She didn't care who Kosta sent to work the door, as long as they had muscles and a scowl. What she didn't expect was to see Aleksei come walking in wearing a black Naughty Wolf Security t-shirt that was a little too tight. This man really did have muscles on top of muscles.
Yum.
She was in so much trouble with this guy. She should not be drooling all over herself from top to down below. He'd left her high and not so dry last night without any leftovers to her name, not even pie. Mad is what she should be at him. Instead she was getting all hot and bothered.
No. Bad Helena. Stop it, right now.
She did not lose her head over a hot guy even if he was more delicious than hot apple pie. Gah. What was it about this guy that had her going dumb in the head?
At the club was not the place to lose herself over a guy. Even if he was the best damn kisser who ever kissed. Ever. Ack. She was going to have one hell of a hard time concentrating with Hotty McHotsalot around. Making eyes and drooling over him did not pay her rent. Lap dances did. Just because she was managing the place now, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t dancing as well.
Yeah. That's right, she needed to keep her head in the game, because it was going to be a busy night and she could make her whole month's normal income just in tips on a good Black Friday. She simply needed to get that first lap dance going to get her mojo on. A quick scan of the room showed she was already off her game. Every single one of the other girls had a guy or two or more panting for her and shoving money where they couldn't get it back.
All except Becca. Who was heading straight for Aleksei. What. The. Hell?
Everyone knew the bouncers were off limits during open hours. What they did in their spare time, or who they did in this case, was no concern of Helena's. But no one was doing Aleksei, except her. She had a relationship with him, dammit. A fake one, but no one else knew that.
Helena marched across the room, her six-inch clear lucite stripper heels clacking with each step she took, as if she was marking her territory.
Becca still beat her to the door where Aleksei was stationed. She batted her eyelashes at him and lifted up her leg, caressing the back of his calf with her heel as she ran her fingers down his arm. She even arched her back so her girls were on display and giggled while twirling her hair. All moves Helena herself had taught her. Helena was going to murder her with her own heels.
“Ooh, Aleksei, that is such a sexy name. How come we haven't seen you here before?” Becca licked her lips and smiled so wide that she might as well have canary feathers coming out the side of her mouth.
Helena had to control herself. This woman was her employee, and they were friends to boot. Much as she wanted to, she couldn't just rip the woman off Aleksei. It was a close call though. Instead, she maneuvered her way to Aleksei's other side, grabbed him around the neck to pull his face closer and licked him nice and slow from that delicious jawline all the way up to his ear. She gave his earlobe a little nip and then took a step back.
She looked Becca straight in the eye and said, “I licked it, so it's mine.”
Aleksei laughed, a good hard chuckle as Helena walked away. Becca hurried after her but didn't say anything. She knew she'd been put in her place. It happened between girls at the club all the time, but Helena had a no drama policy in place that everyone did a pretty good job of sticking too.
He was going to be one big distraction tonight. Too bad she hadn't put herself on the schedule to dance on stage. That would show him. Maybe she ought to swap with one of the other girls. But that wouldn't be fair. Center stage always raked in the cash.
She wondered if Kosta was putting Aleksei on as a regular bouncer after tonight or if this was a one-time thing. She sure would love to give him a show.
No, no. Bad girl. A strip tease for your boyfriend was not good business. She needed to get back on the floor and find her first lap dance to get her mind back on working. Not that he was her boyfriend. Fake boyfriend, nothing more.
Except for those hot as Hades kisses.
Ack. Stop thinking about that.
Helena scanned the room and found a group of guys in rumpled suits. Definitely out of town on business. Probably lonely and the perfect group to pay for lots of lap dances and drinks. She sashayed her way over to them, full well knowing all eyes in the room were watching her shake her booty.
Including Aleksei.
He'd better be drooling.
“Hey fellas. What can I get you gentlemen tonight? It's a two-fer Black Friday special on drinks and lap dances.” She gave them her patented eyebrow waggle that was guaranteed to get her the sale and a good tip.
“Hell, yes. Shake that fat ass right on over here.”
Sigh. It wasn't like she hadn't heard that about zillion times, yet somehow it still stung. She pretended it wasn't an insult, because she was going to take this schmoe for all his money and then demand a tip as fat as her ass. A wad of cash did a lot to soothe hurt feelings.
The bump and grind music was already going and Helena turned to give the schmoe a nice long look at the merchandise. “That's fifty dollars, honey.”
“How about twenty bucks a song, sweet cheeks?”
Oh my god, was he actually negotiating with her? She put her hands on her knees and gave a couple of twerks. Some places had that as a going rate, but she was a high-end dancer and the Naughty Wolf was no two-bit joint. “Twenty bucks will get you a nice long look as I walk away. You don't want to miss out on all of this do you?”
“Maybe we should take this to the Champagne room if you want me forking over the big bucks.”
Ha. With his cheap suit, with the corny owl emblazoned on the jacket, he couldn't afford her private dance rates. She was wasting her time. These guys wanted a quarter whore, not a good time worth paying for. “I don't think so, honey. How about I send over your drinks and you can catch the show on stage?”
The schmoe’s friends groaned. This clearly wasn't the first time he'd nickled and dimed for entertainment. “Shut up, Earl. If you don't want to pay her, I will. Come on over to my lap, baby.”
Earl socked his friend in the arm. “Fuck off. I've got the money. Here. Take it and get your ass where it belongs.”
He stuffed two twenties into her g-string and slapped her butt. Why was it the assholes were always the ones who broke the hands-off rule? One smack on the ass was nothing in the grand scheme of things. She glanced over at the bouncers who were already on their way over, but she waved them off.
They trusted that she knew what she was doing and stopped where they were. Except for Aleksei. He kept moving across the room and damn, were his eyes glowing? Must just be the lights in here.
“You got it, honey.” Helena started in on her very basic lap dance routine, giving the schmoe a shimmy and a slide between his legs. She wasn't two seconds into the song when he laid both his hands on either side of her hips and yanked her down onto his lap.
“I paid good money for this.”
Aleksei was right there before she could even blink. “Hands. Off. Asshole.”
For a hot second all of Helena's nerves went on high alert. Half of them bristled because she could take care of herself, thank you very much. But the other half went all swoony and weak in the knees because her big, hot, sexy muscleman was here being all protective.
Dumb girly nerves.
“Watch it, tough guy. I pay your salary.” Earl waved the dollar bills he'd been ready to hand over to Helena for tips during the lap dance in Aleksei's face. That was not going to go over well.