Justice Falling by Audrey Carlan Read Free Book Online Page B

imagined doing to me made me more uncomfortable than dancing on stage in front of a large crowd. Unfortunately, those private room bookings came with a much larger payout. The girls that worked the private rooms received thirty percent of the fee and anything you earned by way of tips. Plus, there was a bodyguard available at the ready to take care of any overzealous patrons--which was needed. Often. I guess Heaven wasn’t perfect, either but the payout sure did help pay the rent.
    I slid up the thigh highs and clipped the emerald green garters to the black nylons. Jin’s entrance couldn’t have been timed better.
    “Can you tighten the corset?” I asked as she set down her book. Gone With the Wind . I rolled my eyes. “Hopeless romantic,” I said then lost the words as she squeezed the corset, cutting off all breath. “Jesus, that’s tight.”
    “But looks amazing.” Her eyes were as dark as night when they skimmed over my form. “Why the green and black?”
    “St. Patrick’s day. Apparently it’s ‘Luck of the Irish’ night.” I grinned and propped the tiny little Leprechaun hat onto my head and pinned it to the hair I piled at the crown, allowing perfect curlicues to slip out strategically.
    “Well you look beautiful. Then again, “Justice” always is the highlight of Gems.”
    I rolled my eyes at her use of my stage name. I chose Justice because it was an oxymoron. There wasn’t any justice in having to strip for money.
    “Says the perfect size…oh wait what’s that? Oh yeah, the perfect size zero!” I grinned as she pinched my hip. I swatted at her hands.
    “So, are you going to tell me about him yet?” Jin leaned back onto her bed, her elbows holding her up. Her long black hair spread like a curtain of glossy ribbon across her pastel sheets.
    “Who?”
    “The ‘who’ you went out to lunch with the other day.”
    “What? How did you know?” I stared at her smiling face through the mirror.
    “I’m psychic. Duh!” She rolled her eyes and sat up, crossing her legs. I narrowed my gaze and waited a moment. “Fine. I called to see if you were available at lunch. Rosie, that other office chick, said you had a lunch date.”
    Damn Rosie. She was such a busy body. I needed to be careful around her if I was going to keep my private life private. Sighing deeply, I knew I wasn’t going to get out of here until I spilled something about my date to Jin. Besides, I wanted to talk about it. Needed to. The thoughts of Nate, of his kiss, burned and sizzled throughout my day, making it almost impossible to concentrate on work.
    “His name is Nate. He’s a lawyer. British.”
    “And…” She pressed. I layered on another pound of mascara. “Well, is he hot?”
    I slumped down on my bed across from hers and clasped my heated cheeks. “So hot, Jin. I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s incredibly sexy. He’s forceful and confident.” I looked into space remembering the way he pressed me into the elevator wall and kissed me like I was the only woman in the world he wanted to kiss…ever.
    “Forceful?” Jin’s eyes narrowed into points. “What do you mean by that?”
    “No, no. Don’t get the wrong impression. He’s just…I don’t know. He fills the space in a room. Larger than life. His presence demands attention.”
    Jin’s eyes sparkled and a coy grin slid across her lips. “You have a crush on this guy? I’ll be damned. I didn’t think it would ever happen!”
    “Oh shut up! I do not have a crush. He’s just a hot guy that I’m going to see at work sometimes. Just because he took me to lunch and kissed me once doesn’t really--”
    “He kissed you!” Jin jumped up and landed like an elephant on my tiny bed, making us both bounce. Though certain parts of me bounced more than others and almost bounced right out of the top of the tight corset. “Oh my God, you have to tell me everything. How did it happen? When? Where?”
    I took a deep breath then told Jin everything that we