“Fuck you, no I didn’t. I want my twenty back.”
Candace bent down and locked eyes on Torren. He could see the exact moment the flip got switched back because her eyes went from vacant to locked and focused on him. “Torren?” she asked in a sweet, clear-as-a-bell voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Clearly not paying like I did,” the man said, sifting through the money frantically.
“If you take a single bill from that stage, I’m going to kick your ass,” Torren warned.
“Fuck you.”
“Jerry, I’m not doing this again,” Candace said, scooping the money toward her.
Jerry slapped his hand on a twenty and scrambled to yank it out from under Candace’s hand.
“Stop!” Candace yelled. “Carl! Shit, where is he?” she asked, looking around frantically.
When Jerry grabbed her wrist, Torren was good and done. The gorilla stayed put thanks to Vyr’s order, but he was on Jerry so fast the sleazeball didn’t even know what hit him. Torren lifted him off the ground by his throat. “The lady has a rule, asshole. No touching. And no stealing money. She’s working, not you. Now fuck off before I pop your head off your neck.” Torren offered him an empty smile and released the choking, red-faced man.
Jerry hit the floor like a sack of stones and then scrambled backward, coughing hard. Torren had been so tempted to collapse that fragile little human trachea, but he’d been a good monkey and let the idiot survive.
A deep, rumbling growl vibrated up his throat as his silverback practically hummed with satisfaction. “Who’s next?” Torren taunted the others who were now crowding around. “Who else wants to break the rules? Hmm? No one? That’s what I fuckin’ thought. Candace?”
“Yes?” she asked.
When he turned, she was standing with her legs locked, staring with wide, inhumanly gold eyes at him. “You go on and do what you want. I’ll collect your money and clear the stage for the next dance. You need anything?”
Stunned, Candace scanned the crowd and a small, wicked smile took her lips. “Yeah. A drink.”
God, her grin was boner-inducing. He matched it and asked, “What do you drink?”
“Guess.”
Oh, kitty wanted to play. “Okay, I’ll bring it to you.”
“Good. I’ll be in the private room, waiting.”
“What the hell?” Jerry squawked as the other men muttered under their breaths with the same sentiments. “This guy has been in here one time. He ain’t a loyal customer like the rest of us!”
Candace wasn’t listening, though. She was marching that firm little ass away and exiting stage left. And when she cast one last glance at Torren, she flashed him the sexiest come-hither smile that had ever graced a woman’s lips. Fuck, she was gorgeous. All done up in her glitter and big hair and false eyelashes or dressed down and natural like earlier at the mansion, this girl had all his attention, and his silverback’s attention, too. He’d felt like a rutting animal since the first moment he saw her out the window.
Torren gathered the money and stacked it quick. He would sort it out later like he did with his fight money, but for now, he shoved that pile into his back pocket and sauntered toward the bar.
“What happened?” a thin-haired, lanky man in his mid-forties asked as he came from the back. Probably Carl who, by the way, sucked at his job because Candace had called out for help, and where the hell was he?
“I took care of it,” Torren gritted out as he passed.
He ordered them both a double vodka and sprite with lime because Candace was a good mix of soft and hard. She wasn’t straight whiskey, but she wasn’t tequila and margarita mix either.
Drinks in hand, Torren made his way to the back and gave Vyr a dirty look for having a stupid smirk on his dumb face like he owned a crystal ball and knew everything in the world. He might be his best friend, but Vyr was too cocky for his own good.
At least Nox wasn’t here to annoy him. Least best friend.
Torren shoved the door open to find Candace standing on the back of a black leather couch, sticking duct tape over a camera lens up in the corner. “There’s no volume on it,” she explained.
“Carl won’t be mad that you blocked his view?” That guy was probably a perv.
“Carl has enough to deal with because I just called him on that little phone and told him I’m not doing my last dance so I can give you a private show. I told him you have tons of mullah.” Candace smiled brightly and held out her hand.
With an amused chuckle, Torren handed her the stack of money she’d earned.
“I’m rich,” she whispered, waggling her dark, delicately arched eyebrows.
Torren bit his bottom lip and slid his hands to her waist. She was on her knees on the couch. So. Fucking. Sexy.
“I’m not gonna dance for you for money,” she murmured, her eyes going serious.
“I would never ask you to.”
She searched his eyes and ran her hands up his abs. God, her touch felt so good. She didn’t stop until her open palms rested on his chest. Slowly, Torren leaned down but hesitated right before he kissed her. He gave her the option of backing out, but she held her ground. One more second, and he pressed his lips gently to hers.
They held just like that for a couple moments, and then she parted her lips for him and let him brush his tongue inside her mouth. Damn, she tasted so good. He didn’t want to push, but he sure as hell didn’t want this to stop either. She was doing something strange to him. Every time he dipped his tongue onto hers, she relaxed a little more against him, and his gorilla grew more and more still until he didn’t feel like he existed at all. It was just Torren and Candace. A man and woman. A boy and girl. Two people who were building the beginnings of…something. She was terrifying and interesting and a gorgeous distraction from the suck.
Candace pecked him once, twice, nipped his lip, and then stunned him when she slipped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his in a hug. A hug? When was the last time he hugged a girl? But he didn’t hate it. She was so small in his arms, he felt like a giant. Felt protective of her. Felt like the beast to her beauty. His heart was pounding so hard. Could she feel it against her chest? Could she hear it?
Fuck, what was she doing now? Candace rubbed her soft cheek against his beard, making a scratching sound that rivaled the softest purr in her throat.
“You’re getting stripper glitter on me,” he murmured.
“Good.” She eased back and switched cheeks. “Guess what I did?”
“Hmmmm?” he rumbled, damn near in a trance from whatever she was doing to his body.
“I rigged up the television with a movie.”
With a frown, Torren leaned back to look in her eyes. They were gold, and he bet she was a beauty in her animal form. Pretty kitty. “Like a porn?”
“No!” she said with a laugh. “Don’t be a gross boy. I found a comedy. This is date number two.” She looked and smelled happy, eyes bright as she stared up at him, waiting for a response.