Mina
Saturday night at Bleeding Hearts, with yet another sparse room of men, had me going to offer advice to a person who did not want it. Perhaps my opinion was unnecessary. Unwarranted. But Lev was invested in this club, and seeing it fail would kill me.
There had to be an alternative.
Sasha sat at his desk glaring at me. I was starting to think he had no other way of looking at me. “Burlesque,” he repeated, and I nodded.
“Yeah. I mean, you wouldn’t have to change much. The girls already know how to dance. The only difference would be that they’d keep some of their clothes on, but be a little flirty with the patrons, tease them. They want to keep their jobs, so even the ones who might not be on board will come around…I think.”
His glare had not evaporated. I didn’t know what his problem was. It was clear things were not going well.
I thought it was a good idea.
I stepped forward. “Listen, I’ve been online. Burlesque is so in right now. And it’s not just men who love it. Men find it sexy, and women don’t find it seedy. I found that a lot of women won’t go into a gentleman’s club, but they would a burlesque joint.” I paused to let that sink in. “You could double your audience.”
“Mina, we’re a gentleman’s club—” he started with that I-know-more-than-you-do tone of his.
I cut him off with a calmly said, “A gentleman’s club that is failing.” His jaw ticked. I added quietly, “We can change this. We don’t have to let Bleeding Hearts fall.”
Sasha picked up a pen, tapping it against his hardwood desk. “What do you care if we go bust?”
I didn’t need to explain anything to him. He was baiting me. He knew why I was invested. I loved his brother more than life itself. I simply stated, “I care.”
My heartbeat increased and I waited patiently to be told to go away. You could say I almost shit myself when Sasha opened his desk drawer and flicked a credit card over the table at me. “You’ve got a month to show me this could work. Otherwise, I’ll be doing it my way.”
“What’s my budget?” I asked as I took the shiny black credit card.
“There is no budget,” he muttered, but added on a smirk, “but know this. Whatever you buy that doesn’t get used is coming out of your pay. So spend wisely.”
Did he know whom he was speaking to? I was the queen of thrifty spending! I had this in the bag. Failure was not an option.
After the club closed that night, Sasha called everyone over to the bar to tell them there would be some changes being made. The dancing girls came forward, faces drawn. I wasn’t sure, but it was kind of obvious they thought the club was closing.
Sasha spoke. “I think it’s time we talked about where this club is heading.”
One of the girls’ shoulders slumped. She looked about ready to cry.
Sasha went on. “Things aren’t working the way they’re going. Aphrodite’s Kiss has stolen our customers. They took a chance and it paid off.” He paused before he added, “It’s time we did the same.”
He leaned back against the bar and asked, “What do you know about burlesque?”
Birdie chimed in, “I know about burlesque. I danced burlesque before I moved here. I tried to find an act to join when I first came down, but I couldn’t find anything.” She looked to the girls. “It was popular in Chicago. It’s more of a show than a strip joint.”
“Right,” Sasha nodded in agreement. He looked to his dancing girls. “You want to keep your jobs?”
A collective murmur went around. What a stupid question. Of course they wanted to keep their jobs.
Sasha nodded. “We shut down Monday through Thursday this week. I need to get some shit done. When you come back on Friday, I want to see what you can do.”
My face fell, along with my heart. “Sasha, that’s not enough time.”
He turned his hard stare at me and repeated, “Friday. I expect you here early. No later than five p.m. Show me what you got.”
My stomach dipped. It wasn’t enough time. I felt Lev’s eyes on me. I turned to my left and looked up into his warm honey eyes. “It’s not enough time,” I muttered.
He searched my face before calling out, “Birdie,” and when she approached, he stated, “You want to earn some overtime?”
Birdie grinned. “Hell yeah, baby. I got two little mouths to feed at home.”
His eyes softened at her enthusiasm. “Mina is going to need your help with the girls. Can you show them how it’s done, how to dance?”
She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out a long breath. “My guess is most of these girls started by doing some form of dance.” She stepped forward and hollered, “Yo, chicas. Who here has a background in dance?”
To my surprise, almost all the girls raised their hands. Birdie grinned. “Well, all right. We’re gonna need to buckle down and come up with some choreography before Friday. Who’s with me?”
The smiles on the girls’ faces were priceless. They were excited, which in turn excited me, taming the fluttering butterflies in my belly. I turned to Anika and Nas. “I’m going to need help with handouts and advertising.” I looked over my shoulder at Sasha. “Free drink with flyer?”
He nodded. “Okay.” Then he frowned then added, “One per customer though. You better write that shit down.”
Lev’s hand enclosed around mine and I smiled. “I will. I promise.”
A hand squeezed my shoulder. Birdie spoke quietly, “Mina, I don’t know if this can be done, but I’m going to try my hardest.”
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight. “Thank you so much for your help.” I pulled back, looking frazzled. “You need to tell me what the girls are going to need.”
Birdie’s brow rose in thought. “You got time to go to the mall on Monday?”
I shrugged. “Sure. What are we shopping for?”
“The most important part.” She grinned. “Costumes, baby.”
Oh my.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Sunday funday had arrived at the Leokov complex.
This meant that I not only had a chance to wear my new swimsuit, but it would give me an opportunity to see Lev in one.
I mean, I know. What’s the big deal? I’ve seen him naked. Right?
Wrong!
It was awfully sexy to see a man in clothes that fit him right, and with the body Lev had, I wasn’t sure how anything could fit him wrong. I was dying to see him in a pair of swimming trunks.
When I stepped out of the bathroom after dressing in my new, uber sexy one-piece, I mentally thanked Cora for her assistance. It was beautiful, with small slits of material cut out at just the right spots, across the ribs, in the center of my breasts, and above the thighs. It was revealing without looking skanky. I loved it.
My hand on the door handle, I paused, blinking at the sight of Lev’s bare butt as he pulled up his swimming trunks, if you could even call them that.
He turned around and I choked on my tongue.
They were different. Not like board shorts. Not like boxers. They were tighter, like boxer briefs. Very European.
I liked.
But then I remembered Anika would be there. “You’re wearing that?”
Somewhere along the lines, I’d unknowingly turned into an alpha male.
Lev frowned, looking down at the navy blue short shorts. He turned his face up, brows raised. “I…yes.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, lips thin. “They’re tiny, Lev. You can see everything.” I bent at the waist and whisper hissed, “And I mean everything.”
“They’re the only ones I have, mouse. They’re going to have to do.”
My lips pouted as I blinked down at his impressive junk. I muttered, “Oh, I bet Anika is going to love that.”
He stood, legs apart, and smiled cunningly. “Is this jealousy, my mouse?”
“No,” I lied swiftly. “It is not.” I feigned boredom with a cool shrug. “I just wanted you to know that everyone is going to see your frank-and-beans.”
Then he did something miraculous.
He tipped his head back and barked out his laughter. And it was beautiful.
I watched him laugh, and my mind was fried by the rough barks of merriment coming from him. It sounded freeing, and I was overwhelmed. I was unsure how to react.
Was it appropriate to burst into tears of joy when you heard your man laugh? I thought not. So I kept quiet, watching closely, committing this moment to my memory bank. I would keep it there for a rainy day, when I needed it most.
“Frank-and-beans?” he muttered, way too amused, wiping away tears of mirth. Then he straightened, holding out a hand. “Mina, come here.”
I pouted the entire way over. His hand enveloped both of mine and he bent to look into my face as he smiled softly. “I am dangerously close to falling in love with you,” he tilted his head in thought before adding, “if not already there.”
Oh, my God.
Did he just say that? Did he really just say that?
Oh, God.
He lifted a hand to run his thumb across my cheek. “Do you think I care what Anika thinks?” He laid his hands across my shoulders and pulled me in, kissing my stun-slacked lips with a smack. “She isn’t you.” He pecked my lips once more. “She will never be you.”
My heart beat fast and hard, pounding in my chest.
I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. His arms came around me and he straightened, lifting me right off the ground. He held me like I weighed nothing at all.
“Who sleeps in my bed at night, mouse?”
I buried my nose in his neck and mumbled, “I do.”
“You do,” he confirmed. “And who makes me smile?”
I smiled against the stubble on his throat. “Me.”
“Exactly.” He turned to kiss my cheek. “No one else. It’s you, Mina. It’s always been you.” He spoke softly, “I just needed to find you. Now that I have you, I won’t be letting you go. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, feeling my jealousy slip away.
He let me down, threw his robe on, and slipped on his leather flip-flops before sliding on his aviators. I quickly stopped to throw on a white sundress before slipping my feet into a cheap pair of light pink flip-flops. Then we made our way to Sasha’s.
By the time we walked around the house to the glass pool house, the others were already there in their swimwear, chatting, eating, and drinking cocktails. I stopped just inside the door, my wide eyes looking around, taking in the awesomeness.
This pool house was amazing.
It was built around the gigantic, circular pool. With stones paving around the outside of the pool and rainforest placed strategically around the perimeter, it looked as though we were outdoors. My heart almost burst with excitement when I saw the slide. You needed to walk a flight of stairs to get up there, but I needed to get up on that thing. I felt like a five-year-old at a waterpark.
A glance to my left saw a stern looking man in a black polo shirt, standing behind the bar, mixing drinks.
Okay, so maybe not a setting for a five-year-old, but still amazing.
This pool house was more of a pool mansion, with sofas, a dining setting, and the biggest TV I’d ever seen in my life on the wall, a fully functional bathroom, and an outdoor shower stall. I would’ve happily lived here forever.
“Whoa,” I muttered under my breath.
Nas was in the pool already, wearing a black bikini. Anika lay reclined on a deck chair in a 1950s-style leopard-print bikini with a high waisted bottom, her eyes closed in relaxation. Sasha and Vik stood by the bar, waiting for the bar man to finish mixing drinks. Both of them wore black board shorts that came above the knee.
I would dub this pool house The House of Sexy.
Nas spotted us first, smiling hard. “Wicked. You made it. I thought you’d never leave your bed.”
I choked out, “Nice, Nas. Real nice.”
She feigned complete innocence as I heard a mild, “Hey” from Anika.
I turned to smile at her, but lost my fake smile as her eyes landed on Lev just as he was removing his robe. I wanted to seem inconspicuous, so before his big reveal of Sir Frank and The Twin Beans, I stepped in front of him, standing right in her view. Then I lifted my head and smiled. “Hi, Anika. How are you?”
She watched Lev closely as she responded, “I’m doing well, thanks.”
“Come on in,” Nas called out. “I swear the water’s beautiful. Like a warm bath.”
I wanted to guard my man’s delicate sensibilities, but couldn’t resist the pool calling my name. With a grin, I threw my sundress off over my head, ran as fast as I could, and then jumped, landing in the warm water with a loud splash. Once I reached the surface, I lightly paddled next to Nas. “Oh, God, that’s amazing.”
Lev took the deck chair next to Anika, took off his sunglasses and lay back. She watched him with a keen eye, turning on her side to face him. She smiled and spoke quietly. He didn’t turn to her as he responded, placing his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. She spoke some more, and I couldn’t help but notice how she was holding herself. On her side as she was, her boob was dangerously close to falling out of her bikini.
I was about to open my mouth, when I heard Sasha say, “Ani. You’re tit’s about to say hi to me.” I spun to look at him. His eyes fierce, he handed her a cocktail and said, “You need something to cover up with?”
She blinked up at him, seeming confused. “No. I’m fine. Thanks.”
I had to turn to smile at Nas. She smiled back, rolling her eyes. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who’d had it with Anika’s flirting.
I would hate to make a scene today, but totally would if I needed to. She needed to watch herself around me. I might have been small, but I could be vicious when triggered.
Vik sat on the edge of the pool, handing both Nas and me a fruity cocktail each. I smiled in thanks as he lifted his beer to us. We raised our drinks in cheers and sipped in the relaxing setting.
I was beginning to think I was a major douchebag for not wanting to come here today. Sasha even came across as civil. I was glad to be here.
Nas turned to me. “So,” she started. “You speak to Alessio yet?”
I beamed. “Yes. He messaged me yesterday so I’d have his number, and we’ve been texting ever since.” My smile softened. “He’s actually not a bad guy.”
Sasha snorted as he slipped into the pool. “Yeah, well, you never seen him go at your throat with a fucking blade the size of King Kong’s dick.”
I turned to scowl at him. “You fucked his wife.”
Sasha sipped his beer and shrugged. “He shoulda kept her on a closer leash.”
I groaned. “God, you’re a pig.”
He grinned in that slimy way I hated. “You know it, Mina.”
“I seriously pity the girl who ends up with you,” I muttered as I shook my head in sympathy for the poor unknowing girl that would marry Sasha.
His face fell, but he probed. “So, Scar Face Scarfo is your brother. He’s shouting that shit from the rooftops.” He eyed me. “How’d you talk him into claiming you? Said he didn’t want no sister. Now he does. I’m curious. What did you have to do?”
He wanted me to take the bait. He wanted a fight.
He wouldn’t get one.
I sipped my cocktail and shrugged. “He regretted treating me the way he did. He apologized and I got over it. I’m not discussing private details with you, Sash. All you need to know is that my brother and I are working to repair our relationship.”
He titled his head slightly. “You tell him shit about the club?”
My face flushed. I had told him some, but nothing important. “Not really. He asked why we’re shutting down. I told him something big is coming.” I grinned. “I might’ve told him to expect his competition to return with a bang.”
Sasha’s eyes searched me. “Oh yeah? What did he have to say about that?”
I pinned him with a stare. “He wishes us good luck. And he meant it.”
Nas piped in. “That’s nice of him.” She muttered sincerely, “That’s really cool, Mina.”
I smiled. My brother was actually a decent guy. It made my heart warm.
Vik spoke matter-of-factly, “Yeah, but it’s not like he still doesn’t want to slice Sasha up into chopped liver.”
I was in full agreement. “We haven’t talked about it much, but I’m sure he does.” I glanced at Sasha before turning my eyes away, wanting to make my point in perfect calm. “What Sasha did to his face changed him. He’s a shell of the person he used to be.” I shrugged. “I don’t really blame him for wanting revenge, to be honest.” A shiver went through me. “Can you imagine how that must feel? To have your wife cheat on you with not just another man, but a rival, then to have to wear those scars forever, reminding you daily of something you’d rather not recall?” Silence passed through the group. “He can’t forget it, no matter how hard he tries.” I spoke quietly, “What Sasha did won’t let him.”
The silence encompassed the group for a short while as we sipped our drinks in quiet. But soon enough, Vik had us laughing about something stupid, and when Lev joined me in the pool, carrying me on his back, I was quickly reminded this unlikely group of people meant something to me. I might not have a complete family, but I was a Scarfo by blood and a Leokov in my heart.
I felt safe in the knowledge that I had more family than what I started with.
And Lev was more than that.
He was home.