“When you and Athena do whatever you do. I can’t imagine she excludes them.”
“She plays with women too,” he reminded me.
I tilted my head to the side, eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t a denial.”
“I haven’t had sex with them,” he said, lumping Athena’s two longest partners into the same grouping as a singular unit. “Not like…penetrative.”
The corner of my mouth twitched, and I waited him out.
“I’ve done oral with them,” he muttered, and I laughed at the embarrassed way he said it.
Reaching out, I ruffled Damon’s hair and gave him a friendly shove against the back fence. “You better not be kneeling on that brand new tattoo I gave you.”
A low laugh that sounded a lot like a purr hit my ears, and I lifted my arm at the same time Athena came up behind me and slid hers around my waist. She tucked in beneath my shoulder and tilted her face toward mine and blew me a kiss.
“I gave him a pillow, Riggsy,” she teased. “Don’t worry.”
“As long as someone is looking out for my work.”
“Of course.” She wiggled her way around between us and lifted the hem of her already short skirt to show me the fresh tattoo on her thigh. “I take care of mine too.”
“I know.” I gave her a squeeze and let her go. “Where are Grant and Wes?”
“They’re in the bathroom.” She smiled at me sweetly before looking at Damon. He cowered under the weight of her stare, and I was hard-pressed to blame him. Athena was a powerhouse of a woman, nearly six feet tall when she wasn’t in heels, with bright red hair and stiletto nails to match. She pressed the tip of one of those nails right into the center of Damon’s chest and asked him, “Did you want to join them?”
Damon tried to swallow, his tongue visibly sticking to the roof of his mouth. As much as I wanted to watch Athena put my best friend through his paces, I had to step in and save him from his misery.
“Be nice,” I whispered against the side of her head, and she dropped her hand from his chest and pouted up at me.
“I’m very nice.”
“You’ve verya lot,” I corrected, and she was not fazed in the slightest.
“The boys were going to the bathroom and they were going to get a drink, and then they were going to dance awhile. Get the blood flowing. Athena took Damon’s hand in hers and lifted it to her mouth, kissing his knuckles. “Did you want to dance with me?”
Damon’s eyes darted to me, and I jerked my chin toward the dance floor. He’d absolutely dragged me out on a Friday night against my will, but I’d understood how the night was going to end for me long before I agreed to come. Damon had wanted me as a buffer in case whatever game he was playing with Athena didn’t work out, and that was okay. Unfortunately, I wasn’tconvinced whatever the four of them were up towouldlast, but as long as they were safe and happy, that was all I wanted for any of them.
I watched the two of them wander back into the club, and I rested against the fence to nurse my beer for the next hour. I had no plans on leaving, but it also felt a little inappropriate to go inside and watch a scene without knowing for sure it was okay with Smith. He’d already been so gracious about my other confessions, I didn’t want to test the boundaries of his acceptance before we even had a chance to get things going. Watching a scene didn’t feel like cheating for me. I’d talk to him about it on Saturday, I decided, not willing to bother him at dinner about it.
Smith had been worried going into the meal because, in the throes of excitement, I’d unintentionally sucked a bruise right onto his neck. Well, not entirely unintentional. I’d definitely meant to leave a mark, but my brain had been a little clouded from the sounds he’d been making. It was irresponsible of me to have not checked with him first, but I also couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten that territorial…or carried away. Ownership was not a common feeling for me. Pride and protection, absolutely. The need to mark another man? The desire to even want to? Something else entirely. Smith Covington had truly turned my entire world on its head in under two weeks.
“You look terribly distracted,” a voice to my right said, and I glanced over to find one of the owners of the club making their way toward me. Verity was a wisp of figure, all sharp lines and grace. With long and shiny dark hair, tied half up and half down, they looked as ethereal as ever, a dark red gloss on their lips the only color on their face.
“I’m thinking about what conditioner you use and why you won’t tell me the brand,” I teased, flicking at the ends of theirhair when they got close enough for a hug. Their partner, Aaron, wasn’t far behind, two drinks in hand and enough gray against his temples to show his age.
“I have to keep some secrets,” they said, taking their drink from Aaron’s hand and raising it to their mouth. The gloss didn’t leave so much as a smudge against the glass. “How have you been? I feel like it’s been awhile.”
“I’ve been good,” I said, realizing it was the truth.
“Good?”
“Just hired a couple guys to come work at the shop,” I said, which earned a smile. “And I’m…kind of seeing someone. Maybe.”
Verity’s face flashed like they were a cartoon character with hearts in their eyes. They leaned against Aaron’s strong shoulder and hummed out a very pleased-sounding noise. “Tell me.”
“There’s not much to tell at this point. It’s new.”
“Certainly new has a name,” they pressed.
