by Jenika Snow
“Sit down, Ms. Weatherton.” He didn’t say it rudely, just demandingly, like he got what he wanted no matter what. Tatum found herself wanting to argue, but there was no need to be disrespectful, no matter how unnerved Leo made her feel. She sat back down, and a satisfied smirk crossed his face. She fought the need to scowl at him and instead gritted her teeth.
For several long moments, neither spoke, and the only noise in the room was of the clanking of bottles as the woman behind the bar put them on the shelf.
“Tatum, let me ask you something.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. She couldn’t help but watch the muscles under his flesh bunch as he got into position. “It’s clear working at an establishment like this isn’t something you care much for, so why agree to come for the interview?” Had she been that transparent that this stranger had picked up on her discomfort in the short time she had been in his presence?
“Listen, I’ll be completely honest.” She took a deep breath and met his stare head on. “I know Kiki set this up, and as much as I appreciate the opportunity, I just don’t know if I’m cut out for this kind of work.”
“And what kind of work is that, Ms. Weatherton?” He didn’t reveal anything in his expression.
“Kiki said this position was for a waitress, but I’m not stupid enough to think that job wouldn’t entail ‘entertaining’ the clientele.” Lifting her chin slightly, she continued to hold his stare. For several long moments, he didn’t say anything, just continued to watch her. He steepled his fingers in front of his face and watched her.
“Let’s say I offer you a job as the hostess.” He dropped his hands, and something flickered behind his eyes. He leaned forward, so close she could smell the sweet yet spicy aroma of whatever cologne he wore. “I can guarantee no male would lay his hands on you.” The husky roughness of his voice sent tingles in all the right places. A growl laced within his words. He sounded animalistic and hardened and had her thinking all kinds of filthy things.
Despite her mind telling her to get a handle on her shit, her body became even more aroused. Women like her, full-figured in all the places that weren’t exactly attractive, didn’t catch the eye of potential buyers in this industry. Men like Leo Castill wanted women who were tall and lithe, with big, fake tits, implanted asses, and bleached hair. She was the complete opposite of that. Dropping her gaze to her lap, she inhaled slowly through her nose. Is that why he offered her a hostess job? Is that why he said no one would touch her?
Her eyes and hair were dark. The locks were wavy and the majority of the time could be called frizzy. Her breasts were her most attractive feature, in her opinion, but that didn’t erase the fact that she had thicker thighs and an ass that rivaled J-Lo’s. Kiki and every woman who worked at these types of places were beautiful, something Tatum didn’t see herself as. She most certainly would not let a man like Leo make her feel bad for how she looked.
So what if she wasn’t a size two? Tatum was finally proud of the way she looked—well, she started to feel that way again. It helped having incredible people like Beau and Kiki around. Maybe if her childhood hadn’t been so fucked up, she would have a little bit more self-confidence. As it stood, she slowly tried to get her feet on the ground when it came to her self-image.
“You never answered me about what your plans for life are.” He looked at her, all intimidating and unrelenting. It was clear he wouldn’t give up on this. It wasn’t any of his damn business, but she felt herself telling him anyway.
“I started going to school for accounting.” She rolled her eyes when he smirked. “Yeah, not the most entertaining profession, but I like numbers, so I thought I might as well go with what I’m good at.”
“I’m sure you’re good at more things than that, Tatum.” Her mouth parted at his softly murmured words. His voice was like sandpaper, all gravelly and rough, but the end result sounded smooth and flawless.
“So why didn’t you continue with that and get your degree?”
He hadn’t touched her yet it electricity went straight between her thighs.
Licking her lips, she knew this conversation would be going down a road she didn’t want to take. “I had some family problems arise and couldn’t continue going.” His gaze locked on her mouth, and she felt everything start to close in. Despite the chilled air in the room, heat consumed her, and beads of perspiration lined her spine.
This man was so dangerous for her, especially if she had this kind of reaction to him after only being in his presence for twenty minutes. Pulling her hand away, she took a step back, trying to get some much-needed air into her lungs.
He cocked his head to the side and regarded her in that too silent way of his. When he crossed his arms over his wide chest, she refused to let her eyes wander down to watch the act. “So, you want a change? You want to go back to school and do something you love. I completely understand, and I want to help you achieve that.”
It was her turn now to cock her head and stare at him silently.
He chuckled softly as if he knew where her thoughts were. “Listen, I really do need a hostess. The job is easy enough. You work every other weekend, and three days during the week. You just have to escort the customers to their tables.” His smile widened when she narrowed her eyes at him. “Honest.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “I have enough girls to dance. I don’t need another one.” He stood and took a step closer to her, and she found herself craning her neck back just to meet his stare. “I need someone who is professional and knows how to be sweet to the patrons.”
“I’ve been anything but sweet to you, Mr. Castill,” she said almost breathlessly.
“I’ve asked you to call me Leo, Tatum.” His eyes were on her mouth again, and she found herself licking her lips. His jaw clamped down tight, and he took a step back. “You’re a tough girl, I admit, but that’s what I like about you. I don’t think you’d be quite so rough with the customers though.” He smiled, all straight white teeth that reminded her of a hungry animal.
“I’m sure there are other girls who aren’t….” She ran a hand down her body. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of the way she looked, but standing next to the women who looked like life-sized Barbies, she would look like the marshmallow man. His eyes did a slow travel down her body then back up again to her eyes.
Everything inside her screamed that he wanted her, but she knew that couldn’t be the case. Men like Leo could have any woman they wanted. There was no way he’d want a cigarette girl with a love of everything starch when he could have some blonde bombshell. That wasn’t the way reality worked.
“Do you want to know what I see, Tatum?” With his voice deadly calm and eyes half-lidded, she could almost imagine that’s what he sounded and looked like during sex. He took a step closer until his warm, sweet breath trailed over her face. “I see curves in all the right places and a face that could drop any man to their knees.” Her eyes fluttered at his words. “I could easily see myself on my knees… before you.” The way he said it had her seeing herself sprawled out with Leo on his knees, right between her thighs. She barely held in her moan. He stepped away again, and just like that, the spell of desire disappeared.
“So, what do you say, Ms. Weatherton? I’m offering you the job. Will you take it?”
“Okay.” The word tumbled out of her mouth, and she hoped she didn’t regret it.
Leo had been standing in the same spot for the past ten minutes, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his mate had just walked into his life. It certainly didn’t fit into his plans, but he couldn’t deny that Tatum Weatherton was his mate and that he wanted her.
“Fuck.”
“What’s wrong, Leo?” Sugar came from behind the bar and walked toward him. She used to be his type, all tight body, big tits, and legs that went on for miles. Of course, that was before Tatum walked into The Lion and the Lamb. She was half the size of him and thick in all the right places. Her curves were what grown men jerked off to, and her face co
uld get her anything she wanted. Hell, it had worked on him.
He didn’t even need a hostess, but he knew he couldn’t let her walk away from him, and she would not work as a fucking waitress. Every girl working in the club wasn’t opposed to a little tap on the ass and some heavy petting from the customers, but just thinking about Tatum getting mauled by the horny fucks had his hackles rising.
Sugar ran her long, cotton candy pink painted nails along his shoulder. “I can get that frown off your face real fast, boss,” she purred right by his ear, but he shook her off.
“You know I don’t mix business with pleasure.” He moved away from the cloying scent of her perfume and ran his hand over his jaw. “Finish stocking up.” He turned and headed to his office, feeling all kinds of confused over the revelations that just landed in his lap.
The door shut behind him, and he leaned against it. He could still smell the sweet scent of Tatum’s arousal. It was a spicy aroma that tingled in his nose and had him hard as hell.
He didn’t doubt he could convince her that he was the best potential male for her, and if she didn’t want him, he’d just have to try ten times harder to make her see they belonged together. The intense and primal urge to be with her was not something he was accustomed to. Lust, he knew all about, but what he felt for Tatum went against everything he had ever viewed. A need inside him crashed against the surface and clawed to get out. He knew that feeling all too well, knew the animal inside him wanted out so it could properly take its mate.
The only problem was…
How in the hell did he plan on telling his very human mate that he was actually a lion shifter?
3
“I don’t understand what you’re so worried about,” Kiki said as she applied the second layer of lipstick. It was probably called Passion Fruit or Sex on the Sand.
“I have everything to be worried about.” After she left Leo, over two weeks ago, Tatum had this feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to happen. She couldn’t put her finger on if that something was good or bad, just that it would happen.
She caught Kiki’s look in the mirror and rolled her eyes. “I mean, it’s still a new job, even if that job is filled with gorgeous women and men shoving dollar bills down their G-strings.”
Kiki turned around and crossed her arms under her breasts. “This is a classy place, Tater, and besides, we live in Las fucking Vegas. We’ve seen a lot worse than that. You remember that homeless guy with the cardboard sign saying for twenty bucks he’d let someone kick him in the balls?”
Tatum started laughing. “Yeah, but this is totally different. I already feel out of place, and I haven’t even started working there yet.”
Kiki giggled and turned to grab her purse. “I wouldn’t worry about getting hit on.” She eyed Tatum up and down. “I think you’ll be the one wearing the most layers of clothing.” Her grin had Tatum frowning. She stood and looked down at herself. The uniform Leo had sent her last week was classy yet modest.
“What? I think I look nice.”
“You do, Tater. It’s just… who wears a knee-length black skirt, a blouse, and a cardigan over that to a gentlemen’s club?”
She looked down at herself and smoothed the imaginary wrinkles from her skirt. The outfit was nice, but Kiki had a point. Tatum would have assumed Leo covered her up because he didn’t want plump girls working at his club, but that didn’t make sense at all, since he hired her, and the sexual heat had been coming off of him like a tidal wave.
Even weeks later, she could still picture him standing in front of her, his eyes looking all kinds of smoky goodness as he told her he liked her curves. Thank God for the black cardigan that would hide her hard nipples.
“All right, girl, come on. We don’t want you to be late on your first day.” Kiki took her hand and hauled her out of the chair. “I gotta say, I kicked ass on your hair though.” Tatum looked in the mirror before they headed out. Her normally frizzy hair fell in glamorous waves around her face.
She normally didn’t wear makeup, but of course she let Kiki talk her into it. The eye shadow was dark-gray, and the image of “bedroom eyes” flashed through her mind. Aside from a splash of peach on her lips, she wore no other makeup.
Kiki drove them to the club, The Lion and the Lamb sitting right off the strip where they built the new multimillion-dollar hotels and casinos. They pulled into the parking lot, and Kiki pulled the car to the side of the two-story building. The construction was beautiful, with perfectly manicured patches of AstroTurf and potted flowers and trees.
The club didn’t open until eight on the weekdays and four on the weekends, but stayed open until all hours of the night. The sun hadn’t yet set, probably wouldn’t until well after the club opened, but she knew places like this didn’t need the cloak of darkness to make them feel safe. Kiki pulled into a parking spot, and they made their way out of the car and to the employee entrance.
From her standpoint, Tatum could see the brightly lit sign right above the front doors. It was a massive lion’s head, its jaw open wide and its teeth lethal-looking. The thick mane of hair surrounding the face looked so realistic, like she could make out each individual piece of hair. The eyes, an eerie blue color, stared straight ahead. One paw poised high above the beast’s head, and its claws were outstretched. She could see where the “lion” came from in the club name but saw no depiction of the “lamb.”
No, honey, the lambs are inside, waiting to get sacrificed.
Kiki led the way through the side entrance, which took them down a long, brightly lit hallway. Several entryways lined the wall on either side of her, their doors closed but the noise of female giggling coming through. It sounded like a group of high school girls were having a slumber party.
“There are several dressing rooms the girls use before and in-between shows.”
Tatum wanted to tell Kiki that information didn’t pertain to her but knew it would be smart to know where everything was located.
“The kitchen is over there.” Kiki pointed to a set of steel double doors once they cleared the hallway. “I’ll take you to Leo, because I’m not sure what he wants you to do.”
They stopped right before they made it into the main floor. The sound of glasses clanking and female and male conversation floated around her. “What do you mean you don’t know what he wants me to do?” Yeah, Leo had explained what her job would entail, but the way Kiki said it had the hair on her arms standing up.
Kiki looked at her and shrugged. “I just mean we’ve never had a hostess before, so I don’t know where you’re supposed report.”
Shock filtered through Tatum. “You’ve never had a hostess before?”
Kiki shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, but another dancer dressed in a few strips of latex called her over. “Listen, I’ve got to go, but we’ll talk after work. I’ll meet you by the employee entrance, okay?”
Tatum nodded and felt her anxiety start to rise. She should be used to working. It wasn’t like this was her first job right out of high school. Squaring her shoulders, she watched Kiki disappear down the hall and behind one of the doors.
“I see you decided to give me a chance.”
She turned to the smooth, deep voice that belonged to Leo. He strode toward her, his hands in the front pockets of his pants, and he held himself like he knew he had swagger. He wore a simple black T-shirt, but it looked expensive and fit over his chest to perfection.
Give him a chance? “Excuse me?” He stopped in front of her, his smile widening as he took in her uniform.
“The club. I’m glad you gave my club a chance.” He ran his thumb and forefinger along the edge of her cardigan, and she forced herself to stand still. The very tip of his finger brushed along her collarbone every once in a while, and the effect it had on her was akin to pouring gasoline on an open fire. “I’m liking this uniform on you.” His voice was low, and she thought she sensed a hint of sexual heat laced through his words.
; Forcing herself to swallow so she didn’t make a fool out of herself by drooling down her chin, Tatum nodded. “Yes, I’m liking the uniform too.” She looked into his blue eyes and started to feel herself get lost in them. He smiled slowly, and he looked satisfied as it curved his full lips.
“I feared you’d make me wear a thong and pasties to work,” she teased him, for the most part, but when she heard a low rumble come from Leo, she felt her eyes widen. Pulling his hand back, he lifted it and ran it over his jaw. He cleared his throat and looked around the floor as his staff prepared it for the night.
“I’ll show you where to stand and what to say. This is a very casual position, so don’t worry about screwing it up.” He smiled and gestured for her to precede him toward the front doors. His big hand landed on the small of her back, and she tensed, feeling the heat travel straight through her body. “All you have to do it stand here and greet the patrons as they enter.”
She turned, and his hand fell from her. She didn’t have any training prior to tonight, and she had assumed her first night would be shadowing someone, not diving in by herself. “I haven’t even been trained. I thought tonight I’d just be following someone around.”
“Tatum, I’m not going to throw you to the lions.” His straight, white teeth flashed, and her mouth went dry. “I’m going to have Peaches seat them. So all you have to do is say hello, flash them your gorgeous smile, and lead them over to her.” He turned and pointed to a petite little thing standing a few feet away.
She spoke to the same girl Tatum had seen behind the bar the first time she met Leo. The two women stopped talking and turned to stare at them. Peaches waved enthusiastically, but the bartender gave her a withering stare.
