“Yeah, baby!” J.D. screamed as the stripper worked the pole like she was a Tilt-A-Whirl. “Move that caboose!”
Gabriel stifled a laugh. “Good ol’ J.D. doesn’t disappoint.” He himself glanced at the women disinterestedly. Really, they weren’t doing anything for him, and he could tell Damon was just as miserable as he was, being away from their respective mates. Maybe it was time to end this. Pressing the call button in his hand, he waited, and a few seconds later, their cocktail waitress walked in, and he quickly intercepted her by the door.
“What can I get you, sir?”
“How about my special request?” he asked.
The young woman’s face lit up. “Ah yes, everything’s all set up.”
“Good, can you tell the DJ and then let her in?”
“Will do, sir,” she nodded. “I’ll get you more drinks, too.”
“Thanks.” Finally. He was tired of Damon’s brooding, and it would be nice to see him smile.
“What’s going on?” Damon said as he walked back to the couch.
“Huh?” he asked innocently.
“Your eye’s twitching, and you can barely stop from smiling,” Damon pointed out. “Do you have something planned?”
“Hmmm.” He plopped down on the couch as the music changed.
“Gabriel—”
“And now we have some special entertainment just for the groom,” the DJ announced.
The strippers understood that that was the signal and stopped dancing, then disappeared through the curtains at the rear of the stage.
“Hey!” Anders protested as he waved a fistful of bills. “Where are you going?”
Gabriel caught J.D.’s eyes, who nodded in return. “Anders, c’mon. Let’s go to the main room.”
“Main room? But we were having fun in here,” Anders complained.
Daniel quickly shot to his feet. “Sounds like a plan.”
J.D. hooked her arm around the tiger shifter’s. “Dude, I think I saw a bachelorette party out there. Bet they’re a lot of fun. And looking for some company.”
“Really?” Anders’s face lit up. “Well then, what are we waiting for? You can be my wing woman, McNamara.”
J.D rolled her eyes as she led him out, Daniel right behind them.
As soon as they were out the door, Gabriel grabbed Damon by the arm and dragged him toward the stage.
“Gabriel,” Damon asked in a warning voice. “What’s going on?”
Now Gabriel didn’t bother hiding his grin. “Sit back,” he said, pushing him down on the chair. “And enjoy the show.”
The lights dimmed, and a slow, sensuous tune began to pipe into the speakers. The curtains behind the stage parted, and a figure wearing a trench coat and a feathered mask walked out in the tallest stiletto heels Gabriel had ever seen.
“What the fuck, Gabriel?” Damon growled. “I told you I don’t want any strippers or lap dances or—” He stopped all of a sudden, his entire body tensing.
“Oh, I think you’ll like this one,” he said with a laugh. Turning his head toward the stage he nodded at the dancer, who whipped off her mask.
“Jesus Christ,” Damon cursed.
“Hello there, Chief,” Anna Victoria said with a laugh as she sauntered toward them in her sky-high heels. “Surprise!”
Gabriel tossed his head back and laughed aloud. “I guess you won’t mind this one, huh, Damon?”
His friend looked up at him, his jaw tensing. “I love you, man, but if you don’t get the fuck out of here—”
“I know.” He patted Damon on the shoulder as he turned away from the stage. “And there’s no one around watching. No cameras, no DJ, no bouncers. You’re welcome.” He hurried toward the exit, not really wanting to be around for what was to follow.
“Come here, sweetheart,” Damon called to Anna Victoria. “How about a lap dance?”
“Nuh-uh, Chief. You can look but you can’t—”
Gabriel shut the door behind him, shaking in laughter. Oh boy, I hope she shows him a good time. Anna Victoria didn’t need a lot of convincing to go along with this plan; in fact, she insisted on it, as with the wedding only a week away, both she and Damon were stressed out and needed to blow off some steam. As a gift, he’d even booked them a pool suite at The Palms Hotel where Anders would never be able to find them.
Temperance was a genius, coming up with this plan.
His lion huffed haughtily, as if saying, of course she is, she’s our mate.
He sighed and took his phone out of his pocket. Out of respect for Damon, he had put it on silent. He didn’t want to be checking on it all the time as this weekend was supposed to be about celebrating his best friend. But Temperance should already be out of work by now, so he could at least give her a call and say goodnight. Maybe I could convince her to send me some naughty pics. He groaned as his cock twitched in his pants. Even though he’d been surrounded by gorgeous women all night, only the thought of Temperance made him crave sex.
Better get outta here or they might get the wrong idea, he thought as he searched for the door. As he walked toward the exit, he looked back toward the main stage, shaking his head as J.D. and Anders were once again front and center, tossing bills at the stage. Shaking his head, he slipped out the door, breathing in the cool, desert air. Unlocking his phone, he frowned at the ten missed calls and a string of messages from Ginny.
Pick up.
Where the hell are you?
You need to call me. Now.
It’s about Temperance.
His blood froze in his veins, and his first instinct was to call his mate, but she hadn’t called or messaged him. His fingers quickly tapped on the missed calls from Ginny. “What’s up, Gin?” he asked his voice tight.
“Oh, Gabriel, thank God! Where the fuck have you been? I’ve
