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Chapter One

The single spotlight illu Veronica Whitfield with nowhere to hide

The ting, ting, ting of the cy Her eyes focused on the beae as she held her hands—encased in white satin—over her head

The brass section of the band wailed and with that intro she cocked her hip to the right and pulsed, letting her body ed with an abrupt note, she kicked out her leg and thrust her arht to her sides

With each sharp sound, her body matched the beat with quick staccatonote and she swiveled her hips,sure to stick her ass out as far as she could

Engage every muscle, Miss Trixie Treat—her instructor—would say in every lesson

The crowd hollered, obviously liking the sexy sway of her body Veronica sotten a reaction That’s all she’d wanted out of this journey That’s all she’d wanted the n up for a six-week burlesque workshop But she had gotten so much more

Stepping down fro, wide rasping the zipper at the bottoth wool skirt, but before she pulled, she looked out into the audience and bit her bottoed her to reveal just a little more skin

She pulled the zipper, revealing her long legs encased in sheer red stockings It was her own personal dichotoloves and apillbox hat But underneath was a whole different story On the outside, she was a respectable ure, but on the inside—her inner vixen clawed to be set free

The crowd loved the loves one at a tie a few arter attached to her red stocking Then she flung her jacket to the side, showing ablack bustier that pushed up her barely-there breasts And what burlesque costuarter and bustier were both adorned with rhinestones

The bright stage lights uish faces in the audience, but she’d made sure they wouldn’t be a distraction She’d purposely left her glasses backstage

She shi the crowd a little shoulder drop for good arters fros

Inhaling deeply, she did her best to forget she was on stage, half-dressed, and about to become even arter belt and let it fall When it pooled at her feet, she slowly, deliberately, rolled off the stockings, then let her hands glide up her bare legs The crowd screale of her ass cheeks

Veronica turned and faced the audience This was it The final ite to be removed I can do it

She unhooked the fastenings at the back of the bustier When both sides were free, she held it with one hand, teasing the spectators She sat in theout in front of her It had taken the entire six weeks of class to be able to do this th had been severely lacking Finally, she ripped the bustier away, letting it fly to the side of the stage

The er having to squint She ca, the tassels of her pastiesin a perfect circle

This close to the front of the stage, her eyes focused on a few faces in the crowd Her heart fluttered This was exactly what she had needed to get her sexy back She felt confident, beautiful, and comfortable in her own body She was ready to focus on herself—on her life—and what lay ahead The possibilities were endless

She s with a man in the front row He didn’t look mesmerized by her performance More like a rush of shock and awe had settled on his face And she knew that face anywhere She’d seen it every day growing up as a kid in the foster care systeh to have those kinds of dreams

The man was Finn O’Reilly

And he’d just seen her get naked onstage in front of a crowd

Veronica’s stomach churned She looked away and shook off her embarrassment She had lost a beat or two in her split-second freak-out, but she soldiered on Eventually, the e left

“Fan-freaking-tastic, R