His Exclusive Stripper: You Are Mine, Don

I was in the sitting room a few minutes before seven. I had succeeded in taking a short nap, ransacking my wardrobe for a perfect outfit and knitting my hair into a short wavy ponytail. I kept my look as simple as possible.

“You are out early,” I turned sharply towards the sound of his voice from the steps.

“I guess I have good manners, I don’t go about keeping people waiting,” I shrugged, watching him as he descended the stairs regally.

“Or, you’re just so bored, you can’t wait to be out there seeing the outside world. All thanks to my idea.” He had reached the foot of the couch where I sat.

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” I warned him, unable to help my smile.

“I can’t help it sometimes.” He smiled back. It was rare to see that side of him, too rare that when it occurred, his face glowed differently in my eyes.

“You look stunning,” he complimented.

“I can’t help it sometimes,” I shrugged, using his own words.

There was a low chuckling sound from his throat as his face splitted into a wide grin. He had found my choice of word funny. My stomach fluttered from knowing that I had made him grin that widely.

“You’re smart.” He finally said.

“I know.”

“May I?” He reached for my hands, offering his curved out arm. I rose slowly, sliding my hand into his arm.

“Can I ask for a favor?” He requested, throwing me off my balance. Why was he being so polite and nice anyways? This was his house and I was only but a stripper, what favor could he possibly need from me?

Yet I nodded, giving him the permission to go on with his request. “Can we act normal tonight?” He said to my amusement.

“I don’t understand.”

“I was hoping we could leave behind your craziness and hatred for me, tonight while we go out. I want to be with the real you,” he paused, turning me around to face him, he held my chin gently, tilting my face to meet his.

“I want you to enjoy your time out today, and to do that, you really have to loosen up,” he added slowly, allowing each word to sink.

Did he really think I was crazy? Well, who wouldn’t go crazy living under the same roof with someone like Antonio? He was insanely cute and could make any lady drip to wetness in her pants by just being close. He could also be right about me hating him, or he could be wrong.

I watched him with still eyes, not responding verbally to his request. Yet, I knew he could see it in my eyes that I was ready to let down my guards for him tonight.

‘Maybe this is the night you’ve been waiting for, you could play your cards right and get what you need for Charlie and you would be free.’ My inner voice whispered.

What if I didn’t want to be free anymore? What if all I wanted for tonight was to be allowed to enjoy myself in the company of this man, who has me trapped in his castle as his stripper, yet wouldn’t use me for his sexual satisfaction? What if I wanted to remain a prisoner to his warm touch and the gleam in his eyes tonight.

He led me out of the sitting room, holding onto my hands, placing each foot, delicately after the other, as if trying to prevent me from stumbling and shattering into several pieces like an egg.

The car to be used stood parked in the compound, a driver or just one of the guards stood beside the door ready to take orders. “I would drive myself,” Antonio said to the guy that stood beside the car, stretching his hand to get the key.

The words had dropped like grenades, exploding into a deafening silence. The guard had a surprised look on his face as his hands hung Midway. Why would the boss want to drive himself, must have been the thought on his mind.

But he knew better than questioning the decision of the boss. He dropped the key into Antonio’s hand with a bow. Even as he shifted from the door of the car, the look of disbelief still hung on his face.

Antonio held out the door for me. It was sweetly strange watching him do all the things he normally never did, like grinning so wide. What on earth had come over him? Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush from the sex he had earlier with his ex. That was a terrible thing to cross my mind, my mood went bleak immediately, following the thought.

“Are you okay?” He asked from beside me, as he rolled the car out of the gate. Just before the car was completely out, I caught sight of Jacob stepping out of the main building. The car was moving so quickly that I couldn’t make out his complete dress. He was probably getting set for his date with Debbie. A small smile touched my lips.

“Now that is better,” Antonio said. He had watched me smile, and must have concluded that it was for his sake. He turned on the car radio, searching for something, then turned it off after a while.

“What is your favorite genre of music?”

“I like hip-hop, and maybe anything cool. Why?” I asked back.

“The music you were playing earlier on, it was my sister’s favorite.”

“Oh,” my lips curved. It was the same sister Jacob had mentioned. I knew better than going further into that conversation, even though I was curious to hear from him what had happened to her.

“Have I told you I admire your strength,” he mentioned.

Now that was a really sweet thing to say, coming from a cold heart Mafia Lord. Why exactly had he said that? I didn’t care to ask. All I knew was that my cheeks were heated at the moment and must have turned pink with color.

“And your beauty. And maybe a little of your stubbornness, just a little. The rest of it can be really irking,” he smiled that smile again, that made my belly float with excitement.

He had called me smart and strong and beautiful, all within the spam of an hour. The same man who could be really rugged, and annoying and inconsiderate to people. The same man that had ordered his men to beat up Charlie, mercilessly. The same man that had come into my life and made it spun entirely into a different direction.

***

Struggling to get a degree, and working my ass off in a strippers club would not have afforded me the luxury I stepped into at the diner that was picked for our dinner. It was decorated in the 50s and 60s pop culture theme. A few tall stools, lined around one side of the counter and booths on the other side. A popular hip-hop music filtered through the speaker in a tranquil sound.

The lights were just dim enough, so that it was possible to see your way through the diner. A lava lamp was placed on each table, to reveal your dish. The air was a mixture of baked food and stored wines that made my throat itchy.

We settled into one of the booths at the far corner of the diner, close to the window. It was a reserved spot and cost more than the usual settings. The menus were brought and the meal came after.

I sipped from the glass of red wine, allowing the expensive taste to fill my buds.”I knew you could be nice,” I lowered the glass.

“You have a soft nature hiding behind this thick skin of yours,” I added.

He leaned back in his seat, eying me, with his glass carelessly sitting between his fingers. “Don’t get too comfortable. This is only a treat, and you…”

“I am still your stripper?” I cut off.

He was silent, then his phone beeped on the table, a perfect escape from my question. He picked it up, pressed on the receiver’s button, not taking his eyes off me. He listened to whoever it was on the other line of the phone with little or no change to his facial expression. It was so quick I almost would have missed it, if I wasn’t watching keenly. A slight frown, and a shift in his brows, then it disappeared quickly again.

“I would be there in a jiffy,” was his only response.

I packed my purse, getting ready to leave as soon as the call dropped. “Is there a problem?” He asked.

“I should be asking you, there was a frown on your face two seconds back. And you mentioned leaving in a jiffy.”

“You would finish your meal and we would have one dance on the floor before a jiffy.” He answered, dropping the phone on the table, with a new kind of calmness.