Hot Bouncer by Cheryl Dragon

 
    Chapter One
     
     
    The day started around noon at Big D’s All Male Nudes strip club. Peter Leyman sat the bar and taped up his bad ankle before rehearsal. The club had two sides, one for the female customers and one for the male clientele, but Peter was always more comfortable on the men’s side. His life was orderly and content. He’d never been a complainer. Still, every time he taped up that ankle he remembered the pain of the break and watching his ballet career going down the drain. His current job let him dance and earn a living. At thirty-two, however, he found himself mulling over the future more and more.
    “So what’s the latest, Avery?” Peter asked.
    The African American bartender had retired from dancing and seemed happy with his new gig. Avery mentored a lot of the guys with no nonsense advice. Peter was more at ease with him than the younger strippers who were still on non-stop party mode.
    Before Avery replied, Ken sauntered up and dropped his white duffle bag on the bar. Peter smiled in anticipation of entertainment. The two veterans sparred as if they were lovers, but no one ever got the full story. Ken still danced, and the silver fox’s age only showed slightly in his hair and, occasionally, his face. Peter suspected Botox.
    “Latest?” Ken scoffed. “Nothing ever happens around here. Nothing. Same dances, same Vegas, same men, and I’m going to die of boredom.”
    “Life owes you something?” Avery shook his head. “Don’t ask for excitement when you don’t really want it.”
    Ken sighed and sat on a barstool. “Good things could happen. I could be the next Liberace. Hot young boyfriend, tons of money, and fame.”
    “You can’t play the piano or sing.” Avery slapped a cutting board on the bar and started slicing some lemons. “A new bouncer is starting today. That’s excitement enough around here.”
    “Really?” Ken sat up straighter.
    Peter smiled at Ken’s constant search for youth and perfection. Between Ken’s experience and Peter’s dance background, the two of them generally worked with the new dancers and ran rehearsals when the owner was away. Currently, Bev was up in Reno opening the second location. Until her return, Bev’s nephew, Carl, was officially in charge.
    Carl’s voice echoed in the empty club. “This is the men’s side. I’ll give you the full tour later. We’re a bit wilder than some strip clubs, and you have to be ready to jump in if something happens on either side.”
    The three men at the bar turned and looked as Carl and a new man came into view. Ken’s smile faded, but Peter grinned harder. The new bouncer was six-feet-three-inches of rough muscle trapped in worn blue jeans and a black tank top. Tattoos on his shoulders signaled military, and the serious expression on his face convinced Peter it was true to the new man’s sexy core.
    The new guy’s dark eyes swept the room and took it all in. His face was rugged. No one would call him pretty, and he wasn’t quite handsome either, but Peter liked the jolt of arousal the tough guy set off in him. From short brown hair at the top to tightly laced work boots at the bottom, Peter liked the package.
    “You okay?” Avery popped a bar towel over Peter’s shoulder.
    “Sure!” Peter snapped out of a very happy mental place. He’d have no trouble getting in the mood to dance tonight.
    Carl walked over with the new guy. “Gentlemen, this is Howard Nashton, new bouncer. We’ll station him on the women’s side. Nash, this is Avery, Ken, and Peter.”
    Nash shook hands with all of them, and Peter held on a second too long. “Sorry. Nash. Hope you don’t mind those women. They get pretty wild.”
    “I can handle anyone who gets out of hand.” Nash nodded as he stood up straight and observed.
    Peter felt under scrutiny and not in a good way. They usually hired gay bouncers on the women’s side to keep them from taking any advantage or favors from drunken customers. Nash barely even