He grabbed my wrist and gave me an angry glare. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I punched him in the face. He went limp and silent. I hoped I hadn't just killed him. His snores a few seconds later assured me he was still among the living. I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his wallet all the way out. I ignored everything but his driver's license and examined it. The resemblance wasn't even close, plus the guy had twelve years on me. I put his wallet back and shoved the license into my pocket. It was worth a try.

About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at another strip club, The Purple Pony. I wondered what it was with colors, animals, and strip club names. This one was a bit nicer on the outside, although having never been to one, I really didn't know what constituted "nice" at a place like this. The bouncer glanced at the bogus license, then handed it back and took ten dollars for a cover charge. Music boomed on the inside and a lonely but fully clothed stripper on a four-foot tall stage danced on a pole for a sparse crowd. I sat at the bar and watched the creepy-looking guys feed her dollar bills.

Most of them stared at her jiggly bits with blank expressions. One older guy who was wearing large circa 1980's eyeglasses and, I kid you not, a detective cap like the one Sherlock Holmes wore, stared at her unblinkingly and occasionally licked his dry gray lips. He had serial killer written all over him.

"Want a private dance, hon?" asked a smooth voice in my left ear. "I'm Raven."

I turned to see a very attractive dark-haired girl in a translucent negligee standing there, her hands resting on my shoulder. She had chocolate brown eyes, tanned skin, and a unicorn tattoo over her pierced belly button. Long fake lashes, fishnet stockings, and knee-high leather boots reminded me of a warrior princess.

"How private?" I asked, trying to keep the quaver out of my voice.

She gave me a sugar-coated smile. "Don't be nervous, sweetie," she said, rubbing my arm affectionately.

She seemed to really like me. Of course she seems to, dummy. That's her job, said brain number one.

"How much?"

"Well, a lap dance here would be ten, a dance in the private lounge is thirty, and a dance in a private VIP room is fifty."

I pulled out the fifty the bouncer from the other place had rejected and held it out for her. She laughed and gently pressed my hand to a garter on her leg. I directed my shaky hand to slip the money under the elastic as a hot embarrassed flush raced from my face down my body. I felt like a total idiot.

She took my chin and made me look her in the eyes. "You are adorable. Don't worry sweetie, I'll take good care of you." She took my hand and pulled me through some hallways and into a small room with a vinyl curtain covering the doorway. A faux leather couch squatted against the back wall and a foldout chair sat in the middle.

"I'll wait until this song ends so you'll get a full dance, okay?"

I nodded and sat in the folding chair since speaking seemed very difficult.

"First time?"

I nodded again.

She sat on my lap and smiled. She was very pretty. Her huge breasts pressed against the sheer fabric of the nightgown she wore. Her teeth were white and perfectly straight. "Let's go over the simple rules since you're new, okay?"

"Okay," I said, voice cracking.

"I do all the touching. You," she said putting my hands to the sides of the chair, "have to keep your hands to yourself. Otherwise, I'll have to get the bouncer to come and take you away. And you're too cute for me to want to do that to you." She smiled and tapped my nose with her finger.

I nodded and white-knuckle-gripped the sides of the chair. She laughed.

"If you're really good, I might give you a feel."

Apparently I had no clue about the way lap dances worked. For some reason, I thought they involved sex at some point. I felt disgusted at myself for coming here now that my anger at the injustices of the world had faded, but it was kind of late to change my mind.

The song ended and a new one began. Raven—if that was her real name—twisted her body in a slow rhythm. She bent over, displaying her panties then straightened in a slow languorous motion. She slid the negligee from her shoulders with well-practiced flourishes. I wondered how many hundreds of times she'd done this same exact dance for other men. In the back of my mind, I could hear, feel, smell, and almost taste the white-hot hum of sexual energy. Hers seemed to be on the other side of a thin mental wall but other emotions sparkled around it. I guessed a stripper had to barricade some of her feelings to bare everything else for strangers.

This wasn't right. I shouldn't be here, doing this. My stomach growled but I knew it wasn't food I craved. The ethereal vapors of my mind reached for the smoky essence surrounding her. I reined them in. Agonizing hunger stabbed into my abdomen and my control slipped. My mind latched onto hers.

She gasped. Her eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened and her tongue ran a sensual circuit around her lips. She moaned and sat on my lap.

"Kiss me," she said.

I really didn't want to, but my own hunger had me in its thrall. I was as much a prisoner as she was. We locked lips. In my mind's eye, I could see her essence writhing and seeking escape. I felt the way it tried to squirm from my grasp like a mouse under a cat's paw. The aroma of primal fear filled my nostrils. But she couldn't escape me, and part of her liked what I was doing. Every spike of pleasure and every attempt to get away energized me and weakened her resolve.

She nibbled my neck. Energy poured into me until I felt like an overpowered bomb, ready to burst. The lights in the room dimmed. One of them popped and fizzled out.

Raven got off my lap and went for my belt buckle.

No. Not this. Not with her.

Panic welled in me but I couldn't move. A lustful force locked my muscles into place. I was helpless. Elyssa's tear-filled eyes flashed into my mind. My body responded to my desperate pleas. I jerked back. The chair I was in flipped over backwards. Raven shrieked and stumbled backwards onto her butt. She jumped up, a lustful gleam in her eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said in her deep sensual voice. "I'm not done with you yet."

A huge guy ripped through the curtain, fury burning in his face. "What the hell is going on in here?"

It was then that I noticed a glint in the upper corner of the room. An infrared camera hung there.

Raven's eyes widened. "Nothing happened, Bill."

"Just having a friendly conversation," I said.

Bill reached down and grabbed me. Threw me face-first against the wood-paneled wall. "Shut up, smart ass." He punched me in the kidney.

It didn't even hurt. I puzzled over that for a split second before dodging his fist as it impacted the wall where my head had been. Bill swung again. It all seemed like slow motion. I dodged and ducked. Punched him in the stomach. He flew across the room. His body splintered the cheap wooden paneling. Bounced off the wall, rolled over the couch, and onto the floor.

Raven's eyes grew huge.

"Oh my God!" she said. She grabbed my arm and took me down the hall to a back door. "Get out of here before he goes for his gun. Bill's crazy."

"Does he have a crush on you or something?"

"He owns this place, dummy." She opened the door and stared at me for a moment. "What happened back there, anyway? I've never felt anything like it." She glanced down at herself. "I've never had so much fun with my clothes on."

I smiled. "It was pure magic."

She flung her arms around my neck and kissed me. "It was magical. Who are you?"

"That," I said before leaving, "is the million dollar question."

Chapter 18

I went home, buzzing with energy. I felt invincible on the one hand and absolutely filthy and terrified on the other. I had made out with a stripper. God only knew what kinds of venereal diseases I'd probably contracted just from kissing her. Then again, I healed super-fast from injuries, so maybe STDs couldn't touch me.

Elyssa had once again saved me from myself whether she knew it or not. I was surprised considering all that remained of our relationship was an ache in my heart. I still loved her. I had hoped against hope she would be The One. Fate obviously had other plans.

On the way home, I passed by Katie's neighborhood. Yet another example of love lost. Then again, had I really loved Katie? I was so tempted to use my charms on her and leave my virginity behind. Maybe then I'd stop hurting so much inside and simply deal with the cards God or some other cruel entity had dealt me.

I parked at the curb in front of her house. It would be an easy thing to walk up the drive. Knock on the door. Seduce my former crush and ravish her. I got out of the car and took a few hesitant steps toward Katie's house. A familiar heat blossomed between my shoulder blades.

"I warned you and you didn't listen, did you, my love?" said Stacey.

"Love?" I said, turning to face my cute and rather frightening stalker. "What do you know about love?"

Stacey showed her lovely teeth and purred. A breeze blew back her hair and I noticed her ears had pointy tips like an elf…or a Vulcan. "I know far more than you, little lamb."

I walked over and gripped her shoulders. She pursed her rosy lips and purred.

"What am I?" I asked. "Am I a dark faerie?"

She giggled. "Now, now, dear. You have not agreed to my stipulations."

I reached for her psychic energy but it slipped away from me like smoke in a breeze. The sensations I drew from her were so different as to be almost alien.

"You will find I am not so easily captured nor tantalized as mortal kine, love. I will teach you how to please me." She wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. She rubbed her head against my chest and inhaled deeply.

I was oh so very tempted to give in to her demands right then. What more did I have to lose? I stared up at Katie's house. Her bedroom light winked out and with it, any desire I'd had to go knock on the door. I extricated myself with some difficulty from Stacey's firm embrace and walked down the driveway toward my car.