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Noah took the drink the bartender handed to him. "Well, his name is Hunter after all."
I hadn't thought of it like that. "So, he's just living up to his name?" I asked.
Noah shrugged.
"Does that mean you're going to be building an ark?"
Noah let out another laugh, and it made me wonder why Kellie's friend Andi was so down on Noah. He was bad-boy rockstar handsome, and clearly he had a sense of humor. Still, compared to Hunter, there was something immature about him.
"Well, if I was to build an ark, I'm not sure what I would do with Hunter. I mean didn't Noah gather animals two by two. I don't think Hunter would be satisfied with being a duo."
"Do you think he'd be satisfied doing a duo?"
Hunter was by the book at work, but I had a sense he was much more adventurous and willing to go outside the lines in his sex life.
Again, Noah laughed. "You know, I'm not sure, but Hunter strikes me as a one at a time, guy. He's laser focused and he likes the details. I don't see him spreading himself thin by having two women at once."
I arched a brow. "You thought about this, huh?"
A blush came to know his cheeks. "Well, not really. But you asked and that is my assessment. Now I'm going to drink this and get the thoughts of my brother fucking some woman out of my head."
Some woman. Was that what I’d been this afternoon? Just some woman.
11
Hunter
I was hiding in the back of Cesare’s sulking. Once again, I come down here hoping to find a woman who could help me take my mind off Natalie. But like the night before, I was having no luck. God dammit.
Giving up my place in the private booth to another small group, I headed back to where the security team monitored all aspects of the restaurant and club inside and out. One of my men, Chuck, went to take a quick cigarette break and I assured him that I would offer backup to the other man, George. Between the two monitoring security from here and the four bouncers I had strewn throughout the club and the restaurant, we very rarely had any trouble at Cesare’s.
"It looks like Jason Tollison is back tonight," George said, his eyes watching the young playboy on the screen.
"Is his probation up?" I asked. Jason was one of those young men whose parents were rich and never forced him to earn anything in his life. As a result, he didn't work, and simply spent his nights drinking and man-whoring his way through life. I had no problem with that, in theory, except Jason could get pretty crazy when he had too much to drink. So several times a year, he was tossed out of the club and prohibited from returning for a month.
"This probation ended last night."
I watched Jason and so far, he seemed to be behaving. "I suppose it says something that he keeps coming back here even though we keep having to toss him out."
George grinned. "There's no place like Cesare’s."
I smiled and patted George on the shoulder. "Damn straight." And that's when I noticed Natalie walking through the door. I told myself that the strange thump in my chest was annoyance and not some sort of happiness at seeing her again. For a moment I just watched her as she walked in, stopped for a moment and looked around, almost as if she was thinking of leaving, and then made her way to the bar. I pulled out my phone and texted the head bartender telling him to give her whatever she wanted on the house.
I wondered why she was here. She didn't strike me as a woman who normally went clubbing. And it didn't appear that she was meeting anyone. Certainly, she wasn't here to see me, but she made that perfectly clear this afternoon when she turned my indecent proposal down. So what was she up to?
She took her drink and turned around, scanning the club as if she was looking for someplace to sit. Or maybe she was looking for whoever she was there to meet. Recognition lit in her eyes and I wondered who was there that she was meeting and what excuse I could use to boot him out of my club. My jaw fell to the floor when I saw Noah approach her. Noah? Jesus fucking Christ.
"When did Noah get here?" I asked George.
"He's been here about ten minutes maybe."
I watched Noah and Natalie on the screen as they talked, wondering if they had made some sort of date. Something that felt too scarily like jealousy roiled in my gut.
"She's a Strong employee. I’m going to go put an end to that."
"He doesn't have that predatory look that he usually has," George said.