I smiled. We’d had numerous conversations about this and he knew I didn’t want to do stripping once I found a new job, but he kept pushing me anyway. “I told you, Scott, I’m getting too old for stripping. Your clients don’t want to see an old woman getting her bits out.”

Nash almost choked on his drink and gave me a bewildered look. “You’re what? Thirty-two? That’s hardly old,” he muttered, “And fuck, Velvet, have you taken a look in the mirror lately?”

Warmth spread through me at his words even if I didn’t agree with them. “Ah yes, I have, and let’s just say that I haven't got the goods that I once did.”

Nash’s eyes dropped to my chest and, holy hell, that did things to me. It was no secret that I liked the attention of men, hell you wouldn’t strip if you didn’t, but having Nash’s eyes on me, turned me on more than I had been in a long time.

He raised them back to my face and murmured, “Sweet thing, I’ve seen a lot of goods in my time, and let’s just say that what you’ve got are spectacular.”

Desire pooled between my legs. Nash flirting with me was not new, but this conversation had a different tone to it; things had definitely shifted between us and I sensed new meaning behind his words. And I realised that I couldn’t deny it any longer; I wanted to have sex with him, wanted his hands on my body and his lips whispering dirty talk in my ears.

He’d rendered me speechless, but Harlow kept the conversation going for me. “I agree with Nash, you’re hot. I’ve got a girl crush on you and your goods.” She winked at me and I could have kissed her for her kind words. I truly believed that women needed to stick together rather than trying to tear each other down, and a compliment like that from a woman sometimes meant more to me than if it had come from a man.

“Thank you.” I blew her a kiss.

J waded into the conversation, “If anyone’s fit to be the judge of goods, it’s gotta be Nash, babe. I’d be listening to him if I were you.”

I looked around the table at Scott, Harlow, J, Madison and Nash; they really were the family I’d chosen and this lunch just proved it to me more. Smiling, I said, “I’ll take that as a compliment, J.”

Madison laughed. “You should. It’s definitely a J compliment; trust me, I should know. I can be having a down day and the way he tries to make it all better for me is by telling me how hot my tits are or how much he wants my legs around him.”

J grumbled, “Well it’s true, you do have great tits and legs, and I figure you need to hear that shit when you’re down.”

Madison leant her face close to his and said, “Thanks, baby, but what will you tell me when I get old and grey and my boobs are sagging?”

He grinned. “You’ll still have lips, right?”

Madison smacked him on the arm. “You’re a dirty man, Jason Reilly.”

“Fuck yeah, babe. It’s what you love about me the most.”

Nash shifted in his chair and muttered under his breath so that only I heard him, “Fuck, do we really have to listen to this shit?”

I turned to look at him and for the first time, noticed the tiredness that marred his face. “You okay?” I asked, softly, “You look tired.”

His response was unhurried. “Yeah, just got some stuff on my mind at the moment.”

“You want to talk about it?”

He smiled tightly. “Thanks, but I don’t really even want to think about it let alone talk about it.”

“Sure, I get it. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Yeah. I do.”

I contemplated what I wanted to say, not sure how he would take it, but then decided to hell with it; we’d come this far now that it was just too bad if he didn’t like me saying it. “I worry about you, Nash. I wish you would talk to me about stuff when it’s upsetting or worrying you.” I rested my hand lightly on his arm as I said it. His reaction was swift; his arm jerked and surprise flickered across his face.

He pulled his arm away and stood abruptly. Looking down at me, he asserted, “You don’t have to worry about me. This stuff will go away soon and I’ll be fine.” Shifting his gaze to Harlow, he apologised, “Sorry, Harlow, but I’ve gotta go.”

She gave him a disappointed look. “Really?”

“Yeah, got shit to do.” He didn’t elaborate. And then he was gone. And I was left stunned yet again by his behaviour. Nash wasn’t being his usual fun self lately, and now I was really concerned for him.

Chapter 8

Scream ~ Usher

Velvet

The sound of my ringing phone pulled me out of the deep sleep I was in. Squinting my eyes, I checked the caller ID. Shit, it was James. How the hell had he gotten my phone number? I dropped it back down on the bed; I wasn’t answering his call. Instead, I rolled off the bed and traipsed into the kitchen to get a drink. The time on the clock caught my eye; five o’clock in the afternoon. It was Sunday and I’d spent most of the day in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. The rain was falling on the roof and I couldn’t believe my luck that I’d been blessed with rain on my day off. Rainy Sundays in bed were a favourite of mine.

I downed the glass of water I’d just poured and cursed when my phone started ringing again. Ignoring it, I gave my attention to Bella, my kitty. She was rubbing herself up against my legs, demanding I feed her. Hell, this cat was always asking for food; she really should have been fatter than she was with all the food I gave her. I couldn’t help but give in to her demands every time.