“Other people want to have a drink with you,” I said.
He chuckled. “I’m asking you, beautiful.”
I flinched at the endearment, even though Australians all seemed to call someone darling or love or something when they talked, so it probably didn’t mean much. All at once, I needed to get outside in the fresh air.
I’d wanted someone to notice me.
I’d been obsessing over it before I left for Australia, and hell, maybe Jamie had even heard about me going out every night, and that was part of why he’d wanted to put me somewhere else for a bit. But now that it was happening? My chest ached and I dragged in a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.” I stumbled away from him only to keep going. I hadn’t come in the front, so I was disoriented at first, but I found the exit to the bar after scanning the room, then hurried in that direction. I burst out of the back into the main bar, a much more low-key area with unfinished wooden floors, where people were wearing regular clothes anyone would throw on for a night out—certainly not anything close to what I was wearing. I felt like some sort of bug because every single person at the bar turned to watch me walk toward the front door. Halfway there I started feeling like an idiot and swung around.
A man finally wanted to buy me a drink, despite what had happened to my face, and I’d lost my shit. Why?Fuck, I am hot—a hot mess.I massaged my temples and straightened my spine on my way toward the back room.
“Did you come out from the VIP area?” I only had time to register the annoyed tone before someone grasped both of my arms and yanked me around. Normally I wasn’t so easy to get one over on, but the heels made it harder to stay steady on my feet. My right hip twinged, and I sucked in a deep breath as I stared up into the face of the blond man working security. “I told you earlier, no one wants you back there.” The man began to walk toward the front door, and I didn’t have much choice except to follow.
“Hey, mate, hold on,” a masculine voice called from behind us. Tingles raced along my spine. Was it the man I’d danced with?
“Let me go, you limp piece of celery,” I grumbled and tugged my arm. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
The blond man snorted. “How are you gonna do that?”
“Have you ever experienced a high heel through your eye?” I asked, glaring and jerking my arm again.
“Take your hands off him.” The man I’d been dancing with finally caught up to us, and the pleasant tone from before was gone and in its place was a cold, scary one that made me open my hands—and I wasn’t even touching anyone. Unfortunately, the dire words didn’t have the same effect on the guy hauling me toward the front. He opened the door and shoved me outside. I stumbled and hit my knees. My face burned, and to add insult to injury, my purse strap slid over and tried to strangle me. I’d known better than to do this.
I’d fucking known better.
3
LEGEND
“What the bloody hell!”I hurried over to the American I’d been dancing with, and he let me help him up, but his gaze was stuck on the floor. “You all right, sweetheart?”
He nodded, the overhead light catching in his fiery hair.
“Come here.” I led him back inside and glared at the bouncer, who winced and backed off. I gave a bloke at the bar the same treatment until he vacated his stool in a hurry, then helped the pretty man onto it. He brushed at his knees and pulled his purse around onto his lap. He looked shaken, which made my gut twist. He was too beautiful to upset. The American flashed a small, hurt smile in my direction but didn’t make eye contact.
Fury pounded in my skull. I wasn’t used to being ignored, especially when it was in my own establishment, but there was always a first for everything. The bouncer who’d dragged the pretty man out of the Mudskipper had to be new because I didn’t know him. He either hadn’t recognized me or he didn’t look long enough to see who I was, and that chafed my arse more than anything else. I expected my employees to show my customers respect, regardless of who they were, because they brought in the cash that made our business thrive.
“Oi, I was talking to you, mate.” I stalked after the bouncer and grabbed him by the shoulder, jerking him around toward me. He pulled his opposite arm back, as though he was ready to wallop me one, before he froze. His eyes went wide with recognition, and he dropped his fist.
“Sir.” He stumbled backward when I released my hold on him and nearly tripped a woman in a bright red dress and heels higher than what should be legal. She cursed him out with only a scorching glare.
I straightened to my full height, even though I didn’t need to in order to be threatening because I towered over most men. I was probably the tallest in this bloody club right now, and the only one who I knew taller was Sook, the head of security who’d been around the Mudskipper since we opened it.
I waved my hand at the American in the pretty silk clothing. I didn’t even know what to call the outfit clinging to his body because it wasn’t a typical shorts and shirt, but it matched his creamy skin perfectly. The large scars on the right side of his face had been a shock, but I’d kept my emotions in check because it didn’t make him any less beautiful. If anything, it caused a stir in my loins to see such a strong man continue to hold his head high after clearly only being hurt recently. The scars were too fresh for them to be more than a year old.
“This bloke was in here to have a good time and you drag him out?”
The American glanced between us carefully. I wished I’d gotten his name. The small amount of makeup he wore made his green eyes glow.
The bouncer shifted his weight from foot to foot and glanced over his shoulder, like he was looking for backup, but none was going to come. The other bouncers around had paused to watch what was happening, and I saw a few wince in sympathy for their coworker. “Sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was with you.”
“Well, he is.” I strode over to the pretty man and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. He tensed but leaned against me, accepting my touch. “And even if he wasn’t, I expect my customers to be treated better. Who the fuck are you?”
The bouncer rubbed the back of his neck. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, but he didn’t need to answer because Sook came striding toward us and stopped beside his employee. He had about an inch or so on me, and he was built like a brickhouse and looked like a scary motherfucker with his arms and neck covered in tattoos. He had a mean scowl that he wore all the time, even when he was in a good mood. Sook was part of one of the motorcycle clubs around here, the Bloody Oaths MC, and he had a vicious streak the length of the Bruce Highway.
With me, though, he had nothing but respect. He offered me a lopsided smile, the only kind he had to give. “Hey, Boss. What’s goin’ on?”
