Pride Before the Fall (3 page)

"Jake. Anything new?"

"Nothing concerning. Kevin's put the cats on other duties. Turns out the brunette and the blonde are bartenders too. The big guy, Conall, has started working the doors with me a couple nights a week. Ty helped Kev with a security problem a couple nights ago. It was those teenagers breaking into cars in the parking lot. Don't know what happened, but by the time the human police showed up those boys were climbing over themselves to get in the squad cars."

Kasey thought that was comical. Good for Tyrone. "So nothing I should be worried about?"

Jake cleared his throat before he said, "I think the blonde is turning tricks on the side, but I'm not sure."

Kasey looked at Jake and narrowed his eyes. "You're not sure? That's quite an accusation for something you aren't positive about."

"I heard her and Bristow talking. He was giving her a hard time. Something to do with Vegas, how she could do that kind of thing here, but she had to be quiet about it and he got a cut. Told her to use one of the back rooms. I haven't investigated. Didn't know how deep you wanted me to dig. The cats know I'm your eyes around here and they're careful."

Kasey looked at the three beautiful women in the stage. He knew Tyrone wasn't about to let his mate turn tricks and he couldn't imagine the man would let his sister either. And Ty would know. Sex has a scent and shifters have better noses than any animal on earth. Amilynn couldn't hide it from her family. It made him wonder if Vivian had extracurricular activities as well. "I'll find out."

Kasey found Bristow and struck up a conversation. After some carefully placed comments about the women on stage, Kasey had the stupid human right where he wanted him. Bristow had no idea who he was talking to. He leaned over close and told him that if wanted a real show, he could hook Kasey up. It would only cost him a grand. Kasey took the cash out of his pocket and slid it across the bar.

"When they go off stage, come see me."

As soon as Vivian and her troop were finished with their set, Kasey sought out the bar owner. Bristow took him to the back of the bar and told him to wait in one of the dressing rooms that had been lavishly decorated with satins and silks. Candles were lit. The place stank of flowers. "Wait here."

"Who do I get?" Kasey asked.

"It depends. Sometimes it's the blonde. Sometimes it's the brunette. Keep your hands off, no matter what. You give them shit and I'll kick your ass. Am I fucking clear?"

Well, that answered one question. Can't have sex without touching. "Crystal."

* * * * *

"I've got a guy in the red room," Bristow said as Vivian she walked into their dressing room. "Paid eight hundred."

She sighed and rubbed her neck. "Where's our cut?" Bristow shelled out six hundred and handed it to her.

"Looks like he's made of money. You might get some extra."

"I don't do the 'extra'." Vivian scowled at the man who was constantly trying to get Vivian to do more than their standard dance.

"No, but you will. Eventually." Bristow scoffed.

"Screw you." Vivian grabbed the money and went back into her dressing room to freshen up and put on something slinky and sexy. What Bristow didn't know was she could shift. The magic of shifting into a tiger would cleanse her skin and when she went back on two legs, she could manifest clothing over her body.

Vivian stared at her reflection for a moment. She could let Amilynn do this, God knew it would be easier. Amilynn had the ability to shut out the other person in the room, dance, and leave. It meant nothing, she felt nothing, and she could do it a thousand times a night. A man wanted to see bare breasts, no problem. She'd get the cash, take off her top, and keep going like he didn't exist. Vivian doubted she ever noted their faces.

Because of their animals, the real problem was the scent of a human male's arousal. It was repulsive. Thankfully, Vivian had found a candle that put off a floral smell to humans, but covered the other scents in the room. Amilynn and Vivian bought a crate of them and always put them in the rooms they danced in.

"You don't have to go in there you know," rumbled voice from behind her. Vivian had stopped outside the door of the red room, wrapped in a robe. Unlike Amilynn, she hated this part of making money. But it was good money for five to ten minutes of work. And no one touched her.

"It's rent. No biggie." She shrugged at Ty.

"You want me to check him out?" Ty popped his knuckles.

Vivian smiled and laughed, "I can handle one lousy human male. Thanks, though."

"I'll be right outside."

Vivian kissed her brother-in-law's cheek. "Thanks, Ty."

She opened the door and stepped into the dark room. Only a few of the candles were lit, but it was enough to cancel out the human stench. From the moment she crossed the threshold of the door, she became a performer. The satin robe hung off her shoulders, her heels clicked on the floor. "Here's the deal, baby. You get one dance. No touching. Okay?"

A nameless, faceless man sitting in the dark agreed. Only the area where she would dance was lit. Vivian turned on the music and began to sway, her back to the customer. The key was to concentrate on the music. Hear the beat. Move to the deep thump of the drums. Pick out the saxophone and let her arms become the wave of their melody. Her robe slipped from her body and fell to the floor. She heard a sharp intake of air and knew her John was enjoying her choice of revealing lingerie.

Only when she was immersed in the music did she turn around and move closer to him. He was behaving, so she closed her eyes and danced. It was the only way to get through the next few minutes. Most of the men would get riled up, touching themselves. If Vivian didn't bury herself deep in the music, she would hear them groaning.

This one was still, silent as the grave, and it was easy to pretend she was somewhere else. Vivian hummed along to the sensual words of the song.

"Sing," the man commanded, holding up two Benjamins. Vivian moved just close enough for the man to slip the money in the side of her thong before retreating back into the place where he didn't exist.

* * * * *

Kasey put the money in the thin strap of blue lace that covered her hip. It was painful to keep his fingers from touching her skin. Vivian was fantasy and magic in the way she moved. He knew by the way she kept her eyes closed that she was trying not to acknowledge his presence. It was her way of coping. He was afraid to move, to make a sound. Afraid that if his delectable kitten realized it was him, she would bolt. Or kill him.

When she opened her mouth to sing, he about came undone. The words spoke of sex and passion deep in the night. Only Vivian could turn him on like this. No other woman had registered in his mind the way she did. No other woman had intrigued his wolf. Pretty women were a dime a dozen, especially among shifters. But to him, Vivian was so much more than beautiful. He never imagined a woman so perfectly made. And here she was not three feet away from him looking naughty and sexy and provocative.

Then he thought about the fact that she had done this in front of other men.

He couldn't stand it any longer. This was too much. The wolf couldn't take it. "Stop," he ordered, lowering his voice. Vivian's eyes flew open and she took in a deep breath. He knew all she could smell was the candles. It didn't take him long after Bristow left him sitting in the room for him to lose all other smells. He figured it out.

"Something wrong?" she said, her voice like silk against him.

"Can I get more?" Kasey probed, wanting to know just how far his kitten would go to make a buck. "Money is no object."

"Sorry, babe, all I do is dance." She paused, trying to focus on him. The odd lighting made both of their night vision useless. "Do I know you?"

"Not nearly as well as I now know you."

CHAPTER FIVE

Shit! Vivian quickly gathered the robe off the floor and covered herself. She flipped on the light. "What are you doing here?" she whispered, her face heated up and every breath was labored.

"I had a tip that cats were turning tricks in my territory. I came to check it out."

"Jake," Vivian guessed.

Kasey nodded. He would have stood up, but at the moment that wasn't a good idea. "Are you doing more than dancing, Vivian?"

"No."

"Is Amilynn?"

"No." She couldn't look at him.

"Vivian?" He walked over to her, erection or not. He wanted the truth. Using two fingers he tilted her chin up and looked her in the eyes. "Is Amilynn selling sex in my territory?"

"No," she growled, her pupils narrowing a fraction as her cat reacted. "No touching below the waist or the guy gets his nuts handed to him. Topless lap dances. That's it. You really think we could stand screwing humans?"

"It doesn't matter. You're done. No more of this."

Hazel eyes morphed to yellow. "What makes you think you can tell me what to do? Besides, you seemed to like it." Vivian reached out and grabbed the hard evidence in his pants.

Kasey growled as his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. "You're playing with fire."

"Actually, I'm playing with your hard—" she stopped, tilted her head in a feline manner, sniffed.

Kasey knew the minute she leaned in and inhaled that he was in trouble. All this time he'd hoped the candles would cover the scent his wolf gave off when it found his mate, but not in close proximity.

"You sonofabitch!" She let go and backed away like she'd been burned. Long teeth exposed, Vivian hissed. "Get the hell away from me!" Her voice was gruff with the emerging of her cat.

Tyrone came through the door upon hearing her yell. Vivian was behind him and guarded before she could register that he was in the room. "What the fuck?" He looked at Kasey, then Vivian, and back to Kasey. He wasn't an idiot, and the scent Kasey was giving off was much stronger than the candles. "V?"

"I'm fine. We need a moment."

Tyrone nodded. He might have shut the door, but he remained on the other side.

When they were alone, Vivian was all business. She'd put the robe on and her cat was fully in her eyes. "I am not the mating kind, Kasey. So get the idea out of your head. I'm not like Melissa. There will never be one man for me. And it sure as hell won't be you. Just leave, okay? Take your money and go."

Kasey touched her cheek. "Keep it," he whispered in her ear. "You're well worth twelve hundred. I would pay much more to see you again if that's the only way I can get you."

Vivian's face showed her confusion. "Twelve?"

"I gave Bristow a grand."

Vivian's jaw tensed. "Asshole."

"I'm sorry, but I had to know what was going on."

Vivian shook her head. "No. Bristow. Asshole said you only paid eight hundred."

"I'd be happy to have a talk with him." Kasey's timbre changed into his alpha mode. No one hurt what belonged to him.

"I can handle my own business," she hissed.

"Clearly." Kasey caught Vivian by the shoulders. "You know this has to end, right? You will stop doing this. Amilynn, too."

Vivian brought her arms up to break his hold. At the same time she kicked one high heel right into his knee. "Don't think just because you let off some
stench
that you suddenly have the right to tell me what to do. I submit to no one. Man or beast."

Kasey rubbed at his leg and let his wolf come out just enough to snarl at her. "You're mine now, Vivian. The wolf claims you."

"The wolf can fuck himself." Vivian threw open the door and walked out, leaving Kasey hunched over.

His kitty had some claws and he liked it.

* * * * *

Vivian, Amilynn and Conall walked into Bristow's office half an hour later. "How much have you screwed us out of?" She and Ami had added up how many private dances they had done in the last month alone and if Bristow was taking two hundred off the top, he owed them a nice chunk.

"I don't know what you mean," he said, feigning innocence.

Vivian jumped up on his desk, crouched down and grabbed his collar. "Listen to me, dick face, we know. You've been skimming off the top before you make the cut. That's not what we agreed to."

Bristow, who was about to piss himself, shook his head. "No, no, Vivian. I wouldn't steal from you!"

"Liar." She picked him up out of his chair and held him up off the ground with one hand. "I don't like crooks and I don't like liars. You're both. Tell me why I shouldn't flay your hide one layer at a time."

Bristow kicked out his legs, his hands trying to pry Vivian off his neck. "I'll pay you back, I swear! I—I'm sorry."

"You bet your ass you will." Vivian dropped him in his chair, nearly breaking the cheap plastic. "Then you can find yourself a new act. I don't work for people like you."

The groveling began. Vivian knew it would. Bristow's nightclub had doubled its revenue since they'd come to work here. As he groveled, Bristow opened his safe and pulled out a stack of hundred dollar bills. "Here, take this. A—a—and that's only the beginning."

If there was one thing that Vivian couldn't stand, it was weak, scummy men—human men even more so.
 

Amilynn gathered the cash and saluted him with her middle finger. She and Conall backed off while Vivian left Bristow with a final promise.

"You don't want to stay on my bad side. I'm not a nice person when you screw with my family." Vivian's nails elongated slightly and she drug her claws down the side of his desk leaving five scratches in the polished wood.
 

Bristow pissed himself and it sickened her. She huffed at his lack of physical control and left.

"Well, that was fun!" Amilynn grinned from ear to ear and fanned herself with the cash. Vivian rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ami to get off on intimidating humans.

That morning, they went home and counted out the cash, dividing it equally between the five of them.

"I know what I want to do this weekend!" Amilynn said enthusiastically. "I'm going dancing!"

Conall sighed heavily, knowing he would have to go with her. "Ami, come on. You dance all the time. Have a little mercy, will ya?"

Ami hopped into Conall's lap and snuggled against his neck. "You know you love taking me dancing." He hugged her, his arms nearly covering her whole body.