Page 5 of Outlaw

I don’t want a problem, so I let go immediately. My angel takes two big steps back, and as angry as I am, I can’t help but notice how her heavenly curves move.

“You know what you’re getting your friend into?” I ask her. “Hanging around with those guys?”

“We can handle ourselves, thank you very much,” Violet sneers. “We don’t need some big, strong man to save us, okay? Now why don’t you fuck off before I have Phil toss your ass into the parking lot?”

Yeah, I’d like to see him try.

But as I said, I don’t want any problems, and it’s clear that neither of these girls are gonna listen to what I have to say. No, I’ll have to deal with it another way.

“Fine,” I tell her as I get to my feet. I hold out a ten as I pass. Violet reaches for it but I hand it to my girl. It’s more than I can afford right now, but fuck it. She needs it more than I do.

“What’s your name?” I ask her as she takes it from me.

“Don’t answer that,” Violet snaps. I don’t even look at her. I just shake my head and leave. But not for good. There’s no way I’m letting the Lions get their hands on her. Tonight’s going to be a very long night.

4

Claire

“Okay, so what do you do if any of the guys ask if you have any hot friends?”

“I tell them I do,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “I tell them my friend Violet is so awesome and I give the big guy – what’s his name again?”

“Thump,” Violet tells me.

Thump. What a name.

“I tell Thump that my friend Violet is super awesome and down for whatever.”

“That’s right.” Violet smiles proudly. I honestly don’t understand how she does it. She’s so casual with her sexuality; it’s like a weapon to her that she wields like…I dunno, like a knight or something. Or maybe a samurai.

But me? Yeah, I wield my sexuality like the YouTube video of that bear with the nunchucks. Violet keeps telling me over and over that I need to “take control” and “own it,” and that was one of the reasons she made me work at Ta-Tas, but I’m just not comfortable yet, and to be honest, I don’t know if I ever really will be. I don’t need (or want) attention from all men – just one. The right one. The one who looks at me like I’m the only girl in the world…

…the way that he looked at me today.

To be honest, I can’t get him out of my head. He scared the absolute shit out of me when he grabbed my wrist, but he also sparked a feeling inside of me like nothing I’ve ever felt. Excitement. Pure excitement. Not to mention the tingling sensation between my legs that hasn’t gone away since I left work.

He was fierce, like a force of nature. The way he just reached out and grabbed me like he owned me. No hesitation. And his strength…

Most men try to charm you – use a pickup line or work some kind of magic to get your attention. But not him. He grabbed me and literally yelled at me and asked me if I was stupid. Why would I be attracted to a man who behaves that way?

But…he wasn’t doing it to be a jerk. He seemed to be worried about me…

“Here, like this,” Violet says as she comes around behind me and cinches up the corset she gave me to wear. “Breathe out.”

I do and she pulls. The thing goes so tight around my ribs that I’m sure I won’t be able to breathe tonight.

“You should just wear this,” she tells me.

“Uhm, no,” I reply. “I am putting a shirt on over it.”

There’s no way I’m going to serve drinks wearing just a corset. I’ve barely got the courage to do this as it is. Money is a bitch, isn’t it?

I grab my shirt – well, Violet’s shirt – which is this weird dress shirt with a neck that sort of scoops under my boobs but still manages to be classy. It’s weird and nothing I would ever buy (or wear).

I glance at my phone. It’s ten-fifteen.

“I gotta get going,” I tell her. I grab my purse and my heart rate skyrockets.

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