CHARLOTTE

“What do you mean he ripped your ballet clothes off you? Like, completely ripped off your body?” Mia asked me, her eyes wide and enthralled.

I nodded. “Yep. Totally off my body as he held me up in his arms.”

I glued another sequin to the tiny white tutu. I swore if I saw another sequin after this recital, I would scream.

“Why?” Stella piped in. She had a line of white faux feathers she was currently sewing onto the costumes.

I shrugged my shoulders twice. “Alexander had his hands on me,” I said like it explained everything. After all, these girls knew the men of the Wounded Souls—loved them even.

“Damn. That is so romantic,” Mia whispered. She had her own pot of glue and mountain of sequins in front of her.

“I know, right?”

Out of all the girls, I got along with Mia and Stella the most. Vegas and I were close, too, and she was my first friend here. But at times, I got nervous around her stunning beauty and her total and utter confidence in herself. Things I wished I had. Especially her breasts. They truly were spectacular. But with these two, we were just shy girls who’d had a rough time of things in our family lives. A common bond of being the odd ones out.

“I am so glad you got some time off to spend here with us, Mia,” I said and meant it. Her job at the bar and grill kept her so busy that she rarely had a day off, and Shiloh loved her. So when Steel mentioned Mia had off today, I’d grabbed my phone and called her to come help me with the costumes for the recital.

Mia smiled up at me and nodded her head. “Of course, Charlotte. I haven’t seen you guys since the sex toy party. I have missed you, and I really needed some Shiloh time.”

I smiled at the mention of Shiloh, who was currently having a play date with one of the girls from day care. They were both very much in my line of sight as they played with Shiloh’s Barbie dolls, and they were closely watched by Bullet and Trigger, Steel’s dogs.

Mia’s smile was so genuine when she spoke of my girl, but I saw a tiny bit of sadness in her eyes.

“Mia? Honey, are you okay?”

Suddenly, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her skin was the most perfect I had ever seen. Even with tears, she was beautiful with her milk-chocolate eyes and naturally pouty pink lips.

“Oh, honey, what’s wrong? Is it Steel?” I asked knowingly. You had to have lived under a rock not to notice the way her eyes followed Steel’s every move, and the longing on her face, and the way her eyes welled with tears every time Steel and Mia’s sister, Callie, took off to his room or played pool together in the main room. Always touching and flirting.

I had to say, I didn’t really like Callie very much. She didn’t spend all her time here at the club but was more of a part-time soul girl.

I had even seen her go off with Darth once. I also remembered the way Vegas looked as she saw them leave together. She pretended it didn’t worry her, but I could tell she was hurt.

Taking the tissues from Stella’s outstretched hand, Mia blew her nose delicately.

“Callie called Steel last night at the grill. I couldn’t hear everything that was said, but the gist is she invited him to go see her for a few days, and he just went.” Mia clicked her thumb and ring finger together. “He just dropped everything at the grill and left it all in my hands.”

“Honey, does he have any idea of your feelings for him?” I asked her.

“He should! I act like a fool every time he is anywhere close to me. Seriously, it’s like I lose all my brain cells when he is around. And all he sees is my sister with her perfect tits and a perfect arse. Why do they like hussies?” Mia said all in a rush. Obviously, verbal vomit was a slight problem for her today.

Stella was nodding her head in agreement.

“Tell me about it. Yesterday, I was in the kitchen, and I heard Booth tell Mannix to get Ingrid over from the strip club and to his room. I mean… is that what he wants? Because I am screwed if it is.” Tossing a bunch of the white feathers in the air, she let out a frustrated sigh.

“Are you serious? Woman, you are fucking beautiful. Your hair is naturally blonde, you have stunning eyes and a killer body. It’s the boys who have the problem,” Mia said, the volume of her voice rising as she started getting a full head of steam.

“Argh, he pisses me off with that shit. I don’t know how much more I can take. Seeing him go off with other women is killing me,” Stella said, sadness in her voice.

Suddenly, there were sequins everywhere, and Mia looked like she was getting a really bad idea.

“We should show Steel and Booth exactly what they’re missing,” Mia said.

Oh, dear.

Stella looked at Mia like she’d just come up with a cure to stop nail polish from chipping. “Yes! Let’s find men and get them naked, then take pictures of us with them.”

Oh, God, no.

I could see the girls were going to get themselves worked up into major tizzies if I didn’t distract them from the idiots that were the president and vice president of the club.

“We should drink,” I blurted out all of a sudden. What was I saying? I didn’t drink. The shandy a few weeks ago was more than enough for me for a lifetime. It tasted okay, but I could definitely live without alcohol.

Stella suddenly lit up. The feathers flew all around us as she jumped from her position on the floor and headed off to the bar.

Oh, dear, this needed to be reined in a tad.

“Ah, Stell? Can you maybe try something a little fruitier for me? You know, less alcohol,” I called out hopefully. Oh, Lord, I think I may be in trouble here. I glanced over at Shiloh and hoped her little friend’s mum turned up soon.

 

————

 

“I have no legs.” That came from Stella. For the last three drinks, she had insisted she couldn’t feel her legs.

“I am sure they are around here somewhere,” I answered her flippantly. “You have nothing to worry about. I think I swallowed some sequins.” I slurred my words—at least, I thought I did. Maybe I had lost my ears.

Mia snorted as she laughed with her phone in her hand. In my drunken stupor, I could hear the ringing sound indicating she was calling someone.

“Hello, Mr I-like-fake-tits-better-than-real-tits.” Her voice sounded more than a little drunk because she was totally hammered. Worse than Stella and I were.

“Yes, this is Mia. How nice of you to remember my voice, bucko.”

Smothering her giggles, Stella rolled around on the floor beside me. I gave Mia a thumbs-up. Bucko was such a great word.

“Yes, it is probabable I am drunked just a smidge.” I think her words were coming out wrong—or my brain had gone somewhere with Stella’s legs and my ears.

“No, none brothers are here—well, that cute prospect is here, and I am thinking to service him and do things to his cock-a-doodle-doo. Goodbye, Steel. Have fun with my slut sister.”

I could hear Steel shouting for her not to hang up, but Mia was very much beyond caring. Squinting, she looked through her phone for another number. “Here, Stells, it’s your turn.” Mia tossed the phone to Stella who barely caught it before it hit her in the face.

Stella held it up to her ear and listened for a few seconds. “Who’s this? Booth who?” She giggled, and we all burst out laughing. “Shh, shh, girls, quiet. I can’t hear the studly stud Booth talking,” she admonished us, her hands flapping at us in a shushing motion.

“Ha hum. Yes, Boothie poos, what can I do for you? Fluff your pillow perhaps or shall I wash your boxer shorts and hide them under my pillow so at least something of you will sleep with me?”

She did? Huh, I never thought of doing that.

Giving us a wink, Stella settled in for a really good telling off. “Excuse me, hunk a hunk of burnin’ love, I did not call you. In fact, as soon as I find my legs, I am going to go over to that good-looking prospect and ask him to give me a bloody good rogering. Although I am a virgin, so he will have to go in slow for the first time, but then I’m gonna get a damn good rogering.”

She threw the phone at me and smirked.

“Your turn.”

Oh, boy. Okay, here we go. Going through the contacts, I found my soldier man’s number. I pressed the call button and held it to my ear.

“Mia, what the hell is going on over there?”

“Hello, honey.”

“Sweetness? Are you okay? You sound strange.”

“It’s my brain and ears. They have gone off with Stella’s legs.”

“I beg your pardon.” He sounded shocked. Well, so was I, mister. I had a dance thing soon, and I needed my ears to hear the music.

“Deck, you must concentrate, honey. I only have time for a short call. We are hanging up on our men after we say what we have to say. Are you concentrating, honey?”

Deck chuckled. “Okay, Sweetness, I am all ears.”

Ears, ears, where were my ears? Shaking the fog from my brain, I focused on my reason for calling him.

“Okay, right, Deck, I would very much like a repeat performance of yesterday’s loving in the dance room. This time, I would like us both to be naked, and I would like it if I was leaning back against a table and you suck and open-mouth kissed my pussy. Then you will stand up and push into me hard, and while our naughty bits are playing, I would like you to suck my nipples into your mouth, then I will do the same to yours. Because I know you like it when I love on your man nips. Thank you, now goodbye.” I pressed the end button and tossed the phone back to an open-mouthed Mia.

All right, then.