Page 28 of Dust to Dust

With a resigned sigh, I replied, “I don’t know. The moral side of me thinks it’s maybe not a good idea to be screwing my boss.”

Unlocking the car doors, Brooke countered, “Since you’re going to be a stripper, I think it’s okay not to listen to your moral side.”

“You bitch!” I teasingly shrieked.

She held her hands up. “Sorry. Just calling it like it is.”

“It’s more complicated than just screwing my boss.”

“Why?”

After staring down at the ground, I replied, “Because I felt something when I kissed him.”

“You felt his giant dick beneath you.”

I snapped my gaze up to scowl at her. “I’m being serious.”

Brooke’s amusement faded. “You mean, you felt a real connection?”

I nodded. “Nothing seedy like a hookup.” I swallowed hard. “Like a relationship.”

“Did he say anything?”

“That’s the worst part. After we got interrupted, he said he had to go and then reached for a box of tissues.”

Brooke wrinkled her nose. “Ew. Really?”

“Unfortunately.”

“That’s grim.”

“I thought as much.” With a shrug, I replied, “Maybe he regretted getting carried away in the moment and didn’t know what to say or do.”

With a roll of her eyes, Brooke replied, “I doubt he was putting that much thought into it after just getting his rocks off.”

A laugh bubbled from my lips. “Stop it.”

Brooke grinned. “Come on. Forget about the scary boss man. Let’s go pick up Henry, and grab a celebratory lunch to honor your new journey in stripperhood!”

“Sounds good.”

Chapter Six: Quinn

As I swept through the employee entrance of Alainn, a wave of emotions hit me. The last time I’d come through the doors I’d been racing out to rescue Caterina. When Kellan had burst into the room and interrupted Isla’s and my post orgasm haze, I would’ve never imagined it would be because Caterina had been kidnapped by her father and former fiancé.

Five days had passed since then. But in some ways, it felt like an eternity.

It was the first time I’d ever entered as the majority owner of the club. After Caterina’s reaction to Callum owning a stake in a gentlemen’s club, he had promised her to give it up. Instead of dividing it between Dare, Kellan, and me, he’d given his entire stake to me. When I’d questioned why, he’d replied, “You earned it for all the auditions.”

My first order of business was to head to the bar. If I was even going to get through tonight, I was going to need a strong whiskey. I waved over Conleth, the bartender.

At the sight of me, a broad smile stretched across his face. “Good to have you back, boss.”

“Thanks. Give me my usual.”

With a nod, he grabbed the whiskey. As he poured the tumbler he asked, “How’s Mrs. Kavanaugh?”

I smiled at the reference to her. Besides my mother and my sister, there wasn’t another woman I cared about as much as I did Caterina. She was more than just my sister-in-law–she had become my sister.

---