-RORY-
I surveyed Leif’s living room, convinced I’d done as much good as I could to clean up from the party last night. It had been quite the celebration, supposedly in my honor, only celebrating last night was the least thing I’d wanted to do.
I couldn’t remember feeling lower in my life. Had I really pushed away the only woman who gave two shits about me, the real me, and not my fame, or money, or anything else?
Afraid to answer my own question, I fell into the plush leather couch, not surprised that, once again, I’d fucked up a good thing.
Hindley had been nothing but kind and caring, completely genuine in her feelings for me. Something about watching her parents interact in a gentle, loving way had pushed deep-seated buttons within me. Their exchanges of love and adoration for Hindley only reiterated how far apart our worlds were.
Her parents loved each other, cared for one another, cared for her. My parents despised each other and hated the fuck out of me.
Hindley’s mother supported her and nurtured her. My mom had let her own asshole of a husband beat the shit out of both of us on a daily basis. And she’d never contacted me since she’d had the police cart me off to jail ten years ago. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She found me shortly after I went pro. Apparently, she was drawn more to my money. When I refused to give her a dime, she’d left as fast as she’d come.
It wasn’t just Hindley’s family dynamic that screwed with my head. It was also painfully clear that Paul valued education more than anything. I was pretty sure there was no way he’d ever accept me as worthy of his daughter’s love after he found out I was a fucking high school dropout.
What worried me most of all though was her family’s obvious denial of our ‘professional’ relationship. Who were we kidding? Everyone knew we were together. Everyone except Dipshit Matt Davis from Sonora Water. Dick.
Why was I so jealous of him? I didn’t know where this rage came from inside of me. Actually, I did know. It was born from my childhood, the need to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.
But I couldn’t understand this situation.
Hindley reassured me that I was all she needed, all she wanted. Yet, I still let old insecurities cloud my judgment. I could have spent the night holding her, caressing her, making love to her. Instead, I had let my shitbag ego get in the way.
Suddenly, I had an urgent need to see her. I had to tell her how sorry I was. I had to make her understand, make her forgive me, and tell her how much I loved her. Loved her. I smiled at the thought. I loved Hindley.
I jumped up from the sofa and reached for my phone but stopped short when I became acutely aware of her presence. I always felt Hindley before I saw her. I had the first night I’d met her. It was a sixth sense for me. She was inside of me, a part of me.
Slowly I turned and held my breath as I saw her standing in the entryway, looking as beautiful as ever.
Her lips curled up into a soft smile, an expression I wasn’t expecting, considering what a douche bag I’d been last night.
“It seems as though I’m not the only one who keeps their door unlocked,” she said.
My heart ached at the sight of her. I’d never seen anything so welcoming in all my life. I raced toward her, arms outstretched, but before I reached her, she held up her hand to stop me.
Oh, shit. Here it comes. But I couldn’t be mad or upset. I deserved any ass beating she wanted to give me. Whatever she said, whatever she did next, I’d take it, as long as in the end I was left holding her in my arms.
“I’m so sorry, Hindley,” I said, so desperate I nearly dropped to my knees.
She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, warning me to stay silent.
I dutifully obeyed, knowing I couldn’t risk upsetting her again. She was giving me another chance with no questions asked, and I wasn’t going to fuck it up again.
“I need to show you something,” she said, her voice and her body completely calm.
I stared at her, perplexed. What was she up to. “All right.”
“Come with me.” She held out her hand.
Gazing down at her small, pale hand, I marveled at how different we were. Maybe that’s why we were drawn together.
Without question, I threaded my fingers around hers. The connection between us was undeniable. No matter how much I fought it, Hindley Hagen fit me perfectly. I followed her like a lamb to slaughter as she led me outside and ushered me into her car.
After making sure I was comfortable, she walked around the car and slid into the driver’s seat “Trust me?”
Trust her? “With my life, Hindley.”
A smile bigger than I deserved spread across her beautiful face and I knew in that moment I was forgiven for being a total dick last night.
“Turn around,” she said.
I furrowed my brows, not quite understanding what she was asking.
“Turn.” She made a circular motion with her finger.
I did as she asked, sliding around in my seat and looking out the passenger side window. A soft scarf covered my eyes.
She tied it tightly around my head, yanking on the knot to make sure it was secure. “Can you see anything?”
Her voice was a step higher and I could hear the apprehension in her tone. My stomach knotted as I tried to imagine what she was going to do with me.
“No, I can’t see anything.”
“Are you okay with this? Not knowing, I mean?” she asked. “I know how much you like control.”
She was right, I was a control freak, had been since adolescence. Apparently, control was a coping mechanism kids from abusive homes used, or so a counselor in juvie told me. But with Hindley, I was finding it easier and easier to relinquish my need to be in charge. In fact, I welcomed it. It was nice to let her make the decisions.
“I’m fine, Hindley. I trust you.”
I could hear her breath even out. She’d been nervous and the thought somehow eased my own anxiety. How could I have been so stupid to believe anyone else would suit her better than me?
“Good,” she said. The car roared to life as she put it in gear and pulled away from the curb.
We drove in silence. I was completely shocked at how peaceful I felt. I had no idea what lay ahead of me, but I didn’t care.
Hindley had come and extended an offering of forgiveness when I didn’t deserve it. There was no place I’d rather be than in her presence, no matter where we were headed.
After driving for an eternity, the car finally came to a stop. Hindley’s door creaked opened, then closed with a bang.
I waited patiently, trying to curb my anxiety. My door opened, and her hands slid into mine as she pulled me from the car.
“Watch out, there’s a step here,” she said.
Where were we?
I shuffled my foot along the ground until I felt the obstacle then raised my leg to step up.
“Still trust me?” She was inches away from my face and I could smell her intoxicating aroma. The scent that was uniquely her own.
I nodded, unable to say more.
“Just follow me, I’ll tell you when to step, okay?”
“Okay.”
She tugged on my hand and wrapped it in the crook of her elbow.
I followed behind her, not giving a rat’s ass where we were going. As long as it was with Hindley, I’d follow her anywhere.
A door squeaked open and a bell rang above us as the scent of roses assaulted me. Every sensory organ I had was on high alert.
“Hey, girl,” a woman’s voice echoed. “Oh, sorry,” she whispered. Hindley must have instructed her to stay quiet. “Room three,” she whispered.
Room three? Where were we, a hotel? Oh, hell yeah.
Another door opened and Hindley tugged on my hand. “Watch your step here, there’s a threshold.”
I felt for the ridge with my foot then cautiously stepped over it.
“You doing all right?” she asked.
Better than all right, I wanted to say. I nodded and we continued on.
The floor beneath us creaked every so often, the sounds echoing through the large, and obviously empty room.
“Sit here.” She pushed me and I fell into a huge chair.
My hands rubbed along the soft material. It felt like velvet. I was praying Hindley would join me, naked. The thought of having Hindley nude and wrapped around me had my head spinning, and my dick halfway to hard.
Before I could conjure up anymore images of what she and I could do in this lush seat, Hindley leaned over and pressed her lips against my ear.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” I was fairly certain she’d just purred. Fuck.
I inhaled deeply, her scent washing over me. I wanted to reach out and grab her, but her fading footsteps indicated she was leaving me.
A door in the distance shut with a bang and I was more than half tempted to remove my blindfold. But this was important to Hindley and I wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize her trust.
I surveyed my surroundings with my remaining senses. The scarf around my eyes was thick and Hindley had tied it so tight, I couldn’t make out anything with my eyes. I drew in another deep breath but all I smelled was her lingering scent. Muffled voices outside of the room caught my attention. Females?
I nervously rubbed the velvety material of the chair, seriously thinking of running, but that would be futile. I was completely blinded by the scarf.
Where the hell were we?
A door opened in the distance and the clicking of heels echoed through the room. The sound grew louder as the person approached me.
“Hindley?” I asked, sitting up straighter.
“Nope,” a female voice with a rich Texas twang said.
My senses became hyper-aware of everything—the soft material of the chair, the light hissing noise of a stereo system that had just clicked on, the floral aroma of the woman in front of me, and the sour taste of fear and anxiety in my mouth.
The knot of the scarf slowly loosened and the material fell away. I blinked several times, adjusting to the dim lighting in the room.
Sitting on the edge of the seat, I stared up into bright green eyes so different than Hindley’s. The crimson haired woman standing in front of me was unfamiliar, but her smile indicated she knew me. She was wearing leggings and a loose-fitting shirt that hung off one shoulder.
“Welcome to Miss Understood, darlin’. Enjoy the show.” Her breathy and sensual voice left no doubt in my mind we were definitely somewhere naughty. I smiled at the thought.
Turning on her high heels, she sauntered away, dimming the lights even more before disappearing through a velvet curtain on the far wall.
I surveyed the room, with my eyes this time. The far wall was covered with mirrors and three steel poles stood in front of the wall. I noticed the center pole was on a raised platform.
The lights dimmed even more and two spotlights appeared from the ceiling, one on the center pole and platform and the other on a mirror covered disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Specks of light rotated around the large room, giving it a hypnotic effect as music started to blast from the surround sound system.
There was an electric guitar solo and a deep beat to the music I recognized instantly. It was one of the songs I’d downloaded onto Hindley’s phone, Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard.
I was an 80’s rock music junkie and she’d always given me shit about it. I’d felt it only fitting that I introduce her to it by creating a playlist. I wasn’t sure she totally appreciated the songs, until now.
From the far corner of the room, a single shoe emerged from behind the velvet curtain. The heels were at least six inches tall with spiked heels and a black strap wrapped around slender ankles. Slowly the next leg appeared and I stared in fascination. Her legs were long and lean, the most beautiful legs I’d ever seen.
My gaze travelled up her gorgeous body as she walked toward me. No, she wasn’t walking, she was stalking, like a lioness about to pounce.
Her outfit was outrageous, and seriously hot. A barely-there black leather bra and bikini bottoms that left little to the imagination clung to her like a second skin. A thin strip of material connecting the two pieces making a man want to rip through it to see her entire mid-section.
The entire outfit was covered with rhinestones that reflected the rotating sparkles of light from the mirrored ball overhead. A small chain was draped from one side of her hip to the other and swayed with every step she took. It was the most exotic, erotic, alluring outfit I’d ever seen.
Willing my gaze higher, I saw my temptress’s face. Her makeup was heavier than usual but sultry and sexy. Her eyes were outlined with smoky black and dark eyeshadow covered her lids. The makeup set off her brown eyes and made them appear even larger.
Her long hair was full and luscious and fell in golden waves over her shoulders. The flaxen locks caressed the swells of her breasts and my hands grew damp wanting to do the same.
This woman standing before me was the hottest person I’d ever seen. My mouth was dry and my dick was harder than it ever had been in my life.
This wasn’t Hindley Hagen, the Drunk Girl. This wasn’t Hindley Hagen, the attorney, or Hindley Hagen, the sports agent. This wasn’t even Hindley Hagen, the rich, cultured debutant.
This was Hindley Hagen…the stripper.