As he speaks, two young women pass by our booth. They’re headed the same direction I’m facing, so neither of them see my face. It grants me the perfect opportunity to admire their long legs and flash of skin beneath their dresses —a tight blue sequin minidress and a wild fluorescent pink number that makes my cock strain against my pants.
Ashton whistles like the sleaze he is. “I love this place,” he says with a chuckle. “Let’s buy those lovely ladies some drinks. Maybe we’ll end up having some fun.”
“Careful,” I warn. “What would your wife say?”
“She’s too busy spending my fucking money and popping pills to give a shit about where I stick my dick.”
“Leave them alone, Hartley.”
“You don’t think I have a shot?”
I press my lips into a thin line, feeling smug. I can’t outwardly insult the guy, especially not after he’s agreed to give me the funding I need, but I’ve learned over the years that sometimes silence is a far more effective jab than a spoken word.
“Whatever.” Ashton huffs, rising from his seat while grabbing his coat. “Thanks for the drinks, Stride. Always a pleasure.”
“Likewise.”
He leaves first, giving our bottle girl an extra tip and his business card before descending the stairs of the mezzanine to the main floor of the club. The VIP section is quartered off at the base of the stairs by a red velvet rope and not one, but two stone-faced bouncers in black suits. I’m just about to pay off the tab Ashton’s so graciously run up when I hear the girls from before in the next booth over.
“I told you already. He requested, like, a gajillion private shows. We’re rolling it in tonight, babe!”
“I can’t afford to pay you back right now, Taylor. I’d rather not owe you more than I already do.”
I freeze when the second girl’s voice reaches my ear.Eden.
“Would you stop that?” her friend says with a giggle. “It’s not every day you turn twenty-one.”
“That’s kind of the point of birthdays.”
“So let me treat you, silly! Quit worrying already.”
“Of course I worry about it. I’m not a freeloader.”
“Just relax, alright? You’re going to scare away all the potential candidates at this rate. Loosen up and get slutty.”
Eden groans. “Oh my God.”
I sit perfectly still as I listen to this exchange, an odd feeling rising in my chest. Seeing her earlier today had been a blast from the past. I hadn’t thought about Edie Halloway – now apparently, Eden Spencer— in years, and the memories I had of her were of a little ten-year-old girl with a toothy grin and a penchant for scraping her knees. When I finally realized who she was, I was floored.
She was a woman now.
A gorgeous, sexy woman.
I grip my knee and swallow. It feels wrong to think about her this way.
My cock, unfortunately, doesn’t get the memo.
“The hell do you mean,candidates?”
“Um,duh. We’re going to find you a guy tonight to finally pop your cherry!”
I suck in a sharp breath. Curiosity burns in the center of my chest. Her tight little ass is a…virgin? This fact makes the tent in my pants grow that much tighter, but I don’t make a move. Not immediately.
“I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to come,” Eden says with a sigh. “I agreed to drinks, not to have you fling me at some randos.”
“Is it because you’re waiting for Mr. Right? That’s a little silly, don’t you think?”
“I’m not looking for Mr. Right, just Mr. Respectful.”