My Wicked Dragon

Laney sighed as she walked into the dressing rooms of the burlesque club in Phoenix, Arizona. Spotting her friend Kate already preparing for the evening, she detours and heads straight for her. Kate leans back in her chair, giving Laney a quick once over, then shakes her head.      “Laney, I swear girl, you need to start getting some sleep before management notices the bags under your eyes.”      The manager of the club, James, was a difficult employer to work for. It was strange to her that a man who appeared to have little respect for women, owned a club like this. He was known for firing girls for the slightest reasons. Her shoulders slump and she groans.      “I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. The last few nights I just can’t seem to get any sleep.”      She suspected that some inner defense her instincts had recently tapped into was warning her it was time to move again.      “Maybe you can’t sleep because your dreaming of that hot cowboy that’s been watching your show an awful lot lately.” Kate said with a sly smile on her face.      Laney smiled back at her. While she could admit he did grace quite a few of her more erotic dreams, she knew that wasn’t the cause of her insomnia. If anything, those dreams made her even more eager to get to sleep quickly at night.      “He’s here again tonight, sitting right in the front row. Maybe tonight he will make a move again instead of just flirting with you after the show like he usually does.”      Laney felt her heart skip a beat and a thrill of excitement course through her. Her mysterious, sort-of-suitor was dangerously handsome. He was tall, standing a little more then 6 feet tall. He had black hair, a tanned muscular body, and the lightest crystal blue eyes she had ever seen. Those gorgeous eyes were framed by thick, dark eyelashes. On anyone else they would appear too feminine; on him the effect was the opposite. He had a strong square jaw that she just knew reflected a serious stubborn streak. Every time she saw him, he wore his standard tight black t-shirt and jeans that showed off his mouthwatering physique. He was certainly her own personal wet dream come to life, and she hoped she would get the chance to know him better before she had to disappear again.      When he had first started coming to watch her shows, they had shared a few drinks together. She found that he was as intelligent as he was sexy. When the night came to an end, he offered to walk her to her car. Before saying goodnight to her, they had shared a passionate kiss that set her whole body on fire. Since that night, he seemed to have backed off and been more interested in friendship. The change in his attitude towards her had her wondering what she could have done wrong. Laney thought that maybe she could convince him they could be more than that, or at least get a reason why he seemed to have stopped pursuing her romantically.      Kate snapped her out of her daydream with a sharp smack on the butt.      “You better get going girl, you’re on in like twenty minutes!”      Laney saluted her like a soldier, about faced, and stalked off to her dressing room to prepare. Who knew that her training as a teen in circus performing arts would assist her in surviving this long on her own. She has put those skills to good use these past four years. At first, she performed at some of the less reputable clubs that wouldn’t ask her for identification or her age. Once she turned eighteen, she found it easier to book temporary jobs at higher-class establishments.      She looked forward to a few more dollars to add to her savings. Soon she would have enough to lose herself in Europe. Maybe once she got there she could finally stop running from her past.