The house lights darkened and the curtain parted as the music ramped up. Sparkling silver heels and bright red toenails commanded my attention. My eyes rose to shapely legs, and I found myself, strangely enough, licking my lips.
“No way,” Nolan said just as Jason choked on his drink, spraying it all over me.
I glanced at him as I swiped at my face and saw he was staring at the stage, mouth gaping. For some reason, instead of looking at the stage, I glanced at Nolan, who sat stick-straight in his chair, his brows hiked so high on his forehead that they almost disappeared into his hairline.
I snapped my attention to the stage. The woman was halfway down the runway, in the middle of a spin around the pole, her head back, her hair flowing in ribbons of silky brown locks as she went ’round and ’round. When she slid down the pole, she landed in a crouch and stared straight at Quinn Monroe with a look that made me think she wanted to devour him.
“Is that—” I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth.
“What the hell is Sophia doing on that stage?” Nolan whispered over the table without tearing his eyes off of her.
“The hell if I know. She didn’t tell me she was doing this.” I punched Jason, who shifted in his chair, “Did she tell you?”
He whipped his head my way and then back to the stage, “No, Sassy didn’t tell me.”
“Sassy?” Nolan said.
“That’s her stage name, Sassy Pants.”
I was dumbstruck as I watched her move. I had thought she was beautiful before, but this woman in front of me was like my wildest desire unleashed. Seduction oozed off of her. Her long light brown hair had been darkened to a deep brown, and her sexy heart-shaped face was expertly made up to enhance her cheekbones, her seductive eyes, and her pouty lips.
“Damn, she’s good,” Jason said softly, “really good.”
I wanted to punch him in the head and tell him to stop ogling her. In fact, as that thought crossed my mind, I glanced around to see every man in the room, and there were a lot of them, watching every move she made.
I resumed my scrutiny of her, and, for the next several minutes, I was breathless as she took control not only of the stage, but of the crowd, too. The shimmering silver booty shorts she wore looked like a second skin, and the matching silver bra barely concealed the nipple area of her breasts. I forced myself to stay calm, while not trying to picture what I knew was under those tiny strips of cloth.
When her time was up, a man approached Quinn and bent down. The man nodded, and then he turned and walked toward the back. Quinn rose from his chair and headed in the opposite direction as he buttoned his suit jacket.
Reba’s voice startled me as she spoke to us, and her words were like a knife to my chest, “Looks like she gets to dance privately for the boss, lucky girl.”