Shifter Romance: BODHI (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 4)

by Samantha Leal

  Deep breaths, she reminded herself.

  The music from the club quieted, and the dull clap of the few customers drifted through.

  “So slow tonight,” Candy said as she chewed a piece of gum and applied mascara. She was sitting at her dressing table in a pair of white stockings, suspenders, and nipple pasties.

  “Tell me about it,” Lexi said as she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Every time she caught sight of herself, she was reminded as to why she did so well in Red X… She had one of the most naturally curvaceous and stunning bodies of all of the girls. Her waist nipped in delicately and her breasts and behind swelled out either side of it, giving her a perfect hourglass figure. Girls paid huge money to look like Lexi… And she drove the men wild.

  She flicked her hair and psyched herself up. It was her turn on stage, and she was going to give it hell. She was going to work so hard Marv’s jaw would be on the floor, and he would have no choice but to cough up and stop holding her hostage with irregular pay.

  “Knock ‘em dead,” Candy called after her, and Lexi slid into her sky-high heels and headed for the door.

  “Thanks, hon,” she smiled.

  Candy was kind of dumb but a sweetheart all the same. There was a part of Lexi that hoped she would stick around and not quit after a few weeks of the lecherous truckers and Marv’s bad attitude.

  Lexi skipped out of the dressing room and jumped up onto the small rectangular stage in front of the bar. She could count the eyes on her, and it made her nervous. She much preferred the busier nights. It was easier to calm her nerves with free drinks and blend into the sea of people and other girls working the room, but tonight she felt like the only person out there and with Marv’s devil eyes grinding into her, she just wanted the ground to open and to disappear.

  A heavy rock tune blared out from the speakers behind her and she hooked her leg around the pole and started to spin, right to the floor. She worked her way up and down, licking her fingertip and smiling at the small scattering of truckers. She wiggled her hips and hooked her hands into her panties before pulling them down and throwing them out across the stage. When she was naked, she was a different person and it was only a matter of seconds before the eyes seemed to melt away and she was completely uninhibited. There was a part of her that found the whole thing liberating… She was one of the rare ones—she never felt degraded.

  When she finished her set, she did a fun little bow for the crowd and blew them a kiss. She walked back over to the bar where Jo was waiting with a glass of water, and she drank it fast. Marv was still sitting on the stool, and he leaned over to her.

  “Not bad,” he said as he lit another cigarette. “Maybe I will pay you after all.”

  Lexi nodded her head and smiled at him. “So generous of you,” she said sarcastically.

  Jo was called to the other side of the bar by a customer, and she wandered over to serve them. Lexi was still standing in front of Marv in nothing more than her underwear, and she could feel his eyes crawling all over her.

  “You know,” he whispered as he leaned in and sniffed her hair, “you can have as many free drinks as you like if you play ball.”

  She tensed. What exactly did he mean? Lexi turned her head and stared at him.

  “I’m sure we could work something out,” Marv said as he trailed a finger down her arm. “I wouldn’t mind seeing what you’re made of. If you know what I mean…” A smile flickered across his lips, and Lexi felt the bile rise to the back of her throat.

  Six months she had worked for him and she had always known that at some point it would come down to this.

  “I guess the only thing I should be surprised about is that it took this long,” she said with a laugh.

  “Huh?” Marv asked.

  “I mean, how many of the other girls have you driven away acting like this?” Lexi’s tone changed from playful to angry.

  “It’s up to you, sweetheart. You want your pay and to keep your job… You know what I want from you.” He licked his lips.

  She knew that if only it had been busy that night, none of it would have happened. Marv wouldn’t have been drinking, she wouldn’t have been noticed skimming freebies from the bar, and he probably would have been in a better mood because the place would have been raking in cash. But all of those factors together meant that they had ended up there, having that conversation, full of aggression and a battle of wills.

  Lexi needed the job more than anything, but no one was going to speak to her that way.

  She looked down at the floor and breathed in deeply.

  “Fuck you, Marv,” she said as she re-met his gaze. “FUCK YOU.”

  The smile dropped from his face, and he reached out and grabbed her by the hair. It all happened so fast, but within seconds she had gone from being stood at the bar talking to her pervert of a boss, to being dragged out into the night and thrown out onto the street.

  “Fuck the rest of your pay!” he spat as he loomed over her from the doorway. “I don’t ever want to see you around here again, you little bitch!”

  The door slammed behind him, and Lexi looked up at the stars. She lay on the dusty sidewalk in only her underwear and no way to get home…

  She had really done it this time.

  Now she really was screwed.

  2.

  The next morning she woke up to the sound of her mother banging around the house, and she rolled onto her side and rubbed her head. It was pounding and she felt the familiar pang of a hangover working its way in.

  For a split second, she almost forgot what happened the previous night. It was just like any other morning, waking up and wishing she had saved enough to get the hell out of that house, but then all of a sudden, reality hit.

  Marv had thrown her out of the club.

  She’d been fired.

  Lexi pulled the cover up over her head and wiped her eyes. There was no stopping the tears this time, and she realized that the dull thud rumbling through her skull wasn’t just from the fact she had had one drink too many, but also because of what Marv had done to her.

  That was assault, she thought as she delicately touched her scalp. And the tears flowed freely.

  Lexi had always been the type of girl to want to make her own way in life, and she had so far managed to get by. But when she had gone to work at Red X, something changed inside of her. She had become desensitized to so many things that it was shocking how upset she was about being fired and the way Marv had done it. It was as if he had flicked a switch in her, and her sensitivity was rising to the surface.

  “Lexi!” her mom called up the stairs. “Want breakfast?”

  She couldn’t even face calling back, and she pulled the pillow around her ears. Her mom would get the message soon enough.

  When it hit noon, she finally crawled out of bed and went over to her mirror. In her drunken haze she had flopped down to sleep without removing her make-up and her mascara had now snaked down her cheeks like a blotchy, black river.

  “I must have really been crying,” she said aloud.

  She picked up a cotton swab and some remover and swept it gently over her eyes. Within a few moments, she resembled herself again and felt so much better. She grabbed her towel from the edge of the bed and went out into the hall. By the sounds of things, her mom’s boyfriend wasn’t home so she relaxed and made her way to the bathroom.

  With the shower on full force, she let the room steam up and let the moisture work into her pores. She had so many morning rituals, but this was by far her favorite. She could sit there for hours and just breathe in the steam and let it soften her skin. It always felt as if she was getting rid of the grime from the club and starting anew.

  She climbed into the shower and washed her hair quickly. She was going to have one hell of a day if she were going to convince Marv to give her the job back. The last thing she wanted to do was beg, but she was hoping by the time she got there he would be calmed down and she could use the excuse of going to pick up h
er things as a way in.

  She applied just enough make-up for it not to look forced and dressed sensibly in a pair of tight jeans and a cut off t-shirt. The day was warm and the sun was high overhead as she walked down the side of the highway. Slate Springs was a small town that many would consider just a through-road, but there was so much happening there underneath the surface that it had kept her there for most of her life.

  She couldn’t remember the day she realized that the constant buzz of truckers and people passing through wasn’t completely normal. But slowly things had worked their way to the surface and Lexi had started to catch on. Slate Springs was a town built on illegal affairs, and although Lexi had always done her best to stay away from it, she had the feeling that things were about to change…

  As she approached Red X, the neon lights on the pair of dangly heel-clad legs still flashed red from the night before. Marv must have gotten so drunk that he forgot to close down properly. Lexi could see his car outside and those of a couple of the other girls, and as she made her way to the back door, she just hoped she’d make it inside before he came out and saw her first.

  She pushed open the back door and walked quickly down the darkened hallway. She could hear the dull drawl of voices working their way back from the club room as she dipped swiftly into the dressing room.

  It was empty, but she recognized Candy’s purse and the scent of her perfume. Maybe she had pulled an all-nighter and stayed there, maybe it had gotten busier, or maybe she had just come in to pick something up like Lexi had, but she all she knew was that she was glad it was her there and not one of the bitchier girls.

  She scooped up the clothes she had left and cast her mind back to how Marv had thrown her out into the street wearing only her underwear. She was lucky she had managed to run home fast and no cars had passed her on the way. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to explain what had happened without incurring Marv’s wrath once more. When she had found all of her things and shoved them into her bag, she glanced quickly around the changing room. Even though she knew she was going to plead for her job, she had the distinct feeling that this would be the last time she’d be there.

  She opened the door and went back out into the dark hallway. She could hear Candy’s laugh from the bar, and she heard Marv shouting something about restocking the refrigerators.

  She cautiously creeped to the door of the club room and peered through the small glass window. Marv was leaning against the bar and Candy was behind it. He was ordering her around and obviously loving every second. Candy tried to laugh and make light of what was happening, but Lexi could see she was clearly exhausted. He must have had her there working all night.

  Lexi pushed the door open and slowly stepped inside. It took Marv a moment to notice her, but when he did, his face went from amusement to disbelief before settling on anger.

  “What’s the matter?” he spat. “Come back for more?”

  “Marv,” Lexi stepped forward. “I don’t know what happened last night, but I don’t want to lose my job here, okay?”

  Candy was looking at her hopefully, dark rings of tiredness engulfing her eyes.

  “Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you started acting like such a brat,” he said as he threw his inventory down on the counter. “Walking around in here like you own the place, huh?” he laughed.

  “No,” she shook her head. “It wasn’t that at all. It’s just, I’m having some…some personal problems.”

  “Well, your personal problems aren’t my problems. Leave them at the door, sweetheart,” he sneered.

  Lexi looked from him to Candy and then at the bag at her feet.

  “Well, I just came to get my things, anyway,” she said. “And to ask if I’m still working tonight…”

  Marv ignored her for a moment, and she thought that he was thinking it over before she noticed the big vein on his forehead throbbing with rage. She took a step backwards before he turned on her and lunged forward. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her towards the front door. Lexi dragged her heels and tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong.

  As he yanked open the doors, the sunlight flooded the darkened room, and it was so bright, it blinded her. Cars and trucks were thundering down the highway, and as Marv hurled her onto the dusty ground for the second time in twenty-four hours, he kicked her lightly in the calf.

  “Are you fucking stupid?” he spat. “I told you the score last night.”

  Lexi shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him with determination in her eyes.

  “Fuck off, Lexi,” he said. “You don’t want to play by my rules, then there’s no job for you here.”

  “You can’t do that!” she said as she got to her feet.

  “Yes,” Marv turned on his heel and laughed. “Yes, I think you’ll find that I can.”

  He disappeared inside for a moment before coming back out into the light and throwing her bag at her. She caught it against her stomach and felt the wind knock out of her.

  “See ya, Lexi,” he said with an evil laugh as he pulled the doors to Red X shut.

  She stood there dumbfounded for a moment before she got angry. And when the anger came, it burst out of her like a demon. She hurled herself at the doors and thumped her fists on it.

  “I’m going to make you pay for this, Marv!” she screamed. “You just wait!”

  There was no sound from inside, and a truck honked its horn as it passed her by. She picked up a rock and hurled it at the flashing red legs before making her way back down the highway. Who knew where she would go…

  She couldn’t face another day at home, and now she didn’t have Red X to escape to. She was going to have to think outside the box and be resourceful. She was going to have to look for something she had never looked for before, and although the day was stretching out blankly before her, she had a pretty good idea of where she could go…

  3.

  She slid into a booth at the diner and pulled out her cell phone. She had a text from Candy asking her if she was okay and what she planned to do now. Lexi wanted nothing more than to text Candy back and tell her she didn’t really have a clue, but she knew it would go straight back to Marv. Now that Lexi was no longer at the club, Candy was going to be his go-to girl, and she would be under his thumb until he got sick of her or didn’t get what he wanted.

  She looked up at the waitress and smiled. She ordered a strong coffee and a plate of pancakes before she turned off her phone and looked out at the dusty roads.

  There’s got to be something I can do in this town that won’t involve selling my soul, she thought. But she wasn’t convinced. If she wanted to make good money, she wasn’t going to earn it as a waitress. She opened the paper and looked at the house listings. There was barely anything in a ten-mile radius and nothing in Slate Springs she could afford. Even though the town was small, the rent seemed unnaturally high, and she had no clue who even owned these houses that were being leased.

  After the waitress served her, she savored her coffee and picked at the pancakes. When she was done, she looked up at the clock and realized it was almost 3:00 pm. The day was passing her by in a weird flash, and she had no clue what she was going to do with herself now that she had no job to go to.

  She ordered another coffee and was about to dive back into the paper when she heard the rumbling of engines coming over the desert. She stopped and looked out of the window and waited for them to come into view. Even as a little girl, she had been fascinated with them, but her mother had always told her to stay away. She said they brought nothing good and only led to trouble.

  The glinting silver caught in the sun and exploded over the horizon. Even though Lexi had spent most of her life scared of the bikers, she was still enthralled every time she saw them in a crowd together. They always pulled her in, even though she tried to resist. When she had worked at Red X, the odd one had come in to see Marv and left him looking worried. A first for a guy like him, so they mu
st have had some power behind them. Lexi had always wondered what they got up to in their clubhouse and what their bar was like on the other side of town, but having grown up there and hearing the stories of how dangerous they were, she had never dared venture that way.

  The metal and growling engines were like a swarm coming over the rise and down the highway. The men on the backs of the bikes were all different, but all had a sexy edge that was impossible to deny… They oozed danger, and it turned her on. Lexi bit her lip as she watched them go past in their convoy, heading back over to the other side of town to do whatever it was they did.

  She thought they had all gone until she heard the rumbling get closer, and she saw that four had broken away from the convoy and were pulling into the diner parking lot. Lexi tensed up as she sipped her coffee and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but the other clientele seemed to consist mainly of truckers who didn’t look the slightest bit interested.

  The bikers stopped opposite the windows and one by one got off their rides. Lexi watched them with a strange fascination as they removed their helmets and stretched their broad shoulders.

  She had seen some of the bikers around town on occasion, but they usually stuck to their own side and didn’t seem to come down to Main Street or where Lexi spent the majority of her time… And apart from the odd visit to Red X, they rarely even ventured into the club either. This particular set of men seemed younger than some of the old-time bikers. They were more her age and were all incredibly hot. They wore thick leathers and had tattoos and silver rings dusting their knuckles. Their big masculine hands clamped around cigarettes, and they exhaled plumes of smoke into the sky.

  Lexi found herself licking her lips, and her heart started to race as she watched them. They were all so mean looking, but they radiated sex appeal and danger, and it was driving her wild. She had always done her best to stay away from the bike gang because of what her mother told her about them. She had always seemed to want to instill fear in Lexi, controlling her so that she never got involved with them but had never really told her why. As she sat there then in the diner, though, she couldn’t look away. Ever last inch of them was pulling her in and rousing her curiosity.