by Parker, Ali
Ken Doll’s shoulders slumped. I was actually kind of flattered by his disappointment. He raked his fingers through his hair and gave me a subtle nod. “Have a good night, ladies.”
Marley nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. “He knew he was shooting too high.”
“You don’t have to be so mean,” I scolded her.
“I wasn’t mean. He said ‘dig’. I couldn’t leave that alone. Come on. You know me better than that.”
It was true. Marley was the first to point out something she thought sounded silly. And apparently, his pickup line fell into that category. Though I had to agree with her. It had come off pretty weak and super skeevy.
Marley put her empty glass on the bar. “You ready to shake that ass or what, London?”
I sucked back the final few mouthfuls of my drink and set the glass next to Marley’s before holding out my hand to her. “Let’s do it.”
The dance floor was packed. It always was at Kadia. This place drew out the real partiers who knew how to have a good time. The DJ was playing a kick-ass playlist and breaking the songs up at the perfect times to keep the beat fresh.
I didn’t care that people bumped into me. I liked it actually. The physical contact was nice. In no time, Marley and I found ourselves dancing with a couple of girls, forming a ring and facing inward to ward off any unwanted male attention.
Drunk-giraffe girl was there, making eyes at me from across the circle and mouthing words I couldn’t decipher.
I assumed she was still trying to convince me to fuck Liam.
The alcohol running through my system whispered sweet nothings in my ear.
It would be so good. What’s the harm in a little nookie? Bodyguard and fuck buddy. That’s as good a combination as mint and chocolate.
I was starting to feel a little hot around the collar when a pair of hands settled on my hips and spun me around.
A bearded face, hooded eyes, and sloppy mouth grinned down at me.
I pressed against the chest of the stranger trying to get me to dance with him. “Sorry. No thanks.”
“Come on, princess. Just one dance?” His words were slurred.
Another two men had closed in on the circle and were picking out girls. One of them wanted Marley. She told him to piss off before putting her back toward him and reaching for me.
We were all spared the awkwardness when Liam slid between me and the guy with the beard. He didn’t say a word. Just stood there with his shoulders squared and his chin lifted. I was practically invisible behind his size.
The men left.
Liam turned toward me, took my hand, and gave me a smooth twirl on the dance floor. I giggled as he spun me into him and found myself staring up into his handsome face. “You’re really good at being in the right place at the right time, aren’t you?”
He cracked a crooked grin. “I take my job very seriously, Miss London.”
I liked how my name fell from his lips. “Please. Call me Genevieve.”
He twirled me again, this time releasing my hand so I ended up beside Marley, who held my shoulders and stood by my side as we watched Liam slip off the dance floor and disappear back into the crowd.
Chapter 11
Liam
A figure in all black sidled up to me beside the bar and nudged me with his elbow.
I glanced over at Caleb, my fellow MC member and security guard at Kadia, and nodded hello to him.
Caleb hardly looked at me. His eyes scanned the dance floors, balconies, and bar line ups looking for riffraff. He was good at his job. Always had been. He took it seriously, and when Caleb was on duty, things ran smoothly.
Well, except for that time Isaac Reed showed up. But you can’t win them all, right?
“How’s your night going, kid?” Caleb asked.
“Good.” I pointed across the dance floor to Genevieve and Marley. “I’m here with them. How much better could it be?”
Caleb watched the two women dancing for a brief second. “Not bad, kid. Not bad.”
I grinned sheepishly in spite of myself and checked the time on my watch. Nearly two in the morning. These girls sure knew how to party, and it didn’t look like they were slowing down any time soon. Kadia was still bumping with high energy, and it didn’t close for another hour, but I wasn’t sure staying until closing was a good idea.
People got testy at the end of the night.
Guys were looking for fights. Women just wanted to get home. The crowds were intense outside, and it could become a downright nightmare trying to navigate your way out of the place.
“I think I’m going to take them home,” I called to Caleb over the noise. “Thanks for the VIP hookup. It made me look good.”
Caleb clapped a hand on my shoulder. “No problem, brother. Anytime. Get home safe. I have to make another round.”
Caleb slipped away, and I wove through the dance floor to get to Marley and Genevieve. They were both dancing with their backs pressed together, hips rocking from side to side, arms above their heads.
Genevieve saw me coming, straightened up, and spun toward me. Her blonde hair stuck to her lip gloss, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Hi!”
I smiled. “Hey.”
She reached for me as Marley watched us. I caught her wrist before she grazed my face with the tips of her fingers. Despite how badly I wanted her to touch me, I didn’t want to move things along too quickly. Or when she was drunk.
“I think I should get you two home before the late crowd makes getting out of here a pain in the ass.”
Genevieve pouted. “Already?”
“We can stay if you want. You’re the boss. But it will be harder to leave, the longer we wait.”
Marley turned toward Genevieve. “I could go for a late-night snack and my bed. Not going to lie.”
Genevieve bit her bottom lip and looked back and forth between me and her friend. “Okay. On one condition. We go through a drive-thru. Somewhere with really greasy burgers.”
My kind of girl. “Let’s do it,” I said, offering them each one of my hands and guiding them along behind me across the dance floor toward the exit.
When we spilled out onto the sidewalk, all three of us stopped to breathe in the crisp night air. It was cold enough for me to notice Genevieve’s nipples through her dress. Attempting to look more like a gentleman than I was, I shrugged out of my leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Genevieve closed one hand around the collar, pulling it in close around her throat, and blinked bashfully at me. “Thank you.”
We walked back to the truck together. I kept my eyes peeled for any trouble, but everyone outside was in high spirits.
We passed the alley alongside the club, and I peered down it, remembering the events that happened there. It felt like ages ago now. Isaac Reed. His brother. Caleb. Ryder nearly getting blown away.
And then Rhys putting a bullet in the man who killed our crew in Chicago.
The alley was full of chain smokers, dancers and drinkers who’d stumbled out into the night to take their drags and pass around some joints. Their laughter met us on the sidewalk and reminded me that everything with Isaac Reed was in the past. This place would always make me think of that night, but it was good to see it didn’t hold the same bitterness for others. Strangers milled about carelessly, blissfully unaware of the shit that went down in this place.
The blood that was spilled.
I was thankful when we got to Owen’s truck. We all piled in, and I pulled out into the street and pointed the truck back in the direction of Genevieve’s house.
“Don’t forget the drive-thru,” Marley demanded from the back seat.
I locked eyes with her in the rearview mirror. “Never.”
Marley and Genevieve shouted their orders at me as I drove through the first burger joint we passed that was open twenty-four hours. The worker inside, a young kid with streaks of blue in his jet-black hair, gave me a half-hearted smile as he handed the bags through the window to
me.
I twisted around to pass everything back to the girls, who ripped the bags out of my hands like dogs that hadn’t eaten in weeks and set to tearing them open with their talons before descending upon the French fries inside.
Our drive back to Marley’s was punctuated with the sounds of rustling bags and wrappers, chewing, and the occasional moan of contentment from the women in the back seat. I prayed like hell neither of them dropped a single French fry on the floor or, God forbid, dripped any form of sauce on the seats or carpet.
Knowing Owen, he would get in his truck and smell the fast food. My head was already going to be on a chopping block for that one.
But so long as there was no damage, he’d let me off the hook.
Hopefully.
“It’s the next driveway on your left,” Marley called after I’d turned down her street and passed about a half-dozen houses, all of which were neatly spread out in rows and nestled back on green lawns. I imagined this street was humming with the sounds of sprinklers in the mornings as everyone tended to their perfectly manicured gardens.
I stopped the truck in Marley’s driveway, hopped out, and offered her my hand. She accepted it and stumbled out of the back of the truck. I steadied her and then helped Genevieve out. She threw her arms around her friend, wished her a good night, and then climbed into the passenger seat of the truck while I walked Marley to her front door to make sure she got in all right.
She rummaged through her tiny clutch for her house key as we stood on her doorstep, illuminated by a single light from above. “I know it’s in here somewhere. Shit. Hang on.”
“It’s all right,” I assured her, waiting patiently.
She pulled out a silver key and gave me a victorious smile. “Ah ha!”
“Well done.”
Marley hid the key between her palm and fingers and eyed me. “Thanks for looking out for us tonight. Well, for looking out for her. She needs someone in her corner. Someone she can trust to have her back through this.”
I frowned. Was she warning me or thanking me?
“I definitely have her back,” I said.
Marley nodded approvingly. “Good. Because if you don’t, I’ll come for you.”
I tried not to smile. Marley was doing her best to sound and look intimidating. She had her shoulders bunched up and was pointing an accusing finger up toward my face. She looked rather adorable and harmless, but if push came to shove, there was no telling what she was capable of to defend her friend.
I held both hands up innocently. “Consider me warned.”
Marley clapped my shoulder before unlocking her door and pushing it open. “Have a good night, Liam. Take care of my girl, okay? And if shit gets freaky,” she paused to flash me a knowing smile and leaned in close, half hanging out the doorway, “make sure she gets off too, okay? My girl has been with too many selfish pricks in the past.”
I blinked. “Uh.”
Marley waved me off. “Okay, bye! Have fun!”
She slammed the door in my face.
Make sure she gets off too?
If I ever got lucky enough to take Genevieve London to bed, all I would be focused on was making sure she got off. Fuck. A guy like me didn’t get those chances. And I didn’t consider myself a greedy person in the bedroom. Quite the opposite actually.
I walked back to the truck, painfully aware of Genevieve’s eyes on me as I walked around the hood and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“She tried to intimidate you, didn’t she?” Genevieve asked, rolling her head to the side to watch me put my seatbelt on.
I chuckled. “She tried. I think she believes she is a much bigger, scarier-looking person than she is.”
Genevieve giggled as I reversed out of the driveway. “It’s part of her charm.”
We drove the rest of the way to her house in comfortable silence. At this time of the night, where there were hardly any cars on the road in the residential areas, it only took us ten minutes to get to her place. When I parked the truck, she was already taking her seatbelt off and turning toward the door.
She didn’t wait for my help out of the truck, and as we walked to her front door, it was obvious that the alcohol had worn off. I’d watched her intake all night long. Marley nearly doubled the amount Genevieve drank, and Genevieve broke her drinks up with a glass of water almost every time.
When we got to her door, she had removed my jacket to give it back to me and her keys were already in hand. She slid them into the lock, gave them a twist, and pushed the door open before turning toward me. She was bathed in warm light flooding out of her home, painting her tanned skin in an amber glow.
She looked quite literally like an angel.
“Thank you for everything tonight, Liam. I would consider your first shift a success. When I’m a little more refreshed, we will need to sit down and discuss the terms of your employment with me. Wage. Hours. Expectations on both sides. Does that sound all right to you?”
“More than all right.”
Her lips curled upward in a delicate smile as she twirled her keys in her hands. “Excellent. We’ll try to make it happen this week.”
I was putting on my jacket and about to respond when she lifted her face to the stars, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. For a moment, she seemed to have completely forgotten I was standing there. And that was okay by me.
I watched her breathe. I watched the way a content little smile played on her lips and how all the muscles in her body seemed to relax.
Then her eyes fluttered open, and she blushed a pretty shade of pink. “Sorry. I just had to steal a moment. It’s been so nice to get out tonight and not have to worry about things. It’s going to be a big week. I have meetings with some important people, and I think having you with me might make them take me more seriously.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I’m young. I’m female. The men in the room think I’m a flake. They think I’m bringing nothing more than a child’s dreams to the table. That’s been my biggest obstacle. Convincing people that I’m here to stay and I’m going to make this happen one way or another. If I show up with you, maybe that will make them see me differently.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. She had to fight harder simply because she was young and female? That didn’t sit right with me. Especially since I’d gotten to know her a bit and could tell she was clever, compassionate, and driven. All she wanted was to do some good in this city. And she had the means to do it.
Why shit on her for it?
I lifted my chin. “I’ll do whatever you need.”
Genevieve’s lips puckered as she chewed the inside of her cheek. “Whatever I need?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes danced back and forth between mine. The air around us suddenly felt hotter as she moved from the doorway to join me out on the front step. Then, like it was all happening in a dream, she reached for me, took the front of my jacket in one hand, and drew me toward her for a warm, soft kiss.
Chapter 12
Genevieve
What am I doing?
The leather of Liam’s jacket creaked in my fist as I tightened my grip.
This was not the kind of girl I was. Never had been. I was the girl who sat with her knees pinched together, back straight, looking pretty while I waited for the guy I liked to catch my eye. And after, I’d give him a flirty smile, and undoubtedly, he’d wander over, and we’d start chatting. Flirting. Kissing.
Whatever.
This was different. I’d seized the reins before I knew what I was doing, and in seconds, my lips were on his.
And damn. Was it ever a kiss.
At first, Liam had stood there, perhaps a little paralyzed by the quick turn of events. I could see where he would be thrown off. I was his boss, after all. Sort of.
Wasn’t I? Was this wrong?
How many lines was I crossing? Was I going to scare him off? Was this what he wanted? Was he only kissing me back because he wanted t
his job?
Stop it.
Liam was into me. I’d known it since the first second we locked eyes in front of the women’s shelter on Tuesday. The chemistry was there, and I didn’t know what it was about tonight that made me want to kiss him so badly, but there we were, kissing. I wasn’t going to ruin it by getting in my head about it.
I was going to enjoy it.
And whatever came next.
Liam’s hands ran up my sides as the kiss became something more. It deepened, his tongue plunged into my mouth, and my breath caught in my throat as I drew myself even closer to him, crushing my breasts against his firm chest. His masculine scent filled my nose; cedar and sandalwood and something citrus I couldn’t place. Grapefruit, perhaps. He tasted like Tic Tacs and lemon.
Maybe he had been hoping this would happen tonight. That would explain the minty freshness.
Suddenly, he pushed his hands against my shoulders and forced us apart.
I stood reeling in the aftermath of the most passionate kiss I’d ever had and pressed two shaking fingers to my tingling lips. “I’m sorry,” I breathed.
He shook his head sharply. “No.”
“No?”
“Don’t be sorry. I just…”
“Just what?”
“Want to make sure you’re okay with this.”
“I kissed you,” I said incredulously.
“Yes, but—”
It was my turn to shake my head. “I kissed you.”
The way he was looking at me made my blood rush in my ears. He looked at me like I was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. Like I was the sun itself. Like I provided the air he breathed.
Yep, I was done for.
With a primal growl I didn’t realize came from my own throat, I grabbed his jacket again, pulled him to me, and kissed him as I walked backward into my house, dragging him in with me.
He was on board.
He kicked my front door closed and shrugged out of his jacket. It fell to the floor, where we abandoned it as we made our way deeper into my house. Most of the lights were off, save for the under-cabinet lighting in my kitchen, which cast just the right amount of light to throw half of him into shadow, making him look like the starring lead in a high-budget film.