CHAPTER 25
1303 Words
Ella smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
I caught the way her gaze traveled over me slowly, from the hem of my dress to the way my hair fell. Her jaw tightened just slightly. She had worn a beautiful gown tonight, no doubt about it. But the attention in the room had shifted, and we both knew it.
What made it worse,
what I could tell was eating her alive, was Adrian.
He was supposed to be looking at her. She was his girlfriend. But his eyes kept drifting back to me, and Ella was too sharp not to notice.
She forced a smile,"You have really elevated your fashion sense," she said.
"Thanks," I replied nicely. "and I wish I could say the same for you."
Queen let out a cough. "Can we go, guys?"
We left in different cars. Queen rode with Killian and me, while Ella and Adrian rode in another. We were in front while the other car followed.
As we drove further into the city, I couldn't stop wondering how to behave in a strip club. What if a stripper came to dance with me?
"Relax Daisy, it's just a club not a slaughterhouse." Queen said as though she could hear my thoughts.
"The thing is... It's just that it's my first time in a club like this," I admitted in a shaking voice.
She smiled. "Relax cousin, we are just going to have fun. Besides, you aren't out with strangers." She paused, the corner of her mouth curving. " It's just family, your bodyguard and your first lover."
She dragged those last two words out slowly, letting them hang in the air.
Killian clenched the wheel.
His jaw tightened, his hand fisted at his side. Leave it to Queen to choose the perfect moment to remind everyone about Adrian and me.
"There it is," Queen said, pointing to a building a minute away from us.
We pulled over in front of the tall building. A glittering lettering sat at the top of it.
"Adam's"
I breathed in and breathed out slowly.
As we stepped in, the bass didn't just hit my ears. It vibrated through my ribs. The scent of expensive perfume filled the air.
It wasn't a regular club. "Adam's" was designed for the high and mighty.
A man in a sharp black suit with an earpiece froze the moment he saw us. His eyes went wide. "Boss Lady," he gasped, bowing his head low. "The Romano suite is ready, but I could clear the floor..."
Just wow. Clear an entire floor?
"Relax, Enzo," Queen interrupted. Her voice had switched from the warm maternal one she used on Marco at home to the bossy, no-room-for-argument one. "The VIP lounge would be fine. And tell the Diva to come see me."
Enzo nodded and disappeared into the blue light.
Queen led us up a private staircase. As we moved, bouncers who looked like they could crush stone with their bare hands bowed their heads as she walked past.
One of them announced over the music, "Boss Lady is home."
Both male and female strippers moved on stage with predatory grace and seductive dance moves.
Queen led us straight to the VIP lounge on the second floor.
"Drinks!" Queen commanded, and within seconds the bar attendants returned with flutes of vintage champagne. She served us herself.
Adrian cleared his throat, looking at Queen. "I have been to clubs in Monaco, Tokyo, Dubai... but I must say, this one is different. You're doing something special here." He picked up his glass.
"I didn't know you have a record of clubbing aside being a coward," Queen raised an eyebrow. "Cheers to that," she said, raising her glass for a toast.
Ella elbowed Adrian and whispered something to him but whatever it was I could tell it had made him uncomfortable from the way the smile on his face vanished. Then noticed she didn't look at him when she did it. She was looking at me.
Just as we exchanged glances and sipped our drinks in silence, a lady appeared at Queen's side like a ghost. She looked breathtaking in a black dress that seemed to cost more than my car.
"Diva," Queen acknowledged.
"The shipments are delayed at the docks," Diva whispered. "Lorenzo is playing games with us again, Boss Lady."
My stomach tightened. I had always known Queen lived a different kind of life. But hearing it so casually, so close, made it suddenly very real. I was scared of her in that moment. Not the Queen who called me cousin and poured my champagne. The one sitting across from me right now, has that cold look in her eyes.
Queen let out a dangerous smile and took a sip of her drink. "Don't go for his throat first, Diva. I am warning you. We already have enough pins in our asses right now. Let's handle those first." She paused, her eyes narrowing as she looked out over the club. "But if he pushes his luck too far, send the asshole straight to hell. His body should never be found. Just erase him."
Diva nodded once and vanished back into the club.
Beside me, I heard Adrian let out a shaking breath. Ella had gone very still.
Killian leaned in, his chest brushing my shoulder. "This cousin of yours is a gangster," he whispered. "Nothing is hotter than a woman who can order a hit and a round of drinks in the same breath. You should take notes, Daisy."
Never. It could never be me.
"I think I'll stick to writing books," I muttered.
Queen turned back to us, the "Boss Lady" mask softening. "Daisy, Ella, you look like you're at a funeral." She snapped her fingers at a man standing near the curtain. "Get me, Dante. Jaz."
My mind skipped. Surely I couldn't be thinking what I was thinking.
Two men stepped into the light. They were masterpieces — bronze skin, muscular, wearing nothing but low-slung silk trousers.
"Dante, move to Ella," Queen instructed with a hand gesture. "Jaz, go to Daisy."
"No, no. I am not interested," I said quickly, adjusting myself on my seat. "I am fine, Queen, please."
Ella said nothing. She just looked at Dante, then spared Adrian a glance. Adrian flexed his jaw. She noticed. The muscle in Ella's cheek twitched before she smoothed her expression back into that perfect smile and let Dante step closer without protest. Two could play this game.
"Oh, don't be boring, Daisy," Queen teased, gesturing for Jaz to move closer. "It's a dance, not a marriage proposal."
"Thank you but I will pass," I insisted.
"She would love a dance." Killian's voice rang out. "She's probably just shy, right, ma'am?"
I whirled to face him. "Excuse me?"
Killian didn't look at me. He just stared at Jaz. "Please go on, she needs to relax. Show her why Queen pays you the big bucks."
I couldn't believe it. Was he handing me over? Was my bodyguard pushing me into the arms of a stranger?
Jaz didn't need to be told twice. He stepped into my space, his hand on my shoulder, his eyes searching mine. Then he crossed himself over my lap and tilted my chin up so I kept eye contact. The music below shifted, and he started moving slowly at first.
Then his rhythm became something else entirely. His hips rolled against me in a steady, deliberate pulse. I froze, my hands hovering in the air before they instinctively landed on his knees just to keep my balance.
I looked past Jaz's shoulder, searching for Killian.
He was already watching me. Arms crossed, jaw tight, that unreadable expression locked on my face. Not on Jaz, not on the stage.
On me.
And somehow, that was worse.
- Writer
