My Girl (10 page)

Seth nearly swallowed his tongue when Nicky started dancing across the stage. It became even worse when Nicky whispered in his ear. He was so hard he thought his dick might tear through his pants. Nicky was sex in motion when he danced. It was like foreplay.

Seth had been to a lot of strip clubs in his time but he had never been to one like this. Most of the ones he'd been to had a strict no touching policy. Seth could have been thrown out for touching Nicky and tucking a dollar bill in his thong the way he did.

Of course, in most bars, Nicky wouldn't have been able to dance quite the way he was either. While his movements were a sensual delight, it was the interaction he had with the men he danced for that made Nicky so popular and Seth knew it. Nicky made each one of them feel like he was dancing for just them.

Seth was green with jealousy. He was also overjoyed because he knew he was the only one that held the most important part of Nicky, his heart. No one could touch that but him. Still, Seth had to admit, he really didn't like the way the men around him treated Nicky like a piece of meat.

Nicky was more than a dancer as far as Seth was concerned, no matter how well he could dance. Nicky was thoughts and ideas, sympathy and compassion. He was love and caring and everything Seth ever wanted in a man. And he was Seth's man.

That right there was the only thing keeping Seth from jumping up on the stage and demanding that no one look at Nicky or try to touch him. Well, that and maybe the perverse pleasure he got from knowing at the end of the night, Nicky would be sleeping in his arms.

The next song came on and Nicky started dancing again. Seth watched for a moment before he noticed Nicky shooting glances to the left side of the room. He used the motion of throwing a few more dollars onto the stage as a cover as he glanced over.

It didn’t take Seth more than a second to narrow in on the thin man in a flashy white suit standing just to the side of the curtained entrance to the stage. The man stood between two really large guys that looked like they ate cars for breakfast. Seth suspected they were Morales's goons.

As he looked around the room, he spotted two more muscle bound men standing by the front door and realized that he and Nicky were going to have a heck of a time getting out of there in one piece.

Seth tried to brainstorm while looking for another escape route. He felt as though his mind had gone blank. He couldn't think of a single damn thing, especially when he saw Nicky practically sitting in another man's lap. Seth barely suppressed his growl before anyone heard it.

He started to move in Nicky's direction when he saw Nicky move toward him, crawling on all fours again. Seth stopped and waited for Nicky to come to him. He didn't want to appear too eager, even if he was. It seemed like forever before Nicky reached him, especially when the man stopped to dance for almost every man between them.

Logically, Seth knew that Nicky was putting on a show but a part of him thought his lover might have been adding a little extra something just to prove a point to him. Nicky had warned him that things were a little different in this club. Seth was only coming to realize now just what exactly Nicky meant.

And, once again, Nicky was right. Seth didn't have an issue with Nicky being an exotic dancer but what the man was doing up on the stage went way beyond what Seth felt was acceptable for anyone to be doing out in public. Nicky was selling himself.

And Seth was growing more and more pissed with every passing second. He now knew why Nicky had warned him. Seth wouldn't have minded if Nicky wanted to dance for a living, even as an exotic dancer. Despite what Nicky thought, Seth kind of got a thrill out of the idea of his lover being a dancer.

However, he had a huge problem with Nicky practically having sex for strangers. When Nicky said that touching was encouraged at the club, Seth had no idea he'd have to watch customer after sleazy customer paw his lover. And that’s what pissed Seth off the most.

He didn't mind Nicky dancing. He didn't even mind Nicky dancing in the skimpy little piece of fabric that barely covered his groin. He minded all of the men who thought they had a right to touch Nicky because he was dancing.

And maybe that was where he and Nicky differed in their ideas of what it meant to be an exotic dancer. It should be about watching a show, albeit a sexy erotic show, but a show none the less. It wasn't about participating in the show. That’s not what Nicky wanted. He just wanted to dance.

When Nicky finally reached him, Seth flashed a wad of cash. Nicky grinned and started dancing just for Seth. With each caress he received, each glimpse of the jewels hidden behind Nicky's outfit, Seth either tossed a dollar onto the stage or tucked one in Nicky's thong.

"The crowd is getting restless, babe," Seth whispered into Nicky's ear when he heard loud shouting behind him.

"So, either come on the stage and dance with me or punch someone," Nicky whispered back as he stretched one leg straight up into the air. Seth almost lost the train of the conversation as he marveled at Nicky's flexibility. "It's the only way we're going to get out of here."

Seth wasn't sure what he wanted to do until some man reached over and grabbed Nicky's arm and started dragging him away. "Hey, man!" Seth exclaimed as he reached for Nicky.

Seth chose punching someone. He doubled up his fist and hit the man square in the middle of his face. Seth had the satisfaction of hearing a sickening crunch when his fist connected and the man cried out. He let go of Nicky and grabbed his nose as blood started to splat everywhere.

"Raid!" someone yelled and then all hell broke loose. Seth swung around to stare in shock at the chaos and watched the room fall apart. Shouts filled the room. Chairs were overturned as people ran for the front door. Glass shattered on the floor.

Seth turned back around to grab Nicky only to see one of Morales's goons stepping up on the stage. Seth jumped up onto the stage and placed himself between Nicky and the large man advancing down on him and Nicky.

He clenched his hands into fists, convinced he wasn't going to come out of the fight with the muscled man without a few broken bones. But he'd make sure he left a few bruises on the other man as well.

Seth stepped back a pace to get away from the goon and glanced over to see Nicky holding his hand out to him. Flipping the goon his middle finger, Seth ran over to Nicky and grabbed his hand.

"Getting the hell out of here," Nicky said as he dragged Seth toward the front door.
Seth hoped Nicky was right. In the chaos of the fight and someone shouting raid, they just might have a chance of escaping out the front door. The two goons who had been guarding it looked overrun by customers trying to get out, just like Seth and Nicky.
Nicky and Seth fought their way to the door, dodging flying glass and overturned furniture. Seth had to pull Nicky into his arms more than once to protect him from people still fighting. But little by little, they reached the door.
Seth suddenly screeched to a halt and pulled Nicky back against his chest when a shadow stepped out in front of them. He felt like everything around them froze when he saw the gun Morales held in his hand, pointed right at Nicky's chest.
Seth started slowly moving Nicky out of the line of fire, pushing his lover behind him and holding Nicky there as he watched Morales cautiously. "You don't want to do this, man. You have enough trouble to deal with. There's no need to hurt Nicky."
"Oh, believe me, I want to do this," Morales said as he nudged the gun toward Seth, gesturing for him to back into the club. Seth obeyed the man's demand and slowly backed up, keeping Nicky behind him. "He's caused me nothing but problems since the day he got here."
"Then let him go and you never have to see him again. I'll take Nicky back to the west coast and he'll never come back."
"You expect me to believe that?" Morales snorted. "He opened his mouth one too many times and now it’s time for me to shut it."
Seth could feel Nicky gripping his shirt as they both backed up a few more steps. Things around them still seemed to be frozen. Seth knew people still raced around them but he couldn't look away from the menacing gun Morales held in his hand.
Seth held a placating hand out in front of him. "Look, we can work this out."
"There is no working
this
out. Didn't Nicky tell you that when he dragged you into this mess? He betrayed me, and not only did he betray me, but he betrayed me to the cops. He blabbed to the cops!"
"You shot Juan!" Nicky shouted from behind Seth.
"It was business, Nicky love, just business."
"Business?" Nicky exclaimed. "You killed someone."
"He was a whore," Morales shouted.
"Only because you turned him into one."
"Nicky!" Seth hissed quietly. He had to push his arms backward to keep Nicky behind him. The man was trying to lunge forward at Morales. Seth knew that Nicky would attack Morales given half a chance despite the gun the man held. Nicky was that angry. Seth could hear it in his strained voice and feel it in his tense muscles.
"With your beauty and my brains, we could have been so good together, Nicky love. Why did you have to go and fuck that up?"
Seth blinked in shock. Was Morales really complaining because Nicky wouldn't be with him? Did the guy want more from Nicky than a business arrangement?
"You're nuts!" Nicky snapped.
Seth pushed Nicky back another step when Morales snarled and jerked the gun at them. He understood Nicky's anger but he just knew the man's mouth would get one or both of them shot. Seth didn't see any way out of this mess. CHAPTER 19

Nicky could feel Seth tensing. He knew he should keep his mouth shut but Morales just made him so angry. Nicky was tired of being scared. He was tired of his friends being scared. Morales had made more than one person's life miserable.

Nicky wasn't about to let Morales add Seth to that number. He stepped around the larger man and pointed his finger at Morales. "You're a bully and a cheat and only out to line your own pockets off the backs of those unlucky enough to work for you. I wouldn't have gone into business with you if you had been the king of England."

Morales sputtered, his face turning red with rage. Nicky suddenly realized he might have gone too far when Morales pointed the gun at him. It seemed like everything from that point on moved in slow motion.

Morales squeezed the trigger. Nicky grabbed Seth as he swung around, stepping over to place his body between his lover and the gun in Morales's hand and pushed with all of his strength. He heard a loud retort as he and Seth fell to the ground, a searing pain shooting through his arm.

A second, louder, bang filled the room a moment after Nicky landed on top of Seth's body. Nicky waited to feel the pain of another bullet entering his body. When none came, he glanced over his shoulder, his jaw dropping down when he saw Elliot standing across the room, a smoking gun in his hand.

Morales lay on the floor, unmoving, a pool of red spreading out on the mismatched tiles under his body. Nicky just stared, unbelieving that Morales had been taken out. He had been taken out, hadn't he?

Nicky pushed himself away from Seth and scrambled across the floor to where Morales lay. His hands trembled as he reached out to turn the man over. He paused and clenched his fingers, almost afraid to touch the man in case he wasn't really dead.

Nicky raised his eyes to find Elliot kneeling on the floor across from him. "Elliot."
"Why don't you go sit with Seth? I'll take care of Morales."
Nicky's eyes flickered back down to Morales. "Is he… is he really dead?"
Nicky's breath caught in his throat as he watched Elliot reach over and feel for a pulse on Morales's neck. Elliot felt around for a moment then heaved a loud sigh, shaking his head. "He's really dead, Nicky."
"It's over?" Nicky whispered.
"It's all over, Nicky."
"But, what…" Nicky had been running or hiding from Morales for so long he didn't know what to do if the man wasn't after him. He'd spent so much time planning what little life he had, planning his escape, planning not to get himself killed.
Nicky didn't know what to do if he was free.
"Come on, babe," said a soft voice from behind Nicky as strong arms wrapped around him, "let's go get you looked at."
"Yeah, okay."
Nicky allowed Seth to help him to his feet but he couldn't seem to stop looking at Morales. He was afraid that the man would sit up and start harassing him again, afraid he wasn't really dead.
When Seth tried to pull him away, Nicky resisted. "He's really dead?"
"Nicky, babe," Seth said as he cupped Nicky's face and turned him away from Morales. Seth's eyes were filled with tears as he looked down at Nicky. "It's over, Nicky. I swear. Morales is dead. We can go home now."
"Home?" Nicky's brow drew together.
"Home, Nicky, back to the west coast to our home." Seth grinned as he tapped Nicky's nose with his finger. "Home, where I am hoping my lover will move in with me."
Nicky blinked. "Move in with you? Like for real?"
"Yes."
"Even if I give up the makeup and dresses and fingernail polish?"
"Well, I'm hoping maybe you'll keep that fire engine red polish around for special occasions but yes, even if you go back to being a man."
"Even now that you've seen me dance?"
Seth chuckled and cast a sensuous glance down Nicky's nearly naked body. "Yep, even then, although we may need to discuss keeping that thong."
Morales was forgotten as Nicky's heart filled with joy. He started to jump into Seth's arms when an agonizing pain shot down his arm. Nicky looked down in shock to see blood dripping down his arm.
"I'm bleeding," Nicky whispered in confusion. Suddenly, the pain in his arm became excruciating. Nicky's vision swam and his stomach started to rebel. When Nicky's head began to whirl, he reached out, grabbing onto Seth. "Oh, I don't feel so good."
Nicky's eyes fluttered closed as he was lifted up into Seth's arms. He leaned his head against Seth's chest and decided to let him take care of everything. Nicky was too tired, too sore, and too overwhelmed to deal with anything.
He just wanted to sleep for a few days then fly home and move in with Seth. Everyone else could take care of this mess. He was done.
CHAPTER 20