dime—I’d have to peel him off the ceiling. He’d lose his shit in a major way. Elliot had a fiery enough temper at the best of times—one he did his utmost to control—the fear of turning into his father never far below the surface. Elliot worried that nature would overcome nurture. I thought that was bullshit, and I’d told him so on several occasions. Elliot could no more use his fists against a woman than I could. Yet, for him, it was a real concern, and one I knew gave him sleepless nights on occasion.
Setting my glass on the bar, I made a beeline for her, my trademark calm at risk of failing me when a jerk grabbed Athena’s ass as she passed by his table. The glasses on her tray wobbled, but she kept her balance. She bent down and spoke to him, giving me, and half the fucking club, a perfect view of her tits spilling over the top of the club’s slutty uniform—another change I’d be making on day one. And from this angle, Athena wasn’t offering a mere glimpse. She’d given away the top prize.
Whatever she said to the guy seemed to pacify him, allowing her to move away without further mauling. I almost deviated from my course to break the bastard’s arm. Instead, I took a deep breath and stalked after her as she weaved between the tables, placing down drinks and accepting tips… that one asshole shoved into her fucking bra.
Enough already.
I glanced over my shoulder at Elliot, relieved to see him deep in conversation with a pissed-off-looking Tanaka instead of paying any heed to me. Good. At least something was going right.
Athena finished serving the last drink on her tray, but as she set off toward the bar to collect her next order, I stepped into her path, cutting her off.
“Hello, Athena,” I said, smiling coldly.
Her eyes widened so much that I could see the whites all the way around her amber irises, one of Athena’s many striking features. That had always been her problem. Athena was too fucking beautiful for her own good. Ever since I’d known her, she’d used her attractiveness to get away with murder, often succeeding, much to the chagrin of her parents and her brother. Shame she didn’t have more of the traits of her namesake. She should have been named Eris, goddess of a fuck load of trouble.
“Ryker? Wh-what are you doing here?” she stammered, her eyes darting left and right. “Is Elliot with you?”
“Unfortunately for you, darling, yes, he is.” I clutched her upper arm and spun her around, propelling her forward.
She jerked her shoulder upward. I held on tighter, and a hiss emerged from her lips.
“You’re hurting me.”
“And you’ll hurt Elliot if he sees you here behaving like some slut.”
“I am not a slut!”
Arching a brow, I glared down at her. “No? You’re doing a fabulous impression of one.”
I opened a door to one of the private rooms for hire. Luckily it wasn’t inhabited. Not that it would have made a difference if I’d walked in on some fifty-year-old getting his cock sucked by a girl young enough to be his daughter. One icy glare from me, and I guarantee he’d have left so fast his pants would have still been around his ankles.
“In,” I barked at Athena.
She glanced past me, undoubtedly assessing her options.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Her shoulders bowed, and she stepped into the room.
I followed, locked the door, and stood with my back to it. “Talk, Athena.”
She folded her arms over her chest and pouted. “I have nothing to say to you.”
I gritted my teeth at her infantile response. Give me fucking strength. I removed the key from the lock, pocketed it, then went to sit on the couch at the foot of the bed. Slipping my cell from my pocket I sent a quick text to Elliot in case he noticed me missing and decided to investigate my whereabouts.
Something’s come up. BBL. Get as much information from the girl as you can.
“Fine,” I said, glancing up at Athena with hooded eyes. “Then it’ll be a long night for both of us.” I crossed my left ankle over my right knee and fiddled with my cufflinks. “I’ve got the time. Have you?”
She huffed loudly. “You can’t keep me in here against my will.”
I lifted my head slowly, my gaze steady and uncompromising. “We both know I can and, if it suits me, I will.”
“And what if I scream?”
I traced my bottom lip