open, almost silently, and I see Madison bent over one of the tables as she cleans it with a rag, her ass pushed out toward me. God damn, she’s so fucking sexy.
Her skirt rides up as she reaches to the far side of the table, giving me a teasing glance at the cleft of her pussy, covered by black panties and fishnets. My cock jumps to full attention. I almost think she’s teasing me on purpose, but I realize she hasn’t heard me come in.
I’m tempted to perv out and watch the hypnotic sway of her ass, see how long it takes her to realize she has an audience. But I’m gentlemanly enough to not want to scare her, considering I’m already treading on thin ice with her. I clear my throat, startling her. She jumps, her shoulders pulling up to her ears as she lets out a little squeaking noise, and she jerks around in surprise.
Her eyes go wide with shock to see me standing there. “How did you . . .” she starts before drawing herself up. “The door should’ve been locked. You need to leave. We’re closed.”
“I know,” I say, staying back to put her at ease. “I just didn’t think it was a good idea for you to be here alone. I couldn’t go . . .”
Despite my friendly tone, she moves over behind the bar. Smart girl. Even with a friendly face like mine, you can’t assume shit about people nowadays. She needn’t worry, though. I might be a bastard in the boardroom, but here, I just want to smooth things over with her. Get back to how we were at the start of the evening before everything went to hell in a handbasket.
I shouldn’t care what some random bartender at a bar I’ve never been to, and probably won’t return to, thinks of me. But there’s something about Madison, and I do care. And it does make me nervous for her to be here alone. She’s right, the door should’ve been locked, and anyone could’ve come in here. She’s lucky it was me.
She gapes at my audacity. “Excuse me?”
I smile, approaching the bar and sitting down slowly, several stools away from where she’s standing. “Look, do whatever it is you need to do . . .” I say, gesturing around the bar. “I’ll just hang out and make sure you’re safe, if that’s okay. Please.”
I think it’s the ‘please’ that does it because after I plead my case, so simply and honestly, she lets out a disbelieving laugh but doesn’t kick me out. “You don’t quite strike me as the knight in shining armor type, and I’m sure as fuck not a damsel in distress. I’m fine.”
I lean on the bar, keeping my distance and letting her set the pace. “You are fine. And I’m sure you’ve done this a hundred times before, but it’ll help me sleep better if I know you closed up with no more problems tonight.”
Madison scowls at me but leans on the bar herself. “It was a weird night. Must be a full moon or something. Ahh-wooo.” She smiles a little, laughing at her own poor imitation of a wolf howl, and I smile too because she still hasn’t kicked me out.
“Good. It’s settled then.” I knock on the bar top once, like a judge closing session, and hope that will be enough to appease her because I can sense she still wants to argue.
Madison looks speechless for a moment, then laughs, picking up a cloth from the bar and sliding it my direction. “If you’re going to stay here under the guise of ‘keeping me safe’, at least make yourself useful.”
Cleaning might not be my strong suit. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have never wiped down a dirty table in my life. We have staff for that. But if that’s what it takes to stay with Madison, I’m game. And the fact that she’s giving in so easily makes me think she actually wants my company too. “Of course, I’m happy to help. With anything you need.” I let the double entendre of my words add gravel to my voice, and I see the hitch of Madison’s breath. She’s teasing, keeping things light and being cautious, but she’s not unaffected by me. Thank fuck.
“I don’t need your help with anything,” she’s quick to respond, but she’s wiping the surface of the bar with focused concentration. “But I don’t want to be here all night either, so get