Prologue
GRAHAM
The place is pretty dead tonight, I thought to myself as I pulled into the parking spot at the local bar. Of course, Liberty was a lot smaller than where I came from.
The rain was coming down hard too, which was reason enough for a lot of people to stay at home. Thunderstorms and downpours never stopped me, though. I loved the sound of thunder and getting a little wet never did me any harm. I most certainly wasn’t made of sugar and wasn’t likely to melt. Not to mention I needed to get out of the house. My brothers and I were renting a cabin outside of Liberty for the time being - and it was just too small for all us rowdy assholes. I loved my brothers, but sometimes, I just needed to get away. No amount of rain would have kept me inside a second longer.
I walked toward the front door and noticed a sign. I couldn’t read it from a distance, but as I got closer, I made out the words, “Closed for a private event.”
Shit.
Before I could turn and head back to my truck, the door swung open and saw a sight that left breathless.
“There you are! You’re late!” a beautiful twenty-something said to me. She clenched my arm and her eyes widened as she felt my biceps. “You’re a lot better looking than I thought you’d be. We sure got our money’s worth tonight.”
“I don’t—” I was about to say I didn’t know what she was talking about, but when she looked up at me with dark grey eyes and thick, black lashes, I was smitten. I completely forgot how to speak. And that was not a thing that happened to me. I’d seen combat, for fuck’s sake.
I didn’t recall ever seeing someone so beautiful in all my life. She was a petite thing, coming in at least a foot under me, plus a little more. I clocked her at maybe 5’4”, at most, though her heels gave her the illusion of being slightly taller. For someone so petite in stature, she had curves that seemed to go for miles. Thick hips and thighs I imagined wrapped around my face before I even realized how terrible that was. She wore a tiny black dress that showed off her voluptuous figure, and there was a white sash across her ample chest with the words Maid of Honor written in pink. My eyes fell upon her cleavage, which peeked out the top of her dress, showing off breasts that were at the very least D cups.
But it wasn’t just her body that captured my attention - her face was soft and sweet. She had black hair that fell in waves around her shoulders and down her back. Her skin could only be described as porcelain and perfect. And to top it all off, she had dimples in her cheeks. I was a sucker for dimples.
This goddess who enchanted me was the only reason I could justify doing what I did next.
I kept my mouth shut and let her drag me into the bar. Immediately, I was surrounded by women - all around the same age - and all of them oohing and aahing at me like I was on display.
“Wow, good job, Emmy,” a blonde woman wearing a Bride sash said to the Maid of Honor. “I’m seriously impressed.”
“I know, right? I sure can’t wait to see him naked,” a redhead near us said.
Naked? What on earth was she—oh no. Oh God. They think I’m the stripper.
I was just about to open my mouth and admit that I wasn’t the man they thought I was when I turned and looked at Emmy again. She was smiling so brightly, it could light up a room. I knew, in that moment, I would do anything that woman asked me to – including taking my clothes off for a room full of women I didn’t know.
I saw Magic Mike once; how hard could it be?
“Where do you want me?” I asked. I’d never danced in my life, much less stripped. And suddenly, I was expected to be a professional. But I couldn’t let Emmy down in front of her friends.
“Anywhere you want,” Emmy said, sidling up next to me with a devious grin. “You’re the one in control.”
What I wouldn’t give to let Emmy take control. My mind wandered to all the things I would do to her if given the chance. But, no. She was way too sweet and