Chapter Five
DANGER
The Next Day
While awaiting Lunar’s arrival, I run around cleaning my hotel room. Sure, I haven’t fucked a woman since Ella, and I’m not having Lunar over to marry the damn chick, but there’s something about her that’s appealing, and that alarms me.
I don’t know anything about Lunar besides her name, that she’s part of the Satan’s Savages MC, and that she's a stripper. I like her sass, and even though I now have a strict no-woman-entanglement policy, I’m drawn to her.
A gentle knock echoes in the middle of shoving my shirts into the drawers.
I turn to the door and take a deep, centering breath, smoothing down my shirt when I walk.
Opening the door, I notice Lunar is standing there in a cute little top and short Daisy Dukes, looking as sexy as sin.
My cock reminds me he’s well and truly functioning again, thanks to the beauty in front of me.
Smiling, I stand to the side and, with a sweep of my hand, gesture for her to come in. “How are you?” I ask.
“Good. Nice to see you dressed up,” she says, looking down at my black tank and jeans.
With a smirk, I tease, “What… were you expecting a button-down and slacks?”
She giggles. “No, I’m kidding, you look… fine.” She raises her eyebrow and smirks, giving me a suggestive look.
Swallowing hard, I shake my head and close the door.
“Love what you’ve done with the place,” she quips, dragging her nails along the terrible paintwork.
Even though I have money, I’m not staying in the fanciest places. I’m saving my cash and staying in dives for a reason—my money needs to be spent on more important things. All I need is a good mini bar and a bed. The room’s décor is not something I care about.
When I walk us into the main room, I chuckle at her sass while she checks out the queen-size bed, then gazes over to the two-seater couch. She heads straight for it and throws her handbag on the small round table by the sliding door leading to the balcony.
“So… Steel thinks he can get my band playing at your clubs and stuff, yeah?” I ask, starting a conversation, and she shrugs.
“Not sure. I haven’t talked to him. But I’d say Techie is the guy to chat with. He’s in the know about damn near everything. I swear that guy memorized the encyclopedia as a kid.”
Laughing, I nod. “Sounds like a nerd.”
“He prefers the term geek. He’s a good guy. I think you’ll get along great. He’ll do amazing things for your band. What’s your band’s name again?”
“Recoil.”
She sits and nods. “Recoil… I like it. Solid name. So when are your bandmates getting here?”
The cushions on the sofa dip with my weight when I take the seat next to her, making her slide slightly so her hip touches mine. A jolt passes through me at the contact. This woman is electrifying. There’s something about her that sets my heart pounding and my cock throbbing.
I’m unsure what it is, but I could get used to it.
Her breath hitched when she slipped into my side, so I know I’m not the only one who felt something. A tint of color covers her cheeks. Is that embarrassment? Lunar is anything but timid, but when she looks away, it takes me by surprise.
Swallowing hard, I grin and tilt my head slightly. “The plane leaves in the afternoon their time, then it will take them about thirty-two hours, including a layover in Sydney, so I think they land here about five p.m. Adelaide time in three days. It’s a hell of a flight.”
She winces. “Yeah, I can imagine. I’ve never even been outside South Australia, let alone to the States.”
I nudge into her shoulder. “Well, maybe I can change that.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, I wish. I’d have to leave the club to go to the States unless I went with the club.”
“What does that mean? It sounds like you’re the property of the club?”
She looks at me and half smiles. “That’s what club girls are, Danger… club property.”
I jolt my head back in confusion. “So you have to do what they say at all times? That doesn’t seem like you?” My brows pinch as I try to understand where this is going.
“Well, I did things my way and got away with it ’cause I was Steel’s girl. But now, he’s with Willow, so I doubt they’ll be lenient with me anymore.”
“So, you live at the club?” She nods. “And you work at a strip club?”
“Their strip club.”
“So they basically own you?” I ask.
She frowns and looks away. “It’s my choice to be there. They don’t force me.”
“And what do you get from being a club girl?” I ask because, to me, it sounds like she’s being held hostage.
She looks at me, and her intense stare softens when her body relaxes. “Money. A place to stay. Friends. I feel needed—”
“So, you crave attention?” I ask genuinely.
“No! Don’t treat me like a piece of shit, Danger. I’m worth more than that—”
“Exactly, you are! And working at a strip club and being on call to a bunch of bikers is not living normally, is it?”
She huffs, folding her arms across her ample chest. “You don’t understand.”
While shaking my head, I exhale and throw my hands out to the side. “No, I don’t. So… enlighten me.”
Lunar turns to face me and takes a deep breath.
“When I was just out of high school, my dad beat my mother so badly she nearly died. We had to run, along with my brother, to get away from him. Mum was so downtrodden she couldn’t function as a person, let alone be a mother.
I had to find a way to support my family.
We were in hiding, and my brother was getting worse.
He had trouble learning, and his behavior was strange.
He wasn’t talking like he should, and the way he’d react to things, and the way he would just… be, was strange.”
Lunar sighs before continuing, “Mum finally snapped out of her funk enough to look after Stuart, but we had no money and were located in a bad part of town. Bikers ruled the streets, and if you weren’t in line with them, you were against them.
I was young, seventeen, and Steel was there for me.
He took me into the club, showed me around, and told me what it could offer.
Being with them could provide money, protection, a life, and all I had to do was follow some stupid rules and give the men whatever they wanted.
It seemed too good to l-let go…” Her voice wavers, then pauses.
“I had to have money to pay for Stuart’s medical bills.
His tests were piling up, and Mum wasn’t working or providing much.
Let’s face it… benefit money only goes so far.
I had to step up. So, if selling myself was the way to do it, I was willing.
Mum was on board. She knew the club. She was friends with Vin down at Strapless, the bar you came into the other night.
She knew him from high school, so she thought it was a good idea for me to work in the club under him.
Mum knew he’d look after me. So, long story short, I joined the club.
The money is great. They look after me, they look after my family.
Stuart and Mum are cared for, and three-quarters of my earnings go straight to them. ”
Widening my eyes, I let out a long puff of air, not really knowing what to say before she continues, “Because I live at the club, all my needs are met. It suits me. It suits my family. Yes, I admit, sometimes having to give yourself to the guys whenever they want and however they want can be… challenging, but it’s part of it.
Seeing Stuart get the help he needs and Mum being fully supported, fuck Danger, if they are taken care of, that’s all that matters to me. ”
In disbelief, I swallow hard at Lunar’s incredible selflessness.
If you went solely by her looks—her makeup-adorned face, her pink and yellow hair, and the tattoos—you’d think she’s entirely self-centered.
At first glance, she gives off the impression of selfishness.
However, I suspect her entire facade—her appearance, her demeanor—is a deliberate shield, concealing how caring and loving she really is.
“So Steel took you in at seventeen… how long have you been with the club?”
She grins knowing exactly what I am asking. “You know, it’s rude to ask a woman her age, Danger.”
Snickering, I shrug, trying to play it off. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, just trying to engage in the conversation.” I am one hundred percent trying to figure out her age.
She exhales, waggling her brows. “I’m twenty-four, been with the club for seven years. Just trying to help my family.”
I can understand that, and she seems so genuine when she talks about her family too. “What was Stuart diagnosed with?”
“Autism. It’s not severe, but it is enough to stop him from living a normal life. Under high-stress situations, it is difficult to manage.”
I puff out a gust of air through my mouth. “Wow! You’re kind of amazing.”
“Me? No. Mum is amazing. She’s really good with Stuart.”
“But you give her the money to be good with Stuart.”
She weakly smiles through a soft shrug. “I do, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My eyes meet hers as I hesitate on whether to ask her this next question or not. But I decide to just go for it. “If you had a chance to leave the club and do something else… would you?”
She sighs and tilts her head in thought. “I love the club. It’s been my life for years. I don’t know anything else.”
“The world is big and full of plenty of opportunities. You don’t have to be a stripper all your life.”
She narrows her eyes on me. “Is there something wrong with being a stripper?”
Shit! I tense. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. I’m just saying there’s more out there, and you should be open to it.”
Her face softens. “For the last four and a half years, I’ve been Lunar… club girl. I would like to get back to being Annalise Sheffield, the girl who dreamed of something more.”
I bring my hand up to her face, gently sliding some pink hair behind her ear. “Annalise… that’s your name?” She nods and leans into my hand as I cup her cheek. “Nice to meet you. I’d tell you my real name, but that’s a story in itself.”