Page 54 of Going Deep
“A movie.” Anna stretched out on the sofa, the popcorn on her lap. “My sisters love it.”
“Your sisters are thirteen,” Lola pointed out.
“So? I promised them I’d watch it.”
“It’s supposed to be really good,” Ginger chimed in, settling on the rug next to the sofa so she could reach the popcorn bowl.
“I take it we’re done discussing Ginger’s love life, then?” Lola ventured, settling into a chair with the wine.
“For now,” Anna said. “We’ll get back to it after I worm some information out of Grant.”
“Something to look forward to,” Ginger muttered and picked up the remote.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Michael was watching the door.
Saturday night was usually the busiest night of the week at Odyssey, and tonight was no exception. Though it was barely ten o’clock, the crowd in the bar area was thick, his bartenders were hopping, and the dance floor was already wall to wall bodies.
He smiled at a couple of members as they walked by, chatted with others, and directed a new submissive to the bathrooms with an amiable smile. And still, he watched the door.
When she walked in, the knots he hadn’t realized were in his belly loosened.
She hadn’t seen him yet, so he leaned back against the bar and looked his fill. She was wearing a purple halter top that molded her breasts like a lover’s hands and turned her blue eyes almost violet. It stopped an inch short of her waistband, baring a narrow strip of pale skin and made his mouth water. The skirt was shiny, black and short, and her feet were encased in boots of the same shiny material that stopped just below her knee and added a good three inches to her height.
Her hair was a tousled cap, her mouth was unpainted. Her skin glowed—she’d gotten some sun in the last week.
Fuck, he’d missed her.
He pushed away from the bar, but before he could cross the room, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Michael, how’s it going?”
He glanced over. “Ben, good to see you. How are you?”
“Good, I’m good.” The other man grinned, blonde and handsome as a movie star, and twice as charming. “I’ve been meaning to ask, who’s the new girl?”
Michael kept his face carefully impassive. “New girl?”
Ben jerked his head at Ginger. “Yeah. The stacked blonde.”
Michael raised an eyebrow at the description, but couldn’t dispute it. “She’s a friend.”
“Oh?” Ben’s eyebrows rose, a knowing gleam in his eye. “I should have known you’d get there first.”
Michael frowned slightly. “She’s new to the scene.”
“Really?” Ben pursed his lips, studying Ginger, and the gleam in his eye had Michael clenching his teeth. “I don’t usually like playing tour guide, but I’d make an exception for that.”
“Generous,” Michael drawled. “But I’ve got it covered.”
Ben shrugged. “Well, when you’re done with her, put in a good word for me, won’t you?”
Michael sent him a tight smile. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
“Good to see you, man.” Ben clapped him on the back again and, with a last, lingering look at Ginger, sauntered away.
Michael drew a deep breath, shoved his annoyance aside, and started across the room. Ginger was trying to make her way to the bar, but every few steps someone would approach her. Annoyance nipped at him, held at bay by the fact that she brushed aside every single advance.
