Page 6 of Room One Hundred and Four: Shock and Awe

The lessons our parents made sure we learned, ones they included Crucify in back in the day, were all about making sure we became loyal brothers when it was our time to be patched in. They sure as fuck didn’t take it easy on us when we became Prospects; they were harder on us than anyone else. Probably because we already knew the score and the importance of the connections between us.

Over the years beautiful women have become the norm and not something that normally turns my head. Glancing over at Spark and Crucify, I know that they sure as fuck don’t turn the heads of my best friend either. But right now they’re both practically drooling over the woman on stage.

The fans she’s holding in her hands are the biggest fucking tease I’ve ever seen. We can get glimpses of her body and the sparkly outfit she’ wearing underneath it. The way her hair is styled reminds me of some starlet in a black and white movie, something my mom always tried to get me into but never held much appeal.

I don’t know why Mom was always so into them, but she always said she loved the style and simplicity of them and complained about the big stunts and effects in modern movies. When I was growing up, I rolled my eyes at her and didn’t understand, but the woman on stage has me filled with nostalgia that I don’t completely understand.

Fuck, I would do just about anything to run my fingers through her short hair and mess up the way it’s perfectly styled.

The way her body moves has the rest of the room falling away as I travel alongside her on waves of music and beats of pleasure. Just looking at her is enough and I’ve never felt that way around a woman before.

What in the world is going on here? Has a woman ever captured my attention like she has? She glows from the inside out and it has nothing to do with the sparkly bits adorning her legs and costume. The light catches every fragment, making it hard to look at her while impossible to look away.

The feathers in front of her offer glimpses, the way she’s moving them making me want to get on my knees and crawl toward her slowly. Every sliver of her I can see entices me more and more. I’m half tempted to raise my hand to wipe my chin as I’m sure that I’m drooling right now.

A weight settles on my lap and my hands grip whoever has sat there, but I don’t bother looking. I can’t and, honestly, I don’t want to lose a second of being able to watch the woman on stage. A breath ghosts across my neck, but I don’t pay it any attention.

It feels like a fly against my skin, and I shudder, but not in a good way. The soft giggle sounds like it’s far away and floats away on the breeze. Thankfully.

Even the cheering around me is a far-off notion and they piss me off because they’re for her. I should be the only one cheering for her. She should only be dancing for me.

A grunt from next to me filters through the haze that she’s made to descend around me. When I look over at Spark, I instantly recognize the need and hunger on his face. He’s not paying any attention to the angel on his lap. Hell, I barely register that Tiff is there.

Spark wants the woman on stage. What was her name? I hired her. It’s right there on the edge of my mind and when my eyes find her again, she’s looking right at me. The lighting is horrible, but her eyes are a deep blue, and something clicks in my mind.

Navy.

Her name is Navy.

Crucify makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat as she turns again, the feathers she’s holding fluttering as the song comes to an end. I should have booked her for more than two songs, but I wasn’t entirely sure how burlesque would go over with the group.

The lights go out entirely and I watch the curves of her body, sin beckoning me in the most enticing fucking way, move off the stage and head back into the storage room she was escorted to. I should have been the one to do it, but I gave the job to Ashton, a Prospect that we’ll be voting on patching in soon.

I have no doubt that Navy will slip out of the same door that she was brought through so her presence could remain a surprise. I want to follow her, my body poised to spring up so I can corner her in the supply room.

“Fuck,” Crucify growls and snarls at Abrielle, a club angel perched on his lap that I didn’t even notice moments ago, “what the fuck are you doing on my lap?”

“You looked like you could use some company,” she purrs, and the sound of her voice snaps me out of my own feather and twinkle induced haze.

“Yeah,” Brianna coos and tries to snuggle into my chest while looking over at Spark with a big grin curling her lips. Or is she looking at Tiff perched there? Does it even matter? “You three looked lonely.”

I can hear what isn’t being said. We looked like we were in another world because of the woman on stage. The angels were jealous. And they’ve fucked with the wrong men.

Crucify hasn’t touched an angel in a while. Not since he came back from visiting Lake all out of sorts and looking like he was searching for something deeper than the physical.

Spark’s body stills as he looks down at Tiff who tries to run her hands down his arms like he’s a house cat that needs a good rubdown. The anger that flashes in his eyes, the pure fucking annoyance, should be a warning.

It isn’t.

He stands up so quickly that Tiff tumbles to the floor and lands on her ass with an audible thud. Abrielle’s and Brianna’s eyes widen in surprise, but they don’t move to help her. I guess there’s no real solidarity between angels, not when they’re really only out for themselves.

I realize now that I have no idea when Brianna sat on my lap. Did Navy see them? Could she with the lights shining down on her? Then I remember the ghost of disappointment I saw in her eyes, an emotion I didn’t want to recognize at the time, right before the lights went out and she moved off the stage.

Fuck. She saw that.

Why does it feel like the realization has a hole ripping through my soul?

While we’ve had some brothers finding their forevers with their old ladies recently, I never really thought that would happen to me. I’ve been content with making my club and my brothers my priority. I’ve never met a woman that I wanted more than one night with.

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