Country saw me first. He had Isla under his arm, and her friend stood facing them and away from me and my approach.
For now, I’d push away the shit about the cop and enjoy myself. I hoped to get to know my little mouse.
“Everythin’ good, brother?” Country asked when I stopped behind Isla’s friend, who jolted and looked over her shoulder at me.
I winked down at her before looking at Country. “All good. Talk later about it.”
“All right then. State, meet Courtney. Courtney, meet State.”
Courtney.
I liked it.
She moved to the side of our group and peered up at me. “Hi, ah, State.”
“Hey, darlin’.”
“Courtney is a friend of mine, State, so be nice,” Isla said with a smile.
“I’m always nice,” I replied, but I didn’t glance away from Courtney, giving me the chance to see the red haze brightening her cheeks. “How’d Isla convince you to come party with us, Courtney?”
Isla was a different brand of woman to Courtney. How’d they become friends? Isla was flirty and lively. She wore a short skirt and low-cut top, with boots that came up to her knees. I could already see Courtney was quieter and reserved. She was dressed in jeans and a plain black tee. She even wore sneakers. I couldn’t judge too quick, though, since I was going off one glance.
Courtney shot Isla a quick glare. So there was fire in there. She looked up at me but shifted her eyes off to the side when she said, “She didn’t exactly tell me where we were going.”
Well, shit.
“Does that mean you wanna leave? Can understand this could be too much for some.”
She jutted her chin up and placed her hands on her hips. My little mouse had claws. “I didn’t say it was too much, just unexpected. I’m…. I don’t judge like that. Each to their own, and all that jazz.”
Grinning, I nodded toward the bar. “Can I get you a drink then?”
She blinked. “Oh, ah, sure.”
“What do you like?”
“Cranberry and vodka?”
I smirked. “Are you asking or telling me?” I didn’t care what she drank, if that was what she was worried about.
“Telling. Please.” She glanced at her friend, but Isla was too busy whispering into Country’s ear. Not that he was paying much attention to what she was saying. His gaze was on a certain club girl who was playing poker with Quake. He seriously had to sort out his head about Dusty before one of the brothers, who didn’t see her as a sister, decided to take a chance at claiming her as an old lady. She was one of the few girls who didn’t try to play us.
Turning to the bar, I called the order and faced Courtney again. “How do you and Isla know each other?”
“We studied at the same beauty school a while ago. Now she does hair at a different salon to where I do nails, but we catch up for coffee every now and then.” She glanced to the side, noting Isla and Country were busy, and looked back to me. “Do you, ah, work?”
“Yeah, babe.”
Her lips thinned, and she lifted a hand to roll it around. “Will you elaborate? Or wait—is your job something I’m not supposed to know about?”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “You can know. I’m co-owner of Polished Pussies.”
“Of what?” she breathed.
“Polished Pussies. A brothel.”
“A brothel?”
“Yep.”
“As in, where women sell their bodies to men?”
I nodded and waited for her to either freak out or be disgusted.
She scraped her bottom lip with her top teeth as she thought about it. Disgust was yet to show on her face, and she didn’t seem too freaked by the business.
“Drinks,” a prospect called behind me.
“Thanks,” I muttered, but I refused to take my attention away from Courtney.
She sucked in a breath, met my gaze, and asked, “Just how much of a mess would the rooms be in after a session?” Her damn cute nose screwed up as if she was imagining being the one cleaning them.
An abrupt laugh fell from my mouth, and Christ, I wanted to drag her into my arms, but instead, I grabbed her drink and handed it to her. Her fingers slid over mine when she took it, and I didn’t miss the shiver passing over her body.
That was a good shiver, right?
Smirking, I winked. “It’s not somethin’ you need to know, little mouse.”
She’d just cemented my need to get to know her more, and already I was fucking looking forward to it.
CHAPTER TWO
Courtney
* * *
Little mouse?
I was short, but I wasn’t mouse-size. Though, compared to his tall and large frame, I was at a disadvantage when it came to reprimanding him for his choice of nickname. To be honest, I’d been worried he thought I was some uptight prim woman who stuck her nose up at the visuals before me.
And there was a lot to take in since there were women pawing all over the men around me. Of course the men didn’t seem to mind at all. One just grabbed a handful of a woman’s butt while he kissed her like she was his favorite candy.
I wouldn’t mind being kissed like that.
My cheeks warmed when I imagined State being the man who kissed me that way.
I’d be bat-shit crazy if I tried to deny he was a good-looking guy. His looks—dark hair that was shaved at the side but long enough on top that I could easily grab it and pull—made it hard to look away from him. The beard and moustache were neatly trimmed around his full lips, drawing my attention to his sinful mouth.
Heck, even his pierced nose was sexy, and I loved studying his tattoos. They decorated almost every inch of available skin that I could see from the neck down. I had to work hard to not look like a creep by just full-on staring at him. To top it all off, his deep voice made me flustered, but I was sure I was acting as cool as a cucumber.
I hoped I was, anyway. That was if he wasn’t still thinking I couldn’t be a part of his world.
Not that it mattered.
He was out of my league. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy his company while my so-called friend tried to get into her boyfriend’s pants.
At least I’d made State laugh. A sound I’d enjoyed as well as the touch of lightness that came into his dark eyes.
I took a sip of my drink and choked.
State grabbed the glass in one hand and put the other on my back, patting me.
“Sorry,” I wheezed.
“Prospect,” he snapped.
I waved a hand around frantically. “It’s fine,” I rasped. “I’m just not used to drinking.” Not used to drinking. I mentally rolled my eyes at myself. Like I didn’t do it every day. “Alcohol,” I added quickly.
“It’s not okay,” State bit out. “Make another fuckin’ drink.”
“Yes, State,” the younger guy said with a big gulp.
“You all right, Court?” Isla asked.
“Yeah, fine now.” I was only embarrassed. I rubbed at my chest and glanced up at State, who was watching the guy pour me another drink with a glare. Reaching out, I touched his wrist, and his gaze shot down to me. “It’s okay,” I whispered.