The Tiger's Offer (The Goddess's Harem #1)
Lila Jean & J.A. Cipriano
1
Tina
Tina Andrews threw back yet another tequila shot and blushed as a gorgeous blond man with a six pack ripped off his pants on the stage below. His form shimmered, and his head quickly morphed into a wolf while the rest of him stayed human.
Tina gasped. She had seen a lot in her time working for her best friend’s werewolf father, but she had never seen that.
“I can’t believe we’re here!” she laughed, turning to her friend Amy. “I didn’t even know werewolf strippers were a thing.”
“Why not?” Amy snorted from the plush red chair beside her. “You humans have male strip clubs. Why can’t we wolves?” She paused for a second, clearly liking what she saw on stage before winking at me. “Besides, our men are hotter.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Tina leaned against the edge of the balcony, admiring the werewolf shifter’s glistening pecs as another man joined him on stage. The new guy’s square jaw and handsome features belonged in a magazine or on a billboard, which made sense since she had yet to see an unattractive shifter.
As the first shifter strutted across the stage and let out a piercing howl, Tina couldn’t help but shiver from a combination of fear and excitement. And maybe the tequila.
“That’s how it’s done! Hot damn!” Amy shouted, fist pumping the air with her pink martini.
Amy sipped her drink and leaned out over the balcony, glancing at the dancers winding their way through the tables below before turning her eyes back to the stage. “Is this not the best thing ever?”
Tina nodded. “It seriously is. I can never have a normal man after this.” She pointed at the dancer on stage. His abs were just so … yum. “How can a human compare to that?”
“They can’t,” Amy said with a smirk as she tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder. “Like I told you before we came, our men are hotter.”
“I know, I know. You were right. Happy?” Tina laughed, a blush burning her cheeks as she lifted another tequila shot to her mouth. “Then again, while shifters are fine and all, what about the demigods?” Tina downed the tequila, and as it warmed her all the way down, Amy rolled her eyes.
“Traitor.” Amy smirked. “But yeah, if there was a demigod strip club, this place would be out of business.” She fanned herself. “But they don’t have them, so …”
“It’s too bad though,” Tina said with a sigh. “I mean, demigods are the descendants of actual gods and goddesses. That sounds pretty damn sexy.”
“It is,” Amy said, playfully smacking Tina’s shoulder and pointing to the stage. “But now’s not the time to worry about it. Focus on the naked men.”
“All jokes aside, consider me converted. It’s shifters only for me from now on.” Tina chuckled, a mischievous smile on her face as the handsome men below rolled their hips to the pulsing beat blasting through the speakers. “Can we get closer to the stage? Why are we stuck up here in the nosebleeds?”
“It’s a VIP balcony, Tina, not the cheap seats. We’re high rollers, honey, which means private dances and the best booze. Besides, Daddy says I have to be discreet. He’s making some political bids in the next few months, and I need to pretend to be wholesome.” Amy sighed, clearly not as happy with the situation as she’d like.
“Your dad is screwed, then,” Tina said with a grin.
Amy threw back her head, laughter spilling from her lips. “He really is, but I’m going to at least try.”
On the stage below, the music changed as four gorgeous men in nothing but fireman pants strutted into the spotlight.
Amy set her martini glass on the table between them. “I’m going to the bathroom. Be right back.”
“Want me to come with you?” Tina asked, suddenly feeling alone. After all, she was the only human in a den of wolves.
The werewolf heiress rolled her eyes. “I’m walking twenty feet to a toilet, not down some dark alley alone at three in the morning. I’ll be right back.”
Before Tina could protest, Amy hopped out of her chair and disappeared through the door leading into the hallway.
Tina couldn’t suppress the niggle of worry that snaked through her when her friend left. They had ditched Amy’s bodyguards since they would have ratted Amy out to her father in a heartbeat. That meant she and Amy didn’t have any protection at all. Essentially, they were just two girls alone in a massive city crawling with predators, and worse, she was just a normal human. Amy, at least, was a werewolf.
“It’s going to be fine,” Tina told herself, and then, to settle her nerves, she performed her “going solo” ritual.
First, she felt her pocket for the werewolf mace she always carried with her in the wolves’ kingdom of Wolfcrest. As she felt the small tube press against her palm, she let out a satisfied sigh before whipping out her phone and checking her contacts for a familiar name:
Anthony.
Good. She hadn’t accidentally deleted his contact information. If she had, there’d be no one she could call if something happened.
“See, nothing happened!” Amy said, sweeping back into the room and flopping down in her chair like she owned the place.
“Good.” Tina tilted her phone toward her bestie, Anthony’s name still on the screen. “I had you covered in case anything went wrong, though—”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Nothing ever goes wrong.”
“But if it does—”
“Then call him, yes. But we’ll be fine, like always.” Amy shook head. “Honestly, Tina, I don’t know why you’re so worried. This is a strip club. Nothing will happen here. I mean, there’s dozens of people around.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Tina said with a shrug. Sure, there might have been dozens of people there, but all of them were shifters. While it was unlikely any of them would rip her to shreds with their bare hands, the fact that they could was scary enough. It was why she had been so reluctant to come here, despite the promise of so many exquisite men.
“Besides,” Amy said, breaking Tina’s train of thought. “Even if something does happen, you can’t forget rule number one.”
“Don’t call your father,” Tina said for the millionth time. “Although…”
“If you do, I swear I’ll—”
“I know, I know. Don’t call your dad. Got it.”
Amy shuddered and downed the rest of her martini. “Talk about a nightmare.”
“Only if he thought you’d get kidnapped, I suppose.” Tina laughed. “He would chain you in the basement if it would keep him from having to pay a ransom.”
“I know you’re joking, but you’re honestly not far off. Now please, Tina. Naked men! Look at the pretty pecs!” Amy pointed down below again, drawing Tina’s eyes to the stage once more.
As her gaze settled on a new wolf with rippling abs and sun-kissed skin, Tina smiled and leaned against the edge of the balcony, finally letting herself relax.
“Excuse me,” said a voice as the door opened, and as they turned toward it, they found themselves staring at a muscled waiter wearing only tight black pants and a bowtie. “Which one of you is Amy?”
“I am,” Amy said, giving him a once over before gesturing at him with her martini. “Can we get another round?”
“Well, sure, but I have something better.” He smiled mischievously. “Unless you don’t want the private dance that comes with your VIP seat …” He let the words hang in the air as Amy’s eyes lit up.
“Guess I’ll be back in a bit, Tina. Enjoy yourself. After all, Daddy’s paying.” With that, Amy moved toward the door, passing by the waiter as she headed into the hallway.
Tina chuckled and shook her head. “More booze for me, then. I’ll switch to tequila slammers, though.”
“Of course,” the waiter said with a slight bow of his head before he followed Amy into the hallway.