10
Thea
We’d spent all day the previous day; trying to come up with the best way for me to accidentally ‘bump’ into Gunther and thus attract his attention.
Okay…maybe we didn’t spend all day doing just that! I also played a lot of pool with the guys, and Rogue and Ross took me target practicing later in the evening. I couldn’t help but admit how much I was actually enjoying myself with these guys.
It made me think of Drake and how this was exactly the kind of life he’d dreamt of having. Hanging out with guys he respected and looked up to. A club he could dedicate his life to. Now that I was here and now that it seemed like the Black Cobras were open to letting me become a temporary part of their world, I was glad I got to live a little bit of Drake’s fantasy.
Of course, all of this activity and planning was also a much needed distraction from Bones, whose body I still couldn’t stop thinking about. I shouldn’t have followed him to his bike. Why did I feel the need to talk to him? To argue with him once again? It wasn’t like he was going to change his mind about what he thought was going to happen with Gunther.
He didn’t think I was capable of completing this mission, and I was going to prove him wrong. Whether he liked it or not.
But the sexual chemistry between us was undeniable. And as much as I told myself his opinion didn’t matter to me and I didn’t care what he thought I was capable of doing…of course it did. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t stop hoping that tomorrow, Bones would magically wake up and change his mind on this whole situation.
But why did I care?
I already had a plan.
The Black Cobras had helped me come up with this plan. And the more time I spent thinking about it, the more perfect it sounded. It was completely do-able.
Everyone knew about the particular strip club that Gunther liked to frequent. All I had to do was present myself to him over there. Maybe a stripper wasn’t exactly an identity I could pull off that easily, but I decided to be there anyway. Hopefully I’d catch his eye and we’d get talking and things could carry on from there. Once I was on his radar, I’d assess the situation based on that.
All the Black Cobras would have to do was keep an eye on the strip club, make sure they were ready to give me backup if things got out of hand. But I was confident it wasn’t going to go that way. I’d handle it.
So, the next day I went shopping for something appropriate for a strip club. I needed to build a persona for myself and I was determined to do it well. Gunther wouldn’t know what hit him.
* * *
I was itchy in the fishnet stockings I’d acquired for the big night. When I’d last looked at myself in a mirror in the apartment before coming out here; I didn’t recognize myself. Of course, this wasn’t me, I was pretending to be someone else. Someone who would catch Gunther’s eye.
My heels clicked against the cobbled dusty ground in front of the strip club as I made my way inside. I was aware of Cash, Patch and Rogue already being in there. Bones had been included in the plan for backup too, but I hadn’t seen him since the previous morning since he stormed out of the clubhouse. Since he’d fucked me on his bike.
Maybe he’d said no? Maybe he refused to be a part of this project completely.
I still didn’t understand his strong objection to this, but that wasn’t what I wanted to think about right now.
I needed to put myself in a different mindset, a mindset for being alluring to a man who was no doubt going to disgust me.
A mindset of trying to be as natural and comfortable as I possibly could in this outfit. It was a bright pink candy colored dress, one of those bodycon styles that clung to every curve and every minute shape of my figure. I knew my breasts looked even bigger than normal in it, and it was short, so my legs looked endless.
Fishnet stockings and high pink stilettos. As for makeup, I lathered it on; shades of pink and glitter covered my face. Long silver earrings dangled around my cheeks. I never thought I could look like this, that I could pull off this look but when I entered the strip club finally, I saw the way men turned to look at me. I was attracting attention. Their eyes went straight to my tits and my legs. Exactly the reaction I was hoping for.
This would hopefully get me noticed by Gunther.
I smiled at everyone I saw, my eyes flitting around the strip club so I could decide where exactly I could position myself to be most visible to everyone in there.
My gaze fell on Bones then. He was standing by himself in one corner, far away from me. I could barely make him out in the shadows, but I could sense he was watching me. He was keeping a strict eye on my every movement. He’d shown up for our mission tonight after all. A thrill ran down my spine at the thought of that—that he couldn’t stay away.
I looked away from him.
No distraction!
I walked around the place for a little while till I finally settled on a table near one of the center stages. It was unoccupied and seemed to be in the middle of everything. Now, all I needed to do was keep an eye out for Gunther and make sure he saw me too.
* * *
I played with the cherry in my mouth, popping it between my lips as I sucked the vodka off its slick soft skin, taking care to not lose it in my mouth yet. I was aware of how seductive this particular act looked, and I wanted to milk some more time from it. I needed Gunther to notice me.
I’d been sitting at this table for close to half an hour now, still dawdling with the one Cherry Sour I’d ordered a while ago. Above me on the stage, two mostly naked girls were swinging their bodies from strip poles and strutting down the runway in glittering, shining underwear.
I smiled at them every time I met their eyes. In a few minutes, I would have to stick a couple more dollars in the elastic of their panties…just so I could continue sitting here. I knew this was prime location for their most lucrative patrons. Me taking up this table all by myself meant that they were losing out on tips and business and if I didn’t keep them happy, very soon, one of those big muscular bouncers who had an eye on me was going to come over and ask me to leave.
I sat there with my legs crossed, my body stretching over the table, my lips moving as I sucked on the cherry. I needed to work extra hard for this role. This was not my usual self and it was proving difficult to keep it up for very long. I was afraid of cracking if Gunther didn’t show up soon enough.
But my prayers were answered. Just as I was reaching for my purse to pull out another wad of cash, I felt a presence to my side. I looked over to find a man standing there, with two other bigger men flanking him on either side.
I would have recognized Gunther anywhere. My informants had sent me enough photographs of him over the past years. He was in a shiny silvery suit that made me nearly gag with disgust. He had oily looking dark curly hair and a thick fleshy face with strange folds for cheeks. He was standing with his hands clasped together in front of him, like he already had a hard-on and was trying to cover his crotch.
Everyone was right about him. He had a mad glint in his eyes. It was undeniable and difficult to ignore the moment you saw him. There was a smirk on Gunther’s face as he stared at me. His eyes gliding over my form, taking in my legs, the high heels, then traveling up again to my butt, my tits, and then finally resting on my face.
“You’re in my seat,” he grunted, but said it like it was a joke. I felt a rush of disgust in my stomach.
This was the man who had killed my brother.
This was the man I’d spent the past ten years detesting, fantasizing about killing. And now he was standing right in front of me. Close enough so I could choke him. What would those two burly men beside him do if I just put my hands around his neck right now and refused to let go?
I wasn’t stupid.
I smiled my widest, most flattering smile at him instead and fluttered my eyelashes the way I’d spent the day practicing it in the mirror.
“Oh! Silly me! Nobody told me this table is reserved,” I
said, but I didn’t make a move. He wasn’t getting rid of me that easily, and it didn’t even seem like he wanted to. His eyes were glued on me. It was like he’d found delightful treasure.
Gunther quickly slid into the leather seat beside me. It was a booth-like setting so he could slide in real close to me now. I had to do everything in my power to not move away. To not slap him or worse…
His two bodyguards stationed themselves at the two ends of the half-moon shaped seat. They were clearly going nowhere. I hadn’t anticipated we would have company. I tried not to pay attention to them, even though they were staring right at me, like they were trying to assess me closely.
“So, who are you? Haven't seen you around before. You one of the new girls?” Gunther asked. His eyes met mine and I looked away, because I was disgusted by him, but hoped he’d assume it was because I was shy.
“My name is Thea. Yes, I’m new around here, but I’m not one of the girls,” I told him, and Gunther’s eyes narrowed at me.
“So, what is a girl like you doing here, if you don’t work here.”
I bit down on my lip seductively, pulling the cherry out of my mouth and popping it back in the cocktail glass for later. I wasn’t through with using it as a prop yet. I knew Gunther was following my every move, watching me closely and every inch of my body.
He wanted me. I could sense it already. I was new and shiny, and he had to have me.
“I’m here for something else.”
“Like what?” He leaned towards me now and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. His sickeningly strong cologne. It made me gag, but even though he was pushing himself on me like that, I refused to move away from him. This was a part of my plan. It was working! Pushing him away now would mean jeopardizing the whole plan.
“To find a man who can look after me,” I said, feigning shyness again. Fluttering my eyelashes at him.
Gunther widened his eyes when he heard that.
“You want a man to look after you?”
“I’m just a lonely single girl, new to this town you know. I don’t know anybody here. I was hoping I could make…friends…who would you know, look after me,” I said and then I sat back in the seat. Watching the magic unfurl exactly the way I predicted it would.
Gunther seemed intrigued and turned on and many other things. He was leaning too close to me, but I couldn’t do anything about it. This was exactly what I’d asked for and things were going according to plan.
But when his hand reached for my exposed left thigh, my skin ran cold. Gunther smiled and I smiled back. I tried to focus on his yellowing crooked teeth instead of that feeling of disgust rising inside me.
“You’re a very beautiful woman,” he said, and his hand traveled up my leg. I was uncomfortable, I felt sick and from the corner of my eye, I could sense movement in the crowd. It was Bones, I could feel it in my bones. Was he making his way towards us? Was this as far as he was letting this little project go?
I placed my hand on Gunther’s. Let it linger there for a moment and then gently tried to move it away from my leg.
“Yes, some people have commented on it through the course of my life,” I replied, which made him smirk devilishly. Even though he’d allowed his hand to be moved away, he didn’t pull himself away yet. His breath was falling on my face. His eyes dipped down my cleavage. I could sense him picturing my breasts. The color of my nipples.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked then, in a deep grating voice. When he looked back up at me, I’d popped that cherry between my lips again.
“I told you I’m new around here. Enlighten me. Who are you?” I asked. I knew I had to make some move to showcase my interest in him too. How else was I going to move this along? I placed a hand on his arm and slowly started to stroke it, like I would stroke a cat’s fur.
That and the cherry seemed to do the trick. Gunther shifted in his seat. He had an erection.
“I’m the President of The Smoking Beards, it’s a Motorcycle Club. The most powerful one in the city. If you’re looking for new friends, then you’re definitely making the right one.” Gunther was grinning again. I wanted to smack that grin off his face. Even though I was stroking his arm, it wasn’t like I’d forgotten for a single moment that he was a murderer. He was responsible for the fact that I did not have a brother anymore.
But I bit down on my lip and tilted my head to one side.
“Well, I’m glad I sat at this table then.”
Gunther came closer to me and this time I had to lean away. If I didn’t, his body would be against mine and I was afraid of a gag reaction.
“I’m sure we can make each other very happy,” he said in a low grumble and I knew exactly what he was implying.
I stood up from the seat with a jerk. The plan wasn’t to lure him in tonight. We needed to set up a scene first. More importantly, I needed him to be completely alone. I smiled down at Gunther, but he reached for my wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he hissed as I tried to twist my hand away from him.
There was that movement at the corner of my eye again. Bones wasn’t going to let this pan out. If he showed up here now, with guns blazing; he was going to end up spoiling everything!
“I’m a lady. We just met. You really think I’m going to go back with you tonight?”
I leaned over him now, making sure that my breasts hovered directly over his face. That was enough to make Gunther’s grip on my wrist loosen and I gently moved my hand away.
“Tomorrow, maybe, if I’m in the mood. And I would like us to get to know each other first,” I said, as seductively as I could muster and then it was my chance to walk away from him.
He sat back in his seat like he was amazed by my performance.
I picked up my purse from the table and pulled out a piece of paper where I had my phone number written down already. I was prepared for this. Our fingers grazed when I handed it to him and he was grinning, like he thought he had won.
“You’re a fuckin’ tease, but I like it. I like you,” he commented.
“Call me,” I said with a smile and then started to walk away.
I saw Bones immediately. He’d weaved his way through the crowd and was now dangerously close to where Gunther was sitting, where those burly guards were standing. Patch appeared behind Bones and placed a hand on his shoulder, indicating in silence for him to walk away.
The last thing we needed was for Gunther or his men to notice anybody from the Black Cobras here. Worst of all, if they figured out that I was connected to them in some way.
The plan would be off.
But thankfully, Bones allowed me to walk out of the strip club alone. He’d disappeared into the crowd somewhere and as far as I was concerned, it seemed like things had gone off as smoothly as I hoped it would. Gunther was going to call me. Of that I was certain.
Outside the club, I felt an irresistible urge to somehow purge myself. Stick a finger down my throat and throw up? Take a shower? Run away from this place?
Somehow, it felt like I would never be clean again. I’d just allowed the man who killed my brother to touch me, to feel me up and I hadn’t done anything about it. I let him continue to do it.
For now.
But this motherfucker had another thing coming.
11
Bones
This was exactly the sort of shit I was afraid of. If you think you can put an inexperienced person directly in the path of a guy like Gunther, you can expect there to be trouble. Okay, Thea walked out of that strip club alive and well, unharmed…but it was this time. There were no guarantees for next time.
But I’d seen the smug expression on her face when our eyes met after the meeting with Gunther was over. She had convinced herself that she’d done a good job. An excellent job! That she was unbeatable.
The truth was that she got lucky tonight. Gunther just happened to be in a good mood. She hadn’t seen him in action with Samantha or any of the other women who crossed his path. Thea hadn�
�t witnessed Gunther’s mad rage in the middle of a shootout. She had no idea what he was really capable of.
I did not want her in harm’s way again but what did it matter what I wanted? That wasn’t anybody’s concern right now. The only thing that mattered to Thea and the rest of my club was defeating Gunther. That had been my aim too, but I didn’t want to achieve it at the cost of Thea’s safety or her life.
Didn’t anybody else see that?
We made our way back to the clubhouse from the strip club and I was raging mad at everyone, and especially at the guys for letting Thea do this to herself.
She’d made her way back to the clubhouse too in a cab I saw, as I parked my bike out front. Patch, Cash and Rogue had followed me on their bikes, but I hadn’t spoken to anyone yet. Neither did I stop to acknowledge Thea’s presence at the door where she was waiting for us to join her now. I just stormed past her into the clubhouse.
Grimm and the remaining members of our club were waiting there for us and I went straight to the counter. Bender poured a whisky for me in a shot glass before I could ask him for one.
“How’d it go?” Grimm said, as the others entered the bar. He’d directed the question at me while I tapped the counter for another shot.
“Why don’t you ask the people who have it all fuckin’ planned out,” I growled, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I didn’t even want to look at Thea or the others currently. Maybe it had a little bit to do with the fact that I was embarrassed by how worked up this whole thing had got me. Why did I care so much?
I had some inclination of an answer to that question, but I wasn’t about to share it with them.
There was some chatter behind me.
“Things went smoothly,” I heard one of them mention. It was probably Patch.
“Smoothly? Gunther was clutching her. He could have easily overpowered her, dragged her to the back, hurt her. He had two fuckin’ men to help him. You guys think that was smooth?” I was gripping the shot glass in my hand and took a few threatening steps in their direction now.
Bones: The Black Cobra MC #4 Page 7