Page 8 of Such A Bad Girl

“I had no doubts,” I said.

“Three at once will save time, don’t you think?”

“Go get ‘em, tiger,” I said, laughing to myself as he walked away. I watched as he strolled up to them with complete confidence. They responded like he was a rockstar who’d just stepped off a stage. Rian had charisma and charm, despite his usual grumpy ass nature when he wasn’t on the prowl.

I’d seen him in action a million times before.

And there were times when I was right there in the jungle beside him. Lately, though, my heart wasn’t in it. Maybe it was because I was drowning in work, doing my damnedest to keep the club afloat without resorting to drastic measures. Or, maybe, it was because the one thing I couldn’t have kept poking her adorable head up more and more, making it impossible to pretend she didn’t exist.

And if I admitted she existed, then I had to admit that she was a problem.

Everleigh had tormented me since we were kids.

When we’d first met, she’d constantly begged to tag along with me and West. I didn’t mind at first, but West did, being sometimes more than just a little mean to her. West went from not wanting her around to being extremely protective of her. Growing up as an only child and witnessing the extreme protection West showed for Everleigh was foreign to me. After a while, I felt that same protection for her, and along with that came the occasional annoyance.

But these days, she tormented me in a much different way.

To be honest, my ridiculous attraction to her had grown over the years to whatever monster I was dealing with now. Just being around her felt like I was walking on hot coals sometimes. When she flashed her pretty blue eyes at me – usually in anger, but still – it felt like my entire body was on fire. There were nights I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a raging hard on between my legs and nothing but Everleigh’s curvy body and beautiful smile on my mind.

It was pure fucking torture.

And I desperately needed it to go away, because there was no way in hell I’d ever be able to do anything about my hunger for my best friend’s little sister.

Everleigh was strictly forbidden.

Off-limits.

Taboo.

Not only would it ruin my friendship with West, but it would ruin everything with Everleigh, too. The only thing I could think of that would hurt more than never being able to touch Everleigh, would be to not have her and West in my life.

They were all I really had.

And in the end, the fact remained that West would surely kill me if he even knew the secret feeling I harbored for his little sister.

It would just never work, for a million different reasons.

But goddammit, did that woman continue to march through my head like a runaway freight train of desire that I had no hope of controlling.

I needed something else to think about. A distraction. A replacement.

That’s just the problem though. Rian was right. I had a club full of beautiful women that, with a little charm and grace, I could entice into joining me downstairs. I’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity that was spread out in front of me, especially when I so desperately needed something to banish my unhealthy obsession with Everleigh.

With a heavy sigh, I forced myself to scan the crowd. It was my job, after all. Recruiting new temple members wasn’t something I was totally on board with, but I’d relented tonight.

Despair washed over me as I took in the crowd. Each woman in my view was stunningly beautiful. My problem was that I just happened to be obsessed with the most beautiful woman in the world. Trying to find a replacement for her was a fool’s endeavor, let alone someone enticing enough to make me stop thinking about her.

I was looking for a miracle.

I’d never find it.

I’d always known I’d have to settle for a poor substitute for Everleigh, and I just needed to stop thinking about her. Easier said than done, though.

My eyes landed on Rian, who was now leading his trio of ladies toward the door that led down to the secret temple. He gave me a pointed look as he passed me by and I nodded.

“It’s my job,” I muttered, shaking my head as I began scanning the crowd again.

My gaze fell on a woman on the dance floor wearing a long, sheer negligee. Her plump breasts were barely contained by the black lace top, her nipples fully visible through the thin fabric. The skirt billowed gently over her hips, enhancing the curves that I couldn’t help but compare to Everleigh’s curves. There was a similarity to the way the woman moved that I found intriguing.

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