Good for me. Bad for his bank account. I cupped my bare breasts and lifted them for his perusal.
He licked his lips and handed me a wad of bills.
I tucked them into my G-string as I undulated my hips. What was it about guys and breasts? They seemed to lose all reason when a pair was flashed their way.
It was the same with the professor. His pupils dilated, and he swallowed hard. He rubbed his mouth with one trembling hand while reaching for his wallet with the other.
Excellent. I purred my approval. I caressed my inner thighs, making seductive promises with my heavy-lidded gaze. For this moment, I’ll be your woman.
Of course, it was just an act, I’d never belong to any man. But he didn’t need to know that. I slipped my fingers into my G-string and snapped the elastic band.
He gasped, his eyes glazed with lust.
Donna sidled up next to him, adjusting the crooked Santa hat clipped to her badly dyed blonde hair. “Want another drink?”
The professor tore his gaze from me.
The spell was broken.
I glared at Donna.
As if realizing her mistake, she gave me an apologetic look and mouthed “Sorry, Lee.” Given the dark shadows under her eyes, she probably hadn’t slept in weeks. And no wonder. She’d lost her son to the canine flu a few months back and had never really recovered. I forgave her immediately. I knew all too well the pain of losing loved ones.
The song ended. Max, clutching a mic in his thick hands, hoofed it to the stage. “Give it up for our gorgeous heavenly creature. You can get a taste of Heaven every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Up next, Mistress Robin will whip you into shape.”
Uncle Duncan tipped his hat, motioned to the parking lot, and limped out the door. Sly slumped over his table. Javier raised his cognac glass in my direction while his men continued to ignore me. At least the professor clapped wildly.
Another piss-poor night.
Trying to hide my disappointment, I blew a kiss to the professor, gathered up the lingerie I’d scattered around the stage, and exited through the back curtains.
Havana, encased in silver-studded black latex, was preparing to go on. “Is it dead out there?”
“Stone-cold. Damn holidays.” I couldn’t wait for Christmas to be over. Not only did it hurt business, but the holiday season always reminded me of dark times I’d rather forget.
She sighed. “It’s been bad since the canine flu hit.”
No argument there. Not only had the worldwide pandemic killed off a quarter of the population, it’d also wreaked havoc on businesses everywhere. “Things will get better with the vaccine.” All anyone talked about were the free shots that had just been rolled out to the public. I hadn’t had time to wait in the huge lines to get mine yet.
“Took ‘em long enough. Damn, if things around here don’t pick up soon, I might have to start nannying again.”
I smiled at the image of the BDSM queen looking after kids.
She adjusted one of the straps on her thigh-high stiletto boots. “What will you do?”
My mind blanked.
What will I do? I had to take care of my family. My waitressing gig wasn’t paying much these days, and it wasn’t as if high school dropouts had a lot of options. I still had a little money stashed away from better times.
But that won’t get us far.
Techno music blared from the speakers out front.
Havana uncoiled her whip. “That’s my cue.”
Nodding goodbye, I headed to the dressing area. A thick cloud of coconut-scented body spray hung over the narrow room. Six makeup vanity mirrors competed for space with the rows of lockers behind them. I waved to Cami, who was doing her makeup in the back, and made my way to my chair.
I started to sit but thankfully remembered to unstrap my wings before I crushed them. Those damn things cost a pretty penny, not that I didn’t have a backup pair. I glanced in the mirror at the black tattoo of angel wings that covered my back from the tops of my shoulders to the base of my spine. Getting inked hurt like a bitch, but it was a fitting tribute to the older sister I’d lost.
I hung the fluffy white wings on a nearby hook and collapsed into my chair. After kicking off my stilettos, I rubbed my feet and tried to remember a time when they didn’t ache.
A naked pair of double Ds brushed my cheek.
Seriously? I glared up at the tiny blonde woman standing over me. “Get your tits out of my face, Cami.”
She laughed and took a step back. “Jealous?”
I raised a brow.
“Okay. I’m the jealous one. You have a better rack and you didn’t even have to pay for it.”
I reached into my G-string, pulled out the crumpled one-dollar bills, and slapped them on the counter. “Fat lot of good they did me tonight. Twenty bucks, and I didn’t pull in much more at my shift at Hooters. At this rate, I won’t make rent.”
Her forehead furrowed. “You know, you could always join me doing escort work. You’d make great money.”
Not this again. I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t give me that look. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. It’s not like we’re hookers or anything.”
I raised my brow again.
“Fine. If you want to make the good money, you do a few… things. Men would pay top dollar to pop that cherry of yours. I’m talking four or five Gs, baby girl.”
I rested my head on my hands.
Is this what it has come to? Bartering my virginity?
I felt Cami’s hand on my shoulder. “You look tired. Forget I said anything.” She paused. “Have you seen the news?”
“No. Why?”
The fact that she didn’t say anything right away was clue enough that something was up. I lifted my gaze to meet her cornflower blue eyes in the mirror. “Why, Cami?”
She fiddled with the tiny plaid skirt she wore. “Best Friends staged a rally earlier tonight.”
At the mention of my sister’s animal rights group, my stomach tightened. “Eden said they were just meeting for coffee.”
Cami set her bubblegum-pink, gem-encrusted cell phone down on the counter in front of me. A video from the local news station played.
I peered into the tiny screen.
A distinguished-looking male reporter cleared his throat. “Around the country reports of canine flu vaccine reactions are emerging. At least twenty deaths have been linked to the long-awaited vaccine, and several hospitals, including our own Saguaro Valley General, have reported bizarre cannibalistic behavior among a subset of recently vaccinated. The Food and Drug Administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have denied the vaccine has played any role in these—”
Cami snatched her phone. “Holy crap. I got my vaccine earlier today. Oh, my God. I thought the injection site looked weird. Does it look strange to you?” She held up her left arm. Colorful tattoos covered it from shoulder to wrist.
I scoffed. “Like I can see anything under all that ink.”
She poked at her skin. “It feels numb, and I swear there are a bunch of black veins there. I never should’ve let my sister blackmail me into getting that vaccine. Everyone knows vaccines are full of toxic chemicals. Just the other day I saw a post that said—”
“Enough with your conspiracy theories.” I tugged the phone back and pressed the play button. The video continued.