Sasha went on. “Things aren’t working the way they’re going. Aphrodite’s Kiss has stolen our customers. They took a chance and it paid off.” He paused before he added, “It’s time we did the same.”
He leaned back against the bar and asked, “What do you know about burlesque?”
Birdie chimed in, “I know about burlesque. I danced burlesque before I moved here. I tried to find an act to join when I first came down, but I couldn’t find anything.” She looked to the girls. “It was popular in Chicago. It’s more of a show than a strip joint.”
“Right,” Sasha nodded in agreement. He looked to his dancing girls. “You want to keep your jobs?”
A collective murmur went around. What a stupid question. Of course they wanted to keep their jobs.
Sasha nodded. “We shut down Monday through Thursday this week. I need to get some shit done. When you come back on Friday, I want to see what you can do.”
My face fell, along with my heart. “Sasha, that’s not enough time.”
He turned his hard stare at me and repeated, “Friday. I expect you here early. No later than five p.m. Show me what you got.”
My stomach dipped. It wasn’t enough time. I felt Lev’s eyes on me. I turned to my left and looked up into his warm honey eyes. “It’s not enough time,” I muttered.
He searched my face before calling out, “Birdie,” and when she approached, he stated, “You want to earn some overtime?”
Birdie grinned. “Hell yeah, baby. I got two little mouths to feed at home.”
His eyes softened at her enthusiasm. “Mina is going to need your help with the girls. Can you show them how it’s done, how to dance?”
She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out a long breath. “My guess is most of these girls started by doing some form of dance.” She stepped forward and hollered, “Yo, chicas. Who here has a background in dance?”
To my surprise, almost all the girls raised their hands. Birdie grinned. “Well, all right. We’re gonna need to buckle down and come up with some choreography before Friday. Who’s with me?”
The smiles on the girls’ faces were priceless. They were excited, which in turn excited me, taming the fluttering butterflies in my belly. I turned to Anika and Nas. “I’m going to need help with handouts and advertising.” I looked over my shoulder at Sasha. “Free drink with flyer?”
He nodded. “Okay.” Then he frowned then added, “One per customer though. You better write that shit down.”
Lev’s hand enclosed around mine and I smiled. “I will. I promise.”
A hand squeezed my shoulder. Birdie spoke quietly, “Mina, I don’t know if this can be done, but I’m going to try my hardest.”
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight. “Thank you so much for your help.” I pulled back, looking frazzled. “You need to tell me what the girls are going to need.”
Birdie’s brow rose in thought. “You got time to go to the mall on Monday?”
I shrugged. “Sure. What are we shopping for?”
“The most important part.” She grinned. “Costumes, baby.”
Oh my.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Sunday funday had arrived at the Leokov complex.
This meant that I not only had a chance to wear my new swimsuit, but it would give me an opportunity to see Lev in one.
I mean, I know. What’s the big deal? I’ve seen him naked. Right?
Wrong!
It was awfully sexy to see a man in clothes that fit him right, and with the body Lev had, I wasn’t sure how anything could fit him wrong. I was dying to see him in a pair of swimming trunks.
When I stepped out of the bathroom after dressing in my new, uber sexy one-piece, I mentally thanked Cora for her assistance. It was beautiful, with small slits of material cut out at just the right spots, across the ribs, in the center of my breasts, and above the thighs. It was revealing without looking skanky. I loved it.
My hand on the door handle, I paused, blinking at the sight of Lev’s bare butt as he pulled up his swimming trunks, if you could even call them that.
He turned around and I choked on my tongue.
They were different. Not like board shorts. Not like boxers. They were tighter, like boxer briefs. Very European.
I liked.
But then I remembered Anika would be there. “You’re wearing that?”
Somewhere along the lines, I’d unknowingly turned into an alpha male.
Lev frowned, looking down at the navy blue short shorts. He turned his face up, brows raised. “I…yes.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, lips thin. “They’re tiny, Lev. You can see everything.” I bent at the waist and whisper hissed, “And I mean everything.”
“They’re the only ones I have, mouse. They’re going to have to do.”
My lips pouted as I blinked down at his impressive junk. I muttered, “Oh, I bet Anika is going to love that.”
He stood, legs apart, and smiled cunningly. “Is this jealousy, my mouse?”
“No,” I lied swiftly. “It is not.” I feigned boredom with a cool shrug. “I just wanted you to know that everyone is going to see your frank-and-beans.”
Then he did something miraculous.
He tipped his head back and barked out his laughter. And it was beautiful.
I watched him laugh, and my mind was fried by the rough barks of merriment coming from him. It sounded freeing, and I was overwhelmed. I was unsure how to react.
Was it appropriate to burst into tears of joy when you heard your man laugh? I thought not. So I kept quiet, watching closely, committing this moment to my memory bank. I would keep it there for a rainy day, when I needed it most.
“Frank-and-beans?” he muttered, way too amused, wiping away tears of mirth. Then he straightened, holding out a hand. “Mina, come here.”
I pouted the entire way over. His hand enveloped both of mine and he bent to look into my face as he smiled softly. “I am dangerously close to falling in love with you,” he tilted his head in thought before adding, “if not already there.”
Oh, my God.
Did he just say that? Did he really just say that?
Oh, God.
He lifted a hand to run his thumb across my cheek. “Do you think I care what Anika thinks?” He laid his hands across my shoulders and pulled me in, kissing my stun-slacked lips with a smack. “She isn’t you.” He pecked my lips once more. “She will never be you.”
My heart beat fast and hard, pounding in my chest.
I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. His arms came around me and he straightened, lifting me right off the ground. He held me like I weighed nothing at all.
“Who sleeps in my bed at night, mouse?”
I buried my nose in his neck and mumbled, “I do.”
“You do,” he confirmed. “And who makes me smile?”
I smiled against the stubble on his throat. “Me.”
“Exactly.” He turned to kiss my cheek. “No one else. It’s you, Mina. It’s always been you.” He spoke softly, “I just needed to find you. Now that I have you, I won’t be letting you go. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, feeling my jealousy slip away.
He let me down, threw his robe on, and slipped on his leather flip-flops before sliding on his aviators. I quickly stopped to throw on a white sundress before slipping my feet into a cheap pair of light pink flip-flops. Then we made our way to Sasha’s.
By the time we walked around the house to the glass pool house, the others were already there in their swimwear, chatting, eating, and drinking cocktails. I stopped just inside the door, my wide eyes looking around, taking in the awesomeness.
This pool house was amazing.
It was built around the gigantic, circular pool. With stones paving around the outside of the pool and rainforest placed strategically around the perimeter, it looked as though we were outdoors. My heart almost burst with excitement when I saw the slide. You needed to walk a flight of stairs to get up there, but I needed to get up on that thing. I felt like a five-year-old at a waterpark.