Chapter Fifteen
“These stairs lead to the offices.” They were at the opposite end of the hallway from her room and Tannin’s. “The public entrance to the club is at the south end of the building. We’re at the west end.”
“How large is this property?”
“Just over three hundred acres.”
“Wow.” She’d assumed it was only the building plus a parking lot or two.
“We have riding trails on it.”
“What kind of a bike do you ride?”
“I have a Fat Boy S.”
“Is that a Harley Davidson?”
“Yes. Most of us have Harleys.”
“I’d love to see it sometime.”
He grinned. “Have you ever ridden one?”
“No. I’ve never even been close to one.”
“We’ll do that, too, once it stops raining.”
“It stopped last night before I pulled into the parking lot.”
“It started up again. The trails will be wet for a few days, so we’ll need to wait for a dry spell to ride on them.”
At the bottom of the stairs, an impressive array of offices was clustered together. Dark wood paneling, leather furniture, and vintage pictures of motorcycles decorated the walls. With the exception of the photographs, add bookshelves and law books and you’d have the offices where Russell worked.
“If you’d come here looking for a job, this is where you would have started.”
“Do the MC members handle HR duties, too?”
“Yes. We don’t use outside resources for any club-related business. Donny has an office and a conference room here for his use as well, but we don’t go into the suite unless it’s to clean up, or if he’s here and invites us inside.”
They must have a long history with the Mob boss if they treated his space here with such reverence.
“From this juncture, we can enter the public area of the club, or go around the back to the laundry and kitchen. This is also where all the supplies are kept.”
He led her through the back hallways and showed her where to put her laundry. “Mark it with one of these tags unless you want to do it yourself. The machines are commercial grade, but they operate the same as residential ones. If you leave it here, one of the girls will bring it up to your room after it’s washed and dried.”
“I’d feel ridiculous asking someone else to do my laundry.”
“Why? They get paid to work here, Rai. It’s what they do.” He grabbed one of the tags and filled it out, then tied the strings to her mesh bag. “Leave it over there. You’ll have it this afternoon.”
“While I appreciate you letting me hide out here, shouldn’t I have a job to do, too?”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“I’m sure I could help out with whatever files or spreadsheets you keep, at the very least. I know my way around computers.”
“Okay.” He grinned. “Let me show you the kitchen.”
“You’re not going to take me seriously, are you?”
“Rai, one thing at a time, okay? You’ve had a terrible shock. It’s okay to settle in and get things squared away first.”
She stopped walking. “You don’t know how long I’ll be here. That’s why you’re avoiding the issue, isn’t it?”
He averted his gaze for a second. “Well, no, I don’t know.”
“So what was all that upstairs about wanting me? Did you mean for the duration only?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
Pushing this wouldn’t solve anything. They’d known each other less than twenty-four hours, and he was right. She’d had a nasty shock. She needed to calm down and take this in stride, or she’d lose her damn mind.
“Kitchen is this way, right?” She turned around and began walking again.
Tarot and two other women were in the kitchen. Tarot gave Tannin a long glance, dripping with lust. Had it really only been one time he’d fucked her? The woman certainly was not shy about checking him out, but quite juvenile to do so when she knew he’d spent the night with Rai.
“Rai, you already know Tarot. This is Connie. We call her Creamy. She can cook anything and make it taste amazing.”
Rai shook Connie’s hand, not even wanting to know why they called her “Creamy”.
“And this is Meghan, known as Wonder Tongue. She’s one of the bartenders here, but helps out in the kitchen, too.”
Meghan flashed Rai a sympathetic grin as she shook her hand. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with Tannin.”
When he laughed, Rai did, too, but there was no way she could address the woman as “Wonder Tongue”. She would be Meghan for the duration.
“Do you cook, Rai?” asked Tarot, giving her a glance that would melt steel.
What the fuck was her problem? This wasn’t high school, for God’s sake. Did she know that Tannin said having sex with her had done nothing for him? Maybe Rai should let it slip … accidentally, of course?
“Yes, but my specialties are limited to things my grandmother taught me to make. Lasagna, eggplant parmesan, cuccidati … things like that.”
“You know how to make those Italian fig cookies?” Tannin practically had drool coming out of his mouth.
“Yep.”
“Anytime you want to show us how to do that,” said Meghan, “you’d have an entire building full of very grateful men fawning all over you. Donny’s wife made them for us last Christmas, and we still haven’t stopped talking about them. She wouldn’t share the recipe, and our attempts to replicate it have been mediocre, at best.”
“Why wouldn’t she share it?”
“We never question Donny or his family,” said Tannin.
“I have the recipe from my great-grandmother, who was born in Palermo. I’ll be happy to help you make them.”
Meghan high-fived her. “I like this girl. She staying for a while?”
“I hope so,” said Tannin. “Come on. Next stop on the tour is the club itself.”
He steered her out of the kitchen and into the back hallways again.
“Dare I even ask why she’s called ‘Wonder Tongue’?”
“Why do you think?”
“Is she really that amazing?”
“According to some of the Brothers, yes.”
“Including you?”
“No.”
“Meaning you don’t believe she’s amazing, or that you haven’t had the pleasure of finding out?”
“The latter. For fuck’s sake! Are you going to ask me if I’ve had sex with every woman here?”
“Yes.”
He gave her an incredulous glare and shook his head, which Rai chose to ignore. “And what about Creamy? Do I want to know why she’s called that?”
“Use your imagination. And the answer is ‘no’ to her, too.”
“You must be a huge disappointment to the rest of them, Tannin.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you haven’t nailed every single woman who lives here.”
“Ha-ha.”
“So, what’s with Tarot? She still has the hots for you, and I’m pretty sure she’s considered killing me in my sleep.”
“She’s all show. I know she wants to fuck me again, but I’m not remotely interested.”
“Does she know that?”
“I’m not obligated to give her an explanation.”
As they came to the juncture of hallways he’d pointed out before, this time he led her down one lined with patterned wallpaper. Pulsating music grew louder as they entered a large expanse. All the lights were on, and people milled about cleaning and talking.
A sweeping, mahogany bar curved around the center of the room. Above the expanse of the bar, glasses hung from suspended metal cages that dropped down from the ceiling on cables. Behind the bar, and curving around the room with it, bottles of every imaginable drink gleamed on glass shelves.
Neon lighting and intricate fixtures were everywhere. There had to be two hundred tables in the place, in addition to intimate groupings of sofas, armchairs, and smaller tables. The stage was in the center of the bar, lit by neon and spotlights. Three poles ran from the floor of the stage to the ceiling.
Rai stood mesmerized by the performance Legs was putting on, near the center pole. She was dressed in gym clothes, but she moved as seductively and gracefully as if the place was full of customers, and she wore nothing but pasties and a G-string.
“She’s really talented, isn’t she?” asked Tannin, shouting a bit to be heard over the music.
“She’s amazing.” The smoky, sticky beat filled her senses as she watched Legs move up and down the pole, perform acrobatics on the stage floor, and dance for the invisible audience. “How often does she practice?”
“All the dancers practice every single day, and some, like Legs, are down here twice a day.”
“It’s a lot harder than it looks, isn’t it?”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t know. Would you like to try it?”
“Ah, no. I’m not exactly the dancer type.”
“What are you talking about? You have a fantastic body.”
“I’m thrilled you think so, but I meant I’m not athletic.”
The music stopped, and Legs took a towel from a man Rai hadn’t yet met. She wiped her face and glanced around, her expression brightening when she spotted them. Legs waved. “Rai, what did you think?”
“I think you’re incredible.”
“Thanks!”
“I’m trying to convince Rai to have a go at it,” said Tannin.
She resisted the urge to punch him in the gut. “He’s kidding. I wouldn’t have a clue what to do up there.”
“Don’t be silly! Come on up. I’ll show you.”
Gorgon and another man in a leather vest adorned with patches wandered into the area, grinning as they heard Legs try to convince Rai to go up on stage. “Who is that other man?” she whispered to Tannin.
“That’s Mastema. He’s our club Secretary.”
“Is she going up?” asked Gorgon.
She leaned close to whisper again, “Tannin, I really would die of embarrassment up there.”
“What are you more afraid of? Moving your body to music, or having a few men ogle you while you do it?”
“That’s not fair.”
He leaned close and nuzzled her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Do it for me. Please? And it will make Legs really happy. She likes you.”
Rai glanced toward the girl up on stage, still begging. She possessed a sweet, innocent gentleness that was difficult to resist. No wonder she made them a shitload of money. Even women fell under her spell. Although, picturing her with Tannin still made Rai jealous as hell.
Tannin pointed. “The stairs are behind there.” Then he smacked her on the ass. The guys laughed, and heat rose up her neck and face. A lot to get used to. But underneath the embarrassment, she was honored by the attention. It was more than she’d had from anyone outside of the business world in a long time, and it felt good.
The guys whooped and hollered as she stepped onto the stage. It was higher up than it appeared from the floor, and as she glanced out at the club from this vantage point, she and Legs were visible from almost every spot inside it.
“Ingenious, isn’t it?” asked Legs. “Did you know that Gorgon and Tannin designed this space?”
“Really?”
“Yep.” She beamed like a proud parent. “I told them they should be architects.” Legs glanced toward the back hallways, where Rai spotted a glass partition. Behind it were soundboards and other equipment. “Jinn, can you start the music again, please?”
“Jinn is one of the patched members,” said Legs. “He’s also our chief sound engineer.”
As the music began, Legs leaned close. It was the only way she’d be heard. “Ever do aerobic dance?”
“Yes. A little.” Very little.
“Know what a step-touch is?”
Rai nodded.
“That’s what we’re starting with. Stand behind me and off to the side a bit, so you can see my entire body. Just follow my lead. When we turn around, I’ll make sure I stay in front of you. And don’t look at them. Keep your eyes on me.”
Not looking at the guys proved more difficult, even though Rai had to watch Legs carefully to keep up, because within seconds three more men clad in leather vests stood next to Mastema, Gorgon, and Tannin.
The men clapped and cheered, whistled and shouted, and within a few moments of more complicated steps, Rai was shocked by how much fun this was. If she looked dorky or uncoordinated, neither Legs nor the men gave any indication of it. That, in turn, boosted her confidence.
Legs moved with the lithe grace of a born dancer, and Rai was able to follow her lead for the most part. They stayed away from moves on the pole, for which Rai was grateful. She’d fall off the damn thing for sure, and that’s assuming she could even get on it to begin with.
When the song ended, she was sweating bullets, but also so high on endorphins that she giggled like a schoolgirl and hugged an equally sweaty Legs. “Oh my God, you did so well! Tannin’s gonna have you up here dancing one day!”
“Oh Lord, I hope not.”
The man himself was up on stage before she had time to turn around, hugging her tightly and twirling her in a circle. Rai couldn’t stop laughing, and she’d never felt this elated.
“That was so fucking sexy! Why did you tell me you couldn’t dance?”
“Because I can’t.”
“Bullshit.” He placed her on her feet and kissed her tongue and all, grasping her hair, and shoving his bulge against her body as if they were alone in his room again. Rai was aware of the catcalls and whistles, but she was more lost in the heady sensation of this powerful, gruff man who had urged her to dance on a stage, and stolen her heart, all in less than twenty-four hours.
How was this possible? And why was she questioning it? Okay. So he’d had sex with Legs and Tarot. So had probably all the other men in this club. It’s not like she’d come here a virgin. Why not embrace the here and now, and enjoy this while she could? Whatever this was, it was monogamous, at least. Rai could handle his past, and she would stop questioning the future. She would stay in the moment and discover what came of this.