me. That was good business and I was a business man. I'd been one my entire life. But being a broker hadn't stayed profitable. There was no security to begin with but when things had gotten bad, and I mean real bad, there'd been no money either.

And while I didn't mind a gamble.

I needed money.

I had a lifestyle to maintain.

I had only just walked in, after changing into the outlandishly revealing outfit that constituted a uniform in such a place, when I saw him, sitting at that same stool. Just sitting, with the same far off look in his eyes. He looked like he had captured the dank, ominous feeling of the city, and locked it into his mind. Chris...

Almost a week had passed since that night. I had thought about it often; how he had taken me, and I him. How I had felt saturated with sex. How obvious it had been that we both needed it, without knowing why. Suddenly, I was nervous. I didn't know how to approach him. Certainly there would be no instinctual, dreamlike exchange this time. Surely my consciousness would take over, and my lustful autopilot would fail. I would look like a fool.

Taking a deep breath, I checked my hair one last time in the mirror. Dark red curls spilling down my back, and over my shoulder. The violet lingerie I had chosen was in the fashion of the other girls. Thin lace, hinting at the pale skin just beneath. The bustling ruckus of the dressing room faded behind me as the door swung shut, and I took a nervous step toward him. Flashing images of a passionate tangling of limbs... Snippets of a long, desirous moan...

My heels made little sound on the carpet as I approached him, only to transition into a sharp clack as I neared the bar. He still had not notice me. God, but he was sexy.

"Chris..." As inappropriate as it was, dressed in such clothes, if they could be called that, I blushed when he turned to look at me. I am not the blushing type. "Looking for me?" Yes, I thought. That sounded assertive...

 

[Light Ice]

The Lounge didn't close but it did thin out, patrons evaporating into the night after their wallets had emptied and the promise of money had kept the girls and the booze from their side. I'd been debating an escape for the better part of the last twenty minutes, half-way between the blind fear that I'd miss her and the more likely realization that she wasn't going to work tonight. It'd have been easier if I'd paid her for the pleasure - but I hadn't. The rules were different now, unfamiliar, and even though the foreign nature of this game was full of naught but foreboding - I couldn't shake the urge to play.

In my line of work women, especially those you hardly knew, were the equivalent of a bear trap. They bit, got into your bones, and you couldn't shake them free without damaging yourself. Everything about her - from the intensity of what I felt when she was near and her profession screamed that she was the kind of woman I should avoid.

But she asked a question and I answered, suddenly ignoring my drink, suddenly glad that I was nothing if not patient as my strong arm curled around the lithe stretch of her hips and began to pull her gently into my side. Words. Never a strong suit. Unforgiving, empty, terrible things that didn't and couldn't communicate what I needed - they'd abandoned me a long time ago and i returned the favor now. The softness of her hip against my thigh and the smoky look in her eyes as they looked up into mine were all I needed.

"You want to be my girl?" I asked.

There was no making pretense. She'd seen enough to know what I meant. I'd look out for her if she let me. I'd provide for her if I could. Love wasn't the kind of luxury I could afford. It wasn't a feeling that a man pushing weight could burden himself with. But I appreciated her. She captivated me. And the question came as easily as the desire, surging, leaping from synapse to synapse in a burst of radiant warmth that arced through my body even as my strong fingers spread across the small of her back.

The truth of her beauty lay beyond the soft lines and easy curves, her hair, her eyes. I'd felt a toughness in her. I'd felt an understanding. A young woman working in a place like this could get crushed by it, caught up in the pounding music and eager men. It was the killer of souls. A cosmic trash compactor for the emotionally insecure. But she was, in the moments her fingers had brushed my pistol, unshaken. Strong.

It'd made the risk worth it.

It'd made my prick harden steadily as I kept her against me and spoke my Faustian bargain into the shell of her perfect little ear.

 

[DemureDryad]

"You want to be my girl?"

His voice reverberated not in my ear, but seemingly throughout my body; its deep baritone dripping with hunger and implication. It sparked with electricity equal to the touch of his hands, traversing the insignificant barrier of translucent purple with unbridled ease. The rarity of his words only made them more exciting, the hotness of his breath against my ear more intimate. The contact of his body, pressed to him by his sturdy arm, made me almost giddy with heady excitement. It was instantaneous, uncontrolled, without caution. My heart jumped in my chest, as I wondered how any single man could have the power to make me hunger him so easily. It was as simple as a light switch, for him.

I spoke without thinking, finding that autopilot I feared would not be with me. I knew he could hear the need in my voice, even though I tried not to show it. There was no hesitation as the word left my lips. "Yes..."

No, no no! What are you doing... Conventional wisdom shouted that this was a terrible thing to get myself into. A man who frequented a whorehouse... Who carried a gun. My hours had been filled with thoughts of that night, how he had somehow managed to get the only woman who was not a 'working girl' into his bed. I didn't know if he was a cop, or a gangster. The latter was perhaps more welcome here. I didn't want to know. I only wanted him.

The automatic movements, outside of my intention, involuntary, took over. A hand against his chest, moving closer, pressing myself tighter against him. I wanted to be crushed in his arms, smothered in his attentions. My lips dragged against his neck. Not a kiss, more like a lazy grasp. Full lips gently probing for purchase, not wanting him to disappear for another week. I hungered for his voice, low and sexy. And his body. And privacy. I might have quit my job right then and there.

How could he do this to me? Damn him.

 

[Light Ice]

She moved like a woman was meant to move. Everything subtle. Fluid. It was enough to provoke a rumble from my chest, beneath her hand. I felt it rise up, lift from me, spread hotly across the delicate curve of her ear as she settled close and her hair swayed gently as she sank into my embrace. She bowed her spine beneath my fingers, lace soft against their hard tips, skin hot beneath it.

"Kiss me." I said, looking down at her.

The stray strands of her mane swept across her cheeks, framing her elegant features and that soft, sultry beauty that'd captivated me from the moment she'd poured me my first drink. It was a cliché. We were a cliché. The gorgeous girl behind the bar, swept up on the arm of a rogue villain. But she knew, didn't she? She knew the risk she was taking. She knew the danger.

Around them the bar had nearly emptied, a lull that would last several hours until shifts changed and the late, late crowd began to wander in. My hand crept down, smoothed over the round of her perfect ass, slid down the curve of those cheeks until his fingers could sink in for a rough, sudden grip that trapped her tight to my body. The words were an assurance. Inelegant. Simple.

"All it takes to be my girl is to stand beside me." But my eyes never left her own, my words spoken before her beauty stole my wit. Captivated, intoxicated, I held her.

And outside it rained. The thunder peeling through the dark clouds in a starless sky, shedding heavy and cold autumn water on black, hungry asphalt. An ominous start. The danger of a storm lay in its intensity. Its brevity. I waited for her to reach up and press her mouth to mine.

Hungry.