Undercover Lover (BWWM Romance Book 1)

by Theresa McGhee

  Meaghan pushed him back so that Dean was lying on the flat on the bed again. She nipped playfully at Dean's lips, not letting herself be caught for a proper kiss, so Dean rolled them and pinned Meaghan in place. Kissing Meaghan was never going to get old.

  *****

  Meaghan was not there when Dean woke up, but there were croissants sitting on a plate in the kitchen and the smell of freshly roasted coffee. “Meaghan?” he called.

  “Out here.”

  Outside was breathtaking. There were two feet of mist at ground level, like the littlest blanket of cloud, and above them the sky was clear blue, the last pinks of sunrise just fading. All around the apartment was a jeweled garden of dewdrops sparkling in the sunlight, tiny enough to be frost except for the telltale wet footprints where people had trodden.

  Meaghan was sitting on a swing set on her small balcony, coffee mug in hand. She stood when she heard Dean. They regarded each other for a moment but Meaghan looked away, at her hands, setting the mug down on a stool. Dean looked out to the road. “So what now?” he said, quietly.

  “We should get a move on,” Meaghan said. “Judy's going to be pissed.”

  Dean cleared his throat and tried for casual. “We could stay here a while.” There was work to be done to be sure but Dean knew what a shit storm would be created by an incident such as this. Not just with the stylist and her world but also his mother. She was bound to hear about this sooner or later and Dean knew just what she would think. Meaghan’s apartment was a haven of peace; a bulwark against reality.

  “I figured we could call my lawyer, arrange for the payment,” he said. “Maybe keep her off of our backs.”

  “Or take it to her door, like normal people, and apologize gracefully for all the trouble.”

  “Racist cunt, Meaghan,” Dean said darkly.

  Meaghan rolled her eyes but smiled. “She will probably come after us anyway. She wasn't exactly well balanced,” Meaghan said.

  She came to stand on the balcony railing, right next to him. Dean's muscles relaxed when he realized what Meaghan was about to do. They kissed, tenderly and lazily, until Meaghan leaned away to get a good look at Dean's face. Her arms kept Dean's hips close and she looked into Dean's eyes as though she was trying to communicate directly with Dean's soul. It was too intense for Dean in the early morning.

  “Breakfast,” Dean said, to distract Meaghan and also to postpone the decision about leaving for a while longer.

  Meaghan looked pointedly through the doorway of the apartment where E!news was on, waxing lyrical about the Furious 7 premiere.

  “Breakfast and then more fucking,” Dean insisted, making Meaghan laugh in little puffs of steamy breath, her cheeks flushed and glowing. She stepped closer to Dean, slipping her arms around so that they're both looking out at the mist.

  Their fingers interwove and Meaghan held on tight.

  “I checked to see if the press had the story yet…” Meaghan said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Nothing on TMZ or E! about any of the ugliness though I did make it on Fashion Police’s best dressed for the night. Do you think that will make a difference to Judy?”

  Dean thought about it. It was early yet and maybe Judy was waiting for her money before she sold her story. He made a note to have his lawyer give her an NDA to sign. Meanwhile he just wanted to enjoy this peaceful morning before the world intruded. They might have this again sure but it wouldn't be this world of delicate yellow sunlight where their shadows were always long. “We could just stay here for a while,” he said again.

  “Porn on cable?” Meaghan teased, with a squeeze of her arms. It triggered Dean's emotions, all of them at once, and he nearly choked on tears before he could reel them back. This was it, he thought. It was all he had ever wanted, from Meaghan and from life.

  There was a chill in the air that hadn't been there before but Meaghan was warm at Dean's back, breath tickling his ear. Dean didn’t need to ask about the birds that flew past because he recognized their V-shaped formation; could hear them honking softly to each other: They were wild geese and they were flying home.

  *****

  They ended up sleeping in until midday before Dean gave up on nonchalance, called his lawyer and asked him to take care of everything. It being Meaghan’s day off, she just wanted to lounge about doing absolutely nothing; instead she was busy texting with Bain because he felt belittled and blamed unfairly for what had happened.

  Darling listen, everyone was upset last night; Judy, Dean, you, me…We all said things I’m sure we regret. Right now we just have to do what we can to get past it.

  She wrote wearily after a reading a full page of tirade on her chat.

  How am I supposed to get past it when that Neanderthal is still in our lives? You should break up with him already. And that tiara is insured, don’t even think about paying for it from your pocket.

  He replied answering some of her suppositions even though she hadn’t wanted to ask.

  I still don’t get how it disappeared. Like for real; we were on the red carpet, it was on my head. Then Dean was kissing me in the theater and it was gone. I mean I know I have nappy hair and shit but damn. Girl. I thought I would have felt it if it fell. Wasn’t it securely fastened and shit?

  She asked, biting her lower lip in puzzlement. She could hear Dean in the other room yapping away to his lawyer.

  Girl I was there. I saw that it was securely fastened. I don’t even know what to tell you right now. Danny thinks it must have been somebody sitting behind you who stole it while you were distracted. I told him it high time he graduated from Nancy Drew novels. :D

  Meaghan hesitated over her reply, not wanting to disagree with Bain but thinking that Danny might have a point.

  Be nice Bain. You know how sensitive Danny is. And what if somebody did steal it huh? Some of these rich bitches are downright kleptos.

  She thought that was a nice balance between defending Danny without looking critical of Bain. She read it through one more time before sending.

  Hey careful, I’m a rich bitch!

  Meaghan laughed. Trust Bain.

  Yes you are darling. Yes you are.

  She replied, good mood restored.

  I think I’m gonna go buy myself some rich bitch shoes. Louboutins and shit. Wanna come with?

  Meaghan shook her head in amusement.

  Not today honey. I think I’m all shopped out for a while.

  That reminded her of her current predicament and she sighed.

  Seriously though, don’t even worry about it. My lawyer is on it.

  Dean definitely wouldn’t like that. Meaghan supposed she should thank her lucky stars that she had such good friends in high places but the constant one-upmanship was stressing her out. She sighed deeply wondering if she should tell him that Dean’s lawyer was also ‘on it’ but then figured there was no way he didn’t already know that. So she decided to just sit back and let them fight it out.

  Thanks babe. You’re the best.

  She sent instead.

  Say hi to Danny. I’m going back to sleep.

  She threw her phone on the bedside table and matched actions to words.

  Chapter 4

  “I have to go. The club is under new management, and I don’t want to make a bad impression my first day.” Danny said coming into the bedroom and picking up his jacket.

  Bain looked up from the phone. “Danny, it’s four in the afternoon on Sunday.”

  “Yeah? So? Better pickings….lonely people with nothing to do.” Bain looked pissed, but Danny just grinned at him. “Maybe I’ll bring you back a present.”

  Bain looked even more pissed. “Yeah sure, no keep your money. The only present I would have wanted was your company on my shopping trip.”

  “Next time darling. I’ll be back.”

  Danny left Bain stewing and took a taxi down to the row of clubs offering all manner of adult entertainment, from the nudie bar advertising all of it’s girls were DD or bigger, to the
stretch of gaudy clubs that tried to ride both sides, alternating male and female dancers, to the club that was his destination.

  He didn’t plan on doing this his whole life, so he tried to be smart about playing the most lucrative crowds and times. People coming into the club on Sunday afternoon had nothing and no one else to spend time with so they tended to be bigger spenders. He liked the club he worked for too. He’d chosen it when he’d moved out of his brother’s place because it was slightly more upscale than the others on the strip, catered primarily to the professional gay community, which meant good tips, and better mannered clients.

  And seeing he only did this for the money, those things were important. He slid in behind a couple hanging all over each other, nodding to Thomas, the bouncer and heading straight for the bar. Greg, the new guy, was behind the bar, so his shot was waiting for him. You gotta love a bartender who knows you after only three nights and can tell by the look on your face what it is you need.

  Twinkles was on stage, gyrating to some god awful techno music and sprinkling glitter everywhere. Danny would never understand the appeal of that. The music or the flashy hooks. When he danced it was one thing, sex set to music.

  “You’ve got a fan club.” Greg said over the pounding music, pointing with his bar rag at a group of college age boys at a table near the stage. “They came in asking if you were dancing today.”

  Danny downed his shot and put it back on the bar, noticing an empty table front and center. “Some hotshot coming in?”

  Greg shrugged. “Maureen just came in and put a reserved sign on it about 3 minutes ago.”

  Twinkles finished and disappeared in a cloud of glitter to applause and whistles, then a loud, big band sounding rendition of “Easy Like a Sunday Morning” came on.

  Danny groaned. “You have got to be kidding me.”Greg laughed. “Maureen’s dictate, everyone does a cheesy irony number…last song of your shift.”

  Danny rolled his eyes. “Fabulous. Give me another one.”

  Greg filled the shot glass and handed it back. “She’s paying extra for it though, and a bonus of $250 to her favorite of the night.”

  “She better be paying extra.” He tossed off the shot and thanked Greg, then headed around to the dressing room. Maureen caught him just before he ducked behind the curtain. “Greg told me.”

  She smiled, and she may not be much to look at, but she had a wicked smile. “Song book’s in there. Feel free to rummage through the racks and shit for costume materials.”

  Danny nodded and made to head into the back, but she caught his arm. “Oh…and that table down front…some high roller called in about ten minutes ago and reserved it. He’s coming in to see you. I expect you to make him happy.”

  Danny smirked. “Yeah, I always make my audience happy.”

  She shook her head. “No. He’s paying $500 for the privilege. Half of it’s yours if he’s happy when you’re done.”

  “How happy?” Danny asked, his grin turning evil much as his stomach sunk.

  She smacked his arm. “Don’t get me fined or arrested…everything else is up to you.”

  “You just remind him no touching.” Danny said, finally ducking past her. He was up after Dusty, who was just leaving to check his music. Danny nodded hello and set about preparing for his first number.

  He wasn’t picky about what he danced to. The club had a good DJ and Danny only had to list off a band or three…the rest was just a surprise.

  He swapped his street clothes for look alike stuff that was made to tear off easily…a worn pair of jeans and a t-shirt that wouldn’t come back to the dressing room, he left his feet bare and pulled his leather jacket back on.

  It was fairly early, and while the place was jumping, it wasn’t nearly as full as it would get. There were a lot of lonely people looking for company. He played to the college kids as “Highway to Hell” made the stage vibrate beneath his feet. If nothing else, hunting kept him lithe and limber. He took their money and left them screaming for more as he left the stage.

  He wasn’t surprised to find them still there when he went on again later, gyrating to Metallica. He was surprised that his high roller wasn’t at his table though. He only had one more trip to the stage…if he could ever decide what he was going to do. He took the towel Twinkles offered him as he came off stage the second time, grinning at his cheesy get up, with red thigh high stockings under a frilly white skirt and a shirt covered with more red sequins than should be legal.

  He had roughly a half hour to pull something together. He grabbed the book of music and sat in one of the few chairs in the dressing room, in front of the mirror.

  “You have such a pretty face, Danny.” Elana said beside him, touching up his face. “You should try drag…it would be so pretty.”

  “Dude, no offense to the resident drag queen here, but no.”

  He pouted at Danny who turned his attention back to the music. “I’ve gotta find something here that can actually be danced to.” He flipped pages before his eyes caught on a song. He could remember his mother singing it to his father. Okay, not really a good way to pick a song to strip to…but the song itself…He looked up at the mirror. “Elana, when do you go on again?”

  “After you, baby, why?”

  Danny grinned, “I think I know a way to get that bonus out of Maureen.” It was an evil idea, one he wouldn’t ever consider, but that money, plus the $250 for a satisfied customer would mean he could spring for something nice to give Bain…and after months of being the one always on the receiving end, Bain deserved something nice.

  *****

  The club was exactly what Bain had expected. It was one of Danny’s several night jobs. And though he had never specifically told Bain to either attend or not attend, Bain got the feeling that he was more welcome at some times rather than others.

  The floor shows for example; and the individual performances. But when Danny was dancing for someone else, Bain got the feeling he preferred if Bain didn’t watch. So Bain had taken to turning up sometimes in disguise. It was harmless. And he enjoyed dressing up.

  He’d dressed for his role as a big spender, in his freshly pressed Armani suit and matched with a black fedora, to hide his identity until Danny was all but on top of him. He slipped the money into the hand of the manager, and was escorted to his table, his appletini delivered as he sat down.“Your preferred dancer will be on in just a few minutes, sir. In the meantime, if you need anything, Andy here will take care of you.”

  The waiter tipped his head and Bain smiled. “Thank you. The drink will be fine for now.”

  “Also, may I remind you we have a strict no touching policy.” Bain nodded, that part would be hard, but it was going to be worth it.

  Bain settled back to wait, trying not to be nervous. He wondered how Danny would take it in light of Meaghan’s revelations. He hoped they could get past the whole unequally yoked thing because he was definitely, maybe, almost sure Danny was The One.

  He took in the crowd, eyeing a group of men a little younger than himself off to his right. That was the reason he’d shelled out the serious money…he wanted Danny to himself, he just wanted him here, in front of all the others. He missed the Danny he’d met all those months ago.

  He wanted to see that Danny again…the one who lost himself, and all of the pretense, all the pain…surrendered himself into the music and movement. The guy on the stage was moving his hips to some rocked up version of “Let it Snow” and Bain shook his head. Bain’s eyes followed the prancing blond in the black g-string off the stage as the audience applauded, and the music faded.

  It was followed by something softer, jazzier and as Bain dragged his eyes back to the center of the stage, he was startled to see a dancer there, back to the audience as the opening strains of Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” floated on the air.

  Long, golden legs climbed up from bare feet into a short red skirt, barely covering an ass that peeked out as he moved…the white trim bouncing as his hips moved
with the music. A bare back, a strong, muscular and intimately familiar back, rose up from the skirt to a wide red ribbon at the neck…and a bow tied off kilter on the side of his neck.

  Bain sat up strait, his dick instantly hard. He shook his head…because this was Danny…and Danny didn’t…and yet…The college kids squealed with excitement as Eartha’s voice filled the room, and Danny just…turned, slow as the sweat down his back, first his face…a wink…a slip of hip…a roll of shoulder…

  Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me.

  Bain swallowed, watching Danny’s slow hip movement…the way just that little move made his whole body shimmer. Danny stuck a finger in his mouth, then dragged it down over his chin and onto his chest as he licked his lips.

  Been an awful good girl, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.

  Danny was mouthing the words, his lips red and pouting, a Santa hat in his hands. He pranced forward, fucking pranced toward Bain, the skirt riding up his ass as he turned and undulated, and kept coming. Bain was fairly certain he couldn’t breathe.