Cinder and Char by Angelique Voisen

Chapter 1
    Cinder Relli worked out the creases on his metallic red latex bodystocking and ran a finger across his gorgeous hair. After emptying three bottles of the galaxy’s most expensive, ultra-effective hair spray, his bouncy red locks were exactly how he wanted them—elaborately piled on top of his head like a multi-layered beehive and secured by scores of beautiful, shiny chopsticks.
    Cinder gave his reflection in the dressing room mirror a kiss before finishing off his sultry appearance with a contrasting white-feather boa. He knew he looked to-die-for, especially since his new knee-high heeled booties showed off his long legs to perfection.
    Gods of the Ever-after Galaxy, Cinder loved high heels. He loved them only second to his wonderful job.
    He could hear the crowd outside the dingy little dressing room, calling his name and waiting to see him own the stage with every dance move. They were probably the usual patrons—cargo pilots knocking off from work, airship grunts and mechanics, and a few off-planet tourists.
    Oh, well. It wasn’t like Cinder danced for any of them. He danced for himself, and he loved losing himself in the music and the lights, knowing every eye in the strip bar was on him.
    “It’s a full house tonight, Cinder. Can’t say I’m complaining, since it pays the bills,” Brill pointed out.
    The sapphire-skinned Jotoshi elf wore only a tight slinky g-string already stuffed with a dozen or so space credits, despite it being the start of the evening. Brill slumped into the chair next to Cinder.
    “Full house?” Cinder asked. He snapped the final buckle on his heeled boots.
    “Yup. There’s a mix of customers tonight.”
    “Fabulous.”
    Brill winced at the magenta boots with their six-inch heels. “Can you even dance in those things?”
    Cinder gave his long-time friend an affronted look. Really, he couldn’t ask for a more loyal friend, even if he asked the darndest questions sometimes. Brill almost always had the juiciest gossip too, but his boring and conservative sense of style pained Cinder beyond reason.
    Brill got him this job in the first place after Cinder’s painful ejection from a space shuttle. He’d been broke, homeless, and friendless. After living with his controlling, anorexic stepmother and unfashionable stepbrothers in his dingy backwater homeworld, Cinder was determined to make his own place elsewhere.
    “Just watch me, blue elf.” Cinder strutted about the small space to emphasize his point, making Brill laugh.
    “Save all the sauntering for the stage, Cinder. Can’t you hear? The crowd’s restless. I hear there’s also some important off-planet folks out there Sulli wants us to butter up and impress.”
    Sulli was an unfortunate cross between a human and a Phantus, a humanoid species who looked far too similar to what Cinder and the terrans called an elephant. Sulli was also, unfortunately, Cinder’s boss, and far too greedy for his own good.
    “It isn’t my job to kiss up to off-planet dignitaries, Brill. You know my personal rule, just dancing. No touching.”
    Cinder knew a lot of strippers, including Brill, were open to a little negotiating of the flesh outside the club. Cinder stuck to his ironclad rule. Not because he was high handed or stuck to the morals of his homeworld. He just didn’t believe in doing freelance work using his body, thank you very much. If he’d wanted to be a whore, he wouldn’t be dancing in a strip club, he’d just go straight to the pleasure houses.
    Besides, as embarrassing as it was, Cinder was too inexperienced to do that kind of work. When he came to Planet Kies five years ago, Cinder had been a naïve and hopeless dreamer. He’d always imagined some hunk, perhaps the rich ruler of some exotic planet, would come strolling in through the strip club’s doors, offering Cinder better and bigger things.
    Well, it was nice to dream once in a while. Reality was as harsh as ever. The credits Cinder made each night were