I was starting to regret agreeing to my father’s job decision by week two in Uncle Max’s club.

There were a few hot guys here and there, but the majority of them were there to ogle the waitresses, not the bitchy bartender.

I know I could be nicer, but most of the time they weren’t worth it. And the couple dudes I tried to flirt with had wound up being total duds once I started to talk to them.

One was about six inches shorter than me when he’d hopped down off his bar stool, and the other wouldn’t stop talking about his whore ex-wife, and ladies, we all know what a turn on that is. Gotta love a guy who is not only still obsessed with the woman he married, but uses language like that.

Even dear old dad was never that crass about the many women he’d been married to, including my own mother.

Although technically she wasn’t really his ex, she’d died so she was off limits in terms of shit talking. She was a saint in his eyes, and mine.

I was also regretting working at the Little Black Dress because the LBD was hard work. Really hard work. And for a spoiled girl like me, it wasn’t something I was totally used to. I admired how hard the girls had to hustle to make their wages in tips.

“Hey, sweetcheeks, give me another,” some random older guy yelled at me from down the bar. I was just starting my shift and my chosen little black dress for the day was to shock my father. I knew he’d be coming in later so I’d gone with a short leather dress that clung like a second skin and made my breasts practically fall over the top.

“Coming right up,” I replied, gritting my teeth and pouring him another vodka, straight up on the rocks. A lot of these guys lacked imagination when it came to their drinks, which helped me since I was still learning how to mix most of them.

“Here’s a twenty if you do something for me,” he said, holding out the bill. It wasn’t exactly generous, considering he was drinking our cheapest vodka at eleven dollars a shot.

“What’s that?” I asked, playing along.

“Show me your titties,” he leered and waved the bill like it was dipped in gold or something.

“How about I give you your nine dollars in change back and you can shove it right up your ass?” I snarled, yanked the bill from his fingers and slammed the change on the counter in front of him.

“Jeez, what the fuck crawled up her cunt and died?” he said to his friend and they laughed like they were the most clever jerks on the planet.

So yeah, I hated my job just then and regretted accepting my father’s challenge. I couldn’t wait until the end of my shift when I could go upstairs to our apartments, kick off the knee high boots that were already hurting my feet, and soak in a nice hot bath.

But that was seven hours away.

I heard one of the regulars, a guy from the casino, call my name and I turned around to serve him. His name was Brady and he was halfway decent, one of the guys more interested in the cocktail waitresses than me, so it was all good.

I smiled at him, but my eyes were drawn to the hulking mountain of muscle sitting next to him.

I couldn’t let myself stare, but from what I could take in, he was fine as hell. He was turned away so I allowed a little longer glance as I poured the whiskeys. And I did take a look and I liked what I saw. He was tucked into tight jeans with a simple white tee shirt that strained against his bulging muscles. His arms were covered in tattoos, and his back rippled as he turned back around to face the bar.

I threw him some snarky comment to hide my interest, the adult version of hitting somebody with a lunch kit like we did in the second grade. I polished some glassware and let my eyes wander over to take in the front of him from time to time.

As much as I liked his fine ass, I liked his gorgeous front even more. That bulge that he couldn’t hide in his jeans, the chest that made my thoughts go all over the place, from me riding him with my hands splayed over those pecs, to how it would feel having that beast of a man on top of me, pounding into me hard and fast.

But his face was pure perfection, he was the image of a man all the way. His jawline was speckled with dark stubble, it was strong and straight and masculine. His hair was jet black, but unlike mine, it was natural. I dyed my normally blonde locks black to add to the dramatic effect of having blue eyes contrasted against them.

He was all natural, and all man. His eyes were dark green and shone with intelligence and humor as he talked to Brady, he also didn’t seem to constantly scan the cocktail girls like his friend.

He wasn’t interested in them, I could sense it. In fact, and I swear I wasn’t crazy, I caught him looking at me a couple times.

I walked back to the two men when Brady held up his glass and shook it at me, something I normally hated, but in this case I could make an exception for his exceptional friend.

My stomach quivered with nerves when I asked, “What can I get you boys?”

“Two more,” Brady said, turning to his buddy. “That okay for you, Hatch? You’re still on whiskey?”

“Yeah, it’s good for now,” he replied. I handed him his glass, he took it and flashed me one hell of a smile, I felt it from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and all the way in between.

“Good, I hope you enjoy,” I said, flashing my own smile.

“Remember my discount,” Brady blurted out. “I work in the casino.”

“I know, I remember. Don’t worry, you won’t get charged full price.”

“For my friend here too, I get his drinks for cheap.”

“I’ll remember,” I said, smiling back at Hatch. “He’s not exactly the forgettable type.”

“Speak for yourself, kitten,” he grinned and raised his glass to me, took a sip and locked his eyes on mine.

“So what brings you to Vegas? Brady’s company can’t be the only thing,” I said, wiping the counter in front of him and doing my best to make small talk. I wasn’t ready to go deal with all the horny weirdos lining up at the other end of the bar.

“Hey, come on, I’m a fun guy to hang out with,” Brady said, holding his hand to his heart as if I’d shot him.

“I’m sorry, but you aren’t exactly part of the guide book of Vegas attractions,” I grinned and looked at his friend again. I maintained my composure, but damn, he was definitely messing with my mojo.

Hatch chuckled and said, “She’s got your number, you weren’t the reason I came out here, my friend.”

I raised my brows and waited for him to answer my question. He smiled at me as if he knew he had me on the hook and was enjoying torturing me a little.

“I’m here for work. I’ve got a little building business going,” he said and the deep rumble of his voice left me a little breathless.

I nodded and smiled and heard one of the customers calling for me on the other side of the bar, so I had to turn and walk away.

It was a good thing I did though, because my knees were a little wobbly and my heart was speeding along like I’d just run a mile after speaking to Hatch.

And on some level I didn’t like it, being that out of control of my reaction.

But on another level, I did. I liked it very, very much.