Chapter Nine
A few weeks later, things had settled a bit; Jewel and Aries liked their new home. There had been playdates with Leigh and her daughter Lizzy. Jewel seemed to flourish here, and Lucian was attentive to both of them. He appeared to be very pleased with her cooking and cleaning. It was all very normal. Too boring for Aries, in fact. She wanted to dance and make some money. Paying for their food, seemed to be fair. She didn’t know how to bring it up to Lucian yet, but she wasn’t happy not paying for herself and Jewel. It kept going around and around in her mind, how to explain it in a way he’d understand. She was getting to know all the tattoo artists and some of the members of the club. She’d had a run in with Charlie, the insane maniac of the MC. He had jumped out of the broom closet in the tattoo shop at her and seemed to delight in frightening her. Leigh had told her he was harmless, but Aries wasn’t buying it. Most of the guys were pretty nice to her and they all respected Lucifer tremendously. She was impressed by the loyalty and brotherhood they all shared, unlike Devil’s Grime MC.
***
Lucian picked up the phone and frowned. Dozer was telling him two dancers had called out and they had no feature dancer for the night. He knew Leigh would dance if Sleaze were cool with it. He assured Dozer two girls would be there and hung up.
Aries was absently reading a magazine and Jewel was watching a movie. He didn’t want her on the stage but it was a Friday night shift, and he had to give customers what they expected.
“Babe, I know it’s short notice but would you like to dance tonight at the club? I gotta see if Leigh will go with you, I had two dancers call out.” He watched her closely to see her reaction as he stroked his chin. “You would be the featured dancer.” He knew that would get her to agree.
Aries looked up at him and wondered if he was testing her. After seeing some of his moods, she wasn’t always sure about him.
“If you need me too, of course. You’ll be there?” She made herself stay calm and didn’t act as excited as she was.
“Yeah, of course. You better call your aunt and see if she will take Jewel or we gotta find a babysitter.” He was happy she didn’t seem that excited. “It would be great to have a weekend to ourselves. We could go to the clubhouse tomorrow night, take a ride and have some alone time.”
Aries got up to use the phone, “Yeah, I’d like that. Let me ask her.” She still kept her excitement under control and called her aunt.
Lucian wandered over to Jewel and stood next to her. His hand absently stroked her hair, loving this little girl was easy. She turned her head and watched him right back.
“You want to go spend some time at your aunt’s and sleep over so mommy can go to work?” He wondered if she knew what Aries did. He’d never asked her.
“Mommy dancing? I dance too, do you want to see?” She got up and was shaking her butt at him. It was so cute he couldn’t help but smile at her. Jewel flipped her hair around and winked at him.
“Mommy show you how to dance, baby girl?” He chewed at the inside of his cheek. He didn't like this too much.
“He took me to see; I don’t like him Luc, bad bad man.” She put her arms out for him to pick her up, which he did.
Lucian could feel her little heart beating against his chest. He didn’t want her ever to have to deal with Gunner again. “Who is he, baby?” He whispered into her ear.
Jewel whispered in his ear, “Gunner.”
Aries came over then with a smile on her face. “Aunt Helene said yes, so we need to pack some clothes for you and get you over there, sweet pea.” She looked at her daughter with her arms wrapped around Lucian's neck. She was very much at home there. “Lucian, can you drive her over after I get her ready? I’ve got to shower and do my makeup, and you’ve got to call Leigh, don’t you?”
Lucian put Jewel down and watched her run to her room. “I’ll make the call, and I’ll drive her, go do what ya gotta do.” He moved toward the phone as she went down the hallway. He picked up the phone and called Sleaze. He waited for the call back that Leigh would dance. Aries took care of the plants, and they were blooming beautifully. She was everything he had wanted, and more than he had ever expected. Tonight he’d see how she handled herself on the stage. It would be interesting to see if she’d flirt or how she behaved around other men. He knew she’d entice the men to give her money, but that was what a good dancer did. He wondered how he’d take that and shrugged it off as the phone rang.
Jewel was packed up and ready to go in clean clothes and her little pink backpack stuffed with her new toys. She had a small overnight bag in her hand.
Aries kissed her cheek, “Be good and no bad words. I will get you on Sunday. Lucian will drive you over to Aunt Helene’s now, sit in the backseat, okay? I love you big time.”
“Love you big too, mommy. Ready Luc?” Jewel was impatient to leave.
Lucian shook his head at her and picked up her bag, “Can’t wait to leave us?”
“I’ll have lots of ice cream and sleep in my old bed and see my auntie.” She tugged on his hand.
Aries hurried over to give him a quick kiss and went to take her shower. She had to look perfect for Lucian and show him how well she danced. Impressing him was a must for some reason. She wanted him to be proud of her, and maybe he’d let her work a few nights or whenever anyone called out. It was a start at least.
Lucian opened the car door for the kid, “Jewel, you can ride in the front seat. We won’t tell your mom.” He got the seat belt buckled over her and closed the door. He got in and started the car, and they were on the road.
“Jewel, who is Gunner to you?” He knew he was prying, but he needed to know what she knew about him.
“He’s a bad man. Mean and loud. I don’t like him, and he hit mommy and me. He went away, and we came here. I like it here.” She stuck her pinkie finger into her mouth.
Lucian wanted to know more, “Is Gunner your daddy?” He asked the child.
“No, I don’t have a daddy. Gunner yelled a lot, and he wasn’t like you. I wanted a daddy, and I got you.” Her pinkie finger popped back into her mouth.
“Yeah, I got you too, Jewel of mine. You can call me daddy.” He made a split decision and didn’t give a fuck if Aries got pissed at him. Jewel needed a father; he could fill that void for her. He waited for her response.
She smiled at him, and he winked at her. He was enjoying his life more than he had in a long time. He wouldn’t push the daddy subject, but she knew now she could call him that. If she did, he was good with it. In time he’d wipe all memories of Gunner out of her mind. He was a dead man anyway as soon as he could fix it. In time Jewel would be all his as would be Aries.
***
Aries loved to dance, and you could see how much by the way she moved. The customers were very excited to see a new girl, and she made herself very mysterious to the men watching her. She worked her sets and didn’t come out and chat with them but disappeared into the dressing room to change into a new costume. She had what it took to be a feature dancer. Lucifer looked over the crowd to see if it was thinning out and was surprised to see it hadn’t. She had one more set to dance, and they could leave. A slow burn of rage was simmering in the pit of his stomach. It was wrong of him to be angry at her for doing what he’d asked of her, but he was. He’d punish her with sex, and she wouldn’t even know it. Or if she did, he didn’t give a damn.
***
Leigh was relaxing in the dressing room when Aries came in. She looked tired but happy. Aries wasn’t tired, but she felt something had upset Lucifer. She quickly changed and went into the bathroom. She had a wad of cash to count and sat on the toilet. She was shocked to see she’d made over eight hundred dollars. She opened the door to see what Leigh was doing, but she wasn’t there. Aries quickly counted out a hundred dollars and added it to Leigh’s pile of bills. It didn’t look like she’d looked at her tips yet. Much of the money was crumpled up still. She knew Leigh wanted a place of her own and she would help her when she could. She took two hundred dollars and stuffed it into the lining of her costume case. Once she had the time, she’d find a better hiding place. The rest of the money she put into her wallet. She began to gather her costumes and was putting them away as the door opened.
Lucifer strode into the room and looked at her. “How much did you make?” He didn’t sound pleased or happy and stood frowning at her.
“I shoved the money in my wallet; you can count it for me if you want.” She continued getting her belongings and was putting them away.
“Babe, it’s your money. You made another hundred for dancing tonight. I don’t need your money. I hope you got a lot of tips because the crowd loved you. I’ve never been jealous of my woman dancing before.” His voice was harsh, and he didn’t look happy at all. He tossed a hundred dollar bill at her.
Aries took a deep breath, “I danced because you asked and I thought you needed me. I wasn’t looking at any of the men out in the audience. Why would I when I have you?” Her voice was confused as was the look she gave him. She picked up the money and shoved it into her pocket.
Lucifer looked at her to see if she was lying and decided she wasn’t. It made him feel slightly better, but he wanted her to dance just for him. She was his, and she had to prove it to him when they got home.
“I want you to dance for me when we get home. Think you can do that for me? I fucking didn’t like you being on display for other men.” He had a dark, unreadable look in his eyes as he looked at her.
She stopped short, was he crazy? This man baffled her. “Of course I will. I’d love to dance just for you. Is there any costume you want me to wear?
Lucifer was still watching her intently. “Yeah, that black leather one with the studs. I have a song in my mind too. You ready to go? You can cash your money out before we go to bigger bills if you want.”
“It’s fine; I’d rather go straight home.” She wanted to get back to the apartment and get this dance done. She was very glad Jewel was at her aunt’s house. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night with Lucifer.