Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Then she remembered that she wasn’t just doing this for herself—she had her kids to feed and clothe and her elderly mom to take care of.
Whatever I have to do to survive, I’ll do it, she told herself grimly as she led the huge Monstrum up the steps at the back of the club and into the small, exclusive VIP lounge.
Once they were inside—he had to turn sideways to get through the door because of his horns—she turned to face him again. She kept the smile on her face, but she paused deliberately before leading him into one of the curtained booths.
This was the tricky part. A lot of clients thought that going to the VIP lounge meant you were going to fuck them—or at least let them finger you. Terra knew some of the girls who allowed those things—though the rules stated they would be kicked out of the club if they were caught being involved in any kind of prostitution. That was in theory—in practice the manager usually just turned a blind eye as long as the clients went away happy.
But Terra didn’t go that far. She might let a client fondle her boobs—though she hated it—but she wasn’t a call-girl. So this was the point where she had to set some firm boundaries without losing the client’s interest. It was always a balancing act and the Monstrum was an unknown factor for her.
Most guys were easy to size up. There were the hotheads who would blow their top and complain if they felt like they weren’t getting their “money’s worth”—she usually tried to avoid them in the first place. Then there were the guys who wore sweatpants to the club, hoping to get more contact. They walked around with constant hard-ons and were notorious for groping. Terra tried to avoid those too, though it wasn’t always possible.
She preferred to stick with regulars, who knew her and enjoyed her dancing and didn’t try any handsy stuff. But she also liked the shy guys—men who were a little socially awkward when it came to women and who needed a boost of confidence or self-esteem, which they got when a pretty girl at the club flirted with them.
Then there were the high rollers, like Viktor Orlov—the creepy guy who had been harassing her ever since she’d danced for him six months ago. Terra regretted ever giving him a dance. She should have listened to her instincts—she’d had a bad feeling before she’d taken him to the VIP lounge. But he’d been a real sweet talker, and he’d had a wad of cash.
Just like this guy—are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Terra? whispered a little voice in her head.
Well, she was about to find out.
4
TAUREX
Taurex stared down at the curvy little human expectantly—she seemed like she wanted to say something. He wanted to hear whatever it was, but part of his brain was still stunned at what had happened between them when she took his hand.
Had they formed a mental connection in that brief moment when they had been touching skin-to-skin?
It had to be impossible, right? His kind of Monstrum were able to form mental bridges even without a soul-bond but it usually only happened with the female who was meant to be their fated mate. It was a special gift from the Goddess, but one that didn’t often get used, since all the females of his species were dead—lost when the Darklings had taken over their home universe.
Was it even possible to form such a connection with a human, he wondered? Especially one he didn’t even know?
He wanted to touch her again and see if he could read her, but he didn’t dare. What if she “freaked out” as the humans said and ran away from him? He couldn’t risk letting that happen. She was special—he didn’t want to let her get away.
So he simply waited silently to hear what she had to say. Eventually he would get a chance to touch her and then, if they really had formed a connection, he would be able to see into her mind, in a limited way. Hopefully now that the initial contact was over, it wouldn’t cause any kind of physical reaction this time.
He’d felt the shock running up his arm as they touched—that must have been what startled her. Unless she had also seen the lascivious thoughts running through his head, in which case he had much to apologize for. He shouldn’t have been thinking those things about her but fuck—how could he help it when she’d been rubbing her soft little bottom all over his shaft?
“Now, big boy,” she began, breaking into his guilty train of thought. “Before we go into a booth together, we need to get a few things straight.”
“All right.” Taurex nodded. “Go on.”
“Just because we’re alone together doesn’t mean we’re going to screw,” she said bluntly. “That’s against the rules of the club—I could get fired and we could both get arrested—they’d charge us for prostitution. So sex is out.”