Lion's Dangerous(Kings of the Jungle #1)(22)

Alexa snorted. "What would you judge? I'm not a call-girl, I'm a personal groomer. Hey, why don't you do something like that? Offer private in-home instruction? One of the biggest obstacles with getting people to sign up for events is finding a time that works for a maximum amount of people. You could avoid that if you had flexible availability."

"I don't really want to be that flexible, honestly. I'd rather have my evenings to myself." Lily worked a few stitches and then looked out the window. The parking lot was empty for the moment, not uncommon the hour or so before lunchtime. She drew another deep breath and let it out loudly. "I left a message with your friend. He emailed me an application for admission to The Jungle."

Alexa, lifting her coffee for a sip, paused midway to her mouth. "You mean Ares? You talked to him?"

"Just email, but yes. He was … helpful."

A strange expression crossed Alexa's face, quickly replaced by approval. "Good. You seemed like you needed … something."

"I did. Thanks. I appreciate it." An awkward silence lingered for a moment. Lily broke it. "Ah … will I see a friendly face if I pass the screening process?"

What she really meant was, would she see Jude?

"I can't say. Ares will be there regularly, so, him. The owners keep the place locked up tight as far as information about their regular patrons. Not everything is secret, obviously, because people talk, but I can't give you a list or anything."

"You're not … ?"

"No." A frown pulled at Alexa's lips. She looked down and finally drank from her cup, and then made a face. "Cold coffee. Not my favorite, but a sign that it's time to hit the road. My salon appointment's usually a few minutes early. Keep me updated on the Jungle app if you want. I'm always up for some juicy sex talk and drama, especially if it's not my own."

Lily smiled faintly and stood. "You might regret the offer."

"Probably not." With a wink, Alexa headed out, holding the door for two women carrying their projects for some lunchtime sit-and-knit.

Coffee break over, Lily got back to work and Alexa slipped out to meet her client.



* * *

Jude had taken pleasure from the humans who came to the Jungle hoping for the opportunity to fuck a beast, but that was before Lily. As he walked down the now vacant paths on his way to meet with the two other members of his Pride, the familiar hunger didn't come. The woman he wanted was elsewhere.

Deep in the network of the Jungle's created paths, a mahogany door loomed. Jude rapped once and let himself in.

Cavin, master and creator of the Jungle, was a tall, lean man, hard around the edges, with an aura of power that cowed humans and lesser shifters alike.

He sat behind a massive desk that faced a wall of one-way glass. The window overlooked the club. From his vantage, Cavin could see down past the thick greenery to the paths and open spaces that would fill with bodies as soon as the doors opened for the night. Some fetish club owners designated dungeon master status to lower managers. Cavin did delegate managerial power, but he was no blind monarch. Between the glass and the bank of computer monitors that showed feeds from every security camera in the building, Cavin could see everything.



       
         
       
        

But that was the problem. Cavin could see everything inside the building and he kept pretty solid tabs on activities in the surrounding area, but the industrial spread surrounding the club couldn't be monitored with cameras. Cavin had to rely upon people, and loyal informants were hard to come by even for a man like him.

Cavin wasn't the only male in the room. Ares, the third King, stood in front of the monitors, watching the feeds as they switched from one view to another. Nobody but staff was in the club at this time of day, but until the man responsible for three savage attacks on women connected to the club was caught, even staff weren't above suspicion.

Ares turned at Jude's entrance, his expression black. "Not one person noticed that you were in the building."

"There's a staff meeting before we open the doors tonight. Nobody leaves without clear understanding of the new security protocol," Cavin said, not looking up from the sheaf of paperwork in front of him. He gestured Jude to one of the two large leather chairs that faced his desk and pushed a black folder across the desk. "New applicant. I don't buy her background story. Tell me what you read between these lines."

Jude drew the file close and turned it to face him, expecting lines of information and a photo of a stranger, but when he looked down, his heart rate slowed and the hairs on his arms lifted.