Page 73 of Whips and Chains
Vincent gave a single nod. “Are you well?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’m pleased to hear that.”
I jerked my head toward the door. “Okay if I go in? I’ve got a shift tonight.”
He held the door open, and I smiled at him while I passed. But I couldn’t help but add, “You really are different to Scythe, aren’t you?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “We have a few things in common.” His gaze drifted to Bliss, slinging drinks behind the bar, and something hard became soft in his eyes.
She noticed him watching her and she blew him a kiss, not waiting to see if he returned it.
He didn’t, but it was very clear to me that Vincent loved Bliss in a way that calmed something inside him. Just one look from her had altered his whole being.
Oh, to have that sort of power over another person’s happiness. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or if the idea was terrifying.
But it clearly worked for them. Bliss radiated happiness in a way I couldn’t imagine myself ever doing. I had no idea what it felt like to be that settled, that happy, that loved.
Though Levi’s words echoed over and over in my head, I wasn’t sure I could believe them.
He’d told me things in the past, and then it had all gone to shit. I didn’t want to let myself believe him too quickly this time. I wanted to feel the glow of his I love yous, but I couldn’t let myself be fully open to them just yet, the way Bliss clearly was.
That required a level of vulnerability I couldn’t afford right now when my life was so messed up.
I gave Vincent a smile and moved past him, into the club. Unlike last night, the door to the cloakroom and the sex club behind it was closed, locked up tight. Psychos was back to the grungy dive bar it was most nights of the week, with sports playing on big-screen TVs mounted on the walls and the smell of fried food lingering in the air. People sat around at tables, drinking beer and eating chicken wings, a cheer going up as I passed a large group of college-aged guys, but when I glanced over at them, I realized they all had their gazes trained on the football game.
I slipped behind the counter and tucked my purse into the safety box Bliss had shown me on my first shift.
She wiped her hands on a towel and gave me a quick hug. “Are we okay?”
I blinked. “Of course. Why?”
“I wouldn’t let you work last night.”
I waved a hand around like it didn’t matter, even though it kind of did. I didn’t need people telling me what I did or didn’t need. And yet I could respect that she needed staff who weren’t going to be a danger to the public or her business.
Which was kind of a hilarious notion when I knew exactly what Scythe and Vincent were capable of, and they were hereevery night she was. But I could respect her need to protect her livelihood. And I had been a bit of a mess last night. I probably still was and would be for a long time. There would be no just “getting over” what had happened to Toby. I imagined I would still feel the loss of him until I was old and gray. There would be many more nights of crying myself to sleep, I was sure.
But keeping myself busy in between was what I wanted.
“You said I could come back tonight,” I reminded Bliss.
She nodded. “I did, and I’ll stay true to that, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
She threw the towel at me. “Then you’re up. I’ll get you to help with the bar and serving while we’re busy. When it settles down you can switch to cleaning. Sound good?”
“As long as I have something to do all night, I’m happy.”
Bliss jerked her head toward the room packed full of bodies, mostly male ones, all needing food and drinks. “I think we can keep you occupied.” She pointed toward a table in the far back corner. “Could you start with that guy over there? He just came in, and I haven’t had a chance to take his order yet.”
“Of course.”
I grabbed a notepad and a pen from beneath the counter and wove my way in between tables, ignoring the fact X had sat himself down in the middle of a table full of guys from Levi’s club. They all clapped him on the back and welcomed him like he was a long-lost member, and I just shook my head, thinking about how nice it must be to be that extroverted.
I stopped at the table Bliss had pointed out and poised my pen, ready to take the man’s order. “Hey, I’m Violet. What can I get you?”
