Pride Before the Fall Read Online Free

touching. "Crystal."
    * * * * *
    "I've got a guy in the red room," Bristow said as Vivian she walked into their dressing room. "Paid eight hundred."
    She sighed and rubbed her neck. "Where's our cut?" Bristow shelled out six hundred and handed it to her.
    "Looks like he's made of money. You might get some extra."
    "I don't do the 'extra'." Vivian scowled at the man who was constantly trying to get Vivian to do more than their standard dance.
    "No, but you will. Eventually." Bristow scoffed.
    "Screw you." Vivian grabbed the money and went back into her dressing room to freshen up and put on something slinky and sexy. What Bristow didn't know was she could shift. The magic of shifting into a tiger would cleanse her skin and when she went back on two legs, she could manifest clothing over her body.
    Vivian stared at her reflection for a moment. She could let Amilynn do this, God knew it would be easier. Amilynn had the ability to shut out the other person in the room, dance, and leave. It meant nothing, she felt nothing, and she could do it a thousand times a night. A man wanted to see bare breasts, no problem. She'd get the cash, take off her top, and keep going like he didn't exist. Vivian doubted she ever noted their faces.
    Because of their animals, the real problem was the scent of a human male's arousal. It was repulsive. Thankfully, Vivian had found a candle that put off a floral smell to humans, but covered the other scents in the room. Amilynn and Vivian bought a crate of them and always put them in the rooms they danced in.
    "You don't have to go in there you know," rumbled voice from behind her. Vivian had stopped outside the door of the red room, wrapped in a robe. Unlike Amilynn, she hated this part of making money. But it was good money for five to ten minutes of work. And no one touched her.
    "It's rent. No biggie." She shrugged at Ty.
    "You want me to check him out?" Ty popped his knuckles.
    Vivian smiled and laughed, "I can handle one lousy human male. Thanks, though."
    "I'll be right outside."
    Vivian kissed her brother-in-law's cheek. "Thanks, Ty."
    She opened the door and stepped into the dark room. Only a few of the candles were lit, but it was enough to cancel out the human stench. From the moment she crossed the threshold of the door, she became a performer. The satin robe hung off her shoulders, her heels clicked on the floor. "Here's the deal, baby. You get one dance. No touching. Okay?"
    A nameless, faceless man sitting in the dark agreed. Only the area where she would dance was lit. Vivian turned on the music and began to sway, her back to the customer. The key was to concentrate on the music. Hear the beat. Move to the deep thump of the drums. Pick out the saxophone and let her arms become the wave of their melody. Her robe slipped from her body and fell to the floor. She heard a sharp intake of air and knew her John was enjoying her choice of revealing lingerie.
    Only when she was immersed in the music did she turn around and move closer to him. He was behaving, so she closed her eyes and danced. It was the only way to get through the next few minutes. Most of the men would get riled up, touching themselves. If Vivian didn't bury herself deep in the music, she would hear them groaning.
    This one was still, silent as the grave, and it was easy to pretend she was somewhere else. Vivian hummed along to the sensual words of the song.
    "Sing," the man commanded, holding up two Benjamins. Vivian moved just close enough for the man to slip the money in the side of her thong before retreating back into the place where he didn't exist.
    * * * * *
    Kasey put the money in the thin strap of blue lace that covered her hip. It was painful to keep his fingers from touching her skin. Vivian was fantasy and magic in the way she moved. He knew by the way she kept her eyes closed that she was trying not to acknowledge his presence. It was her way of coping. He was afraid to move, to make a sound. Afraid that if his