He shrugs again, drinks his beer, and sighs. “She is one lovely piece of ass though, but have you heard that accent? She’s like a fucking hillbilly. Oh, yeah, she tries to hide it, but sometimes it’s like she’s talking with her mouth full of fucking pebbles. And I swear, a couple weeks ago I saw her blushing at some dirty talk from one of the customers like she’s never heard it before. Where’d you find that one again? It’s like you picked up the most sheltered coal-miner’s daughter possible and tossed her into the bear’s den slathered in honey.”
I release a breath from my nose and try not to let him see the tension in my body. I hate the idea of some asshole saying something filthy to Grace, and I don’t know why—she’s not mine, not in the least, and it was my choice to squeeze her into a tiny top and even smaller bottoms and put her back out on the floor when what I really want is to keep her tied up in my room.
I wasn’t lying when I said those things this morning, even if I know I need to keep my darkest, worse impulses and demons under control.
I truly want to destroy her. I want to ruin her and steal away whatever innocence she has left.
But first, I need her help.
The wily little thief. That clever fucking snake. Anger and desire war beneath my skin and I struggle to keep it from overwhelming my brain.
I’m saved from having to tell Diego to fuck off by one of the drink girls, a needy little brunette named Juniper. She bounds over, tits out like she’s desperate for me to stare at them, and pretends to pout as she crosses her arms over her stomach—pushing her tits together even more. She might as well beg me to stare at them.
It’s a little fucking much.
“Calvino, can I talk to you for a second?” She glances at Diego and her face twists into a sneer. “Alone, please?”
“Juniper, darling, why are you such a simpering bitch sometimes?” Diego rolls his eyes at her. “Seriously, the way you throw your tits around whenever you’re near Calvino is pathetic.”
“You’re such a flaccid cock, Diego. You ride his dick—”
“Enough,” I say, rubbing my temples, not in the mood for their bickering. “Diego, go check on the girls in the back for me, make sure everything’s on schedule.” He doesn’t need to do that, but I don’t feel like hearing them fight. “Juniper, what do you want?”
Diego gets up, flips Juniper off, and stalks away smiling.
Juniper glares after him then turns her attention to me. She grins big and bats her fake eyelashes as I look past her and watch Gracie drop off a drink to a couple of guys in denim jackets. One of them says something and the other laughs, and Gracie smiles that fake plastered-on smile all the girls do when some asshole goes a little bit too far, and I feel a spike of hatred in my guts and I’m not sure who it’s directed toward—
“Calvino?” Juniper gets a little closer. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Shit. I wasn’t listening. “Repeat it again for me. Music’s fucking loud.”
“I was asking, you know, I’ve been thinking, maybe I can try dancing? If you really want me to?” She bats her eyes again and I only stare.
“Why the fuck would I want you to dance?”
She steps back as if I just slapped her across the face but it’s a valid question—why the fuck would I need her to dance? Juniper’s hot enough in a boring sort of Uggs-and-Starbucks kind of way, but I’ve got plenty of dancers and no need for her.
“I was just thinking, I don’t know, I’d strip if you wanted me to.” She looks like I just picked up her school lunch and stomped on it.
My god. She might as well throw her pussy on my face for all the desperation leaking from her pores.
“We’re all full for dancers right now, Junie.” I look past her and spot that guy saying something to Gracie again, but this time he’s got her by the wrist and he’s grinning big, and Gracie’s tugging back—but Oscar the bouncer hasn’t noticed yet. The customers aren’t supposed to touch the fucking drink girls, even traitorous little thieves like Gracie. “Excuse me. I have to take care of something.”
I get up and brush past Juniper, leaving her stunned and pissed off, but that’s not my problem. She’ll pout for a few days but she’ll get over it eventually. Despite how much of a bastard I just was, Juniper’s a decent employee—she shows up on time, does her job, and generally doesn’t make problems, and oh, yeah, she doesn’t drug my fucking brother—but her neediness is one of the least attractive things I’ve ever seen. Still, I’ll have Martin give her a fucking ten cent raise or some shit to smooth that little mess over.