Man-Eater (3 page)

“No, seriously.”

“No, seriously, whoever this belongs to is going to have a hell of a bill to pay,” Roland said.

“Well, she’s a tough one. I’m sure she’ll work it out,” Cyrus replied.

∞ ∞ ∞

Kendra awoke in her motel room feeling refreshed. Her heat tended to last three or four days and it was always less bothersome in the morning. She barely felt it when she woke up, but as the day would progress she would get hotter and hotter, until the desire she felt itching beneath her skin grew to be almost unbearable. Right now, however, in the early morning cool, she could deal with it.

The motel room itself was nothing special. It was clean enough, though, and the previous evening Charlize at the strip club had been kind enough to give her the lay of the land. Apparently, the older gentleman, Peter, had established
Man-Eaters
as a place for shifters to congregate to find their mates. Most of the dancers were also shifters, and so far the basic idea had worked well. Many successful pairings had been born of the place, and shifters came from far and wide to see the
Man-Eater’s da
ncers.

Of course, not everything was perfect in paradise. It was tough for the bouncers to control the unruly tigers, and even the dancers could be a chore to keep in line when they entered their heat. All in all, though, the shifter community realized they had an obligation to police themselves, and things ran remarkably smoothly. If anything, Charlize had said, it was the non-shifters that got most out of hand. The possibility of violence concerned Kendra, not because she couldn’t take care of herself, but because she didn’t need that kind of drama in her life. Still, she was a big girl. If it came down to it, she could handle herself. Either way, Kendra thought, when you combined alcohol and heat, there was always the distinct possibility of trouble.

Kendra grabbed a cup of coffee from the lobby and headed out into the bright sunlight, ready to face the day. Fortunately, it looked like the garage beside the tow yard was already open. She sauntered over silently, hoping that the tow truck driver from the night before was nowhere nearby.

“This your ride?” the burly mechanic called out.

“Sure is.”

“Thought I’d just take a look in case it was something simple.”

“And?”

“And you’re going want to take a seat before you hear this.”

The mechanic was right about one thing. She had needed that seat. Turned out that her car, the last thing of any value she actually owned, was a mess. The engine was blown. Fixing it was going to cost a bundle. Something about not changing the oil. Her damn ex. He’d sworn up and down that he’d done it. Now what was she supposed to do? She was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no money and no car. Sure, the mechanic could get her a used engine, but was it even worth it? Yes, it was worth it. She needed the car to get back to the city, not to mention to and from work, but where was she going to get the cash to fix it?

The whole reason she was even out here in the middle of nowhere was because she had no money to book into someplace safe to ride out her heat. Her ex had really done a number on her. First, he’d verbally abused her, and then, when she’d kicked him out, he’d stolen her identity.
The problem was, with only her paying the rent, she couldn’t afford the place anymore. To make matters worse, he’d used up every bit of her credit to the point that she couldn’t even qualify for another apartment.

Kendra had al
ready tried to get a roommate with no luck. The only thing she had left was her car, and now she didn’t even have that anymore. The whole situation made her feel so alon
e, so h
elpless. No, not helpless, angry. She wanted to scream in rage.

Damn heat. If it hadn’t erupted, maybe she wouldn’t have tried to get away from the city. Maybe she’d be okay right now. She needed to sit down and think this through. She needed to eat. Yes. Maybe she’d feel better after a good breakfast. Kendra ambled across the parking lot toward M
an-Eaters. It was already so hot outside. She fanned herself with the repair quote the mechanic had given her. At least it was good for something.

Inside, Charlize added a tray of eggs to the buffet.
My, that woman has curves, Kendra thought.
There were only a few shifters in the bar, and though they looked at Kendra with interest, they didn’t ravish her with their eyes as they had done the previous evening. Since she had just showered, Kendra knew that the scent of her heat wouldn’t be as strong.

“Hungry, honey?” Charlize asked.

“Sure am.”

“Well, help yourself. Then come on back and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“How can you tell there’s something on my mind?” Kendra asked.

“A girl doesn’t hang out in these parts as long as you have if she doesn’t have at least a little something on her mind. Now fill your plate. I’ll be in back.”

Kendra loaded up her plate with bacon, eggs, and hash browns and headed to the back room. Everybody was being awfully nice to her. The dancers were getting ready at their individual stations, putting on makeup, glitter, and costumes, and all the other prep that needed to be done. The whole thing was remarkably artistic. The costumes were beautiful. If she hadn’t been in heat last night, Kendra figured she might just have stayed to enjoy the show.

“What’s bothering you, honey?” Charlize asked.

“Same old same old.”

“Always popping out of that dress?”

Kendra laughed. She wished that was her only problem. “Money. My car needs a lot of work.”

“Well,” Charlize said. “I can help you with breakfast, not so much with money. Unless you want to help out in the kitchen. We’re down a dishwasher. I can’t pay you much, though. It’s minimum wage.”

“Charlize,” said a blonde Kendra recognized as Kitty. “Ava is off tonight.”

“What happened?”

“A sprain.”

Charlize sighed, directing her gaze to Kendra in explanation. “Dancing is a lot harder work than most people realize. We lose a lot of girls to injuries.”

“This new girl’s got it going on. Give her a go,” Kitty said.

Kendra blushed at the idea of being on that stage. She had to admit, somewhere deep down, it appealed to her even though she knew it was just a fantasy. She wasn’t a dancer, especially not that kind of dancer. And even if she did get a secret thrill at the idea, she would never actually get up on stage and bare it all dancing.

“Kitty, you know our policy,” Charlize said. “Our dancers dance because it’s their idea. Nobody else’s.”

“I’m just saying.”

Charlize cut her off. “Let the poor girl eat her eggs in peace.”

“Easy, tigress,” Kitty said.

Kendra ate her breakfast. She wasn’t going to dance. But Kitty sounded like a lot of fun and it was flattering she had been asked. No, better to ride out her heat and figure another way. Like the kitchen work they had been discussing.

“When could I start?” Kendra asked.

“Dancing?” Charlize asked.

“Dishes.”

Charlize glanced at Kendra’s breakfast.

“I’d say about as soon as you clean your plate.”

Chapter Three

Kendra put a call in to her office job in the city. She couldn’t get an advance on her pay,
but she could get a few more days off if she needed them. It was
a start. So she got to work washing dishes. The lunch rush was a wonder to behold. Kendra had no idea where everybody had come from, but the place had filled up fast. Kendra could barely keep up.

She considered her situation as she worked. Her boyfriend, who had stolen her identity, had pretty much ruined every other aspect of her life too—without decent credit it was amazing how many opportunities were closed to you. One thing she knew—she wouldn’t date a douchebag like that again. Of course, the point might be moot. At the rate the dishes were piling up, she might not find the time to date anybody anyhow. A woman hobbled in on crutches as Kendra considered her fate.

“Hey, girl, you new here?” the woman asked.

“Um, yeah. My car broke down. I kind of needed a job.”

“Kendra?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Ava. Roland at the garage asked me to give this to you. I got to warn you. He said you wouldn’t be happy.”

“Thanks.” Kendra said. She dried off her hands and took the paper. Then her jaw dropped. It was a
revised
repair estimate. And it was much worse than she had been led to believe. Fifteen-hundred dollars. That’s how much it was going to cost to fix her car. Where on earth was she going to get fifteen-hundred dollars?

∞ ∞ ∞

Fifteen-hundred bucks. No matter how many times Kendra had mulled the number over in her mind, it hadn’t changed. She put away the last of the dishes after the lunch rush. It had taken less than a full shift, but she had come to her decision. She knew what she had to do.

“Everything okay back here?” Charlize asked.

“I want to do it,” Kendra said.

“Work in the kitchen full-time?”

“Dance.”

Charlize looked Kendra over silently, assessing her curves.

“You’re beautiful underneath that apron. I’m not saying you’re not.”

“But?”

“But dancing’s a big decision. Like I said, it needs to come from you. Not from your circumstances, not because you need the money, but from
you
. The girls that come here, our tigresses, they don’t just come for the money. Some see it as an opportunity to meet a shifter mate. Some like to express themselves. They dance for all kinds of reasons, but I make sure of one thing. All of our girls have their heads screwed on straight before they start.”

“Charlize, are you down a dancer?”

“Yes, I am. But I’d rather my stage go dark than put a girl up there who’s doing it for the wrong reasons.”

Kendra thought about it. She appreciated that Charlize was looking out for her. She could see how an impressionable young woman might get led down the wrong path. But this wasn’t a path for Kendra. It was a solution. She could get her car back on the road. She could get back to the city. It was an opportunity to pick up the pieces.

“Are you telling me all this because you don’t want to lose a dishwasher?”

“I’m telling you all this because I don’t want you to lose you.”

Kendra was silent for a long moment. She appreciated what Charlize was saying to her. She didn’t want to lose herself either. She didn’t want to wake up years later, wondering what pivotal decision had led to a point where she no longer recognized herself. Was this a moment where she needed to look before she leaped? Yes, Kendra thought. It definitely was. But Kendra believed she understood what she was getting into. She was a big girl. She could handle it.

“I tell you what,” Charlize said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned, but I’ll have Kitty give you some pointers. If you still want to dance after that, then you can give it a whirl after supper.”

“Thanks, Charlize”

“Don’t thank me until after you come down from that stage.”

∞ ∞ ∞

Kendra finished cleaning up, thankful that the dinner rush was almost over. She had been thinking a lot about dancing and even more about the money she hoped to put into her pocket. Her heat had grown throughout the day, and she scented the shifters in the lounge area even though she couldn’t see them. Kitty gave her pointers as she worked.

“Now, let’s see you twerk that butt, girl.”

Kendra wiggled her ass as she sashayed to the dishwasher.

“That’s it. Remember, it’s all about the tease. We don’t even take it all off here. Go down to your bra and panties, that’s fine. They don’t care what they see. They care about what they think they’re going to see.”

“You mean booty?”

“No. Not booty. You can’t think about it like that. This isn’t about just showing it all. The dance on that pole is about a promise. You’re promising these guys that if they sit and watch, you’re going to bring them to a far-off place that they can barely imagine. A place where all their dreams will come true. They know it’s pretend. They know your tigress isn’t going to give herself up to them in this world. But they like the tease, they like the hope, they like the way that makes them feel. You give them that little bit of hope, they’ll reward you and you’ll be on your way out of here in no time. Now,” Kitty said. “Show me that booty again.”

Kendra sashayed back across the floor, dropping a dirty plate into the sink.

“Better. Time to get you into wardrobe, girl.”

∞ ∞ ∞

Cyrus took a seat at the back of the club. He didn’t normally come in every night, but he was hungry, and hell, he’d admit it, he was curious. That slinky tigress’s car was still in the lot, and he’d heard a rumor she was going to dance. Not that it was the best situation to put himself in, not with everything he had going on. But still, what could it hurt? There were bouncers in there and a bunch of other shifters, too. He wouldn’t have the chance to get close to her and that meant he wouldn’t get in trouble. But, oh, the sweet misery of laying his eyes on those golden curves. His tiger roared at the thought of it. Charlize interrupted the music on the PA.