I SAT with Gemma in the dancers’ break room waiting for the night to begin, still nervous since it was only my first week of actually dancing at Club X. The other dancers sat around us, some fixing their costumes while others put on makeup instead of getting ready in the dressing room right next door.
A few of the dancers sat in the far corner of the room drinking as they did every night. Gemma had told me about them on my first night. They were some of the ones who danced in the rooms without their clothes on, and Gemma thought they had to get drunk just to do the job. All three women had gorgeous bodies—much nicer than any of us who danced with our clothes on—and one in particular, Simone, had the most beautiful violet colored eyes. I didn’t know if they were real or contacts, but they were stunning.
Leaning over, I whispered to Gemma, “I wonder if they make a lot more than we do.”
Unsure who I meant, she shook her head. “Who?”
“Simone and the others who dance naked in the rooms.”
“I bet they do. They have to handle a lot more than we do. Why do you think they drink?”
“I guess,” I said quietly, unable to take my eyes off their corner. Was it really so bad that they had to be drunk?
“I hear Victoria prefers a different kind of way to forget,” Gemma said with a wink.
“Really? What?”
She didn’t answer but sniffed to let me know she meant coke. I’d seen a bunch of the dancers at The Carousel do coke on that one night I danced there, but I was surprised to find out Kane allowed that kind of thing at Club X.
“I guess it’s not that great if you have to do things like that.”
Gemma nudged me with her elbow. “What do you care about making more money? Now that you’re living with Kane, you have it made. The guy’s a millionaire, not that you’d ever know it, but he is.”
“Really?”
“Of course, honey! He’s one of the owners of this place. He, Stefan, and Cassian all own Club X, so if the other two are millionaires, so is he.”
“I didn’t think about that,” I said quietly.
Gemma continued to talk about something, but I wasn’t listening anymore. My attention was on Kane who’d just walked into the room wearing jeans and a navy blue T-shirt that showed off his tattoos. He didn’t act like he was a millionaire. He acted like every other guy I’d ever dated. Millionaires dated women who wore designer clothes and shoes that cost more than I made in a week. I wasn’t exactly the type of female a man with money would want to show off to his rich friends.
He finished his nightly pep talk, and we all began to file out toward our first assignments. Suddenly self-conscious about everything I was and wasn’t, I followed close to Gemma to try to sneak out past him, but he caught me by the arm and pulled me aside.
“Hey, angel. I’ll be watching you tonight,” he said in a sexy voice.
I avoided looking at him, instead looking down at my feet. “Cool. Thanks. I better get going.”
Kane lifted my chin with his finger and looked down at me with hurt in his eyes that made me feel like shit. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with one of the girls?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not that.”
“Then what’s wrong? I told you it’s my job to make your present happy, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
“You’re a millionaire.”
“Yeah, I am. A few times over, in fact.”
“What would you want with someone like me then?”
“Why would I live in those rooms on the fourth floor? Why would I drive a car older than me? Why would I wear T-shirts and jeans? Having money doesn’t change who I am, Abbi.”
“I’m sorry. You’re mad at me now. I can tell because you called me by my name.”
He gave me one of those wonderful smiles I only saw when we were alone. “I’m not mad at you. Don’t think about how much money I have. It obviously doesn’t change who I am. And as for what I’d want with you, it’s exactly what I get from you. You make me happy.”
“Okay. I just wondered when I found out you had all that money. I’m not what a millionaire would want in a girlfriend, Kane.”
“You’re what I want in a girlfriend, angel. Now go out there so I can watch the most beautiful woman in the world dance.”
I hugged him tightly, loving the feel of his strength around me. “I’ll pretend I’m dancing for you.”
“Good. And later when we go back to the house, I have another surprise for you.”
Another surprise? I stepped back in shock. “Another one? Let me guess. You got the front door fixed so it doesn’t squeak anymore,” I said with a giggle.
“No, and no more guessing. Now get out there so I have someone to watch tonight.”
I danced the best I could, my eyes closed and every moment pretending it was Kane sitting in those rooms watching me. I loved the idea of him standing out at his post at the top of the stairs looking at the monitors for my assignments. It meant so much to me that he liked what I did and I made him proud.
My rooms were only for solo dancing, likely because Kane had told Samson not to pair me with Rhett or any of the other male dancers. I could handle that. His jealousy made me feel loved and cherished, and I’d never want him to be hurt by anything I did. I didn’t have to dance with anyone else. My dancing was for me and the man I loved.
The night flew by, and by three a.m. we were back at the house we now called home. He hadn’t mentioned my surprise again, but I knew he wouldn’t forget. Kane never forgot anything. He might not say anything about a problem or comment, but he remembered.
I opened the front door and heard it squeak. Turning to look at him as we entered the house, I joked, “Definitely not my surprise.”
“No. Your surprise is waiting for you inside. I’d say close your eyes, but you’ll probably hear it before you see it. Just be careful when you walk in and let me turn on the lights first.”
Hear it before I saw it? And why would I have to be careful in the dark?
Kane flipped the light switch and there in the middle of the living room lay a tiny dark brown and white kitten curled up on a white pillow twice its size.
“Angel, meet Angel. Now it’s the three of us.”
“Oh my God! She’s adorable, Kane! A kitten—” I couldn’t hold back the tears and began to cry at how sweet he’d been to get me a kitten. “I’ve always wanted a cat.”