Page 5 of Stripped

CHAPTER TWO

“Hey, boss,” Lizzie said after knocking once on my office door and poking her head in. “You're on in ten.”

I smiled at Lizzie, a twenty-five-year-old dancer who'd struggled with drugs, but who'd gotten clean and was healthier and happier than ever. She might be a couple years older than me, but I'd advised her to have an exit plan for dancing and she was over halfway to her goal of saving money and becoming a personal trainer. “Great. I'll be right out.”

She shut the door and I glanced at the piles of paperwork on my desk. I had a couple messages from the realtor about people interested in buying my building. I'd tried selling The Booty Carousel to someone who'd be interested in keeping it a strip club, but I'd only gotten a few bites and those bites had been pervy, inexperienced, idiotic, or all the above.

I sighed and stood. I'd find a solution and, until I did, I'd dance.

In the locker room, there was a flurry of activity, laughter, and chatting. I could have changed in my office, but I liked hanging with the dancers. It was the best place to find out what was going on in their lives and make sure they were okay. It might seem strange for a boss to take such an interest in her employees, but Gage had done the same for me once and he'd saved my life. I was paying it forward the only way I knew how.

“Hey, boss,” Alice said. “One of your old beaus is out front.” Since my list of exes was shorter than my skirt, I didn't worry too much about awkward run-ins.

“Rixton?”

“Nope,” Alice said, shimmying up next to me and wiggling her eyebrows, suggestively. “The hot wolf who had that reality show. Think he's bored with the wife?”

“Don't even joke,” Zara said. “He would never cheat on Julie Jacobs.”

“Yeah,” Roxy said. “She'd kick his ass all over the mountain, and probably take over his pack.”

“And he's head over heels in love with her,” Zara said, her lips pressed tight together while Carly painted a butterfly mask on her face.

“Axel and I have been over since forever,” I said. “He's not here for me.”

“See if you can hook me up with one of his friends, anyway,” Alice said. “They are H.O.T. hot and I am desperate for some fresh meat.” She poked me in the ribs and cackled. “If you know what I mean.”

I smiled and slipped into my four-inch heels. “I'll see what I can do.”

I hurried to the backstage area to wait for my turn to dance. I stepped out onto the stage to a few hoots and a smattering of applause. It was Monday and the club was on life support. I pushed worries about the money we wouldn't make that night aside and focused on my dance, trying to drum up some excitement.

The first wave of lust rolled over me as I started to dance and it helped. It fueled me with energy and happiness. Not much, since the club was nearly empty, but enough. I moved to Adrenalize Me by In This Moment, shut out the audience, and just had some fun.

My parents had been good, loving people, but they'd never made much money and they couldn't afford to pay for dance lessons. I'd danced in my bedroom, watching online videos to learn some skills. Skills I still used, which was more than I could say for Geometry.

I finished my dance and hopped off stage. I dressed quickly in the shadows and walked into the crowd, greeting people and dodging gropes. I might know everyone in town, but that didn't mean everyone respected me. In fact, there were more than a few people who'd like nothing more than to humiliate me and shut my club down.

A familiar face at a far table made me smile. I waved to Axel, alpha of the Mule Springs pack, and made my way over to his table. when Gage had still been owner, Axel had created the metal sign that hung over The Booty Carousel's door. Axel and I'd hit it off, had enjoyed a short, but steamy fling, and remained friends. Whenever he had business in Aspens Whiten, he stopped in and said hello.

Axel was on his feet by the time I got to the table. He wrapped me up in a warm hug. “Hey, stranger,” he said. He released me and stepped back. “The way you talked last time I saw you, I figured you'd be living in Denver by now.”

I shrugged, hating my big mouth. “I'm still working on it. Been watching you on T.V., congratulations on your marriage.”

He grinned. “Thanks. You should stop by sometime and meet her. I think you two would hit it off.”

Leave it to a man not to consider that introducing his wife to an ex-lover might be awkward. “Sure,” I said, with absolutely no intention of following through. I wasn't about to put his wife in an uncomfortable situation, not to mention she could totally kick my ass. “You have everything you need over here?”

“Your staff has been taking good care of us,” he said. “As always. I'd invite you to sit, but we're waiting to meet some guys to discuss business.”

There were two more enormous, good-looking guys, likely also wolves, sitting at his table. “The kind of business that's going to start a brawl in my club?” I asked. Axel was a pacifist and most of the members of his pack followed his philosophy and avoided violence, but that didn’t mean whoever they were meeting wouldn’t start trouble. Pacifist or not, wolves were still wolves and would defend themselves if necessary.

“'Course not,” he said, but he'd glanced over my shoulder like he was watching Lizzie on stage. I knew him well enough to know he'd have no interest in another woman, no matter how naked, now that he was married. Avoiding my eyes meant he was lying, or fudging the truth.

I poked him in a firm pectoral muscle. “What's going on? Who're you meeting?”

He swallowed hard. “I'm being so rude. I haven't introduced you to everyone.” He turned to the table, and pointed to each guy in turn as he spouted off their names, Paulie and Zane.

I glanced at the guys, waved hello because it paid to be polite, and poked Axel again. “Who are you meeting?”

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