Free Three Hours (Seven Series Book 5) by Dannika Dark Page B

up behind her, pumped in a few coins, and planted his hands on either side of the machine, becoming a shield while she played her last game. He turned his head, glancing toward the door where the man had gone. I could tell he was itching to go after him, but a good watchdog didn’t leave the woman or child they were guarding to act out a boyish impulse.
    While he might have had the maturity of a teenager, Denver was no boy.



Chapter 4
     
    That evening at the club, my panther was scratching to get out . Being a Shifter in the city wasn’t easy when your animal required freedom several times a week. Years ago, I lived in northern Canada. Lots of space for my animal to run, privacy, and yet there was no way for me to earn a good living. There had been times when I had no food to eat for months, but as long as my panther could hunt, her meals would provide for the both of us. I’d reached a point where I had to choose a life for either my panther or myself—there was no happy medium. Either I could live in a shack in the woods—isolated from civilization—or I could move to a city with more Breeds and make a solid income to give myself financial comfort in the years to come.
    After I made my decision, I realized it came with sacrifice. It became too dangerous for me to shift anywhere outside my residence. Occasionally I would take an excursion to the rural areas of Texas and let her out for a day or two, just to give her a chance to run hard and get it out of her system, but I couldn’t do that all the time. My boss didn’t give me many consecutive days off, so that left me with shifting in my apartment. A Shifter’s animal respects those that the human half loves, so nothing ever happened between my panther and Misha. But an apartment was a tight fit, and there was always a risk of a human hearing her growl and calling the police. On rare occasions, I’d find scratches on the wall or other signs of restless behavior. I’m sure the music didn’t help calm her, but I kept it on to drown out any sounds she might make.
    Maybe if I lived on the Breed side of town, I wouldn’t have to worry about humans, but the possibility of having the wrong person discover my animal was equally terrifying.
    Whenever I felt the need to shift, I channeled it into my dance. It made my performances erotic, and tips were plentiful because of the savage look in my eyes and predatory movement of my body.
    Club Sin had a long stage with one pole and multicolored spotlights. The smaller stages had poles, but they weren’t hugely popular in bars except with Chitahs, who seemed to enjoy the acrobatic stuff. The big attractions were the elaborate dances performed on the big stage. We occasionally choreographed together and made it something fun, but usually the girls were trying too hard to earn tips, so they preferred coming up with their own moves if they had to share the stage.
    Customers enjoyed the girls putting on a show that told a story, and the chairs around the main stage rarely stayed empty. The rest of the club had curved swivel chairs surrounding polished tables. Many Breed clubs were laid out the same to give customers a sense of familiarity and comfort, so the bar ran along the left side of the room. The VIP area on the right was for private parties, and that’s where the girls banked with private lap dances for high-paying customers. No sex went on in our club, although who knew what happened outside the doors? I’d received a number of tempting offers, but no amount of money was worth selling my body like a prostitute. I had enough sense to separate the business from my personal life.
    I changed out of my platforms and into a pair of silver heels before heading toward a table in the back where Daphne was slurping on a martini.
    “I want that dress,” she said, admiring my tight-fitting black outfit.
    “Honey, how are you holding up?”
    “Freaking the hell out,” she replied, poking at an olive with her fingernail. “I