“No, thank you,” Christos said, declining him. “My wife won’t appreciate the smell.”
Nikos laughed and put the cigar back down, briefly wondering how Honey would react to the scent on him. A few months ago, it would have been a strange thought, one that wouldn’t have even bothered to cross his mind, but now it was different.
“They respect me now,” Nikos murmured to himself, still reeling off that fact.
“It’s more than just respect,” Christos replied. “They believe in you.”
Respect was one thing, but to believe in someone was another thing entirely. Believing in someone was the power his father had. It was the reason he stood at the top of a dominant organization with men willing to die in his name. It was something only leaders in power possessed, and though he knew that it was something that most men dreamed of, he was not one of them.
He knew what Christos was trying to say, that these gifts showcased that they didn’t just respect him but wanted to follow him, and Nikos could tell that too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered sending such expensive gifts to begin with, especiallyto someone like him, who only held this power because another was out of commission.
Nikos chose to ignore Christos’s words because he had no interest in that kind of power. He had not come here to run the American brotherhood for his father, and he had no such ambitions for that position. And though many months had passed since his uncle had gone out of commission, Nikos had not forgotten about him, who had been on his mind more often than ever lately after his night spent with Honey.
He would accept their respect, but he wouldn’t take their belief. That brought more trouble than what he wanted to deal with. It was already enough that he would have another pressing matter to deal with in the future if he were able to persuade Honey.
“Take the rest of the night off and go back home to your wife,” Nikos said, letting Christos retire earlier than usual. Tonight was a good night, and he should be able to spend it with his wife. Nikos wished he could spend his night with someone else too, but that wouldn’t be possible if she kept running from him, which judging by the way she had scurried out of here earlier, wouldn’t happen any time soon.
“Who will you be going back home to?” Christos asked.
Nikos arched a brow, wondering if Christos knew. He had made no mention of Honey being in his office earlier. Nikos thought it had been because he hadn’t suspected anything. But then again, what was there to suspect with an employee in her boss’s office? Now, Nikos wondered if they had given something away, even though they had been standing apart. Had there been tension in the room? Had their actions been different lately since the night they slept together?
Christos was a perceptive guy, though. It wouldn’t be strange if he were able to see right through him, just as he had been able to before in the beginning when he had warned him on multiple occasions about his relationship with Honey. At the time, Nikos had brushed aside every concern because there hadn’t been anything between them then. But now, it was different.
He wanted her in every possible way.
“There will be trouble,” Christos warned.
Unlike in the past when he vehemently denied anything between himself and Honey, he said, “I’ll handle it.”
Christos nodded before taking his leave.
Nikos sighed before putting his cigar back in the box and closing it. He walked over to the windows and looked down at the club with nothing but desire humming beneath his skin. A dam had broken in him and all the wants and desires he had were flowing freely. After having Honey, he had to have her again, and in order to do that, he would have to handle the situation with his uncle.
But first, he needed to persuade Honey.
C H A P T E R
33
MONEY FELL LIKE RAIN FROM THE SKY AS HONEY SPUN DOWN FROM THE TOP OF THE POLE TO THE BOTTOM FOR HER LAST MOVE. The club was packed more than usual, and not only could she tell because of the number of people, but because of the amount of money that was beneath her too. As Honey walked off the stage, she grabbed her bra and slipped it back on. She nodded at Roland, who came on stage to gather all her money.
As Honey walked down the stairs, her eyes roved over the crowd, ready to settle on the two men who she would give floor performances to tonight. She never did more than two. One, because she wanted to return home at a reasonable time to bewith her son, and two, because it left the men practically begging and hoping to be one of the few men who would get an exclusive dance from her. It always resulted in her johns paying more, which she greatly appreciated.
She continued to search until her eyes settled on the one man she didn’t want to see— Nikos. He sat with a group of men at the table the girls referred to as the Lion’s Den. It was a large round table slightly elevated in the center of the room, and only powerful, important men got to sit there. It wasn’t a table to be brought into. You had to know Antonis and be associated with the underground work that Nikos was now a part of.
By no means would Honey call herself a coward. She was far from it. She faced everything head-on, didn’t run away from her problems, and didn’t fear anyone— not even the man in a coma who once had made her life hell. But Nikos was a different story entirely.
After what happened last time in his office, she knew she needed to avoid him and had been doing a good job of it so far the past few days, especially since he had been busy with work, and she didn’t plan on changing that tonight.
Instead of going out to find a man to dance for, she headed for the back. She had already made more than enough money from the amount of people here. She would just skip the floor performances tonight, so she wouldn’t have a run-in with Nikos. She didn’t fear Nikos, but she feared that he would change her mind, that he would be able to persuade her into giving in, and that was not a risk she could take.
Honey stepped into the changing room, sighing in relief when she saw there wasn’t anyone else in the room, which wasn’t surprising. With so many people out there, all the girls were out on the floor trying to drain every man and woman out of the money in their pockets. She should have been out theretoo trying to squeeze money into her own pockets, but instead, she was in here.
Annoyed, she opened her locker, getting ready to change. After that, she would remove her makeup and pick up her pay so she could return home to Kai. She went to remove her bra when she heard someone come inside. She glanced to her left, expecting to see one of the girls, but to her surprise, it wasn’t.
She felt her heart drop as her eyes locked on Nikos.
“Nikos,” she said his name, baffled that he was back here. She was hoping he would be too busy to come to find her and, to be honest, she hadn’t expected him to come back here.
