Prologue
Bomp bomp...bomp bomp...bomp bomp...
Layla took five deep breaths in rapid succession, her breasts visibly moving up and down underneath the silky robe. She wasn't sure whether the deep bass sound in her ears was the loud music coming from the speakers or her heartbeat speeding up.
Pushing down the urge to vomit, she adjusted the decorative chain bracelet on her wrists. As she turned her hand, the glint from her finger caught her eye.
“I promise I will never, ever leave you hanging.”
She looked up as he sat down next to her on the bed, reaching into his jacket pocket before he settled down onto the comforter.
“Lance...”
“Lay, let me say this,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I love you. I love you as a friend – but I love you in so many more ways than that.”
He unfolded his hand to show the black velvet box in his hands.
“Don't worry, it's not what you think,” he said with a smile. “But it is a promise. You may not always be my girlfriend – but you will always be my friend, and you will always mean the world to me. Your happiness will always be my number one priority. I will always protect you, even if it means my own life.”
She looked up at him, speechless as he opened the box to reveal a tiny diamond ring.
“This ring is just a reminder of that promise,” he said. “When you feel alone, like no one loves you, or that no one cares about you, I want you to look down and see this ring and remember that there is one person that loves you more than you can imagine – more than life itself.”
She watched as he plucked the ring out of the box, grabbing her hand. He lifted her hand and gently placed it on her right ring finger.
“I will always be there for you, Layla,” he said. “I love you.”
“You're next, Layla.”
Her head snapped to the right as Cooper came up to her, ripping the robe away from her shoulders quickly, leaving her in only the thong underwear.
She shivered as she felt the air-conditioning hit her body, the cold making her nipples harden. Her torso shook with her rapid breathing and the shock of the chill running down her skin.
“You're my prize, baby,” he whispered, his snaky voice making her skin crawl. “Go out there and stun 'em.”
The previous dancer, completely naked, appeared from behind the ruby-colored curtain as the claps of the audience vibrated through the building. She took a shaky breath as her music finally came on with another bomp, bomp.
“And now, ladies and gentleman,” she heard from the speakers, “the lusty, lovely Layla!”
She closed her eyes tightly, fighting back tears. How could she do this to Lance? How could she do this to the man she loved, who loved her?
How could she do this to herself?
“You're so hypnotizing, would you be the Devil, would you be an angel?”
Because she had no respect for herself. Lucas had taken all of it away and then some.
Shoving the feelings down, she took a single step up, exhaling a breath and filling her lungs with air to push her breasts up before she pushed the curtain back. The lights hit her eyes immediately, and her legs moved swiftly on their own, swaying her ass back and forth as the men around the stage whooped and hollered. As she made her way to the pole, she didn't look at them – she refused to.
Men were worthless. People were worthless. She used to be worthless.
But when she thrusted against the silver pole, bending her body back in ways that at one time she didn't think were possible, jumping up and wrapping her legs around the pole before twisting back down – she wasn't worthless. These men paid to see her; they paid just to see her dance.
No matter what she was before, a stripper was what she was now.
