Page 84 of Crushing Clover

“Bye, not-Rush.” I smiled back. He had to be wondering what I was doing hanging around in the office all the time.

How obvious was my collar?

Did the kitchen staff hear my noises when Lucky fucked me?

They couldn’t have missed my screeching the night Saint turned my ass black and blue.

Rush was intent on his work, his knives flashing with terrifying precision and speed. His singular focus and the dance of his blades made me pause, enthralled, but Saint pushed me past him.

We were in the office all too soon, and Saint shoved me at the couch with unnecessary force.

I landed awkwardly, sprawling.

“What did I do?” I demanded.

“Unless you want to cause trouble in this restaurant and possibly cost that man his job, you’d better learn to keep your eyes to yourself,Clover.” He said my name like it was a swear.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, completely confused.

“Randal is off-limits.”

“I don’t even know him. I was being polite.”

“Your version of polite looks a lot like flirting, which is not a great way for you to stay in one piece. Understand me?”

“I would never. He’s Rush’s cousin. That would be weird.”

“Cousins, brothers—none of them will consider you off-limits. Men are pigs.”

“You do realize you’re a man, right? Or is there something you’re not telling me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Some of us have evolved enough so that we don’t think with our dicks 24/7.”

“Yes, I’mintimatelyfamiliar with how much self-control you have,” I said, grumpily, “captain.”

His dark eyes went darker.

Uh-oh. Too far.

“Stay,” he snapped.

He left the office without a backward glance.

Why was it so difficult not to bait each other? We always seemed to rub each other the wrong way.

I wished he’d come back and rub me the right way.

He marched back into the office with a handful of something.

“What’s that?”

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over to the wall. He tossed a handful of rice on the floor and shoved me down until I was kneeling on it. What the…

It fucking hurt.

“Ow!” When I struggled to get up, he put a hand on my nape, holding me in place.

“Stay there and think about that mouth of yours.” He grabbed the timer off his desk and set it for five minutes. “If you get up or touch that fucking timer, I’ll make it ten minutes.”

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