The tart lime does little to chase away the burn of the tequila. Rooster plucks the wedge from my lips and leans in to kiss me. The earthy, mild sweetness of the tequila lingers on his breath. He doesn’t seem to care that we’re in the middle of a loud, busy strip club or that we’re surrounded by people. Not my man. Ignoring everything around us, he pulls me closer. I part my lips and gently brush my tongue against his. I feel his rumbling growl of approval where my hand’s pressed against his chest. My head spins. From the tequila or Logan’s kisses? My money’s on the second one.
“Get a room!” That sounds like Jigsaw.
We ignore him and keep right on kissing.
A rush of bodies whoosh by, knocking into us hard enough to break our kiss. I blink up at Rooster. He smiles at me. Not ten feet away, there are eight gorgeous, half naked dancers shaking it for all they’re worth and my man can’t take his eyes off me.
Pants intrudes on our moment by wrapping his arms around Rooster’s neck and tugging him backwards. “You have to come get a lap dance. It’s on the house.”
“Thanks, I’m good.”
Pants smirks at me. “You don’t mind, right, Shelby? You’ll let your man party, right?” He jerks his head toward our table. “Wrath, Trin, and Dex are over there. You can hang with them—”
“I’m fine.” Rooster clamps his hand around Pants’ wrist hard enough to make his face pale and release his hold on Rooster.
“Later.” Pants jogs toward a different darkened corridor than the one we entered the building from. A guard at the entrance to the hallway waves him through.
“You can go,” I offer, wanting to be an ‘understanding’ girlfriend who doesn’t spoil her boyfriend’s fun, but the words feel sour in my mouth.
Rooster takes my chin between his thumb and index finger. “I don’t want to.”
I open my mouth again—probably to stick my boot in it—but Rooster presses one finger against my lips.
At our table, Dawson and his bodyguard are still hanging out with Dex, Wrath, and Trinity.
“You didn’t go with everyone else, Dawson?” I ask.
He frowns at the question. “Last thing I need is pictures of me getting a lap dance all over the damn place.” He holds up his hand to Rooster. “No offense. I know this is your club’s place—”
“None taken. I don’t blame you,” Rooster says.
Dawson gestures toward the stage. “I have a perfectly good view of all the action right here.”
Actually, thanks to the mirrors, I have a decent view too, even though I’m sitting with my back to the stage.
“I can’t believe I finally get out of Crystal Ball duty and now I’m fifteen hundred miles from New York in another strip club.” Wrath shoots a glare Rooster’s way.
“Hey!” Dex leans over the table and punches Wrath’s arm. “Stop talking shit about CB.”
“All the pretty naked ladies make you grumpy, Wrath?” I ask sweetly. “Or grumpier, I mean?”
Trinity covers her mouth and laughs.
“Careful, Shelby.” He wags a finger at me. “We’re not quite there yet.”
“Uh, Shelby?” a soft feminine voice says next to my ear. A tall, busty brunette with a hesitant smile and breasts about to spill out of her corset sets a tall glass of a pinkish-orange drink on the table in front of me. “Paloma on the house, Miss Shelby. We heard they’re your favorite.” She points toward the bar and the girl behind it waves at me.
“Oh my gosh. That’s so sweet. Thank you!”
“We’re both big fans. Already have tickets to your show in Nashville.”
My mind blanks. Say something! “Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.”
Well, that was dumb.
It’s just…Dawson Roads is sittin’ right over there and she’s talking to me? It doesn’t compute.
Her gaze shifts to Rooster. “You’re her White Knight, right?” She presses her hand to her chest and meets my eyes again. “It’s so romantic. I love that song.”
More heat races over my cheeks and down my chest. “Based on a true story.” I lean into Rooster and he slips his arm behind me, resting his hand on my hip.
“Well, if you need anything at all, I’m Erica. Digger asked me to personally cover your table. VIP service all the way.”
“Thank you.”
Rooster asks for a beer, then she moves to Dawson’s side. “What can I get for you, Mr. Roads?”
So she does know who he is.
Rooster squeezes my hip. “You all right?”
“That was wild. I’m still processing.”
He chuckles softly. “You’re more famous than you realize.”
I sip my drink, savoring the tartness of the grapefruit and lime. Erica returns with the rest of our order and sets another paloma in front of me and I thank her.
Trinity slides closer to me. “You’re popular here.”
“Yeah, that was so weird. I didn’t know what to say.”
“People don’t recognize you out in the wild?”
“A couple of times.” I shrug.
“I think you better get used to it,” she says with a smile.
Chapter Forty-Four
Rooster
Not that it’s a contest, but I’m amused that our waitress fawned all over Shelby while treating Dawson like just another customer. Shelby’s so damn sweet, the attention left her tongue-tied.
At least Dawson’s not some insecure prick who gets offended. If anything, he seems relieved the girls don’t make too much of a fuss over him.
I search the club. Busy but not as busy as I’d expected. The place seems well-run. This shouldn’t be taking up so much of Digger’s time that he doesn’t know what’s going on in his territory.
Across the table, I catch Dex’s eye and jerk my head to the side.
I lean into Shelby. “You mind if I talk to Digger for a minute?”
“Not at all. I knew this was a work outing.” She grins at me and sips her drink. Her cheeks and nose are already bright pink from the alcohol.
“Go easy on those.” I kiss her temple and slide out of the booth. Dex follows me to the bar. On the way over, I send Jiggy a text.
Me: Hey, chucklefuck. If you’re done gettin’ your dick rubbed, could you look after Shelby?
Jigsaw: My pleasure, cock-knocker.
The bartender bounces over to us right away. “Hi, Rooster. Hi, Dex.” Her gaze drops to my VP patch, then Dex’s spiffy new road captain patch. “Those look new.”
Do I know this chick?
“Is Digger still around?” I ask.
“Yup. Want me to text him?”
“Please.”
She moves to the end of the bar and I turn toward Dex. “What’s your professional opinion?”
“Nice place. Clean. Girls don’t look coked out of their skulls. I’d expect it to be busier.” He shrugs. “But I think a lot of clubs are on a downward trend.”
“Is CB?”
“Little bit. What’s the point of going to a club to watch naked girls they can’t touch, when they could just watch porn at home?” The corners of his mouth tip into a smirk. “Your business is literally killing mine.”