Despite how tempting she looks, not a single man lays a hand on her except to slip their cash into the front of her panties now and then to join her ID, perhaps because they’re scared of the consequences from the Aces that are always keeping an eye out on the room along with at least four security cameras.
The night is so uneventful and even slow that I’m about to force myself to turn around and get back to work when Fiasco’s palm reaches out and lands with a loud smack on Naomi’s ass. He pulls her down onto his lap for a few seconds, whispers something in her ear and then lets her up.
It takes every bit of restraint in my body to keep from jumping up and going over to knock his lights out. I’ve always been possessive of my women, but I’ve never had this sort of knee-jerk reaction over a woman I’ve never been inside. And not once have I wanted to lay a hand on one of my own brothers because of a random girl.
I need to get a fucking grip, I know that. But it’s easier said than done, especially when I start wondering if Fiasco will be taking the new girl home tonight. I don’t like that thought one fucking bit. I try to tell myself that I only feel protective over Naomi because she looks so innocent and young, even strutting around in just her heels and panties.
When she comes back up to the bar counter, there’s a new, rosy flush on her cheeks, like she’s embarrassed or offended by Fiasco’s rough treatment.
Her blue eyes meet mine and she says, “I’m fine,” before I even say a word. The woman knew exactly what I was thinking with just a glance. I never let my face give away my hand, so I look back down at my papers while I force myself to relax.
This girl is going to be trouble, my head warns me. She doesn’t belong here, and she sure as shit doesn’t deserve to be passed around by all of my brothers like some kind of plaything. They’ll devour her and then throw her away quicker than a used rubber, snuffing out her breathtaking radiance before I can snap my fingers.
Fuck, I’m going soft in my old age of thirty-five.
Taking a swig of whiskey from the bottle, I swallow it down and mutter under my breath, “You won’t last a fucking week.” I think my words are more of a hope than a prediction of her determination.
“Wanna bet?” Naomi asks confidently with a grin as she grabs two bottles of beer from our bartender and struts back over to Fiasco’s table, his bright red handprint glowing on her right ass cheek, marking her as his.
Oh, fuck no.
He may have already had her, but I’ll be damned if he lays another finger on her.
“Fiasco!” I shout before I even know what the fuck I’m doing or why. When everyone in the room stops talking to turn and look at me, I say to him, “Meeting in the chapel when we dock. Spread the word.”
“Sure thing, prez,” he responds with a mock salute, not having a clue how close I’ve come to beating his ass tonight over some girl I don’t even know.
Chapter Five
Naomi
“Here you go,” I say cheerfully despite the inner turmoil raging inside me when I hand Fiasco and the older man he’s playing blackjack with their fresh beers.
“Thanks, babe,” Fiasco says, stuffing a folded up twenty-dollar bill into the front of my panties where a few others remain since the guys have been treating me like I’m a stripper, all thanks to Malcolm fucking Hyde.
Harry was right – that guy is an asshole, which makes me feel a little less guilty about stealing from him right underneath his nose. I can’t believe he had the audacity to take my dress off in the middle of the freaking room and then demand that I keep working the rest of the night in nothing but my thong. It’s humiliating and demeaning, and I hate him for it. Who the hell does he think he is?
Oh, right. He’s the president of the Dirty Aces; and in the blink of his intense green eyes, he could fire me. That’s why I have to suck it up and do whatever he says. I thought maybe he would want the same sort of treatment as Fiasco did, but Anika was right — he turned me down flat.
Part of me was even a little disappointed by his rejection. He’s apparently physically attracted to me since I sure as shit felt the hard, thick inches between his legs, so I don’t get why he turned me down like all the others.
After Malcolm takes his paperwork back to his office and I have a few minutes alone with Ronnie, the bartender who trained me earlier, I lower my voice and lean on the counter to get her take on the strange man. “What’s the deal with Malcolm?”
“Oh, he’s harmless,” she tells me with a wave of her hand. “Well, in some ways. He doesn’t sleep with any of the hired staff, but one time, he did put a bullet in the man who accused him of cheating at poker.”
“Seriously?” I ask in disbelief.
“Oh yeah. Trust and loyalty are big with him. Come to think of it, all of the Aces are a little trigger happy. And a bunch of man-whores, well, except for Malcolm and Nash. Just don’t get too attached to any of them. I’ve seen the guys pull their dicks out of one girl and into another without missing a thrust.”
“Ah, that’s good to know,” I tell her even though it’s a little too late since I’ve already hooked up with Fiasco.
“No problem,” Ronnie replies with a shrug. “At least they pay well.”
“Right,” I agree. Even on slow nights like tonight, the tips have been great. That could also be partly due to the fact that I’m topless and in just my panties, though.
Wiping down the counter with a rag, Ronnie goes on to say, “To be honest, I’ve never seen Malcolm treat anyone the way he did you tonight. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s testing you, which means that he doesn’t trust you. Not that Malcolm really trusts anyone but his brothers. He still makes me take a sip from opened bottles of liquor before he’ll drink from it.”
“Wow. The guy sounds a little paranoid.”
“Who wouldn’t be after what he’s been through,” she says.
“What has he been through?”
“You must not be from around here. Everyone knows about how the Ace of Spades MC went up in flames thanks to another biker gang, the Savage Kings, being pissed with them for doing business with the cartel.”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“They lost so many guys that the MC had to fold. Malcolm, Lowell and Nash were the only ones left, and they formed the Dirty Aces just two years back. That’s why there are only six members right now. Well, there were seven until just recently, but Lowell betrayed them, and…well, the less said about that, the better.”
“Oh. Well, ah, thanks for the history report,” I tell her, glad to have any information I can get on these guys.
Time is not on my side. I need to do what I came here to do and then get the hell out before anyone figures out what I’m up to. Because if I get caught or fail, I doubt I’ll ever see my twenty-second birthday.
Malcolm
“What’s with the late-night meeting, boss? I’m tired as fuck,” Devlin says, pulling his disheveled jet-black hair back and tying it up with a rubber band.