Page 28 of Crushing Clover

“Why do we have to be here so early today?” It was hard not to complain, even though Lucky had surprised me with a new book. I always found something to do to amuse myself in the office, but lounging around while they worked still felt wrong.

“We’re short-staffed, so we have to pick up the slack. Randal’s by himself today. He can’t do all the prep work alone.”

“Why are you short-staffed?”

“Because people take vacations and sick time.” Lucky tousled my hair as though I really was their pet. The metal collar, which Saint felt was more subtle for wearing to the restaurant, was currently locked around my neck. It wasn’t helping to dispel the pet feeling.

“Is the girl complaining about having to amuse herself while we earn the money that keeps her alive?” Saint sneered. “Tell me you’re a princess without telling me you’re a princess.”

“At least he lets you up on the furniture in his office.” Rush winked at me, and I gave him a quelling glare.

“Maybe I should reconsider that,” the man in question said, right on cue.

“Maybe you should stop giving him ideas, Rush,” Lucky said. Before anyone could say anything even more detrimental to my health and well-being, we were suddenly in the kitchen.

They’d forgotten to drop me off in the office.

I stared around in wonder, feeling like I’d snuck into Area 51. They’d never let me see the kitchen before. Their workspace was as sanitary and orderly as their patrons could possibly hope for.

“I told you Randal would be here already.” Rush slapped Saint on the shoulder and held out a hand.

“Fuck. I’ll have to Venmo you.”

“You’d better, because I’m not going to forget.”

The two of them started to harass each other, laughing. It was weird seeing the two of them joking around. Saint was usually so grouchy.

The man in the kitchen glanced up from where he was chopping onions. “Hey.”

He was around the same age as the guys, and had a very similar look, other than the dimples and pink hair. His gaze slid down me, then right back up. The guy was handsome and his blue eyes seemed very familiar.

“So, this is who you’ve been hiding in the office.”

“What the fuck, Lucky? Why didn’t you drop off bootlicker?” Saint grumbled.

“She’s never even seen the restaurant,” Lucky pointed out. “We’re here so early that I figured I’d give her a tour.”

“Ran, this is Kate,” Rush said.

“Pleased to meet you, Kate.”

“Nice to meet you, Randal.” I could feel Saint frowning at me, so I shut up.

“Found yourselves a girly-girl edition of Arabella, huh?” Ran asked Rush. “Interesting.”

“How about you mind your own fucking business, Randal ,” Saint growled.

I expected Ran to be offended, or at least affronted, but he only snickered and continued chopping onions. “Aye-aye, captain.”

“And stop fucking calling me that.”

“Then stop being a dick,” the man shot back. Apparently, he wasn’t afraid of losing his job.

“Ran is my cousin,” Rush explained as he passed behind me. He started scrubbing his hands at the sink.

“Randal is going to be a fucking corpse if he doesn’t keep his eyes to himself.”

“Innocently chopping vegetables here, captain. You don’t have to be worried about me stealing her. I wouldn’t want to interfere with true love.”

“Why are you such an idiot?”

As soon as Rush was done washing his hands, he high-fived Ran while Saint John continued to scowl.

“You keep frowning like that, Saint, and you’re going to need Botox soon,” Rush said sweetly.

“Have I ever mentioned I hate it when the two of you work at the same end of the kitchen?”

“Let me give you a tour of the front before Mr. Crabbypants forbids it,” Lucky whispered.

He grabbed my hand and tugged me in that direction, and I followed him while the others continued their not-so-good-natured nattering.

They were funny to listen to, and even though Saint sounded sour, I got the impression he was enjoying himself, too.

“Rush never mentioned he had a cousin,” I mused.

“Rush doesn’t talk much if he can help it—especially not about himself. The two of them were raised by their uncle. They’re basically brothers.”

“Does Ran know about…” I raised my brows.

“If you’re asking whether he knows how we got you, the answer is no. If you’re asking if he knows about the three of us, then yes. He’s a good guy. Open-minded. I’m glad Rush has some decent family.”

He led me up a set of stairs and into the coolest venue I’d ever seen.

Rather than trying to disguise the fact that their restaurant was in a church, they had leaned into it.

If anything, they’d gone out of their way to make it more gothic.

Black, with bottle green accents, it was gorgeous and an obvious reflection of the guys’ aesthetic.

“You like?” Lucky said, grinning. “Saint and Rush designed it. Everyone told us a goth restaurant would go under within a few months, but we started turning a profit in no time.”

“I’m sure it’s less about the atmosphere and more about what the kitchen offers.”

“That’s a nice thing to say, especially since you hate our food so much.”

“I don’t hate it. It’s just taking me a bit to get used to it. I know a lot of women would pay to be in my position.”

“And what position is that?” Lucky asked suggestively.

I glanced up at him, grinning, expecting him to make a flirty suggestion. Instead, he made a gagging sound.

Oh. Not Lucky.

I turned to look behind me, and Saint was standing almost on top of me. “The two of you are so hard to stomach sometimes.”

“Then maybe you should hold your nose and take bigger bites,” I shot back.

He grabbed me roughly away from Lucky, and before I could react, he sank his teeth into my shoulder. I squeaked an objection but heat zinged through me.

Why did I have to have such strong reactions to his manhandling and assholery?

He released his bite and grabbed me by the hair, turning me in a circle so I could get the full effect of the restaurant.

“We finally have something you appreciate?”

“I appreciate everything you guys do for me,” I said, meaning it. I rubbed my shoulder where he’d bitten me. The stuff they didn’t do for me sucked, but I had to admit things could be so much worse.

“Rush told me to send you to do errands, Luck. This is going to take longer than he thought.”

“Can I take her with me?”

“That’s not a good idea. You’ll get distracted and come back with the wrong thing, and then Rush will be pissed off all night.”

I snorted. If anyone was perpetually pissed off, it was Saint. It was ridiculous for him to complain about Rush, who was so even-tempered by comparison.

Lucky kissed me even though Saint hadn’t released his grip on my hair. Rather than ignore it, Saint watched, having a front-row seat for the way I melted under Lucky’s mouth then sighed when he pulled away. My body swayed to follow him, but Saint pulled me back.

“That’s enough.” Saint let go of me and grabbed Lucky’s shirt, then pulled him close and kissed him, too. I wasn’t used to seeing him be affectionate, but Lucky didn’t seem surprised. Maybe it was something he hid from me.

“Get going. I’ll take care of her.”

“Make sure she’s alive when I get back.”

“I’ll do my best not to kill her.”

“I need a list.”

“He already sent it to your phone.”

Sighing, Lucky flashed Saint a wry grin. “You two want to fuck me before I leave?”

“Keep it in your pants, Lucky.”

“Keep it in your pants, Lucky,” the blond menace mimicked as he headed back toward the stairs.

Saint’s lips quirked. “He’s always been such a manwhore.”

“Oh, like you and Rush aren’t?”

“I told you—I’m a saint.”

I turned to look at the restaurant again. The tables were nicely spaced and the lighting low, giving a feeling of privacy and sin.

“Is this what you envisioned when you dreamed of opening a restaurant?”

“Yes, ever since Rush and I got the idea that we wanted to be chefs.” He smiled to himself. “It’s perfect, even though it’s harder to run than the food truck, and it comes with so much more responsibility. The people who work here are counting on us not to fuck things up.”

“Lucky wasn’t part of the decision-making on Cygnet?”

“Lucky was the equivalent of a human sex toy in our relationship for ages before the two of them fell in love. Eventually, I got used to him.”

“Used to him? That kiss looked pretty convincing.”

“Well, you’ve met him. He has a way of growing on you even though he can be an idiot when he thinks with his dick.”

“You love him,” I observed.

“Our relationship is none of your business, bootlicker,” he pointed out, although he didn’t deny it.

“I love the atmosphere in here. Dark. Elegant. I’d love to see it full of people.”

“Not going to happen. You’ll have to satisfy yourself with this peek while it’s empty.”

I didn’t object when he tugged me along by the hair, steering me toward the back. “At one point we contemplated opening a club for women with male hosts to serve and entertain.”

“Like a strip club?”

“No, not like a strip club,” he snapped. “Why does everyone always assume that?”

Scowling, he led me through the kitchen where Ran glanced up from his work again to flash me a smile. “See you later, not-Arabella.”

“Bye, not-Rush.” I smiled back. He had to be wondering what I was doing hanging around in the office all the time.

How obvious was my collar?

Did the kitchen staff hear my noises when Lucky fucked me?

They couldn’t have missed my screeching the night Saint turned my ass black and blue.

Rush was intent on his work, his knives flashing with terrifying precision and speed. His singular focus and the dance of his blades made me pause, enthralled, but Saint pushed me past him.

We were in the office all too soon, and Saint shoved me at the couch with unnecessary force.

I landed awkwardly, sprawling.

“What did I do?” I demanded.

“Unless you want to cause trouble in this restaurant and possibly cost that man his job, you’d better learn to keep your eyes to yourself, Clover .” He said my name like it was a swear.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, completely confused.