Page 14 of All That Glitters

“Yeah, you’re not the first person to call me that. If it makes you feel any better, it’s me, not you.”

“Fuck you, Midas.”

She shoves past me naked and yanks open the door, storming out into the hallway.

I step out after her, gritting my teeth when I see Legs at her door with her hand on the knob. Her eyes widen as she takes in the scene, looking from the brunette to me.

“Can you even remember my fucking name?” the naked woman screams, whirling on me.

I shrug. “I didn’t bring you up here for your conversational skills,” I answer like the dick I am.

Legs shakes her head and pushes open her door.

“I’m good enough to fuck and suck you, but you can’t even remember my fucking name? You’re pathetic. Stick to your goddamned bunnies. At least they get paid to be whores.”

“Hey!” I bark as Legs’s door clicks shut.

The naked chick spins and storms off down the stairs, leaving me standing alone in the hallway, wondering how the fuck I get myself into these messes.

I run my fingers through my hair and let out a frustrated breath. My gaze drifts over to Legs’s door, and I consider knocking, but what would I even say? I don’t owe her an explanation any more than she owes me one. Like it or not, I’m a Raven Souls brother, and she’s a club bunny. She could have been the one. But maybe it’s better it played out this way. At least it’ll remind us we can’t be anything more than what we are.

I pop a couple of painkillers and wash them down with a bottle of water before leaning my elbows on the bar and resting my head in my hands. I hope my head stops pounding soon. Maybe I should lay off the alcohol for a while. I’ve spent more nights drunk than not lately.

“Do you need anything else, Midas?” Lil asks, and I look up as she grabs my empty bottle.

Lil’s been with the club for years. She was really young when she started and full of sass. But things changed after Bear tried to overthrow the club. She came back... different.

It’s been a year now, but the old Lil still hasn’t returned. She’s still sweet, still the do-anything-for-you kind of woman, but there’s this wariness in the way she interacts with us now. And who can blame her? Whatever happened, it wasn’t at the hands of some stranger or one of our enemies. It was done by one of our own.

It changed things for me and the rest of the brothers, so I can only imagine what it did to her.

“Midas? You in there?” She lightly knocks on my head, and I groan.

“Careful, Lil, you might knock something loose.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s no fun getting old, is it?”

“What do you know about getting old? You’re still a baby.”

“With what you guys do to me, I really hope you don’t see me that way,” she mutters, making me snort.

“Hey, now. You know you’re all woman. I just meant compared to the rest of us. Hell, I’m thirty-two, and I don’t consider myself old, but my body doesn’t agree with me. I wasn’t even that drunk last night. I used to drink twice as much and be fine in the morning.”

“You could just not drink.”

We stare at each other for a second before I burst out laughing, then instantly regret it when my head throbs like a fucking jackhammer.

“How about I make you some coffee?”

“You’re an angel, woman,” I groan.

“I know.” She gives me a small smile before walking to the other end of the bar.

I turn on my stool and look around the room. It’s pretty quiet. Most of the guys are at work. I should be, too, but one of the prospects is covering for me. Thank fuck.

“She’s right, Iamgetting old,” I mutter as Blade drops onto the seat next to me.

“You’re only as old as the woman you’re feeling.”