Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Instead, I knock back the rest of my drink and head to the bar to pay bottle price for one drink again. I thank the bartender, and I’m bringing the glass to my lips when suddenly, hands grab both my arms, yanking them back.
…And instinct kicks in.
I whirl, wrenching my hands free, grabbing one of them by the collar of his t-shirt. My fist raises, and it’s only then that I’m aware of Dan’s voice.
“Whoa! Whoa! Fuckin’ chill, man!”
I blink, and when the adrenaline cools, and my eyes focus, I realize I’m holding Dan’s best man in my hands.
Shit.
“Sorry,” I growl, letting his shirt go. The guy is white-faced and looks like he’s about to piss himself.
“S’cool,” he mumbles, swallowing as he glances at the other guys in the bachelor party nervously. Actually, all of them are looking at me like that.
Dan’s chuckling laugh breaks the silence.
“Fuck, Colton!” he whistles.
“Thought you were a high school principal,” the best man mumbles, eyeing me.
“Naw, headmaster,” Dan crows.
“It’s just principal.” That’s what I am in life these days. The Principal of Winchester Academy, this absurdly expensive, exclusive private boarding high school a few towns away from here.
I clear my throat and nod at the guy I almost just killed. “And sorry. I—” I frown. “I’m not good with being surprised from behind like that.”
Dan nods. “True that, bro. He was in the Marines,” he says somberly to his other friends.
“Special Forces.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
I don’t bother correcting him.
“Anyways, Colton, man, we just wanted to surprise you.”
“Mission accomplished,” I growl, reaching for my drink.
He grins. “No, buddy. I mean we surprised you with a little private room action.”
I frown.
What.
One of the other guys grins and steps forward. “Yeah, bro. Dan here wanted to hook you up with a little champagne room, huh?”
His smile widens as all of the guys make catcalls and whooping sounds.
“Dan, that’s… I’m not really into—”
“Well I already paid man, so, c’mon!”
I frown.
“Bro, it’s my bachelor party, and I want you to go have fun!”
Fuck it.
It’s not that I want to, it’s that I don’t want to keep standing here having this discussion. And hell, if nothing else, I’m pretty sure the private room is private. I can tell the stripper to take a break and keep the money, and I can get some peace and quiet for ten minutes.
“Sure, man,” I smile thinly. “Sounds good.”
“Ay! Atta boy!” Dan crows. He nods at a purple neon lit doorway. “Through there, second door on the left!”
I take a drink as I walk away, ignoring the cheers from the bachelor party as I step through into a dark hallway that smells like cheap perfume. I find the door, and step into a world of blue neon and faux crystal. There’s a big—and I do mean big—guy waiting for me to tell me to keep my hands to my damn self and to take a seat and wait for my girl.
Great.
I sit, drinking my whiskey and wondering how soon I can get the fuck out of here, when the door opens.
…And my jaw tightens.
It’s her. Fuck, of course it’s her. Blonde hair, black mask, sky-blue lacy lingerie, and fuck-me stilettos. The door closes behind her, and when our eyes lock, I see her instantly stiffen. Actually, she flat out shivers, and I watch as her teeth rake nervously over her bottom lip.
Well, this is off to a great start.
“Listen,” I growl, leaning forward. “I’m good, really. My buddies paid for the room, so if you want to go take a break or… I don’t know, do whatever, that’s fine.”
She swallows, her chest rising and falling, and God help me, my eyes drop right to those fucking perfect tits before I drag my eyes back to hers. Fuck, she’s young—younger than I thought she was on stage. And with all due respect to women who take their clothes off for a living, and I do have some serious respect for them, this girl ain’t it. She just doesn’t have that look.
“I’m serious,” I mutter. “Honestly, go take a break. I’m just gonna sit here and—”
“I have to.”
Her voice is like silk and lace, but I frown.
“No, you really—”
“Yes, I do.”
She nods subtly up at a little glass bubble on the ceiling, and when I see it, my jaw tightens. It’s a security camera.
“But I don’t want the dance.”
“I’ll…” she frowns, looking down.
“What.”
“I’ll get in trouble if I don’t,” she says softly.
My scowl deepens.
“Are you in trouble?”
She quickly shakes her head.
“You can tell me if you are.”
“I—” she opens her mouth and then snaps it shut, her eyes darting to that camera again.
“They paid for two songs.”
“Darlin—”
But she steps right toward me, and when more sultry music comes on, suddenly, she starts to move. And just like before, I can’t look away.
She sways her hips, and there’s more confidence this time than she had on stage as she starts to dance. She sways towards me, reaching back and pausing for one second, and shivering, before I see her undo her bra. She holds it in place over her tits as she moves closer, and when she steps up onto the banquet seat I’m sitting in, I growl.