Chapter 2
Hunter
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
The wooden stool creaked under my weight as I shifted on its polished surface and looked down the lengthy bar, watching as Serenity clinked fresh glasses onto the shelves above the liquor bottles.
She finished a row, bent over for more glasses in the crate by her feet and noticed a streak of grime on the floor.
She quickly grabbed a rag and wiped it up.
Most other staff would have ignored it, left it for someone else to clean, but not her.
Damn, she was the hardest worker I’d ever had.
But her diligence wasn’t the reason I watched her every day. I watched because… well, I was so hopelessly attracted to her. Which was hard to wrap my head around because I’d lost all sexual desire since I’d severed the connection with my animal years ago.
She wasn’t even dressed to attract. Quite the opposite, in her loose cotton shirt and baggy jeans. And some men would probably say no matter what she wore, she was nothing special—just a too slender human with auburn hair and hazel eyes.
But she was definitely special to me.
She finished up restocking the glasses and started wiping out the grimy ashtrays.
As my staff prepped for the night ahead, the club looked kind of mundane with the lights not lowered, the erotic music not playing and no ladies winding their bodies around the poles on stage. But it would be showtime soon enough. Here at the most exclusive gentlemen’s club in New Nebraska.
I was the sole owner of this high-end establishment, a meeting spot for a lot of influential people in New Omaha, more than just a strip club.
I ran it like the business it was, refusing to put up with obnoxious clients or any inappropriate behavior to the staff.
At the moment though, it was just empty booths and tables, girls milling about in various show outfits, and two bouncers shooting the breeze and sipping on beers.
One of the bartenders, a vampire named Vance, brushed past Serenity as she grabbed a fresh rag by the sink. She pressed herself hard against the counter to avoid him.
I was no expert, but the marks on her legs and arms, and particularly that one on her neck, looked like vampire bites.
Nonconsensual bites, I suspected, since most vamps didn’t leave marks and only the nastiest ones paid to get violent.
But I couldn’t be sure, and I didn’t want to upset her by asking, especially when she seemed wary of almost all paranormals, myself included, no matter how much I’d been working to change that.
I tilted my beer to my lips and sucked at the froth. It was warm from sitting too long while I’d been checking out my favorite employee.
Clicking my fingers, I signaled to Vance and pointed at my beer. He brought me a fresh one, almost knocking into Serenity in his hurry. He gave her a fanged smile over his shoulder and she recoiled, gasping loudly.
He handed me the bottle, its cool, condensation-coated glass pressing against my palm. “Thanks.”
“Of course, boss.” His red-tinged eyes glanced down at my half-eaten burger. “Anything else?”
“No, thanks. But”—I glanced at Serenity, hardening my tone a fraction—“just be mindful. Serenity needs her space. Don’t crowd her, okay?”
He nodded, his eyes betraying he might not have needed an explanation as to why. “I get you, boss. I’ll be more careful. Sorry about that.”
“It happens. Just don’t let it happen again.” I waved him away and gulped from the chilled beer.
Serenity started moving liquor bottles, probably to wipe down the mirror behind them because that’s how meticulous she was.
I only hoped Bryce had seen those wonderful qualities in her during her interview this morning.
Last week, I’d caught her on my computer looking at job postings.
She’d thought I’d be mad about her using my things and searching for a new job, but I assured her I wasn’t.
I wanted a better life for her. And besides, I was the one who’d told her to hang out in my office while there was a private event going on.
When I saw her eyeing a job at Midas, I’d mentioned I had a solid contact there.
I didn’t like to brag—so I didn’t let on—but the CEO and I were actually old friends.
He’d actually been the one who’d sold me this place.
After his lawyers had wrestled it away from some unscrupulous wolf shifters who were eyeballs-deep in debt.
So, anyway, I hadn’t given it a second thought. I’d called up Bryce, and a few days later, she’d thanked me when she got a call from his office, mentioning her interview had been scheduled for earlier today.
I clicked my fingers for Vance again.
He strode over, this time pushing himself against the bar to give Serenity as much room as he could. “Boss?”
I nodded at Serenity. “Please tell her she can take her break now—and make sure Chef makes her that salmon special she likes—but I want to speak to her first.”
“Course, boss.” He walked back over and spoke to her from a noticeable distance, and she came over, looking slightly nervous.
“Everything okay, Mr. Pierce?” She asked, fumbling with the half-soaked rag from one hand to the other.
“You still don’t want to call me Hunter?” I kept my tone soft. “When it’s just the two of us?”
“I do.” She glanced around, but there was no one near us. “It just still feels strange having sort of a… friend here.”
“Sort of a friend? Should I be offended?” I smiled.
My face felt strange every time I’d smiled at her the last three months, even since her very first day here.
It just reminded me what a grump and loner I’d been before that.
She’d brought out a different side of me ever since she’d walked in looking for a job with her haunted eyes, an underfed frame and worn clothing.
“No. Don’t be offended.” She chuckled and the nervous look faded.
“How’d it go at Midas this morning?”
A long sigh escaped her lips. “Well…”
I scooted closer in my bar stool, the steel legs scraping against the varnished oak floor.
“Bryce was nice to you, right?” He damn well better have been or I’d be having words with him.
And soon, considering his surprising text message, saying he’d be visiting the club tomorrow night for a long overdue catch up.
She looked up, a shocked expression on her face. “You knew the interview would be with Bryce Harding?”
“I suspected. He’s a workaholic and takes anything related to the image of his companies pretty serious.”
She bit her lip. “You didn’t… tell him I work here, did you?”
I gulped down a bit of my own nervousness—another strange feeling for me—worried where this was going.
“Serenity, he sold me this club. He knows I have no social life. That I keep to myself and basically live here.” I motioned down to what was left of my burger and the book about Stoic philosophy by my plate.
“I did tell him you’d worked here a few months, but he would’ve guessed we had some connection from the club anyway. Does it matter?”
She swallowed hard and her eyes glazed. “I don’t think he approved of something about me. He was looking at me strangely the whole time. Maybe cause I work here? There’s no way I’m getting the job. It’s okay though. I’m really grateful you got me the chance.”
“Hmm. Bryce might be loaded but he’s no prude. Far from it. That shouldn’t have mattered.”
“Well, it could be he’s not wanting his businesses associated with human girls who have—” she broke off and rubbed at her neck.
I wanted to reach out for her hand, to reassure her, but I had a debilitating fear she’d pull away.
She had an aversion to brushing elbows with Vance, and I found I didn’t really want to know if that apparent phobia of touch or proximity applied to me, too.
Didn’t think I could handle it. I could literally punch through a car windshield if the situation called for it, but with her, at times, I was like some bashful teenager.
I silently scolded myself and tried to ease her current fear. “He’s not judgmental like that either. He’s a good guy. Honestly, just wait a few days, I’m sure you’ll get an update.”
“But I wanted to ask you something else,” she blurted.
“Please do.” She was the one person I wanted to give anything to if it was within my power.
“You’ll probably say no.” She rung the rag in her hands. A few cloudy droplets dripped from its dirty fibers and she stooped quickly to wipe the floor before standing back up.
This girl.
I tutted softly, smiling. “Never mind a few spots on the floor. Come on, how can I say no, if you don’t ask?” My tone was bordering on tease. Not that I’d ever have done it with malicious intent. Never to her.
“I was wondering”—she paused, stopping her fidgeting and gulping deeply, her words taking on a light tremble—“if you might… let me do some dancing, up on stage?”
What the fuck!? Serenity, up on stage, in front of the leering crowd?
I lost control inside for a moment and my jaguar slipped through the mental cage I confined him in, letting out an ear-piercing roar.
God dammit. I corralled him back in, barely managing to stifle his disapproval from spilling out between my lips.
But his message had been clear. He hated the idea of her dancing for other men as much as I did.
But she never asked me for anything…
“Uh…”
“Please, Hunter.”
My name in her mouth sounded like myriads of cherubs all singing in sweet symphony. How could I resist now? “You do realize there’ll be vamps every night.” I softened my tone even further. “You don’t see the crowds much, but there’s a good mix.”
“I’ll dance for vamps.” The reluctance in her tone was clear, but her words didn’t waver. “I’m up there and they’re down here.” She motioned over to the closest elevated stage and seating area. “The dancers must make a lot more than me, right?”
“They do. Quite a bit. But it can depend on their looks and routine, and just, you know, factors.” I fiddled with the label on my beer bottle, sighing inside.
“I get it. I’m too thin still and I’ll need to cover my… well, I’ll need to use some makeup. But I promise you, I can dance.”
“I believe you.” I forced a smile. “And don’t worry, you look great.” In fact, some paranormals—not just the men—wouldn’t care what she looked like, they’d just get off on the fact she was human. “But you won’t take a bit of extra pay if I just let you keep the dishwasher and cleanup job?”
“No. That would feel too much like charity. And besides, I want to earn even more. Like the dancers do.”
“Okay.” I could barely get the words out, hesitation battering at my mouth and brain. “If you’re sure. And only if you still feel this way tomorrow, you can do a shift early in the night and see how it goes.”
Her face eased in relief. Not an overjoyed one though.
“But you stop at any moment you want. Any moment, understand?” I gave her a serious look I would normally never have used on her, since I hated how she’d looked at me with suspicious eyes for weeks when she’d started.
“Especially if you feel uncomfortable, okay? Even mid-dance.” And I’d be watching her the whole time to make sure she was all right.
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Sure.” I growled out the word softly, sighing inside again. “Now go take your break and make sure to eat whatever Chef gives you.”
“Okay. I will. Thanks, Hunter.”
She’d used my name again, leaving me with a divine glow and tingles coursing across my scalp as she took off.
But I didn’t have such a warm feeling thinking about her obvious need for more money and what she’d do for it.
I wondered how bad her circumstances really were.
Where she’d come from, where was she staying now, and if there was anyone looking out for her in this messed up city, heaving with fangs, claws, and angry magic.
I knew it wasn’t appropriate, but my mind was already made up about what to do: I was finding out the answers to at least a few of those questions tonight.
I was following her home.