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Taking the Cake

The noise and heat of the restaurant hit her like a physical blow as she opened the door. Stomach clenching, she stopped, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Softly, a hand stroked the bare skin of her neck. Cade leaned close and whispered in her ear. “You can do this.”

She leaned back as he gently rubbed the tension out of her neck and shoulders. He was right. She could do this. Her nervous tension drained away, Cade’s touch filling her with resolve. More than that—it set nerve endings ablaze, making her nipples tighten and heat rush between her legs. Even this simple, casual touch was a blatant reminder of their intimate encounter in the dressing room.

For a minute, the rush of sexual desire was so strong she thought her legs would fail her. Then his grip tightened, pulling her close. “I’ll be right here if you need me. Now go make a scene, wild woman.” His hot breath raised goose bumps on the sensitive skin of her neck, making her shiver. He pressed an open-mouth kiss to her neck, tickling the skin with his tongue. With a low laugh, he let go and stepped back.

Mollie looked over her shoulder and flashed him a grin. Now that she was over her minor anxiety attack, she was almost looking forward to the confrontation. Turning to face him, she looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly unbuttoned her jacket and flashed him a peek at her lacy camisole. From the spark of heat that flamed to life in his eyes, she knew he liked what he saw. Buttoning it up again, she reveled in the strength of his desire, a desire he made no attempt to hide.

“Go call off the wedding officially so I can take you home and have my way with you,” he growled, eyes hot with need.

She winked at him and walked into the restaurant, leaving him to wait in the entryway. With a confident stride, she waved off the hostess and continued on into the seating area.

Blaine was sitting at their usual table, his back to her. Several of his friends were crowded around, drinking beer and huddling over the tabletop. As she approached, she could see that they were passing around a thong, obviously a memento from the night before.

A surge of anger swept through her, bolstering her resolve. She came to a stop right behind his chair. “Hello, Blaine.”

“Hey, Mol,” he said, not even looking at her, as he stuffed the thong into his pocket. Did he think she was blind? Of course, considering the discussion she’d overheard the night before, she supposed he did. He waved a hand behind him, motioning her forward. “Grab a seat.”

“No, thanks. I’d rather stand.” It went without saying that she had no desire to spend any more time with him than necessary.

He swiveled around in his chair. “Too much wedding stuff to do, huh?” Then he did a double take, eyes bulging out as he took in her outfit. “Jesus, Mollie, what the hell are you wearing?”

His buddies turned around at that. Junior, in the middle of taking a drink of his beer, spewed it across the table. Mollie lifted one eyebrow. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said.

Blaine stood up, stripping off his suit jacket as he rose. “Put this on,” he ordered.

“No,” she said simply. And had to bite back a grin at his look of astonishment.

Truthfully, she wasn’t surprised at his reaction. Her outfit was a definite departure from her normal look. Not to mention her attitude adjustment.

They were starting to draw looks from the other tables, Blaine trying to cover her up, Mollie sidestepping his attempts. In the past, she would have been horrified at being the center of attention, but today she welcomed it. It was time to take back some of the power she’d abdicated to him for so long.

“The wedding’s off.” She crossed her arms over her chest. The motion lifted her cleavage, accentuating the lace-covered curves exposed by the low cut, form-fitting red jacket. “Have a nice life.” She turned to go, then wrenched her arm out of his grasp as he grabbed at her elbow.

“You can’t be serious.” He laughed nervously. A quick glance verified that everyone at the table was listening avidly to their conversation. “Look, everybody gets cold feet. Let’s go somewhere and talk privately.”

“Why?” She shot him a contemptuous look. “You sure didn’t mind an audience last night.”

“What are you talking about?” He took a step back.

She glanced at the people watching them. “You know, you don’t even deserve this much courtesy. I should have just left you waiting at the altar. But I have a little more integrity than that. And I wanted you to know that I am not oblivious. I am not married to my career. And I am most definitely not frigid. So you can go ahead and enjoy your playtime with all the strippers you want, and find yourself some other doormat to build up your image.”

If his jaw dropped any lower, it’d be dragging on the ground. “I don’t know who the hell told you that, but it’s a lie. Come on, baby, you know you can’t believe everything you hear.” He reached out again, but she moved out of his reach.

“True. But you can believe what you see.” She reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the thong. “Nice souvenir. Maybe you can get another one at your next bachelor party. But I’d recommend that the next time a girl jumps out of a cake, you pay attention. It just might be someone you know.” Then she blew a kiss to the guys at the table, sang out, “Later, boys,” and sauntered back out of the room.

Strip Tease

Caroline Richards was trapped in the eighties.

A bad music, big hair, completely tacky version of the eighties.

She sighed and stirred her over-watered drink, wishing she were anywhere but here. Mollie had a lot to answer for.

Of course, if Mollie knew what she was up to, she’d probably bust a blood vessel.

But she couldn’t throw a proper bachelorette party without a stripper, could she?

“Hey, baby.” A raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to find a man with Farrah Fawcett hair, a beer belly, a bow tie and what amounted to a Speedo standing at her table. “You ready for another screaming orgasm?”

She blinked twice, then looked down at her drink. Oh, yeah. “No, thanks,” she replied. Why try another? It hadn’t lived up to its name the first time around. More like a whimper.

He shrugged and headed back to the bar, leaving her alone again.

For a Friday night, the place was pretty dead. A group of five women whooped it up a few tables over, passing around some physically impossible sex toys and ignoring the man gyrating on stage only a few feet away.

Caroline didn’t blame them. It was painfully obvious the guy was lacking in the toy department himself, and his dancing—to use the term loosely—reminded her of a toddler learning the Macarena. The music built to a crescendo, and he whipped the cowboy hat off his head, flinging it into the air.

She lunged sideways, barely missing being smacked in the face with the limp, battered felt hat. The song ended and he yee-hawed himself offstage, leaving his hat as a memento no one seemed inclined to collect.

One more. She’d stay for one more, and then she was out of there. Best friend or no best friend, she was fast reaching her tolerance level for talentless guys taking their clothes off.

She could get that on a blind date any day of the week.

Caroline snorted. Maybe that was why she hadn’t dated in almost a year.

She sighed, wondering if she could talk Mollie’s fiancé into being the stripper at the bachelorette party. God knows he’d look better than any of the losers she’d seen this evening.

On second thought, better not. Mollie was a terrific friend, generous and thoughtful, but she’d probably draw the line at letting her friends ogle Cade while he took his clothes off.

Caroline sighed again, taking another sip of her watery drink. Maybe she should give up now, head home and put in the DVD of Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time. She felt stupid and awkward sitting alone in this creepy place, and she obviously wasn’t finding what she was looking for here.

Not for the first time, she wished she had come here with a friend. At least with a partner-in-crime she’d have someone to crack jokes with, instead of feeling so conspicuous. Pathetic. Alone.

But other than Mollie, she didn’t have any close friends, certainly no one she’d feel comfortable asking to join her at Seattle’s newest—and only—strip club for women. And she couldn’t ask Mollie to help her pick out a stripper for her own bachelorette party, for obvious reasons.

Well, tonight had been a massive waste of time. She bent over and reached for her purse, which had migrated under the table during the evening. Her fingers brushed the straps, but it was beyond her reach. Cursing under her breath, she twisted underneath the tabletop and stretched a little further.

Suddenly, music blasted from the ancient sound system, startling Caroline and making her jump, smacking her head against the underside of the table. Tossing out a few more curse words for variety, she wriggled out from under the table, rubbing her head.

Then she stopped, riveted on the stage in front of her. She was tempted to pinch herself, just to make sure she wasn’t fantasizing the man who’d appeared onstage.

And oh, what a fantasy he was! The faux police uniform looked spray-painted on, showcasing a drool-worthy body. His arms flexed and bunched as he released each button on his tight shirt one by one. It fell open to reveal a wide, muscled chest, with the perfect amount of hair—not too fuzzy, not nonexistent—and sleek, lightly tanned skin that begged to be touched.

He stripped off the shirt, tossing it away as he began to work on the fly of his pants. Caroline swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as she noticed that the rest of him seemed as large as what had already been revealed.

The music throbbed in the air around her, the theme from a popular police show adding a strong drumbeat as he stripped down to a well-filled-out, and extremely small, brief.

Caroline was gripped by a sudden urge to scream for him to take it all off, even though she knew this was as far as he was going to go. The other strippers had all stopped at their skivvies, which hadn’t bothered her a bit.

Not until now.

Now, she would buy a round of screaming orgasms for the whole room if she got to see Officer Friendly do the full monty.

The music ground to a halt and the lights dimmed, announcing the end of the act. She sat back, disappointed, as he flashed a grin but nothing else while he made his way offstage.

She glanced around, not surprised to find the few other women in the club just as enthralled as she was in the latest act. The partiers had even abandoned their investigation of the X-rated gifts piling the table and were chanting for his return.

Until that moment, Caroline would have given Strippendale’s another three months in business, if that. There was probably a very good reason the club had no competitors, because really, how much of a market was there for a women-only strip club? The audience tonight had been pathetically small. But with a man like that showing off his assets, the club might stand a fighting chance.

Another song started playing, and Caroline shook off her musings. This guy, whoever he was, would be perfect for Mollie’s bachelorette party. And she’d better get backstage and find out if he was available before she lost her chance—and her nerve.

Challenging Carter

The door to the exercise room stood partly open, and the sound of conversation spilled out into the hallway. Double-checking her printout from the front desk, Dani walked inside.

The space was larger than she’d expected, with a gleaming wood floor and a row of floor-to-ceiling mirrors along the far wall. Women stood around in clusters of two and three, some stretching, some just talking with friends. Dani faltered in the doorway, suddenly wishing she were anywhere but here.

“You new?” A perky blonde bounced over, a big smile on her face. “Come on, I’ll help get you settled.” She started leading Dani toward the front of the room, her ponytail swinging with each step. “You need to meet Jana, our instructor. She’s the best.”

Dani trailed in the woman’s wake, glancing around as she crossed the room. Other class members looked over as she passed. Jana was fiddling with the stereo system as they approached.

“I’m Brenda, by the way.” The blonde tugged Dani forward by her elbow. “Hey, Jana, you’ve got a new victim.”

“Go away before you send her screaming from the room,” Jana deadpanned. Turning to Dani, she said, “It’s really not always a madhouse in here.”

“Yes it is,” stage-whispered Brenda, before scampering away with a laugh.

Dani handed Jana her paperwork. “I’m, uh, doing this for the OSE challenge.”

“Good for you! Love to see people trying new things.” Jana scanned the computer printout. “Looks pretty standard. Just bring your form with you each time and I’ll sign off at the end of class.”

“Thanks.” Dani looked around. “Do I need anything else or…”

Jana shook her head. “Nope, just make sure you wear something comfortable and easy to remove. This class is all about your comfort level, so only go as far as you want to. No pressure. And if you have any questions, just let me know.” She glanced up at the wall clock. “Oops, gotta start. Why don’t you find an open space and follow along. Don’t worry if you don’t get every move down right away. You’ll get there.” With a smile, she turned away.

As Jana clapped her hands for attention, Dani looked around the room. Brenda was in the left hand corner, waving.

I’ve got a spot, she mouthed, gesturing at the open space next to her.

Brenda was stretching her arms above her head as Dani approached. “We always start with some warm-ups,” she said. “You might not think of injuries in a class like this, but they do happen if you aren’t careful.”

“Mm-hmm.” Dani winced as she tried to touch her toes, her fingertips barely brushing the tops of her athletic shoes.

Jana had finally gotten the stereo system working, and a sensual, beat-driven song filled the room. Standing in front of the mirrored wall, she began rolling her head from side to side. “Stretch those muscles,” she called over the music. “You want to be enticing, not injured.”

Enticing?

Dani tilted her head down, then rolled it to the left, grimacing as her neck popped with the motion.

“Ooh, sounds tight,” Brenda said. She stretched an arm over her head, bending at the waist. “Don’t worry, you’ll limber up in no time.”

Dani nodded as she twisted and bent and stretched, trying to keep up. If she was this far behind during warm-ups, how was she ever going to manage the step routine?

“Everyone to the floor,” Jana called, and Dani joined the rest of the class in scrambling to find a spot on the polished wood boards. As she reached toward her toes, feeling the stretch throughout her body, she glanced around.

Where were the steps, anyway? It’s not like they’d need them during the warm-up, but except for a box of free weights in the back of the class, the space was empty of equipment.

Something didn’t add up.

It was a popular class, if the full room was any indication. The group was all female, from tight-bodied twentysomethings to one woman who looked old enough to be Dani’s grandmother.

“Okay, now, I want you to roll slowly back up, one vertebra at a time, until you are in a seated, upright position.” Jana, stretching forward between her widespread legs, demonstrated the slow position change. “And as you move, slide one hand up your leg, over your hip, across your torso, ending with it in your hair. Come on, be sexy, ladies!”

Dani blinked in surprise. Sexy? In an aerobics class? She glanced furtively around, startled to see her classmates following the instructions with enthusiasm.

“Now lean back on your elbows and bring your legs together. That’s it, perfect!” Jana stood and began to circulate around the room, helping the women get into position. “You guys are totally ready for a floor routine.”

She struck a pose, pulling her shoulders back. “Here, thrust your breasts out. You’re hot, you’re ready, you’re giving him the biggest boner of his life!”

Oh, my God. Dani, who had just managed to struggle into position, sat upright. She did not just hear that.

Did she?

A movement to her right caught her eye and she turned, jumping a little when she saw her instructor right next to her.

Jana crouched down, a patient smile on her lips. “Everything okay? I know it can be a bit overwhelming the first day.”

“I, uh…” Dani wished she didn’t blush quite so easily. “I guess it’s not quite what I expected.”

Jana nodded sympathetically. “Getting used to being sensual in front of other people can be a bit of a challenge.”

Sensual? What? “Well, I mean, I just thought it’d be more aerobic.”

“This is only the warm-up. It’ll be plenty aerobic once we get into the main routine.”

Dani bit her lip. “Is that when we get the steps out?”

“The steps?” Jana’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “We don’t use any steps.”

“Then why call it step aerobics?”

Jana tossed back her head and laughed. “Oh, honey, you poor thing! You thought you signed up for step aerobics?”

Dani nodded, her blush rapidly turning crimson.

“This isn’t step aerobics. It’s strip aerobics.” Jana patted Dani on the shoulder. “But I hope you’ll decide to stick around anyway.”