by Sable Sylvan
“Another prop?” asked Ashley.
“You’re telling me,” said the tiger. “Reach in and pick a smaller envelope at random.”
“At random?” asked Ashley. “Alright…”
Ashley reached in and pulled out a smaller red envelope. She opened it. The envelope had a piece of paper reading “Hibachi.”
“Hibachi?” asked Ashley. “What’s that?”
“You have no idea?” asked the tiger. “You’re in for a treat.”
The tiger hit a button on his headset. “It’s go time,” said the tiger.
The tiger went backstage, and Ashley watched the pandas do their stuff. They had been flexing and dancing to the sexy tunes that the DJ had played for them, but now, they were taking the scraps of fabric from the stage and throwing them out to the audience. Ashley couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. These women were really so into the guys that they wanted their clothing scraps? There was no frikkin’ way that was healthy. Ashley wasn’t the kind of gal that kept love letters from ex’s, always ready to move on from a breakup by looking for the next adventure, because she was always being pursued by guys who appreciated her curves.
A lion stage hand came out into the audience and shot something out of a large t-shirt cannon. What flew over to the stage wasn’t shirts. No, what the pandas caught with their bare hands were aprons and Japanese chef hats. They put the aprons on before they turned to get Ashley from the throne, but because they had their aprons on, Ashley still hadn’t had a chance to get a peek at their mate marks!
“Ashley, you picked what is probably the most over the top prop for us to use,” said Jet, rubbing his temples.
“Oh, come on, Jet, it’s your favorite,” said Onyx.
“No, my favorite thing to do at Bear Buns is taking gorgeous gals like Ashley back to our cocktail room,” said Jet. “You’re saying you’d rather do hibachi than take this fine piece of ass back to the cocktail room, and enjoy her delicious curves?”
Ashley was shocked. She’d usually never let a guy talk to her like that, but first of all, she was at Bear Buns, and secondly, did Jet frikkin’ Chang just admit to being into her? The panda who she was sure was just an ice sculpture who could walk, talk, strip, and shift was showing an interest in her? Things were heating up at Bear Buns.
“How are we supposed to enjoy her if we haven’t fed those curves of hers?” asked Onyx. “Besides…she’ll need some sustenance if we’re gonna have a good time.”
“I’m right here, y’know,” said Ashley, putting her hands on her hips. “So are you gonna keep treating me like a piece of meat?”
“Of course I will,” said Jet, looking at Ashley with eyes that seemed cold and a mouth that was smiling a grin so devilish she could feel the flames of hell embracing her. How could someone so damn cold be so frikkin’ hot?
“But not until we feed you pieces of meat,” said Onyx.
Barely ten minutes had based since Ashley had drawn the special envelope. However, on the stage was a frikkin’ hibachi grill. The grill was steady and safe, consisting of a large metal slab, heated from below with gas, and around the front and sides of the grill was a cool granite countertop. The grill had to weigh a ton, but it wasn’t hard for the Bear Buns staff to move it into place. Finally, a cart of food and a set of chairs were brought out. There were other chairs, but who were they for?
Ashley sat in the center chair, and out from backstage came Linda and Miranda. They sat on either side of Ashley, and the other seats were taken up by the Bear Buns women, the four women who had already found their true loves at Bear Buns, two of whom seemed to be more than just curvy, but who were pregnant!
Jet and Onyx worked the grill as expertly as they had worked the stage. They made slabs of fresh salmon, strips of steak, and skewers of shrimp for the curvy women, as well as for the audience. Jet made the salmon and other seafood while Onyx made the steak and veggies. Bartenders in suits minus the suit jackets, with the arms of their shirts rolled up to expose their muscles, loaded up trays with food and took them out to the various tables of women so that everyone could get a taste of Bear Buns.
“Up for a friendly competition?” asked Onyx.
“Always, but forget the friendly part,” said Jet.
“We already had one eating contest…let’s have another,” said Onyx. “Let’s see who can get Ashley to eat more of their food.”
“Oh, you’re so on,” said Jet. “Get prepared to lose twice in an evening, kid.”
“You’re only a year older than me, who are you calling kid?” asked Onyx.
“The guy who is focusing on banter and letting his veggies burn,” said Jet.
Onyx looked. His veggies weren’t burning. It was a typical psych-out by Jet. Onyx’s inner panda roared. Was Onyx about to let Jet show him up yet again? While the bamboo cage stunt was the part of the evening Onyx usually dominated at, Jet had much better cooking chops. The only question now was, would fate let Onyx impress the gal he was sure must be their fated mate, or was Jet going to get to steal the spotlight from him once more?
Of course, there was no way it could be a real hibachi show without Jet and Onyx flipping bits of food into the audience. They grilled individual shrimp and pieces of vegetable, and once they were cool enough, they flipped them towards the women in the front of the audience, who caught Jet and Onyx’s salty, savory goodness in their mouths. The most popular part of the show were the onion volcanos, which consisted of pre-sliced onion, stacked a special way to resemble a volcano, with oil poured inside the onion volcano. The oil quickly set ablaze, and it looked like a real volcano, with the flames from the oil shooting out of the top of the volcano.
Just because it was a strip club didn’t mean the food had to be sleazy. While some strip clubs might have wilted salads, soggy nachos, or wings that had been sitting under a heater for hours, Bear Buns was no ordinary strip club. No, Bear Buns made sure that every part of the show was luxurious. From the moment one entered Bear Buns, this was apparent. There were plush red carpets leading to the various rooms and brilliant shimmering crystal chandeliers that had been treated with iridescent coatings so that each chandelier sent rainbow light across the spaces as if the chandeliers were prisms. The seating in Bear Buns was a high-quality faux leather, tufted, like a luxurious Chesterfield sofa. The drinks were all made with high-quality alcohol and were absolutely scrumptious, and the various side dishes that were often part of the act were all high quality as well.
The hibachi show was no exception, and so Ashley enjoyed feasting on salmon that had been grilled in a dill infused butter, strips of steak that had been marinated with teriyaki before the show, and even the vegetables were fresh and had been grilled to perfection. Jet and Onyx could dance, fight, and knew how to cook. Could the two pandas get any more perfect?
Two tall men came out onto the stage, wearing red sequin hot pants and fresh aprons and hats. They were also Asian, but from the looks of their arms, they had to be tiger shifters, as the tiger shifter mate marks almost always took the form of tattoo sleeves on the arms.
“Alright, ladies, you’ve had a chance to taste what Onyx and Jet cooked, but they’ve gotta take a break…so we’ve got two special performers for you, Chang and Charles!” said the DJ.
Was the show over already? Ashley found herself a little disappointed. She had barely had her fill of the delicious grilled shrimp, the succulent salmon, or the crispy onions that had been used to make an onion volcano. She made her way backstage with the rest of the ladies, but she felt an arm around her waist as she walked backstage.
“No frikkin’ way are you leaving,” said Onyx, who had slipped on a black shirt when she wasn’t watching. On his nether regions was a pair of red sequin hot pants with gold trim.
Another arm slipped around her shoulders. “That’s right,” whispered Jet. “We’re not done with you yet.”
“So the show isn’t over?” asked Ashley, looking between the two pandas.
“Not even close,” s
aid Jet, his hot breath sending a shiver down Ashley’s spine…and a heat between Ashley’s legs.
Chapter Three
Onyx saw Jet moving in, and he knew he had to act fast to impress Ashley. With a hand on her waist, he was already half way there. Jet had already had a chance to cradle Ashley’s curves; now it was Onyx’s turn. He picked her up with both hands and Jet’s hand slipped away from Ashley’s shoulder.
Ashley’s arms instinctively wrapped around Onyx’s neck. Both Jet and Onyx were strong, that much she could easily tell because they could pick up her plus size body as if she was a feather pillow. She could also tell they had endurance because they had been able to dance, fight, stuff their faces, and stuff her face without showing any signs of getting tired. Sure, they’d sweated, their arms glistening during the fight, their chests shining from the heat of the grill, but that was just a marinade, right? She hadn’t even started getting close to making their bodies sizzle.
Onyx carried Ashley down to the main stage’s seating area, where the two Asian tiger shifters were entertaining the crowd up close and person, while on stage, two shifters with Australian accents were about to perform their shift for the crowd. Onyx wove through the tables and led the trio to the cocktail room hall, which was guarded by a thick-maned lion shifter, who let the trio in. They walked down the red carpeted hall with dark wood paneling and reached a room near the end of the corridor that was labeled, “J+O.”
“J+O? Jack and off?” joked Ashley.
“Wow, so funny, very original, never heard that one before,” said Jet sarcastically, before opening the door.
What Ashley saw inside astounded her.
When she heard about the cocktail rooms, what she was expecting was a room with a couch, some liquor in a minibar, and maybe a stereo. She wasn’t expecting this.
The cocktail room that Jet and Onyx had designed was ornate and over the top in the best of ways. For a second, Ashley was sure she’d been transported to China’s Forbidden City, home of ancient emperors because the entire room was made up of bright crimson reds, deep yellow golds, and black lacquer. There were paper lanterns, red with gold tassels, lighting the room, and one wall had bamboo painted with black and red lacquer, with spots of real gold leaf shining in the low lights. In front of the painted bamboo was live bamboo in red lacquer planter pots, with a wide fountain behind the bamboo. The fountain was on and was bubbling water. There was an ornate couch at the end of a large bed, the couch and the bed both made of black lacquered bamboo with red silk sheets with gold thread details. The large bed was a four poster bed with short red and gold silk curtains on all sides, a painting of a Chinese mountain scene on the headboard, and many shapes and sizes of pillows. On each side of the headboard were a set of folding paper fans, mounted to the wall, and two glowing pagoda-style lanterns.
Of course, the reason that the cocktail rooms are called cocktail rooms is that each has a signature cocktail. Jet and Onyx’s oriental room was no different. There was a cart in the chamber with chilled beverages, three martini glasses filled with an opaque pale lavender fluid, with purple sugar on the rim.
“What is it?” asked Ashley.
“A lychee and lavender martini,” said Onyx. “With a candied violet sugar rim. Care for a sip?”
Ashley lifted one of the glasses and took a sip. The drink was very strong, the sweetness of the syrups barely tempering the burn of the vodka. “Does this answer your question?” asked Ashley, as the remnants of the strong martini’s initial burn faded away and left behind a fruity floral flavor that reminded her of pineapple and rose, the violet leaving behind a perfume-like aftertaste that reminded her of spring in Paris, not of her grandma’s perfume.
“Do you like it?” asked Jet.
“It’s okay,” said Ashley, nonchalantly. “I know what it would go better with.”
“I invented that cocktail, so I’d love to know what expert improvement you’d make,” said Jet.
Ashley looked Jet dead in the eyes and splashed her drink onto his shirt! Before Jet had time to react, Ashley had pushed Jet down onto the bed and was licking his shirt, soaking up the drink from his body through his shirt. Ashley’s lips didn’t even touch his skin, but Jet’s throbbing bulge came to full attention. He had never met a woman so curvy, so sassy, so sexy, so brash, and he would do anything for Ashley to just take the next step.
“Now Jet…does that answer your question?” asked Ashley.
Before Jet could say anything, Ashley felt something hit her back. It was something wet. She turned. Onyx was holding an empty martini glass.
“Oops,” said Onyx, not meaning it even a little.
“What was that for?” asked Ashley crossly.
“It’s no fair that Jet gets to have all the fun,” said Onyx, who got behind Ashley and started to lick the beverage off of the nape of her neck. He pushed her hair back with his hands while cradling her waist with his hands and exploring from her neck down her spine with his lips, leaving a trail of kisses down her body, leading to the waistband of her pants.
Jet got out from under Ashley while turning Ashley around so Ashley could lie down on the bed. Ashley removed her shirt, and before she could undo her bra, Jet and Onyx looked first at Ashley, then at each other, then back at Ashley.
“What, never seen curves like these before?” asked Ashley, sensually cupping one of her breasts, then the other, before pushing them both up to kiss them both, her eyes locked on Onyx first, then Jet.
“It’s not that,” said Onyx. It’s…that.” Onyx pointed at Ashley’s chest tattoo.
“Oh, this?” asked Ashley. “What, you don’t like tats?’
“It’s not that, it’s…” started Onyx.
“Well, why don’t we just show her?” asked Jet.
Just before Onyx and Jet could lift their shirts up all the way, Ashley was sprayed with water.
Water?
She looked up and saw that the sprinklers were on. A siren was sounding from a hidden speaker in the room, disguised as a mirror, and there were flashing lights emanating from the hidden speaker too.
“What’s going on?” asked Ashley. She quickly put her blouse back on.
“Hold on tight, I have a feeling this is about to get slippery,” said Jet.
Jet lifted Ashley up into his arms, and before Ashley could react, Onyx wrapped Ashley’s arms around Jet’s neck firmly. Jet was faster carrying Ashley than Ashley would have been running on her own.
Inside Bear Buns, things were surprisingly not too chaotic. The staff had been drilled on what to do in case of a fire three times a year, and their most recent drill had happened a few weeks ago. The bartenders and wait staff had waterproof light sticks and were using them to usher people out of the building in an orderly fashion, and stagehands were helping anyone who needed extra help, namely, the pregnant, the disabled, and the elderly. The dancers were checking the various rooms to make sure everyone was out, with the female workers checking the bathrooms and other places to ensure that everyone was safe.
Onyx navigated to the backstage area, and Jet followed. Ashley couldn’t see anything with the water in her eyes, but Onyx and Jet were navigating deftly through the stormy backstage area. As everyone was focused on getting guests out, the staff hadn’t had time to make a very clear path to the fire exit in time, as the stagehands had been moving props for the show all night. Onyx made a note to talk to the Asher-Dixon boys about that.
Ashley couldn’t help but whimper.
“You’re gonna be fine,” said Jet quietly. “This isn’t a big deal. It’s probably nothing.”
Jet didn’t turn his head to look around, but he hadn’t seen fire either. He sniffed the air. He didn’t smell smoke. Instead, something was starting to smell fishy.
Onyx opened the fire exit, and the trio spilled out into the empty Bear Buns alleyway. It wasn’t raining outside, so the ground wasn’t slippery. Although all three were soaking set from the sprinklers, the worst that would happen is they’d be a
little chilly.
“You know…you can put me down now, right?” asked Ashley.
“I can…but I can’t,” said Jet.
Ashley was going to ask Jet what he meant but decided just to be quiet and not look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, being carried by Jet made her feel warm, safe, secure, and he’d have to put her down eventually anyway, so why rush it? Jet didn’t put Ashley down, but instead, carried her to the park across the street from Bear Buns, where the staff and guests had gathered as the Seattle Fire Department pulled up to Bear Buns.
Onyx spotted Ashley’s friends and led the way. Once the trio reached Miranda and Linda, Jet finally let Ashley down.
“I was so worried about you,” said Miranda, giving Ashley a hug before passing Ashley her purse. “You three are okay?”
“Totally fine, just wet,” said Ashley. “Do you two know anything about the fire? What happened?”
“I have no clue,” said Linda. “We didn’t see a fire…did you three?”
“My eyes were mostly closed,” said Ashley. “I was terrified.”
“We didn’t see anything,” said Jet.
“Ashley…we don’t mean to abandon you, but, we’ve gotta go find out what happened,” said Onyx. “We’ve gotta talk to the staff. We’ll be back, we promise.”
“Okay,” said Ashley. Now that she was out of Jet’s arms, she was starting to feel a little chilly, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
“We will be back,” promised Jet, and he headed off with Onyx.
“Well, this evening took more than a few turns for the weird,” said Ashley.
“I know! We got to go backstage, get the star treatment, and you got to go on stage,” said Linda. “And that hibachi show? Ah-may-zing!”
“Too bad about this last part, though,” said Miranda. “I grabbed our purses, but not our jackets.”
“At least you got the purses,” said Ashley. “And our stuff isn’t totally ruined…I hope.”