Chapter 2 The First Sin

I didn't call a taxi.

I couldn't afford it.

I knew what people would say. I knew that, morally, I was the villain in this story. I was the woman tearing a marriage apart.

But when you're starving, morality is a luxury you can't afford.

People who judge me have never had to choose between their dignity and their next meal.

I didn't become a stripper because I wanted to be stared at.

I did it because bills don't pay themselves and the world doesn't give handouts to girls like me.

As I walked, my mind drifted back to the first time I saw him.

The club was loud, filled with the smell of cheap gin, expensive cigars, and sweat.

I was on stage, the neon lights washing over my skin in hues of pink and blue.

I swayed my hips against the cold metal of the pole. I moved with ease, arching my back until I felt the weight of every gaze in the room.

"You're irresistible!"

"Come with us!"

Men were shouting for me, but they didn't catch my attention. Sitting alone in a corner booth, he caught my eye.

David was different from the usual crowd of sweaty, middle-aged men with wandering hands.

He was slumped over a glass of amber liquid, looking like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Even drunk, he was the most handsome man I had ever seen.

He had a sharp, defined jawline that looked like it was carved from stone, and his eyes were narrowed, tracking my every move with a dark intensity.

I knew a golden opportunity when I saw one. I made sure my next move was just for him, letting my body move in a way that I knew would catch his breath.

And it worked.

His eyes swept over my body as he ground his jaw.

When my set was over, I didn't go back to the dressing room. I went straight to him.

I sat on his lap, the silk of my outfit barely a barrier between us. He didn't push me away. He just looked at me with those heavy, intoxicated eyes.

"Why are you here all alone, handsome?" I purred, leaning in until I could smell the scotch on his breath.

"Just having some problems," he muttered, his voice gravelly and deep.

I let my hand slide up his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt.

"These problems?"

"They look like the kind of problems that need a distraction."

He didn't say anything, but his gaze dropped to my lips.

I could see the raw lust flaring in his eyes, a fire that started to warm me from the inside out.

"Why don't we settle this upstairs? In the VIP room," I whispered against his ear, my voice dripping with seduction.

"Just the two of us."

Technically, it was against the bar's policy. We were paid to dance, to tease, to entertain-but we weren't supposed to cross that line.

If the manager found out, I'd be fired on the spot. But looking at David, I didn't care about the rules.

I wanted him.

The way his large hands had gripped my waist, bruising and possessive, and the way he'd groaned-a deep, guttural sound that vibrated through my entire body.

"Shit...you're so sexy."

It was the kind of sound that made a woman lose her breath.

I hadn't expected that kind of raw passion from a man who looked like he spent his life behind a mahogany desk.

I had enjoyed every second of it, letting myself drown in the sensation of him.

He held me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't just performing.

I was feeling something.

"Shit! I'm cumming!" he groaned like a beast, then his load shot onto my stomach.

When I woke up the next morning after that night, the bed was cold.

He was gone. No note, no number, just the lingering scent of his cologne on the sheets.

I was furious.

I spent at the bar digging for information. He didn't pay me, which was exactly why I was looking for him.

I bought the bartender two drinks and leaned closer.

"Do you remember the guy I left with?" I asked.

He smirked, pretending to hesitate.

"For another drink," he said.

I slid the glass over.

"David Kingsley," he muttered.

His voice dropped, eyes flicking around, like the name itself was dangerous.

Bingo.

I pulled up the search engine on my phone.

It didn't take long to find him.

He was a billionaire. I hit a jackpot!

My heart raced as I scrolled through his photos.

I knew right then that I had to find him.

I wasn't going back to that pole. I had found my way out of this hell I'd been in.

A few days after that night, I showed up at his corporate headquarters.

I wore my best dress-a tight, emerald green that screamed "classy."

I walked into that lobby like I owned the building.

"Who are you here to see, Ma'am?" the receptionist asked, her eyes widening as she took in my appearance.

My skin was glowing, my hair was perfect, and I looked like I belonged in a penthouse, not a slum.

They had no idea I'd spent my last few money on the taxi ride over. They didn't know I was a girl who grew up in the trash, raised on the streets with nothing to her name.

"I have an appointment with Sir David."

"Of course, right this way," she said, falling for the act completely.

When I walked into his private office, David was looking at some papers, his brow furrowed in concentration.

When he looked up and saw me, his jaw practically hit the floor.

"What are you doing here?! How did you find this place?" he demanded, standing up.

I didn't answer right away.

I just walked toward him, the click of my heels echoing in the large room.

Then, I leaned across his desk, letting my dress dip low to expose the curve of my cleavage.

I saw his eyes drop instantly. The anger in his expression flickered, replaced by that familiar, dark desire I'd seen at the club.

"I'm here to continue what we started. Besides, you didn't pay me," I whispered, my voice low and husky.

"I have a wife. That night is a mistake! And if it's about payment, I can give it to you right now," he said.

He was staring at me like a starving man looks at a feast.

He has a wife... but that didn't stop the desire building in my stomach, especially with just the two of us in his office.

"And that's even more thrilling, isn't it?" I countered, walking around the desk until I was inches from him.

"Your wife never has to find out. This can be our little secret."

I took his hand and forced it onto my breast, letting him feel the heat of my skin.

"Come on, David. Fuck me again. I know you want to. I can feel it."

He tried to push me away for a second, a final half-hearted attempt at being a "good man," but I didn't let him.

I crashed my lips against his, kissing him with hunger.

I felt his resolve snap.

Het out a cursed "Shit..." against my mouth.

Before I knew it, he was clearing the papers off his desk with one swift motion.

He lifted me up, spreading my legs as he pressed me down onto the cold surface.

The professional atmosphere of the office vanished, replaced by the same frantic energy from the VIP room.

That was the day I stopped being just a dancer.

From that moment on, we met in secret, fueled by the thrill of the forbidden.

I even managed to convince him to let me be his "secretary" just so I could be near him during the day.

I was playing a dangerous game, stepping into a world I didn't belong in, but as I looked at David Kingsley, I knew I would do whatever it took to keep my place at his side.