“Yeah.” I narrow my eyes. I want to punch him in the face, but once again, I maintain my composure because I’m rather motivated not to get thrown out. “Best lap dance I’ve ever had.”
Only lap dance I’ve ever had.
“I might have to keep charging a little more Lavender Rose.” He laughs and shakes his head. “Damn, I got turned on just watching her move.”
He doesn’t even hide the fact he watches his customers. Maybe the rest of them don’t mind a voyeur, but it doesn’t sit well with me. I imagine how many different ways I could hurt him, to satisfy the desire to see him bleed, but I don’t let those thoughts manifest outside of my head.
“Probably a good idea,” I growl under my breath.
The best idea is never letting her go behind that curtain with anyone again, but I can’t say that. It’ll make him suspicious. Kiana is still at his mercy right now.
Until I do something about it.
“Hope to see you around here again some time.” Max pats my back one more time before he walks away.
He only cares about my money. That’s fine. Men like him are easy to understand, but he’s not the one I’m after. He’s just an ordinary scumbag. Someone else is pulling the strings. If it was Max, she would’ve been worried about more than losing her job if he didn’t like her performance behind the curtain.
I need to figure out who it is and see what I can do about it. But before I can do that, I need to make sure Kiana is okay.
“Thanks for the drink.” I put my empty glass on the bar along with a generous tip and walk to the door.
I’m not leaving, not yet. I just don’t like the atmosphere. I go to my car and wait for things to die down at the club. Kiana will have to leave eventually. That’s the best chance I have of talking to her.
It’s a couple of hours before the patrons start leaving in numbers that aren’t quickly replaced. A few girls head out as well, and a bouncer escorts them to their cars. That could complicate things, but I’ll manage.
Being alone in my car gives me time to think about what happened behind the curtain. I’m ashamed to admit that I enjoyed the lap dance. Kiana is beautiful, fucking gorgeous; definitely not the girl I remember. We always shared an emotional connection just because she was Lawson’s kid, and talking to her was the polite thing to do; especially when she initiated the conversation. I never had the kind of thoughts I had tonight, though; not back then.
Now it’s all I can think about. Those beautiful curves, that look in her eyes, the way her body reacted when she was against me. I can still feel her delicate skin on the tips of my fingers and smell her perfume on my clothes, along with other things. The evidence of her desire is still wet on my pants. Thinking about it makes my cock begin to throb again. I certainly wanted more. I couldn’t deny that if I tried.
I’ve been in my car long enough to need another stiff drink before I finally see Kiana appear. She looks like she did when she came to my office—all hints of Lavender Rose are gone. The bouncer watches but doesn’t escort her, and she doesn’t walk to the parking lot. I glance in the direction she’s walking and realize she’s going to the bus stop. Perfect. I drive behind her until we’re out of the bouncer’s line of sight before I accelerate and roll down my window.
“Hey…” I lean toward the passenger side of the car.
“Bram?” She looks surprised to see me. “What are you doing here?”
“Let me drive you home.” I lean further and open the door for her.
“I’m okay. I’ll catch the bus.” She motions to one that is approaching.
“I just want to talk.” I sigh. It’s the truth.
There is hesitation in Kiana’s beautiful blue-green eyes, but she finally takes a step toward my car. I wait for her to sit down and pull the door closed before I pull away from the curb. She clutches the seat nervously when we pass the bus stop, almost like she’s expecting to see someone there. A sigh of relief follows when it’s behind us. I get the impression she didn’t want to get in my car; there’s a reason she chose it over the bus, and it isn’t because she wants to talk.
“Are you okay?” I look over at her.
“I don’t know what I am right now.” She looks down. “I’m just glad Max was happy enough with what he saw not to fire me.”
“Then tell me about this problem your brother has. Who does he owe money to, and why are you the one who has to fix it?” I narrow my eyes and shift my attention back to the road.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.” Kiana’s hand trembles, and she tries to steady it. Whoever it is, they terrify her.
“Well, you did,” I growl under my breath. “I’m not going to let you out of this car until I know everything.”
“You’ll run out of gas eventually.” She glances at the gauge. I just filled up, so it doesn’t offer the reassurance she’s hoping for.
“Then the car will stop, and we’ll keep talking.” I shrug. “You still aren’t going anywhere until you tell me.”
“Why do you care?” There is irritation in her voice. “You haven’t talked to my father in years…”
“What happened between the two of us doesn’t have a damn thing to do with this.” I exhale sharply. “You’re the one I’m concerned about.”
“Why? Because you used to humor me when I was a kid? I’m not a little girl anymore, and you stopped talking to me the day you stopped talking to him.” She shifts in her seat and stares out
