Celeste Chapter 6
It had been four days since we went to the Pagans’ clubhouse and established our partnership.
I hadn’t heard anything from any of them, other than Eliana checking in to see if we were doing okay.
I assured her we were. The radio silence changed earlier today.
I received a phone call from Hulk. We’d exchanged numbers that night before Capri and I had left the clubhouse. My hand shook as I answered it.
“Hello, Hulk?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s Hulk. How are you, Celeste?” he asked in the dark, deep voice of his. I had to hold in the shiver it caused.
“I’m fine. And you?”
He chuckled. “I’m doing fine as well. I bet you’re wondering why I’m calling.
I’d like to meet with you to go over our strategy.
As partners, I believe it’s essential that we establish clear parameters for our partnership.
Would you be able to meet me tonight? I know you don’t like to leave Capri alone, so I’ve arranged for one of the guys to bring Aliya over to your place.
He’ll keep watch while she keeps your niece company.
Or if you prefer, she can come to the compound. ”
“Oh, uhm, so you want just the two of us to talk about it?”
“Don’t you think that’s better? I got the impression this topic stresses Capri,” he replied.
He was right. “Yeah, it’s better that she isn’t involved. She does find this disturbing. I think if it’s not too much trouble, she would be better off at home. What time do you want me at the compound?”
“I’m working tonight, so I need to have you come to my work. I’ll send you the address. Be here at eight o’clock if that works for you. Just give your name to the guy at the door, and he’ll steer you to me.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at eight,” I agreed.
“Good. See you then. Until later, goodbye, Celeste,” he said in a softer tone.
“Goodbye, Hulk,” I replied. It was all I could choke out past my tongue-tied self. The line went dead.
Pulling to a stop in the parking lot of the address I was given, I thought there had to be a mistake.
No way had Hulk asked me to meet him in a strip club.
Getting out my phone, I double checked the address.
It was correct. Hoping that I was wrong, but with time so close to eight o’clock, I didn’t have time to tarry, so I found a parking spot and then headed to the main door.
A man was standing there. No doubt about it, he was a bouncer.
His size gave it away. As I approached, I saw him checking me out. When I reached him, he smiled.
“Hey, beautiful, if you’re here to audition, you’ll have to come back another night. Though looking at you, if you can even half dance, you’ll bring them flocking in.”
I knew he meant it as a compliment, but it made me feel flustered. I heard the thumping beat of music coming from inside the building, even though the door was closed.
“Hi, I think I have the wrong place. You wouldn’t have a Hulk here, would you? He’s a Pagan Soul,” I told him helpfully. Maybe if this were the wrong place, he could direct me.
Instantly, the bouncer straightened. His flirty smile disappeared to be replaced by a slightly tense one. He even stepped back from me, not that he had been crowding me.
“You’re Celeste?” he asked.
When I nodded yes, he swore. “Shit, I’m sorry. I had no idea that you were with the boss. Hulk is inside. Let me get someone to take you to him. Give me a minute. Here, have a seat.” He offered up his stool. Not knowing what to do, I sank onto it.
He was over from me, speaking softly into his phone with his hand up to the mouthpiece.
I couldn’t hear a word he said. He kept darting anxious looks my way.
For some reason, I felt the need to make him relax, so I smiled back at him.
Less than a minute later, he put away his cell phone and came closer again.
“Hunt is getting Hulk. Damn, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Dave. I’m one of the bouncers. I’m so sorry for saying what I did, Ms. Celeste. I never meant to disrespect you. God, Hulk is gonna kill me,” he muttered.
“Dave, it’s alright. You didn’t offend me, though I think you need your vision checked. I doubt I’m what guys who come here desire to see, but I appreciate the compliment.”
I held out my hand. He reluctantly took it, like he thought it would bite. After one shake, he dropped it.
“To risk a worse beating from the boss, Ms. Celeste, I have to disagree with you. You’re exactly what men would come here for. They’d spend a fortune to see you dance. Hell, even if all you did was work as a waitress, they’d be overjoyed.”
I burst out laughing. Dave gave me a strange look. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m imagining what that would look like. I do appreciate your greater compliment. You’ll make me blush if you keep talking to me that way, Dave,” I teased him. A slow grin spread over Dave’s face. A voice halted it.
“Exactly what is he saying to you that’s making you blush, Celeste?” Hulk’s growling voice asked from behind us.
I’d gotten off the stool and moved over closer to the side of the doorway.
It placed Dave and me with our backs to the door.
I whipped around to find Hulk standing there.
He was scowling, and his stare was glued to Dave.
The look in his eye made me take a step in front of the bouncer. Hulk’s scowl worsened.
Hulk reached out, snagged my wrist, and drew me to him. I didn’t fight it. Next, I found myself tucked against his side, with his hand resting on my hip. Heat flared at the points of contact. Awareness caused goosebumps to pop up all over my skin. Hulk’s delicious scent entered my nose.
“Would you like to tell me what he said to you?” Hulk asked again. His voice had dropped lower.
“Boss, I’m sorry, I—” Dave began to say, but I cut him off.
“He complimented me. I thanked him for it, and that’s what was about to make me turn red.”
“What kind of compliment was it? You don’t strike me as a woman who would easily get flustered,” Hulk countered.
What was the big deal? I hardly thought I was the first woman any of his guys talked to, said nice things to, or even flirted with.
“Hulk, you’re—”
“I told her that if she were here to audition, she’d have to come back, but not to worry, she’d bring them in even if she could only half dance.
Then, when she stated she wasn’t what men would want to see dancing, I assured her that she was.
Even if all she was was a waitress, they’d be thankful.
I’m sorry, Hulk. I had no idea who she was. ” Dave outed himself.
A low rumbling sound came out of Hulk. His hand tightened on my hip. Automatically, I placed my hand on his chest. His skin nearly burned me through the thin material of his T-shirt. He glanced down at me.
“Hulk, he did nothing wrong. Women like to be made to feel attractive from time to time. He didn’t insult or upset me. Don’t lecture him about it. Are we going to meet as you wanted, or should I head back home?”
His jaw slowly untensed. “No, you’re not heading home until we talk. Come with me. Dave, I’ll see you later.”
I swore there was an underlying threat to it. Hulk swung me around to face the door, then he yanked it open. Before he swept me inside, I looked back over my shoulder at Dave.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Dave. See you in a bit,” I said cheerfully.
A growl rumbled in the broad chest that my hand was on.
Hulk glided us both inside the dark interior.
The music was loud, and colored lights were pulsing on the stage.
People were seated throughout the vast space.
Most were sitting while others, waitresses, moved around the room.
There were numerous tables and several booths.
Along one wall was a long bar. I didn’t get a chance to take in more, such as what the woman on the stage dancing looked like.
Instead, Hulk rushed me past it all and down a long, dark corridor.
I went along with him because I wasn’t causing a scene in the middle of this place, no matter how much he deserved it.
Eventually, we stopped before a closed door.
He withdrew a set of keys from inside his cut and used one to unlock it.
After swinging the door open, he led me inside. His arm was still around me.
Once we were inside, I waited until he closed and locked the door before I shook his hand off me.
Hulk tried to hang on to me, but I managed to get loose.
I moved away from him while scanning the room.
It was an office, complete with filing cabinets, a desk, and two chairs in front of it, with one chair positioned behind it.
Off to the side, a leather couch sat in front of a short wall.
“Let’s have a seat,” he said.
When I looked back, he was pointing to the couch. No way would I want to be that close to him, or that comfortable. Making a move, I went to the chairs in front of the desk and dropped into one of them.
“This is good right here. Mind telling me what we’re doing in a strip club? Why would you have me meet you here?”
Hulk moved over to stand at the corner of the desk that was closest to me. He leaned back against it, crossing his legs at the ankles and crossing his arms over his vast chest. He studied me. After close to a minute of his silence, I was preparing to stand up and leave when he answered.
“I asked you here because we needed to talk and work on Capri’s case. I don’t have a night off until the weekend, as for why here, it’s simple. Soul’s Striptease is where I work. I manage it for the club.”
While his explanation made sense, the thought of him working here, where he mainly saw naked, sexy, and gorgeous women every day, made me sick to my stomach.
I knew I was being ridiculous. I was here to work with him, not be anything more.
My nighttime fantasies weren’t real. We weren’t in a relationship. God, I was so stupid.