I won’t lie, though. I never thought it would go on this long. I figured I’d get bored with the game we’re both playing, or at least make a move, but I won’t. Not because I’m a pussy, or that I’m worried about getting rejected. I know when the time does come, and it will, that she won’t be able to deny me any longer. What’s between us defies the laws of nature. It’s intense. I know she feels the same thing I do. But this game has become the highlight of my day.
Pulling into the parking lot of the clubhouse, I dismount from my bike and stride inside. Everyone’s already there, which I’m thankful for. Hopefully, this means we’ll be able to get right down to business and I’ll only miss the first show. Maybe.
“All right, assholes. Let’s get this show on the road. I got places to be, people to see,” I bark out as I head into the chapel.
A few of the guys laugh, but it’s Bear that makes a comment. “Things to do? More like, you gotta get to the club to creep on that sweet Angel. Pervert.”
Deciding not to antagonize him, I remain silent. I’ll pay him back for that comment, but not today.
“So, what’s this meeting about? You didn’t give us any details when you called,” Cross asks as he sits down. As our VP, I thought for sure he’d at least have an idea, but I guess I was wrong.
“I’ve got a few business deals I want to run across y’all, maybe put them up for a vote. I also wanna discuss the situation with Georgie, and where we need to go from here,” Bear offers.
I haven’t forgotten about our friend Georgie, but I haven’t been concerned with him either. If I never would have met Angel and been so blown away by her, I probably would’ve left a few days after getting back from Texas to go hunt his ass down. But I haven’t been able to leave. It’s like I physically can’t. It’s hard enough not seeing her four out of seven days of the week. I have to restrain myself from going to her apartment, just to lay eyes on her. So going back to Illinois hasn’t been an option, but it looks like I may not have a choice now.
Plus, he really does need to be dealt with, now. I only hope I get to see Angel tonight, and maybe even tell her I’ll be gone for a few days. I don’t want her to think I’ve forgotten her or don’t want anything to do with her anymore. I know we aren’t anything to each other yet, but I want her to be. Every night, I fantasize about pushing her up against the wall and claiming her as mine. The only reason I don’t is because I can only guess how innocent she is. She needs to be primed and one hundred percent ready for me. Hence our little game. And once I do have her, there’ll be no letting go, no going back. She’ll be mine, and I’ll never let her leave me.
Bear goes into detail about opening another strip club a few towns away, to which we all agree. We’ll just have to find the right building, then hire some staff since we won’t have enough brothers to spare to work there. Of course, we’ll have a few there every night, but not near as many as here at Bottoms Up.
Someone would be tasked with hiring the talent. Usually, Bear does that, but I’m not sure if he’ll have someone else do it. Maybe one of the top girls at the club here? You’d be surprised how well our girls can spot talent, and how easy they can pick out the girls that’ll only cause us trouble.
Next, he tells us about a building here in town that he wants to buy. He’s always wanted to own a pawn shop. If we don’t want to go in on it, he’d probably buy it for himself, using his own money. But, of course, we all agree that having a pawn shop would be a profitable business, and legit, so we would be able to hide more of our illegal ventures behind it.
The last thing he brings up is shutting down our gun and drug business countrywide. Meaning, we’d only sell closer to home. This way, we take out more of the risk and don’t have to worry about getting ourselves into unwanted turf wars, or getting caught by the fuzz.
Sure, we love having a lot of territory, but with all the new things we’ve been dipping into, it just doesn’t make sense anymore. We can’t be dealing with the Cartel, and dealing small-time five states away. Plus, we make more selling to the Cartel. If we got rid of some of our other territories, we’d be able to sell an even bigger load to our boys in Mexico.
We’d have to talk to them about raising their order since we’d have more product, but even if we stayed with what we were selling them for now, it’s still more profitable than anything else we’re doing. We have some big customers, but not as big as the Cartel.
After going around the table to give our ideas and opinions, it’s decided that we’ll stop all smaller business in other states. We’ll continue with our state, and maybe a few surrounding areas, but that’s it. If they’re a bigger customer, we’ll keep them until we can come to an agreement with another dealer on their behalf. We don’t want to leave them high and dry, and inadvertently start a different type of war.
Finally, we move on to discussing what to do about Georgie.
“I think you need to go back and find his ass,” Deuce says with an attitude I want to beat out of him.
“I agree, but we need to be smart about this, D. If Georgie didn’t know we were lookin’ for him before, he probably does now. Don’t matter who said what, he’s gotta know. He’s too smart not to,” Cross says, trying to be the voice of reason, when all I want to do is put Deuce in my sights and pull the damn trigger. I hate the guy, brother or not. He gets on my nerves to no end, and he’s a piece of shit. Always letting everyone else do all the dirty work, and if shit goes wrong, lets us take the fall.
“Well, we wouldn’t need to be smart and careful about it if dumbass here would’ve taken care of him in the first place.” Deuce opens his big mouth again, and I’m done. I can’t take his shit anymore.
I’m up and out of my seat, reaching across the table before anyone can say anything to calm the situation or stop me.
Holding him by his neck in a death grip, I growl, “Listen here, you little fucker. I’ve had about enough of your shit. If you wanna stay in this club and continue to breathe on this earth, you better shut that fuckin’ hole in your head and stay out of my way. Ya hear me?” I’m his fucking superior. I’m the Sargent at Arms, where he holds no officer’s patch. Yes, he’s a patched member, but that don’t mean he can disrespect me. I wouldn’t care what rank he has, that shit’s not going to fucking happen.
His face is almost blue by the time I’m finished with what I need to say, but I’m not going to release him until he gets it.
I can hear my brothers around me, yelling at me to let him go, but I pay them no attention. My beef is with this motherfucker, and until I know he’s going to heed my warning, I’m not letting him go. I’ll either put his ass to sleep or kill him. I don’t care which happens.
When I see his eyes start to close, I give him a hard shake. “Do you fucking understand?”
Finally, he nods his head. It’s not much since my hold on him won’t allow much more, but it’s enough that I notice. I’d much rather kill him, but I’ll settle for fucking him up a bit.
I loosen my grip, only enough for him to get in some air.
“Good. ’Cause next time you get on my ass like that, or I hear one more smartass comment, I’ll kill you.” With those final words, I let him go, but before he can completely fall backwards into his chair, I swing my right arm and connect my fist right across his face, effectively knocking him out cold.
Blowing out a breath, I sit back down in my chair, cross my arms, and stare at Bear. “Now, where were we?”
He glares at me hard for a few seconds before a small smile breaks out on his face. “Was that really necessary?” he asks.
“Yeah. It really was,” I tell him simply. My anger’s gone, now that I’ve hopefully knocked some sense into him. Though I must say, my need for inflicting pain is screaming at me now. I need to torture and maim, fight and kill. Maybe going to find that asshole Georgie would be a good idea. It’s been way too long since I’ve been on the road a
nd had blood on my hands. I miss it.
“Now that the hissy fits are over,” he says, glaring at me once more, not even bothering to spare a glance at the still unconscious Deuce, he continues. “Torq, I want you to leave tonight for Illinois. Find Georgie. Get a list of all his buyers and locations where he holds the girls before sellin’ them. Once we have that, we’ll be able to search them out and help any girls we find. I also wanna get rid of all the scumbag buyers.”
I agree with everything he says, except for one thing. “If it’s all right with you, I’d rather leave in the morning.”
He’s knows exactly what I need to do, but unlike some of these other fuckers, he won’t say anything out loud.
Thinking on it for a few moments, he finally nods. “Fine. But no stops. I need you there yesterday. This shit has gone on long enough.”
“I completely agree. I’ll be there in less than two days, you have my word. I’ll find that fucker and get what it is we need before ending him.”
We hash out a few more details, then Bear calls the meeting to a close. On my way out of the chapel, I check out the clock and see that I’ve missed Angel’s first and second act, but if I put the throttle down, I will be there for her last. Me and her are going to have a little talk.
Before getting on my bike, I call the club. Since all our guys are here, we have a few stand-ins working the bar until the others can return. When the bartender answers the phone, I tell him to hold Angel’s final act until I get there. He doesn’t ask any questions, which is good for him, so after hanging up the phone, I break every speed limit on the way to Bottoms Up.
***
I didn’t see any cops, which meant I didn’t have to take them on a goose chase to lose them, so I was able to make it to the club in no time.
Walking inside, I lock eyes with the bartender and nod my head, letting him know to get Angel ready. I may not know his name or who he is, but he knows me. Everyone here knows who I am.
I’m not sure if she even noticed the delay, but hopefully, she won’t give me too much grief for it. I can’t help that I wanted one last dance before leaving for a few days. I need my Angel dose, and I need it bad. She’s become my drug of choice, one I never want to quit.
I don’t bother stopping at the bar for my usual drink. Instead, I make my way to my table and wait for her to come on stage.
A few minutes later, the lights dim, leaving only a spotlight on the pole. Leaning forward in my seat, my heart rate starts to pick up tempo. That always happens when I’m seconds away from seeing her, but for some reason, tonight seems different. There’s a different level of angst, and something else I can’t decipher in the air. It’s almost electric, making me feel a buzz without even having a sip of alcohol.
When the music comes on, my dick instantly gets hard. I know this song, and I also know that with it will come a show I will never forget. I’ll be lucky if I can keep myself off that stage.
Halestorm’s song I Get Off blares through the speakers, just before Angel walks onto the stage.
She’s dressed in an outfit that looks like it’s painted onto her body. I can see everything through the tight fabric, and it’s almost better than if I could see her naked, though I can’t say that with absolute certainty since I haven’t even seen her with her top off.
Angel’s one of the only dancers that doesn’t strip all her clothes off, and I think that’s what makes her popular. Guys can say that the best stripper needs to be naked, but when Angel’s in the mix, that statement would go right out the window. Of course, that won’t stop them from wishing she’d take more off, but they love that she doesn’t.
The opening verse sounds and Angel stares right at me while the lyrics swim through my head. She’s touching herself and mouthing the words to me. It’s the perfect song for us. I love to watch her; it gets me off. I know she loves it just as much as I do, which solidifies that tonight is the night everything changes.
Like the words, my greedy eyes watch her as she comes undone, and as the chorus hits, she’s swinging onto the pole and doing things to it that should be illegal.
I wish I’d gotten that drink because my mouth is completely dry. I think I’m even panting, which is embarrassing. This woman is something else, and she’s mine. From this night forward, she’ll be in my bed every night, and will only find pleasure in me.
When the second verse hits, she starts to undo a string I didn’t notice before on her top. And just as the words sing about knowing how to bring me to my knees, she removes her top and there, in the spotlight, are her smooth, perky breasts. She has those sticker things covering her nipples, but I could care less because for the first time, I get see another part of her. Just as I thought, they’re fucking perfection, matching the rest of her.
When the song’s over, she leaves the stage. I won’t let her get far—I’m too worked up. Whatever our routine was before tonight, I’m changing it up, right now.
Getting up is a little painful, but I push it to the back as I stride with purpose toward the back. The only thing in my mind is finding her and devouring her.
Chapter Thirteen
Angel
I grab my top before walking off the stage, but don’t put it back on. This top is sexy and I love it, but I don’t love the struggle it takes to put it on.
The smile on my face hurts, it’s so big. I can’t believe I just did that, but I’m damn sure glad I did.
When I started practicing a new routine, I didn’t know which song would go best with it. Then, after talking with Amy last night, it just clicked.
I’d heard Halestorm’s song I Get Off only a few times, but it stuck with me. It’s sexy, and I secretly wanted something just like it, not realizing how soon that would be.
Performing it tonight, for Dominic, was a high. I felt sexy and wanted. The look on his face told me that he needed me, and was barely containing himself. When I took off my top, it added a cherry on top of the whole thing. If this doesn’t shatter our silent game, I don’t know what will.
I’m almost to the dressing room when someone grabs me from behind, and I know who it is. I forced his hand and tempted him with my body while dancing to that particular song. It was the perfect mix to push things where I so desperately want them to go.
My bare back lands against the wall and he’s in my face, but not kissing me like I need him to. “Do you have any idea what you did to me out there?” he asks, his voice gritty and raw with what I hope is sexual tension. I want to relieve him of that.
“Yes,” I whisper. I smile to myself, seeing that I’ve reduced this big, strong man to this. He’s so close, I can feel both his hardness pressing into me and his heart beating out of control. I did that.
Leaning in close, he inhales deeply before whispering in my ear. “Of course you did.”
Running his tongue from my ear to my chin, my legs start to shake and I almost collapse, but pressing his knee between them stops me from becoming a puddle on the floor.
Reaching his hand up, he grabs my half-covered breast, squeezing hard, but the pain that shoots across my skin feels so good. I’ve heard the saying ‘hurts so good’ before, but now I know what they mean, and it’s this. This is what they mean.
“Did you choose that song just for me?” He releases my breast, but he doesn’t leave it alone. Instead, he plays with the pasties I’m wearing that cover my nipples. I now wish I hadn’t put them on. I want him to see me, all of me.
Unable to make words come out of my mouth, I nod.
I was actually a little worried I wouldn’t be able to perform it tonight. When I went on stage to do my first routine, he was nowhere to be seen. Then I noticed that none of the guys that are usually here, the guys who wear the same vest as him, were missing as well. I’d hoped he’d make it, but if he didn’t, I could dance for him some other night. I hated the thought, but I wasn’t upset with him.
/> If I was wrong and he never came back, bored with our game, then so be it. I would be hurt…well, devastated, really, but I’d come to terms with it. I wouldn’t let it be the end of my world. Maybe I’d seek him out, just to tell him all the things I’ve wanted to say to him. But first…
“I want you,” I say quietly. Then, with a confidence that surprises even me, I lift my head and say it again, with a stronger voice. I’m tired of dancing around what I feel.
He smiles before dipping his head down and finally taking my lips with his. It’s better than I could have ever imagined. His lips are rough and firm, demanding and forceful. Giving into him completely, my lips become putty to his, allowing him entrance and anything else he wants.
I can’t help the moan that erupts deep in my throat.
After a while, I’m not sure if it’s been minutes or hours, I start to feel like I need more. My body feels like a live wire that’s missing its connection, and without it, I’m going to die out.
Realizing what I need without me even knowing what I’m doing, Dominic pushes himself closer to me, if that was possible, and rubs himself against me.
When he bends his knees, I feel a loss like I’ve never felt before. I finally had what I needed and he took it away. I start to pull away to yell or hit him, but when he notices, he presses his mouth harder against mine. I feel him there, right where I need him. And it’s better than it was seconds earlier.
His hardness is pressing into my softness, and it’s as if the final piece to a puzzle was put in its place. I can almost hear angels singing in the background—it’s one of those hallelujah moments. It sounds silly, but that’s what it feels like. The only thing that could make this better were if he wasn’t wearing his shirt, then I’d be able to feel his chest against mine.
The Preacher's Daughter Page 14
