Succubus Dreams Page 0,45

of the guys glanced up with interest as I walked through. Apparently, I held more appeal than the poor brunette trying her damnedest to fuck a pole in time to the dulcet sounds of Pink Floyd's "Young Lust."

I opened my mouth to speak to the bartender, but a voice behind me interrupted.

"Ho...ly...shit. I don't believe it. I don't fucking believe it."

I turned and looked into the long, narrow face of Simon Chesterfield, the proud proprietor of this dive. Between his face and lanky body, he always reminded me of a weasel. His black mustache never quite seemed able to grow in completely, and he dressed in brand name clothes that were always one size too small. He was chummy with the local Hellish players, and rumor had it he was in line to be an imp, eventually selling his soul for immortality and the chance to be a diabolical salesman.

"You finally come to dance for me, doll?"

"You wish."

For a sleazy guy who ran a sleazy establishment, Simon actually had a legitimate appreciation for dance. I'd once seen him trying to choreograph his strippers and had been impressed by his sense of aesthetics and rhythm. His employees hadn't really caught on. Such talents were kind of wasted here, and I used to wonder why he didn't take his business to one of the more affluent suburbs where he could get a higher caliber of dancers. The reason he stayed, I'd later learned, was that this was a better venue for all sorts of other shady business he conducted.

Still, Simon had a sharp eye and knew what a good dancer I was. He'd been on me for years to come work for him.

"We need to talk," I explained. "Business."

"It's what I do." With a sweeping gesture, he pointed to a doorway beside the bar. "Let's go to my office then."

His 'office' was barely a broom closet, but it had a stool for me to sit on. Resting my heels on a mid-level bar, I brought my knees up to my chest. It made my gray linen skirt slide up a bit. Simon watched with an interest that was more professional than personal.

"Fuck, woman. You come dance for me, and I could make a killing." He shook his head and collapsed into a rolling faux leather chair. "A succubus on my stage. Fuck."

I tilted my head to the side. "It's funny you mention that because that's kind of why I'm here."

I think my innocent tone set his alarms off. He eyed me suspiciously. "I thought you said you didn't want a job."

"Not me. We just got a new succubus, and she's looking for a gig. Didn't you hear?"

"No..." He frowned. "And she wants to dance? Here?"

"Yep," I said glibly. "She can't wait to take her clothes off." Wasn't that the truth.

Simon leaned back in the chair and put his feet on the desk. Casual pose or not, he was still on guard. "What's the catch?"

"Why does there have to be a catch? You should be excited about this. We're doing you a favor."

"You're offering to drop a succubus into my lap. That sounds too good to be true, so it is too good to be true." He paused, still thinking. "And why are you here instead of her?"

"I'm altruistic."

"Georgina," he said warningly.

"Okay," I admitted. "She's kind of...new."

"How new?"

"Really new. Still under warranty."

"There's still a catch here somewhere."

"Well...she's..." I spun through my mental rolodex of adjectives. "Inept."

He raised one narrow eyebrow. "Inept?"

"She's still learning how to get men." Since Simon probably wanted sexy women working for him, I figured it wasn't worth mentioning that Tawny wasn't so much learning as she was still trying to find her way to class. "And she's a, um, bad dancer."

"How bad?"

"Bad."

"Can you be a little more specific on what level of bad we're dealing with?"

"Remember Gigli?"

"Jesus. So, why do you think I'd want to take on a shitty dancer?"

"Simon," I exclaimed. "All your dancers are shitty."

"Not all of them," he said. "And it's not like I'm trying to get more. We have standards."

I gave him a pointed look.

"Alright, alright." He ran a hand through his gelled black hair. "What do I get in return?"

Now I was the indignant one. "What do you mean? You're getting a succubus dancer. What else do you need?"

"I'm getting a succubus charity case. I'm the one doing you a favor." His eyes were shrewd. Yeah. He'd make a good imp someday. He was this close to breaking out a contract. "I want you.