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Chapter 1 Kiss Of A Stranger

"Breathe... Breathe Cassandra... Breathe...You can do this."

She says after giving herself a once over in the tall mirror hanging on the far sidewall. White chiffon and cotton lace cover her slim toned body in just all the right places; a pair of red stilettos is the perfect contrast to finish her ever so seductive image off. She is dressed to impress; even though she does this every night, she is still nervous.

After straightening her white lace bra for what is the fifth time now, she makes her way outside the dressing room. She gives Kyle her best smile and pouts her red lips at him. She winks to let him know that she is ready. Kyle nods his head and smiles back at her, the same cheeky smile he gives her every night at this very exact hour.

Without further hesitation, he finally speaks. "Gentleman, give it up for Cassie."

She closes her eyes and takes one final deep breath...then...She steps through the red curtains and onto the stage. There is a loud cheer and a few whistles, even some old man hollering some obscene words. She puts on her best fake smile and moves forward in slow sensuous steps.

She wraps her right leg around the pole that is towering at the front end of the stage. She gives Kyle the cue to start the music. The music comes to a thundering roar through the speakers. She grabs hold of the pole with her right hand; she twists around it a few times with her flexible body, lowering down to the floor with each spin. She unhooks her leg and crawls her way like a prowling animal to the edge of the stage. She loves doing this routine every night; for some reason, a girl on a pole drives a man crazy, wrap her around it in some lace, and you are sure to drive him mad.

...Christian POV...

The minute I stepped through the door, I see her, her long slender legs with a perfect hourglass waist, a body so hot you can melt honey on it. Long locks of brown hair elegantly drop off over her shoulders. She is a beauty beyond compare. I have seen her here so many times before but never once have I held her in my company. To be honest, a girl like her is out of my reach; even though she might be an exotic dancer, she is still an ordinary girl. My life is filled with supermodels and high maintenance women. Even if I am lucky enough to have her by my side, it will be a union that will be frowned upon and most certainly not allowed.

Micah sees me admiring her intensely as we walk downstairs into the club. "Why don't you just talk to her? I see the way you look at her every time we get here?"

I continue to admire her body, my eyes not leaving her once. "Micah, I admire her body as for the rest, well...there is...there is nothing". I know that I am lying to him and most definitely lying to myself.

Micah does not take notice of what I am saying and only urges me on. "Take the risk Christian; you will never know until you have tried."

"You know that even if I tried, it would not be allowed," I explain to him as the sad reality sets into my eyes.

"Come on, guys, you can talk about this later. Let's get down there before the show starts." Logan turns around and hurriedly ushers us to our seats.

We find a table close to the stage, close to the very same pole where she has every inch of her body wrapped around. Her sun-kissed skin is glowing in the soft, dimmed lights, but it is not her body that captivates me the most; it is those deep cherry red lips. Every time I see her, she seems even more exquisite than the time before. She sees me staring at her in so much detail, and for one very rare moment, she smiles.

Then something else catches my attention, something further down to the back of the stage; it appears to be a shower. Some poor soul is finding himself in there tonight. She never pulls a man on the stage, but when she does, you are in for the best show of your life.

Micah sees the very same thing that I am looking at. "I hate to be the poor sucker that gets in there tonight."

"Come on, Micah, you would love to be in there."

"I would not mind being in there at all," Logan excitedly admits. "Can you imagine having that body that is off limits all to yourself?"

Oh, believe me, that I can imagine, give me just enough time with her, and she will be mine. But that will never happen.

I only but laugh at Logan's silly remark. "Touch her, and you will have the bouncers all over your ass in less than five seconds."

"Not if it was you," Micah says as he reminds me of who I am. "They would not dare to even think about it, man."

"Forget about the bouncers," I hear Logan as he excitedly starts raising his voice. "I think she is headed on over to our table."

She comes to stand at the edge of our table. Having her so close sets my heart racing. The sweet smell of her perfume attacks my senses, lily, and just a small hint of vanilla. She bites into her bottom lip, and with one flick of her finger, she calls me closer. Every bone in my body hesitates, but every part that wants her draws me in. As I slowly rise from my seat, she pulls me by the pants, onto the stage, and towards the shower.

She looks at me from underneath her dark lashes and points at me to take off my shoes. Her tiny hands are shaking as she works at the buttons of my dark blue shirt. Her soft fingers run down my muscled chest and over every single edge of my rippled abs. I hold my breath as she moves to my buckle and her fingers find themselves at the seams of my underwear. I drop my denim to my feet and kick it off to the side. I am standing bare and vulnerable in front of this god of a woman.

She laces her hand into mine and pulls me into the hot steamy shower. "Now you know there is no touching, hey?"

"And what if I do not listen?"

"Then we will just have to wait and see."

Her hands work their way around my body, feeling each crevasse, each line along my perfect physique. She presses her soft lips against my warm skin. Then she steps away and starts swaying her hips seductively to the sound of the music. She turns around and presses her hands against the glass, rubbing her tight ass into me. She turns again to face me.

I step forward, pressing her body into the glass; I pin her hands above her head. The steam had built up, and the water is beating down on our bodies. I know there is no way that someone can see us now. She splays her hand against my chest, intending to push me away, but instead, she leaves it there. "You can't..." her shaky voice tries to protest at me.

"Ssshhh Cassandra..." placing a finger on her sweet lips, preventing her from saying yet another word.

I softly whisper, and I let my lips hover over the tip of her ear. The warmth of my breath causes her body to shiver; her own words only come out as a whimper, "You…you not…"

"You know you can't stop me," I say, smiling at her with an ever-growing smile on my face.

My hand trembles as I take it to her cheek; I softly rub the drops of water away from her eyes. I lean in a little closer, our foreheads now gently touching. I cannot fight against the thoughts that are going through my mind. She is flooding my senses in every possible way.

I stare into her deep brown eyes; I cup her cheek, which is now slowly turning red. This woman that has so much power over men is like jelly in my hands. I smile at her before I slowly lean into her. My hand is shaking slightly; my mind is repeating the same sentence over and over. "Don't do this... don't do this." But the sound of my heart is beating so loud I cannot concentrate at all. It feels like I am going to explode. I so desperately want to claim those lips.

"I am going to kiss you," I boldly state; not waiting for her answer, I start moving my lips breath by breath closer to hers.

"I...you...we can't..." she can barely utter, as my lips are but an eye wink away from hers.

The moment our lips touch, the world vanishes in an instant. Her lips are softer than I ever imagined, and she tastes even sweeter than heaven. My lips are firm against hers, but the kiss remains soft, gentle, and slow. We hold it for a few seconds before our lips begin to move in perfect sync. My eyes fall closed, and all I could feel was her. Her warmth, her touch, her being. It is agony, knowing that this was the first, last, and only time that we could experience this.

Drunk on endorphins, my only desire is to touch her, to move my hands over the smooth curves of her body and feel her perfect softness. Overwhelming passion has taken over my entire body. I move my hand from her cheek to the back of her head, my fingers tangling in her long, dark chocolate hair, lightly pulling her into me, adding more pressure to our lips, deepening the kiss.

My insistent mouth is parting her trembling lips; she is inflicting sensations I have never known I was capable of feeling. The kiss is getting deeper, deeper than all the galaxies in the universe. Her velvety lips are imprinting themselves like a footprint in the snow.

Then the music stops.

I slowly force myself to pull away; it takes me about a minute to settle my racing heart before I can finally speak to her. With my hand gently resting on her cheek, I once again get lost in her deep brown eyes, then I ask, "Can...can I ask you something?"

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