Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Fuck off,” the guard growls back as the car rolls on by, though he doesn’t seem particularly angry, despite his gravelly tone.
“Everything okay?” Garrett asks, reappearing at my side, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder.
“Everything’s fine. Find your phone?”
He nods and lifts the phone to show me that he has it.
When I look back at the guard, his head is turned to the left, and I follow his gaze to see Trevor approaching with the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.
His pale blue eyes catch my attention first. They’re framed by thick brows, groomed to look perfectly unruly. His heart-shaped face leads my eyes to his full lips, and I instantly imagine kissing him. He’s blond with golden, sun-tanned skin, and I’m mesmerized.
“Hey, great, you guys came,” Trevor says, pulling me into a quick hug before shaking Garrett’s hand. “Autumn, this is Adrian,” he tells me, stepping back to gesture to the godlike man standing next to him.
“Autumn, nice to meet you.” Adrian’s voice is deep and smooth and it, along with the touch of his palm to my hand, delivers a kick to my ovaries.
“Nice to meet you.” My words come out sounding like a young teenage boy whose voice is changing. What is it about this man? Sure, he’s stunningly gorgeous, but Trevor is extremely good looking, too, and all of the men in the show were attractive. Why is my body responding so strongly to this particular man?
“Garrett?” Adrian says, holding out his hand to my coworker. “Trevor told me you were here last night.”
“Yeah, we just can’t stay away,” Garrett says with lighthearted sarcasm as he looks down at me. His hand is still on my shoulder, and he gives me a quick squeeze.
“Aren’t you supposed to get here earlier?” the guard interjects, his question aimed at Trevor and Adrian.
“We have plenty of time,” Adrian says. “Looks like we were just in time to rescue Autumn from your clutches. Autumn, have you met Duke?” he asks, turning to me.
“Not formally,” I say.
“Duke Ramos,” Adrian says, with a sweeping gesture toward the older man. “He keeps all the underage girls out, and steps in to protect us if our fans get too aggressive.”
Duke just snorts at that, and doesn’t hold out his hand to shake like Adrian did, but he does look at me with softer eyes than before.
“We do actually need to get inside,” Adrian says, looking to Garrett. “Will you be around after the show?”
“I will,” Garrett says, looking at me again.
Trevor gives us a wave and tells us he’ll see us later as he and Adrian go into the club.
“Nice to meet you,” I tell Duke.
“Enjoy the show,” he calls after us when Garrett and I head for the door.
Inside the lobby, the red-haired woman behind the ticket counter watches us approach. “You were here last night, weren’t you?” she says, eyeing up Garrett.
“Can’t get enough,” he says drily.
“He’s friends with two of the dancers,” I offer. “Trevor and Adrian?”
“Oh, that’s nice,” she says, sounding motherly, or maybe more like a fun aunt. “They haven’t been here long, but they seem like good guys. Duke says so, anyway.”
“Duke knows them well?” I ask. I did sense some kind of relationship between the men during their brief exchange.
“The two of them live with him, actually,” she says. “When the club added more nights to the calendar and put out a call for more talent, Duke suggested they try out. From what I’ve heard, they turned out to be naturals. I’m Brittany, by the way,” she says with a grin. “May as well introduce myself if you’re going to be regulars.”
“I’m Autumn, and this is Garrett,” I say, smiling back at her.
“Do you offer punch cards?” Garrett asks. “For every ten visits, we get one free?”
Brittany throws her head back and laughs. “If we had those, we’d have a lot of women earning a lot of free visits. Every night I wonder where they all come from.”
To prove her point, a large group of women come through the door at that moment, talking and laughing, the woman at the head of the group wearing a sash identifying her as a bride-to-be.
After Garrett insists on paying again, he and I head down the hallway into the showroom. Arriving early has its benefits, because we’re able to claim a table near the front. I take a seat to hold the table while Garrett goes to get us drinks. When he returns, placing a familiar-looking lemon drop in front of me, I say, “I appreciate you coming here with me.”
“I was joking about the punch cards,” he says. “I probably don’t want to make a habit out of this, though I like spending time with you.”
“We’re together all day at work.”
“I know,” he says, “but this is different.” He leans in to press his lips to mine, first briefly, then he goes for a longer taste that stirs up something fuzzy deep inside in my belly. “I can’t get enough of you,” he says as he pulls back to run the tip of his nose along the edge of my cheek, sending tingles up my spine.