“You tell me, sweetheart.”
The woman opened the flannel and slid it down her arms. She was naked and slowly walked toward Reese. He released his hold on his gun and took another drink from his beer bottle.
She walked right up to him and touched his face. Her hands eased down his leather cut and moved to the inside of it, touching his chest. She kept going down, finding the zipper of his jeans before lowering herself down.
Reese took a deep breath and shut his eyes.
They were called relievers for a reason, even if the relief was only temporary.
Chapter Three
The first alarmthat went off didn’t actually wake Josie up. That wasn’t her style. She was the type to hit the snooze button seven times and wish she had done it eight. When she finally emerged from bed, she threw on a long t-shirt that definitely wasn’t hers; one that she told anyone who asked that she didn’t know where she’d got it from, but she knew where the shirt came from. That meant nothing though as she hurried to the kitchen to turn on the coffee and think about food. It was already close to noon, which came with the life. She worked as the club manager at the strip club, which came with its own set of judgements. But it was at least a step up from taking her clothes off for money, something she never had to do.
Then again, she wondered if it came down to that, that would definitely get her some serious attention. Probably not in a good way though. She could already see Reese busting through the doors, seeing her on stage, taking cash from some guy wanting to see more. He would probably knock the guy clean out, carry her off stage, and then find a way to shut the club down. Better yet, he would take her backstage and throw her against one of the tables and get pissed at her. He’d probably yell, all the while touching her, until they finally just succumbed to everything that had been building and lingering between them all these years.
Josie took a deep breath and shook her head. Those kinds of thoughts were better off saved for when she was back in bed. Not that she hadn’t been down that road before with Reese. Hell, for all the time she’d spent tied into Back Down Devil MC, she could probably wear the patch and fit right in.
That was a lifetime ago though. That was when youth and innocence felt like forever and the future was just a hope for more. Life had a funny way of twisting and changing whenever it wanted, whether you were ready or not.
Josie poured herself a cup of coffee and got out some eggs.
She walked to the living room and kicked the couch, waking up Starla. She was in a green bra and black panties. She stirred and jumped up, gasping for air.
“Good morning,” Josie said.
“What the hell?… holy shit. My heart…”
“How’s your head?”
“My head…” Starla touched her head. It wasn’t until she sat up did she feel the effects of the night before. That’s when she groaned.
“Yeah,” Josie said. “Take this.” She gave Starla the mug of coffee. “I’ll go find you some pills for that headache.”
“What happened last night?”
“You got too close, Starla. Throwing back doubles from that salesman. He thought he was taking you back to his hotel.”
“I would’ve gone,” she said.
“He’s married. Two kids. Back in Austin, Texas. I made a judgment call.”
“I don’t need you to protect me,” Starla said.
“I know,” Josie said. “Oh, where’s your money from last night?”
Starla sipped her coffee and her eyes went wide. “Shit. Where are my clothes?”
Josie pointed to her clothes on a chair. Neatly folded. Because that was Josie’s life. Getting a half dead-drunk dancer back to her place without getting puked on. Getting her on the couch and asleep, making sure she wasn’t going to end up hurting herself. Then neatly folding her clothes and putting them on the chair. If that wasn’t enough, Josie found some baggies in one of Starla’s pockets.Not good at all.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Starla whispered as she put the coffee mug down and hurried to check her clothes.
Josie stood there and watched as Starla dug through the pockets. She finally just threw the clothes across the living room. Grabbing her hair, she turned and looked at Josie, almost ready to break down in tears.
“What did I do?”
“That’s why I didn’t want you to go with him,” Josie said. “He looked as shady as anything. But he tipped well and enjoyed the night. The second he wanted to take you back to his hotel, I stopped it. I could smell his intention.”
“Well, if he was going to rob me, I should have let him fuck me,” Starla said.