Page 66 of Crushing Clover

“Seriously, Lucky. What the fuck was that about?”

“Shut the fuck up. I don’t see what the big deal is. So, I had one off night. Big deal.”

I wasn’t sure who was the most tired and cranky, but it seemed to be a competition tonight.

“The difference is that you can’t let the girl affect your work. If you can’t do both then you won’t be allowed to do both.”

“Allowed?What the fuck? You do realize that being your submissive doesn’t mean you’re my daddy, right? What are you going to do next? Ground me? Take away my phone? Give me a time out?”

I paused in straightening the shoes by the door and watched in concern as Lucky and Rush got into each other’s faces. What the fuck? They never argued. The amount of anger rolling off them made me uncomfortable. I followed them into the main room, but hung back, convincing myself it was best if I stayed out of it, even though I was desperate to intervene.

“Leave them to it,” Saint said from behind me. He tugged my hair almost playfully as he passed me. The other two were still arguing, and it felt wrong.

“Like you two never have an off night?”

“If we had off nights the way you did tonight, the restaurant wouldn’t have any regulars.”

“Stop being such a cunty bitch.”

I glanced at Saint to see what he thought about that, and he grimaced. Lucky never said stuff like that—especially not to Rush.

“I understand that the girl has interfered with our pecking order, but you don’t get to speak to me that way.”

“No? And why the hell not? Just because things have always been this way doesn’t mean they have to stay this way. Maybe I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m stupid.”

“Stupid?” Rush jerked back his head as if he had been slapped. “Things between us are like this because it’s what works for us. It’s what has always worked for us. No one thinks you’re stupid.”

“Then why are you treating me like a child for getting a few orders confused for once in my life. What the fuck do you know about front of house? You spend all of your time playing with knives and doing what Saint tells you to do.”

I doubted that was true.

“Go shower.” Saint gestured me out of the room with his signature, casual imperiousness.

I glanced to him and back at the guys, worried.

“Go. They don’t need an audience.”

They’d been together for a long time and probably didn’t need my help to work through whatever they were mad about, but apparently, I was part of the problem. I got the impression Lucky didn’t like when they embarrassed him in front of me.

I turned to head for Lucky’s room, but Saint grabbed my arm. “This way, trouble.” He towed me to his own room, which made me feel strangely shy. He wasn’t going to bring me in the shower with him, was he?

“What does Lucky usually do for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Does he wash your back or something?”

“I can bathe myself, if that’s what you’re concerned about.” I wrinkled my nose at him, and he frowned in irritation.

“I’m sure you can.” He strode off, leaving me in his bathroom, feeling like an interloper. I glanced out the door, wondering where he’d gone, then realized he planned to wait for the shower until I was out. Feeling silly, I stripped off my dress and cum-sodden panties and got into the shower. As I stepped in and turned on the water, Saint came back in, startling me. We froze that way, with him staring at my body while I wished I could melt into the tiles.

“Like I haven’t seen you naked before,” he said with a nonchalance that didn’t reach his eyes. It looked like he was experiencing the most reluctant desire in the history of civilization.

Rather than respond, I turned on the water and adjusted it to the right temperature. He didn’t have the same products as Lucky, though, and I wasn’t sure how he would feel about me using his things.

I stood there for a moment, frozen with indecision. As I reached for a bottle, Saint brought his hand down on mine. I was so startled I almost screamed. I hadn’t heard him enter the shower.

“Don’t you think you should wash your hair before you condition it?”

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