I cock my head to the side, and for the first time in a very long time, I look at the stage.
A girl. She couldn’t be more than twenty. She steps from the back of the stage.
My breath stops. She’s wearing a pink nightie with fluffy feathers around the edges, and she walks uncertainly forward. Curves. Curves for fucking days. Thick thighs, thick hips, thick everything.
My mouth waters, and I find myself walking down into the pit.
I’m in the dark, the lights on her. She does a little spin and wobbles on her high heels.
“I didn’t realize it was big girl night.” Alonzo tucks his stack of cash back into his jacket and turns his back on the stage. On her.
Her face falls when she sees it. The face of an angel who doesn’t belong in a place like this.
“Let me know when the cows are done parading.” Alonzo shoots me a razor-sharp grin.
I step toward him.
Malone jumps between us. “Boss?”
The girl turns and starts to run, her sob rising above the music. But I know she can’t move that fast in those breakneck heels.
I can either destroy Alonzo or go after the angel. I decide instantly, then turn and use the nearest barstool to jump onto the stage.
“Boss!” Malone calls. I ignore him.
The angel takes one wrong step, her ankle turning, and right as I reach her, I snatch her into my arms and save her from hitting the stage.
Then I carry her through the curtains and down into the depths of my club. I don’t know if she’s lucky I caught her, or unlucky, because now that I have her in my arms, I may never let her go.
2
Diamond
I bury my face in the handsome man's neck. Embarrassment consumes me. I’m sure my fair skin shows every bit of it. I hate that I let that jerk get a reaction from me. I thought I was over caring what others thought of my body. I was trying to be, at least. I think it was a lie that I told myself in order to make myself get on the stage tonight.
I blame part of what happened on the shoes I chose to wear. If you could even consider those things shoes. More like death traps, if you ask me. I’m not used to wearing heels.
I love to dance. I’ve spent most of my life doing it. It’s my one escape. It’s also the one thing my father allowed me to do. I think he only let me do it because he thought it would be a good form of exercise. I'm sure he hoped it would help me lose a bit of weight. It never did.
When I do manage to bring myself to peek around, I watch as people quickly get out of the man’s way who is carrying me. He holds me close but effortlessly too. For a brief moment, my embarrassment subsides, and I feel as light as a feather for once in my life. Next to a man of his size, I actually look small and dainty.
“Door,” he orders one of the bouncers. His deep voice rumbles through me. You don’t have to see this man to know that he’s in charge. He exudes power.
I was introduced to all the bouncers before the start of my shift. If I remember correctly, the one at the door is named Henry. They’d all been pointed out to me, so I knew where to find them if I might need one. The man holding me goes through the now open door that closes right behind us. Silence falls all around. You could hear a pin drop with how quiet it is in here.
He carries me over to a long black couch. I expect him to put me down but instead he sits and keeps me cradled in his arms.
“Thank you,” I whisper against his neck.
“You should give someone your eyes when you’re thanking them.”
“Sorry.” I close my eyes, willing myself to lift my head.
“Do I scare you?” he asks when the silence starts to grow again.
“No.” I lift my head out of his neck, giving him what he asks for. I don’t want to be rude. He’s my hero for the night. “You saved me from further embarrassment. Why would I be scared of you?” In fact, he might now be the nicest man I’ve ever met. The most handsome too. Holy crap.
My father’s men always treated me with the same disgust as he did. They took his lead, wanting to be in his good graces. I could understand it. In the rare moments that I was on the receiving end of my father’s approval when I was a young girl, I never wanted it to end. I took whatever I could get from him. Always trying to earn his love. Which I now know was an impossible task. He only loves himself.