***

Velvet

If anymore assholes spoke to me tonight, I swore I was going to rip their fucking nuts off. Seriously, it must have been full moon or something, because Indigo was full of them tonight. Their filthy mouths and grabby hands seemed to be all I could hear and feel. I sighed. Maybe it was because I was missing Nash, maybe that was making it worse. His presence had a way of calming me. Having him in my life made it better, and certainly having him around while I was at work made it easier to deal when assholes got in my face.

This job was really starting to lose its appeal. I’d always enjoyed it, but lately I didn’t look forward to coming to work like I used to. Even the attention from men that I once craved, no longer held any interest for me. I didn’t want it; I just wanted Nash’ attention.

“Velvet, take a break, babe. I don’t want to see you for at least forty-five minutes. You’ve been working your ass off tonight,” Cody said as he walked past me to the bar.

I could have hugged him. “Done,” I replied and immediately headed out to the staff room before he changed his mind.

The first thing I did was kick my shoes off, the second thing I did was pour myself a bourbon, and the third thing I did was knock that drink back in half a minute flat. Then I thought, fuck it, and poured myself another drink.

It was after two drinks in quick succession that Wilder sauntered in. I admired his muscles. Damn, he was built, and the shirt he was wearing did nothing to hide those muscles. He wasn’t quite as big as Nash, but I didn’t know one woman who would knock him back if he was on offer.

He laid a sexy smile on me, a smile that would have gotten him laid if I wasn’t with Nash. “You seen Scott?” he asked. All credit to him, his eyes didn’t stray from my face. Wilder was serious about not messing with a friend of the VP’s.

The alcohol had loosened my tongue and I pursued a conversation with him even though he’d made it clear he wasn’t keen on chatting with me. “I’m trying to work you out, Wilder,” I said as I walked towards him.

“Don’t try too hard, darlin’. Not much here to see.”

“I’d beg to differ. I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who didn’t make eye contact with my chest. I know you said you’re avoiding the VP’s friends but for you to honour that even when he’s not around tells me a lot about you. And that intrigues me.”

No words came out of his mouth; it seemed he was doing battle in his mind with what to say or do. His eyes flashed a warning, and when he spoke, his voice was like a delicious cocktail of danger and desire. “Gorgeous, I’m fighting like fuck not to look at your chest. I’ve seen that sweet body of yours and it’s a body I could spend days admiring. I’m no different to any other man where that’s concerned.”

His sexy voice slid right through me. It was a good thing I believed in total faithfulness when I was with a man, because if I didn’t, I’d be more than tempted by him. “No, there’s something decidedly different about you. And I like it.”

He sucked in a breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, you’re a dangerous woman.”

I was about to tell him where Scott was when a menacing presence filled the room.

“Wilder.” Nash’s formidable voice boomed around us.

I turned to look at him and found him glaring at Wilder.

“Nash.” Wilder met his glare; his shoulders tensing.

“What the fuck’s going on here?” Nash demanded to know.

I figured I needed to step in; if it hadn’t been for me, Wilder wouldn’t be in this position. “Nothing’s going on, Nash,” I said, walking to him. The need to touch him, to let him know he had nothing to worry about was overwhelming.

His glare landed on me; he was furious, and it scared me, but it didn’t stop me. “Stay out of this, Velvet,” he warned, those beautiful green eyes of his full of anger.

I moved into his space and placed my hand on his chest. “Wilder wasn’t doing anything,” I said, softly.

Nash’s chest heaved. He removed my hand and repeated himself, “I said, stay out of it.” His eyes didn’t leave mine and his voice was dangerously low.

I wasn’t sure what had caused him to have such an extreme reaction but it hurt to have him talk to me like that. I took a step back, away from him. He watched me for another moment, and then turned back to Wilder.

Wilder was looking between me and Nash, and when he finally figured out what was going on, he held his hands up. “Fuck, Nash, I didn’t realise she was your old lady.”

I felt it necessary to clarify that. “No, I’m not Nash’s old lady.”

Nash swung his head to face me again, fuming, before fixing his glare back on Wilder, and declaring, “Yeah, well now you know she is.”

Wilder looked pissed, and although I figured that was directed at me, he didn’t dare look in my direction. Instead, he said to Nash, “Sorry, man. There was nothing going on though. I just asked her if she knew where Scott was.”

They were talking about me like I wasn’t even in the room, and that annoyed me. Now we were all pissed. Tuning out their conversation, I sat and put my shoes back on having decided I would get back to work. Once they were on, I looked up to find Nash still abusing Wilder. His eyes, however, were firmly on me. I stood, checked my makeup and hair, and then attempted to get past them to leave the room. They could continue their argument without me.