Suppressed Mate

Private Room

Keeping my smile, I turn and lead him to the side of the stage with a short hallway that has six doors on one side. The doors have metal numbers on each door numbering them one through six. I lead him to the last door of the hall with the number six attached to the door.

Opening the door with a keycard, automatic lights turn on but not at full brightness. They are at a low setting during operating hours to allow the dancers to set a more seductive mood for their private dances.

There is a leather couch against the back wall that takes up the full width of the wall and only leaves about 5 feet of space from the door to the couch. Low, seductive music is already playing in the room as I hold the door open for Clay to enter.

“After you, sweet cheeks.” He says to me.

My cheeks starting to hurt from the fake smile, I respond, “Oh, I’m just escorted you to the room. There’s no need for me to go in with you. Fire will be here shortly for your private dance though.”

His smile disappears as he steps closer to me. He’s so close the smell of beer and whiskey coming off his breath makes me want to gag. He inhales through his nose and says, “I said I wanted a dance from you, sweet cheeks.”

He grabs me around the waist and pulls me inside the room, shoving me against the wall, the empty tray I was carrying clattering to the ground. He’s at least 6’2” and towers over me. One huge forearm is pressed against the top of my chest from shoulder to shoulder just below my throat, holding me in place. I can’t see the door around his large frame but I’m praying that it didn’t close all of the way as I prepare to shout for a bouncer.

Sensing that I’m about to yell, he moves his arm upwards so that it’s now pressing into my throat and cutting off my air while still holding me in place. His free hand is on my stomach and moves up to cup my my breast and then squeezes it hard.

“Now now, sweet checks,” he says. “We don’t need any of that. I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanna have a little fun.”

My eyes water from the beer and whiskey smell of his breath. Needing air, I try to kick out with my legs but he twists his body and uses his leg to pin my legs against the wall. f**k! I need Fire or someone to show up quickly. I’m no pushover but this guy is way bigger and stronger than me. There’s no way I can fight him off. Grasping at his forearm around my throat, I try to pull it away so I can take a breath.

My vision is starting to blur and I see darkness creeping in. I’m starting to panic when all of a sudden, I hear a loud smack and Clay releases me. I wasn’t expecting the quick release and I fall to the ground just managing to land on my hands and knees, gasping for air.

Looking over, Clay jumps up from an awkward sprawl on the couch, his eyes blazing.

“What the f**k are you doing in here?” He asks, glaring at the person above me.

Turning quickly, I look up to see Kane Black standing over me.

“I told you to keep your f*****g hands to yourself, Agall,” Black responds.

Kneeling down but not touching me, Black asks, “are you ok?”

With a raspy voice, I say, “Yea, I’m alright. Thank you.”

I get back to my feet without any offer of help from Black. I finally notice two of the men from Blacks group, Carter and the man with the southern drawl, are crowded in the doorway.

“Brandon,” Black says without taking his eyes off Clay, “where’s the rest of Agalls group?”

The man with the southern drawl, presumably Brandon, responds, “they are at the end of the hall trying to get past Roman, Edward, and Jerome.”

“I was done with this place anyway,” Clay says, staring daggers at Black and his two companions. With a wink and looking at me, he says, “I’ll see you later, sweet cheeks.”

This time, I definitely heard a growl from Black as Clay pushed past Black and the guys at the door. As weird as it is that a grown man is growling, it’s also probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.

“Um, thank you again. For stepping in,” I say to Black, avoiding his intense gaze. My voice is still a little raspy from my air being cutoff and I try to clear my throat a little.

“Clay and his group are leaving now.” Black says. “He’s a real piece of work and when I heard your tray hit the ground, I knew he was up to some shit.”

“Wait,” I say. “He hasn’t paid his tab! He can’t leave yet!”

Carter and Brandon are no longer in the doorway but Black is still big enough that I brush up against him to fit through the door frame. He’s as tall as Clay, maybe even a little taller. The top of my head barely reaching the bottom of his chin. His body tenses and he quickly moves out of my way so the contact is as brief as possible. He must be someone who hates to be touched, I think to myself. Recalling that he didn’t offer me a hand up when I was on the ground after he sucker punched Clay.

Moving past him, I get a whiff of his cologne. Damn he smells good. It’s a musky smell that reminds me of wood smoke and leather. I’ve never smelled anything so good in my life and it takes all of my willpower not to turn into him, bury my face in his chest, and inhale this amazing scent. With effort, I push the idea out of my head and keep moving out of the room.

Hurrying down the hall, I am dismayed to see the VIP table Clay and his group were sitting at is now empty. There is no cash or anything on the table to cover their tab. Black’s table is also empty and glance around for him but he’s gone too. I walk back to the private room wondering if he was still there but the only person in the room is Fire. We almost collide into each other as she walks out.

“Hey, Jerrica. Curtis said I had a private dance in room six but there’s no on there?” She asks.

“He left,” I say in a clipped tone and turn back down the hall to return to the VIP booths.

“Son of a bitch.” I mutter as I approach the booths again. Their tabs will come out of whatever tips Erica has to split with me and even then, it’s going to take at least another night of working to cover the cost.

“Jerrica!”

Pablo’s angry voice sounds from beside me. I was so distracted I didn’t notice him walk up.

“What’s this I hear from Curtis that you let both of your VIP tables walked out without paying?” He almost shouts at me. The vain above his temple is pulsing and his face is red with anger.

My own temper rising, I turn to him and indicate towards the booth Clay had been sitting at and say, “I didn’t let anyone walk out without paying! The asshat at this table tried to assault me when I escorted him to a private room for a dance with Fire. If it hadn’t been for Black, he might have succeeded.”

Even angrier now, Pablo says, “not only did you let two high tabs walk out, you got Kane Black involved with your shenanigans. That’s probably why he left without paying! You made a joke of this establishment and now the biggest client in the area will never step foot back in here. Get out!”

He’s voice has risen to the point he is practically shouting the last words at me. Other customers have stopped talking and are openly staring at us and we exchange heated words in the middle of the room.

Feeling my own face start to flush with anger and embarrassment, I say, “Fine. If this is the kind of business you want to run, I don’t want to be a part of it anyway.”

Turning away before he sees the tears burning in my eyes, I quickly grab my purse from behind the bar and walk out of the club, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

The parking lot is still mostly full but there’s no sign of either Black or Clay’s groups. They must have left for good while Pablo was busy firing me. Once I’m in my car parked at the end of the parking lot, I let go of the tears I had been holding back and hit my steering wheel in frustration.

“Crap! Crap! Crap!” I yell with each hit.

The pain in my hand brings me back to my senses and I calm down. I remind myself that I still have a little money put away that will get me by for a month or so if needed until I find another job. Taking a deep breath, I start my car and begin the 30 minute drive home.