Not him, though.
Most of the time, being around her was like watching a train wreck. Loud, chaotic, and disastrous.
But like most things, there was a story there. Jordan didn’t know the details, and he didn’t care to, but he knew Vanessa was in Portland for more than visiting her sister.
Whatever the past held, it was bad enough that Joel had told him to keep a close eye on her whenever he could.Since he owed Joel, he did as requested. But keeping that woman out of trouble was proving to be as difficult as keeping her out of the club tonight.
At least he was on front-door shift. Cold as it was, he preferred the relative calm. He appreciated the work, but he planned to drop this part-time job the first chance he got. Crowds like this had never been his thing, especially since he got out of prison.
Ten minutes went by before JD, another bouncer, came out, bringing with him the deafening noise of techno music and a blast of warmth.
“Hey man, we need you,” he shouted from the door. “Crowd’s gone fucking insane.”
Shit. Just his luck.
Reluctantly, he followed JD inside and, sure enough, the crowd was vibrating with the edgy, disjointed energy of a pack of wild animals. The agitation in the air made him automatically seek Vanessa out. Habit, he told himself. He’d gotten used to keeping an eye on her for Joel and Lucy.
No surprise, she was dancing on the podium, right in the middle of the dance floor. It was one of three set up around the club. Small stages, with a pole in the center. They were the perfect place for the exhibitionists of the world to flaunt themselves and for the voyeurs to watch.
An enthralled crowd surrounded her, mesmerized by the magnitude of her presence.
He couldn’t fault them for that. It was impossible not to watch her. With her eyes closed and head tilted back, she seemed ethereal as her hips moved to the music. The neon lights flashing around her, hitting her in pulses of brilliance, like lightning illuminating something otherworldly for an instant. He didn’t want to stop looking, for fear she’d disappear like a mirage with the next flash.
But she was fine. Safe up on her pedestal to be adored by all, which is how he knew she liked it.
Reassured that for once he didn’t need to worry about her, he scanned the rest of the room, and found trouble on the far side by the bar.
“Over there,” JD shouted above the noise and pointed in the direction he’d been scoping out.
A fight was brewing between two guys. A group gathered, and he saw someone between them, a woman clinging to one of the two men. When she was shoved roughly to the side, she stumbled into someone else, and it almost started a domino effect of toppling bodies and spilled drinks.
Jaw clenched, he made his way over. He was always called in for crowd control. Most times, he didn’t even need to open his mouth. His size did the talking. But if that didn’t work, he knew a few ways to make the rowdies sit the hell down or get the hell out.
Luckily, he didn’t need to resort to physical force often. At this point in the evening, most people were too drunk to put up a fight.
Sure enough, he and JD managed to deescalate the situation without too much manhandling. Escorting the instigator out of the establishment, making a call to ensure the woman got a ride home, and the disturbance was settled.
Before heading back outside, he glanced one last time at where Vanessa had been dancing. A couple stood on the podium now, gyrating in a way that was better suited for a sex club, but who was he to judge? He had bigger fish to fry, because where the hell had she gone? And for fuck’s sake, why did he care so much? He wasn’t her babysitter 24/7.
The prickle on the back of his neck told him to stay until he found her. Finally, he spotted her, with some asshole’shands all over her. He would’ve let it slide if she had been enjoying herself.
Her pretty smile faltered as the man made his advances, squeezing her shoulder and snaking an arm around her waist. Laughing, she slapped his arm lightly and tried to leave, but he mirrored her movements, effectively trapping her.
The prickle flared to something sharper as he headed toward her. She might be used to charming her way away from jerks like this, but watching it happen? Hell no, his mama had taught him better than that.
This was nothing she couldn’t handle alone, and his intervention would infuriate her. Hell, she’d probably try to knee him in the groin for interfering. But he also knew he could handle it faster, and right now that was all the excuse he needed.
Coming up behind her, he braced himself for an altercation that would likely end with a spiked heel impaling hisfoot.
“You’re going to want to remove your hands,” he said, loud enough for the loser to hear him.
Bleary, drunken irises met his. Perfect, this would be fun, he thought.
When Vanessa whirled on him, he braced himself even more. Would she slap him, stab him with her stiletto, or settle with cussing him out?
What he didn’t expect was the brilliant, heart-stopping smile aimed right at him. Then the jolt of shock, and confounding rush of heat that exploded in his chest when she said, “There you are, babe. I was about to come looking for you.”
Without missing a beat, she slipped her arm around his waist like it belonged there, leaned right in, and kissed him.
