Chapter 27

Animal

Meme’s was busy. The Day of the Dead theme had stuck, but people weren’t as riled up about it as when they first implemented it.

I was there for the usual. A nice group of beautiful females to teach how good they could possibly feel. A few of my repeat offenders were here tonight as well. I went to my table near the dance floor.

I had a formula. Let the ladies see what I was offering, give them a big smile, and wait. My reputation preceded me. Turns out, girls talk. They shared even the most intimate things. They also knew there was no competition. Everyone left my bed before morning. I was an experience. A thrill ride.

The music was good tonight—another holdover from the Day of the Dead event. The owner learned that more than just alcohol and two girls in tight clothes were required to make a place a success.

I bought the four girls hanging near me a drink. I could do four, but preferred three. Never less than two. I’d rather go home alone than do the one-on-one thing.

When the bass dropped on the song that was ripping through the bar, the front door opened.

Some people just have a light around them. A pull. It exists in varying degrees in most. In some, it is undiluted. I’m one of those people. People were drawn to me. If not their physical bodies, definitely their gaze. The way I moved. How I laughed. I was used to it.

So was the woman who walked into Meme’s. I’d never seen her before. New.

But it was more than that. Her face was stunning, her movements purposeful. She scanned the club like she was looking for something. Then she dropped her lashes and smiled.

With alcohol involved, there was no way she was going to be alone for long. My girls orbited me, and I didn’t want to be rude.

But this girl. Something about her stood out.

“Why so serious?” Jelissa snapped her fingers in front of me. I captured her hand and turned my attention to her face. “Sorry.” She was immediately regretful. “I didn’t mean to snap. You were just so—focused there.”

I nodded at her so she would know that she was forgiven. She was also not getting in bed with me ever again. But she’d learn that later.

I entertained my girls, but kept the super lit girl on my radar, sneaking peeks every once in a while.

The men trailed behind her. If they had any shame, they’d dropped it to try to get her attention.

I slid my sunglasses off my head and hung them off the collar of my shirt.

The way she was looking around set off all kinds of internal alarms.

Her overwhelming presence almost camouflaged it. I knew she would find me soon, because I was never easy to miss, even in a crowded bar.

She weaved her way onto the dance floor. She pity-talked to a few of the fuckers that were following her around, trying to get her to give them the time of day.

Her skin was a beautiful honey color. Her hair was past her ass. Her body was insane. But it was more than the package she was in. It was the control she had on the situation. She knew she was starting a fire in any room she walked into. She was ready for it.

When her light green eyes met my gaze, I was waiting for her.

I felt the zip from my head to my balls.

She lifted an eyebrow like we had a running joke. And we did. The pull. The way to change a room. It seemed almost orchestrated. Like there was a scriptwriter for this exact moment. Maybe it could even seem tactical.

I raised my glass of water in her direction, acknowledging the show I was watching.

She started dancing a little. Just enough that taking my eyes off her was impossible.

This girl was even better than I thought. Sweet hell she could dance. I could as well. The ladies loved seeing this giant body move so effortlessly. It took practice to make sure I never looked out of place on a dance floor. But I had put in the time.

When I gave my shoulders some movement, I watched as delight caused her head to tilt back.

I felt like my heart was heating up. Having her in my line of vision was like having a set of firecrackers going off in my head.

I knew she would (because they all do), but I was still excited when I realized she was dancing to me.

There were exceptions to every rule. And mine with the ladies around me were about to be bent.

She danced up to me, and Jelissa and Marin parted the tight circle around me to let her in.

Two of the men behind her were shouting at her like carnival barkers, “Can I get you a drink?” “What do you want to drink?”

She wrapped her hand around my cup, her nails just a hint longer than her fingertips. They made a clacking noise on my glass.

“It’s okay. I’ve got his drink.” She claimed me in front of our spectators.

I let go of my glass with a flourish, like it was obvious that she and I would share a glass.

“I’m guessing water.” She brought the glass to her mouth.

I narrowed my gaze at her. She didn’t register surprise when she was right, just guzzled it back.

When she was done, she set it on the table. Then she took my giant hand in hers.

She twirled around and dragged me to the dance floor.

I heard my circle of girls starting to complain, but I was following this girl wherever she took me.

Her red lips were turned up in a smirk when she whirled around and started dancing.

So that’s how it was. We weren’t finding out names or making small talk. We were just dancing.

And she was magnificent. Maybe she’d had professional training at some point, because I could hold my own with most, but not her.

It seemed that it wasn’t fair for a girl this hot to also know how to dance. Talk about stacking the cards in her favor.

Her black dress and strappy heels were not complicated, but the way the dress was scooped in the back gave me hope that if I was close enough I could peek down it.

She wasn’t wearing a bra. Shit. I realized that as I tried to see her ass.

This wasn’t slutty, though. She wasn’t begging for anything; she was confident.

Her competence with dance made my proficiency look more elaborate than it was.

There was no one better in that bar that night than she and I. We knew it. Watching us dance was a gift the customers didn’t earn, but they were getting.

I quickly glanced around and realized I was right. All eyes were on us. I could handle the attention. At six foot eight, I was used to it in spades.

But the lady who was currently rubbing on me had that and more.

The two of us were rock stars and movie stars all at once.

I got the sense that she was temporary. Her gaze would flit around the place at moments and I knew I was a prop. Because of what I now did for a living, I realized I had to find out what she was up to. She didn’t need to come to Meme’s to get laid. Certainly a girl like her would be able to get whatever she wanted out of life—sexually anyway.

I pulled her against me. She braced herself with her hands and gave me a practiced come hither look.

She could flirt with the effectiveness of a nuclear bomb. My dick literally wanted to learn how to talk instantly.

“What’s your name?”

She smirked. “Poison?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Dropping all that sex appeal on these fools like they deserved it. Now, what’s your name?” I didn’t try to cop a feel, though I could tell she was fit from where our bodies touched.

“What’s yours? Tit for tat, sweetness.”

Her use of my common term of endearment caused me to suspect her even harder.

“You already know my name.” It was a guess. A pretty self-absorbed guess.

“And you don’t know mine? Does that mean only one of us does our homework?” She started to sway, encouraging me to make this faceoff look like a dance.

I rocked with her. “Feybi or Kaleotos?”

She rolled her eyes. “You think local. Don’t do yourself a disservice.”

I stopped rocking.

“There are bigger fish in the sea, Animal.” Her eyes flashed with reams of knowledge I didn’t have. Yet.

“What’s your name?” I was getting that out of her.

“Albany.”

“That’s a city.” I looked around the club to try to place who she was here with.

In the corner I saw T. She nodded when my eyes passed over her.

Always watching. Always making sure I was safe.

“It takes a city to hold me.”

She was fire in my arms. Burning anyone that dared to try.

“You here to get me killed, Albany?” I twirled her and pulled her so her back was against my chest. I put my arm across her like a seat belt, my hand holding her jaw.

To the Meme’s patrons, I was putting the moves on her. To anyone with the right background, they knew I had her in a very dangerous hold. Easy to snap her neck.

I brought my lips close to her ear. She smelled like vanilla. A clean scent in this bar that was thick with manufactured flavors.

“You’d be dead before I hit the floor,” she whispered as if she was suggesting a rendezvous instead of my demise. “Which would be a shame. I’ve got to say, you’re quite the snack.”

“Say what you came here to say.” I wanted to keep her flirting with me forever and not have it tainted with this life I was in now. But T was right there, too. And as amazing as this girl was, when it came to T, I wasn’t about hurting her intentionally.

“You’ve captured people’s attention. They want to talk.” She started to move against my dick.

“How much does it cost to have a girl like you come in here to pass a message?”

She laughed. Despite my hold, she turned so her chest was against mine again. “I’m beyond money. I work for power. And I think you do, too. Meet my people. It’s worth it.”

“No.” I dropped my hands and took a step back. She stopped moving the instant I did.

“That’s a mistake.” She flipped her hair. There was a layer of wisdom under the come-on.

“Not where I’m standing. If I let my dick make my choices, then everybody’s going down.” I turned my back on Albany.

I walked to the circle of pouting ladies that cheered when they saw me return.

I felt Albany’s attention on the back of my neck. It took everything I had in me not to pivot and give her a glower. I wanted to pull my phone out and warn some people to follow her.

When she was gone, I felt the energy of the room change. I shifted so I had my back to the wall. Albany was gone from Meme’s, but so was T.

I pulled my phone out and texted her.

Me: Following?

Her answer was fast.

T: Of course.

I reviewed the conversation I had with Albany. A whole extra layer of evil was out there that I wasn’t aware of. My phone buzzed again.

T: Do your night. Do those ladies. Don’t let them know she rattled you.

I responded. I don’t want you to do this alone.

T: I’m already gone.

I was in the middle of typing out a reply that was very boss-like to her. I didn’t like that she was telling me to go sleep with these chicks I had around me. We didn’t talk about that stuff. She and I.

T: Maybe trust me.

I deleted what I had and amended it.

Me: I trust you with my life. Promise me I can trust you with yours.

She sent the middle finger emoji, so I knew she was at least feisty.

Me: Okay. Keep me posted.

I ordered another round for the ladies, entertaining them while I thought of a million other things.