"What?"
"Haven't you heard?" Candy asked. After Beth shook her head she continued. "Yeah, they found some underwater wreckage from a long time ago, like before the civil war or revolutionary war or some war. Anyhow, they were trying to learn more and salvage it, but they lost touch with them and started looking."
"Oh, um, yeah that's weird," Beth said. She looked around the club. "You think anybody's going to watch the news with Aurora shaking her ass up there?"
Candy laughed. "You'd be surprised. Some actually do. Mostly it's for me. I sleep during the day or have to help my kid with schoolwork. This is my only chance to keep in touch with the world."
Beth nodded and then shrugged. "If people are interested."
"It caught your eye, didn't it?"
Beth tilted her head and smiled. "Good point."
The song changed, signaling either a new routine or a new dancer. Beth started to turn to see but stopped when she noticed Penny walking towards her with two men following behind her. They were stocky and the grey haired man in front was almost chubby. The other man had a hat on over what, Beth assumed, was a bald head.
Penny walked up to her and stood beside Beth's chair. She turned and gestured at the two men, grey hair first. "Elizabeth, this is Mr. Donavon and Mr. Crispin. The contractors that will be bidding on our renovation."
Beth slid out of her chair and extended her hand to the chubby Mr. Donavon first. She opened her mouth but only a squeak slipped out.
"Breath, sweetie," Penny reminded her.
Beth winced and sucked in a breath. "Sorry, I get excited and forget sometimes. I'm very excited to meet you, Mr. Donavon. And you as well, Mr. Crispin. Call me Beth."
The two men glanced at each other and then back at her. Any confusion they showed was washed away as their eyes roamed the skimpy clothing she wore. Mr. Donavon cleared his throat. "Beth? Excellent. A pleasure to meet you."
Crispin nodded his head with enough vigor to dislodge his hat. He reached up with his left hand and adjusted it and smiled as he shook her right hand.
"Let's go back to the office and talk about what we want to do," Penny suggested.
Beth considered letting the men go first but she knew they'd appreciate having her in front of them more. She offered them another smile and followed after Penny, sliding her hands to the button on her pants as soon as she had her back to them. She locked the zipper in place and unbuttoned her shorts, allowing a little more belly to show and letting them slide down her hips a teasing half inch or so as she walked.
She thought she heard a hiss of breath over the music but couldn't be sure. Beth smiled and walked on, swaying her hips in tune with the music as she walked. The confused and scared little girl that she'd been was long gone. She'd died two weeks ago, her heart beating its last as the elder spirits finished ravaging and evolving her body from the inside. Now Beth was born again. She'd risen from death to be amazing. It was funny how she'd had to die to learn how to live.
Beth stepped in behind Penny and held the door open for the two construction workers. They slid past her, each dropping their eyes to her cleavage before moving to take the two chairs in front of the desk. Penny motioned for Beth to sit in the chair behind the desk but Beth smiled and shook her head. She moved to the edge of the desk and sat on it, facing the two men. She took her time crossing her legs, drawing their attention to her smooth skin and watching them try to get a glimpse of something meaningful at the top of her thighs.
"Gentlemen," Penny said, drawing their eyes to her. Beth would have laughed if she'd had breath in her lungs at the time. "Paradise Lost has been my baby for a couple of years now. I had it built to my standards and it's done well, but times change. Elizabeth is my partner. Her voice is the same as mine, as far as you are concerned. She has some ideas that will take this establishment from what it is to something truly amazing."
The men nodded and turned to look at Beth. She smiled back and then heard Penny clear her throat. "Oh!" Beth blurted. She clapped her hands together to make her breasts jiggle beneath her shirt. From the way the contractors eyes bounced she knew her lapse was forgiven. "Right, so, how do we want to do this?"
"Why don't you tell us what you've got in mind?" Mr. Donavon asked after he forced his eyes up from her chest.
Beth didn't mind. She'd learned that dressing like this was an open invitation. Hell, she paused to check herself out every time she passed a mirror. She smiled at the thought and turned so that she had to stretch for a sketch pad on the desk in front of Penny. Penny caught her attention and rolled her eyes. She knew what Beth was doing. Beth grinned and turned back to face the two men that had gotten an eyeful of her thigh and ass hanging out of her shorts.
"So here's what it looks like now," Beth said as she propped the sketch pad on her thighs and used the bottom of her boobs to hold it in place. "Here's the bar, the main stage, the back stage, and the dressing rooms."
"Looks good," Mr. Donavon said. "Accurate, maybe not quite to scale, but we get the idea."
Beth raised an eyebrow and looked down at the sketch. She shrugged and folded the front page over, then held out the next sketch. She held it out in front of her so they could see it better, or be forced to notice it rather than her chest.
"Woah," Mr. Crispin said first. "That's a complete overhaul."
Beth smiled. "Yes, the back stage becomes the main one and it's bigger, with hookups for a band or a DJ. Poles that descend from the ceiling when needed for dancers around the edges, and then a dance floor all around that. Tables at the edges and additional runway style mini stages here, here, and here. Main bar stars with some minor changes, including a couple of mini-stages."
"Holy shit," Mr. Donavon said. He slipped a pair of glasses out of his pocket and reached for the sketch.
Beth smiled and let him take it. She watched as both men focused on the design and glanced back to see Penny beaming at her. Her sapphire blue eyes twinkled and she gave Beth a nod of approval. "Like I said, she has some amazing ideas."
"I'll say," Crispin said. He glanced up and smiled. "I mean, this is big, and game changing. What are you trying to do here, exactly?"
"Right now we've got a gentleman's club," Beth said. She glanced at Penny and received a nod to continue. "We make sure it's high end, but how much can we really do with that? I think we can do more. I want to turn this into a club. A full club, with dancing and everything. Right now we only get in the ladies that either were dragged in by their men or the ones that like other women."
Donavon put his glasses away and asked, "You think this will change that?"
Beth nodded. "I hope so. Maybe bring in a slightly younger crowd too. Instead of men focusing on live entertainment and paying to be teased, they'll come here because other women come here."
"And why would other women come here?" Crispin asked.
"To find a man. This is a meat market right now, but it's meat they can't have. We make it hip and modern and that will bring in the younger girls looking to meet up with men. Wealthy and affluent men. Men that have already been turned on by the venue we operate."
"Venue?" Crispin chuckled. "I like that."
Beth beamed at him. "Thank you," she lied. He saw tits and ass and thought she was a brain dead stripper. Okay, she encouraged it with her flirting, but it still irritated her.
"Wait, if you switch to a night club or dance club, why do the men still come? The naked girls are gone."
"Half naked," Beth corrected. "And we don't plan on stopping that. Rather than focusing on single girl shows we'll have the entertainment be bands and DJs with multiple exotic dancers at one time."
"Like a Vegas show?" Donavon guessed.
Beth nodded. "I've never been, but that's what I'm shooting for."
"Never been to Vegas? You don't know what you're missing," Crispin said.
Beth glanced at Penny. "Maybe we should do some research? Road trip?"
Penny smiled. "If you want to, I'm sure we can arrange somethin
g."
Beth turned back and saw Crispin looking between her and Penny with one eyebrow higher than the other. He shrugged and glanced back at the sketch. "This is going to take a while."
"Money too," Mr. Donavan said. "You're talking about demo work and then a lot of wiring for the new stage. Getting poles that go up and down and are safe to, um, use won't be cheap. I'm guessing a good fifty grand and probably three weeks of construction, maybe four."
"Show him the next level," Penny said.
"Next level?" Donavon asked.
Beth smiled and leaned forward, threatening both men with her cleavage straining against her top. She took the sketch pad back and flipped to the next page. "More seating and some smaller dance floors. More poles too, and a second bar."
"Holy shit!" Crispin muttered.
Donavon looked up at the ceiling. "You got the owner's permit to go higher? There might be structural concerns."
"We got approval," Beth said and glanced at Penny. She winked at her mentor and then turned back to them. "Engineers have approved the exterior walls of the club to be load bearing, We'll be fine. When you're ready to start you'll be provided with blueprints, of course."
Both men studied the latest sketch, including an inspection made with Donavon's glasses on. He looked up at her before taking them off and asked, "Is this it, or is there more?"
Beth giggled for effect. "That's it. Can you do it?"
He blew out a breath. "Twelve weeks, two hundred twenty grand."
Beth frowned and glanced back at Penny. "The other guy said ten weeks, I told you that was the best we were going to get."
"What?" Donavan sputtered. "I thought we were your first!"
Penny gave them a flat smile. "My first, yes. My partner has been pursuing this while I attended to other matters."
Donavon turned back to Mr. Crispin and the two held a quick hushed conference. "All right, two twenty left a lot of room for contingencies. I'll offer eight weeks at two thirty. I'm going to need extra manpower."
Penny smiled and nodded. Beth clapped her hands and let out a squeal of joy that was genuine. Beth bounced off the desk and gave Penny a hug that had her pressing her breasts into her partner's shoulder and face. Both men leaned forward with wide eyes.
Penny returned the hug and stood up. "Gentlemen, I understand this is a rough estimate, but I'll expect a formal estimate by tomorrow night? Stop by the club and drop it off."
Mr. Donavon nodded. "We can manage that, I think."
"I bet," Beth said and winked. Crispin's cheeks flushed but he didn't stop staring at her chest.
"Please, enjoy yourselves tonight. Let us get you some drinks," Penny offered.
"We should probably get to work drawing up the quote," Mr. Donavon said.
Beth pouted, "Are you sure one little drink won't hurt you?"
Crispin nudged his partner. Mr. Donavon chuckled and nodded. "One drink never hurt anybody."
"Then you haven't been drinking the right thing," Beth teased as she led the way out of the office and back to the bar. She put the extra bounce in her step that kept both men silent and anxious to follow her. Peaches was on the stage, a slender white girl with a bobbed strawberry blond haircut that made her look cute enough to eat. She wondered if the contractors would be distracted by the dancer or remain focused on her ass. A glance over her shoulder proved that they seemed fascinated by the mystery of her bikini cut denim shorts over the g-string Peaches was flashing around.
Beth slipped behind the bar and was joined by Penny. Candy looked at them but Penny shook her head, letting the bartender know she was taking care of things. Penny turned to the construction men and asked, "What can I get you boys?"
"Bud Lite," Crispin was quick to suggest.
"The same," Donavon said.
Beth turned to the beer fridge and knelt down to open it. She knew both men were watching her over the top of the bar and knew they had a view that would earn both men a divorce if their wives found out. She took her time finding the beers and turned to hand them to Penny.
Penny took them and twisted the tops off. She glanced at Beth and used the cap from one bottle to gouge into the flesh of her palm. A drop of red appeared and slipped into the open mouth of one bottle and then the other. Beth clamped her lips together and smiled when Penny turned to her and slipped the other bottle cap to her with a nod. The sight of blood had made her itch with want, even though she'd drank the man in the alley dry hours ago.
Beth swallowed and stared at the piece of jagged metal in her hand. She hadn't done this yet. Giving her blood to someone would start them down the path of being hers. They'd be suggestible at first, but after a few more drops they would fall in love with her. Worship her even, as she had once down to Penny before she'd died.
But with both contractors acting as slaves, they'd be sure to have the job done in time. Maybe quicker. Beth nodded once, confirming to herself that she was making the right decision, and dug the metal into her hand.
She felt the bite of metal but it was just a sensation. A tickle, not pain. She squeezed her hand into a fist, trying to force some blood out. Nothing happened. Her heart! She'd forgotten all about it. She squeezed it, forcing it to beat in her chest a few times and push the blood through her body and well up at the site of the cut. She let a drop fall in each bottle and then willed her wound to knit itself shut. Full of blood from earlier that night, she had more than enough to spare.
Beth turned and smiled as she put a bottle in front of each man. "Enjoy," she told them as they took them and raised them to their lips.
Both men took a drink and froze. They lowered them and looked at them, their eyes rounded in surprise and then glazing over. The bottles went back up and they guzzled them, draining the beverages in near record time. The beers hit the table almost in unison and both of them spared a glance at each other before looking at Beth.
"Holy shit," Crispin said. "What did you put in that?"
"That was the best beer I've ever had," Donavon agreed. "Best anything!"
"Told you that you hadn't been drinking the right stuff," Beth teased.
"I guess not," Crispin agreed. He stared at his drink again and grinned.
Beth smiled back. She saw the way he was looking at her already. Less arousal and more infatuation. Things were going to work out just fine.
Chapter 4
Beth put the tray down on the bar and leaned against it. She studied the handful of customers left in the club while Star performed a tired dance on the main stage. The back stage was empty and only Aurora was out working the couple tables full of customers. It was late for them, a little after one in the morning.
"Tired?" Candy asked her. She was wiping down the bar and emptying the dishwasher. "This is when things start slowing down and it hits me."
"I don't get tired," Beth said and then winced. "I mean, I—"
"I was a night owl when I was younger, I get it," Candy said. She smiled. "Enjoy being young while you can, it doesn't last and you don't realize it's gone until it's too late."
"You're not that old!"
Candy smiled. "Thirty six, hon. I'm thirty six."
"No way," Beth shook her head. "Twenty seven, maybe twenty eight."
The bartender laughed. "You're so cute! If Penny wasn't smitten by you, I'd sweep you up. Oh, except I'm—"
"—not gay," Beth finished for her with a laugh. "You sure do protest a lot. You know what they say about that, right?"
Candy laughed again. "I'm not saying I haven't tried to find out. It's just that I'm not the kind of woman that could be with another one full time. You've got that innocence about you that drives men crazy. Girls too, obviously. Anyhow, you deserve someone that wants to be with you. Someone that makes you their priority."
If Beth's heart had been beating she would have blushed. Instead she shook her head. "Now who's teasing who?"
Candy's eyes rounded and she snorted. "Maybe innocent wasn't the right word!"
Penny swept in an
d set her tray down. "Harassing the help again?" she teased Beth.
"She started it," Beth mumbled.
Penny looked at Candy. "I don't doubt it. She's been trouble since I hired her. Best bartender in the three county area though, so I have to put up with her."
"She's not all that bad," Beth said as she looked at the shocked bartender. "Cute enough to earn good tips and she's got the knack for knowing how to keep people talking."
"Flirting, at least," Penny said. Candy gasped and shook her head, earning a laugh from Penny. "Ah ha! Caught you. Miss Adams here is the boss, don't forget."
"Pfft! Like I could compete with you. And that's if I wanted to! I just got done telling her to stop pining away for me, I wasn't right for her."
Beth grinned at the friendly banter and watched the two go back and forth. She opened her mouth to slip in a joke when she saw somebody walk up to the edge of the bar on their way into the club. Not just one person, but two. Two people she remembered, a man in an expensive jacket and a woman built for sin that hung off his arm. They looked like they were glowing and it had nothing to do with the black fluorescent lights shining through the club.
Beth's eyes narrowed. Hunter and Tiffany, she remembered their names now. She'd seen them in here before she died. She'd been sick and almost used up, but they'd both seemed to be very interested in her. They way they moved and looked around the club reminded her of when they'd visited before. They'd behaved the same way, like hunters. Like animals. Like wolves.
Beth shuddered at the thought and moved to put Penny between her and them, blocking their line of sight. She was sure of it, they were like Crystal and her pack— they were werewolves.
"I don't own her," Penny continued, unaware of the new arrivals. "If she wants to—"
"I want you," Beth blurted out.
Penny and Candy both turned to stare at her. Penny tilted her head. "You want what?"
Beth reached out and slipped a hand behind Penny's head. Her fingers lipped through the dark silky hair of her mentor before she pulled her in and pressed her lips against Penny's. She felt the vampire stiffen in her arms and then begin to warm up to the unexpected affection. Beth took it one step further and licked Penny's lips, coaxing them open and tasting her.
Lover's Kiss Page 2
