to salvage the moment, I tossed back my hip-length black hair and winked playfully. “Is that someone you?” With a practiced flick of my fingers, I slowly removed my silver-studded black top and tossed it to the man.
He tried to catch it and missed. The tiny scrap of material slithered to the blood-red carpet as he fixed his gaze on my swaying bare breasts.
“Have you been a bad boy this year?”
“Y-yes,” he stammered. His eyes glazed over as he swayed in his seat.
He must be trashed. Good. A drunk and his money are soon parted. Throwing club rules out the window, I stepped down from the small raised platform I was dancing on and approached his chair. “Then you need to be punished.”
“Yes, Mistress Robin,” he gasped. Unlike most of the club patrons intrigued by my dominatrix persona, this one seemed truly snared by the fantasy. For the right price, I was happy to indulge him.
I cast a furtive glance at the camera nestled at the base of the chandelier. In the past, Max, the club owner, might’ve skinned me alive if he’d caught me doing a little extra on the side. Now he’d only ask for a percentage.
Times were tough for everyone. Strip clubs included. Case in point, this guy managed to secure a private dance from me for a mere seventy bucks, something that would’ve been unheard of before the canine flu hit this past spring. But global pandemics had a way of changing things.
I leaned over the man, my nipples grazing his rumpled tweed vest. “It’ll cost you.”
“I have money.” He reached into his olive dress pants pocket and pulled out a worn leather wallet with trembling hands. “How much?”
I arched an eyebrow. “How much do you have?”
He opened his wallet and out fluttered several receipts.
Sadly, it looked like he had only a handful of twenties, but it was better than going home broke. “That works,” I purred. I wouldn’t have sex with him, of course, but men like him weren’t after that anyway. Years ago, my mom explained some men get off as much on pain and humiliation as they did pleasure. Ah, the joys of having a stripper mom. While other kids were learning how to ride bikes, Mom was giving me crash courses in the various ways to seduce men. Big surprise I ended up at the same club where she used to work.
The man swallowed hard, sweat dripping off him as if he was in a sauna. “Take it all.” He pushed his wallet at me.
I found myself staring at a family photo. Gathered in the arms of a heavyset woman were three young children. I couldn’t help glancing between the professor and the photo. Why isn’t he home with them? Hell, if I’d had kids there’s no way I wouldn’t be with them right now. With a pang, I remembered the big amber eyes of the little girl I’d used to nanny for. I miss Mira so much…
Her father’s handsome face flashed in my mind and my throat tightened. It’d been three months since Nathan shattered my heart, but the pain was still fresh. Trying to put my ex out of my mind, I flipped past the photo and found the twenties. Mentally tallying the money, I pulled out the folded bills and slid them into the top of my thigh-high stiletto boot. A genuine smile tugged at the corner of my lips, it was a better haul than I’d anticipated. “Take off your clothes, Dr. Sullivan.”
He gaped at me for a moment.
I tossed his wallet back at him not bothering to explain that I’d seen his Southern Arizona University ID badge inside. “I said, take off your clothes. Now.”
He jumped to his feet. “Yes, Mistress Robin.” He gazed up at me adoringly.
My five-foot-ten height plus my seven-inch stilettos ensured I towered over nearly everyone I encountered, including the professor.
He fumbled with the top buttons of his oxford shirt before realizing he needed to remove his vest first.
“Fold your clothes and place them over there,” I instructed, pointing at the side table that in better days held ice buckets filled with Cristal. Now a bottle of drugstore champagne swam in a plastic tub of melted ice.
He practically tore off his vest and shirt. As he unbuckled his belt, he turned to face me. “I’ve never done this before.”
I made a noncommittal noise. Right. That’s what they all say. Finally noticing his bare torso, I inhaled sharply. What the hell? Black veins covered