Page 55 of From the Start

“Stay where you are,” I holler back.

“Let us in.” A mermaid shoves Trent. He holds up his hands and backs away.

“I think you’ve had enough to drink,” the bouncer tells them.

“I want moonshine!” Another mermaid – this one’s wearing a wet, white t-shirt over her seashell bra – shouts.

“Moonshine! Moonshine!” The other mermaids – there are five in total – begin to chant. At least, I assume they’re chanting moonshine. They’re slurring their words and are unsteady on their feet. Trent’s right. These women have had enough to drink.

“Where are you staying?” I ask.

The first mermaid rakes her gaze over me. “Why? You wanna come with us?”

“We canna share,” another one slurs.

“No, thanks. I’m not into sharing.” And my balls are ready to shrivel up at the way they’re looking at me. Kissy duck faces are unattractive enough but when you’ve had too much to drink and end up slobbering all over yourself, they’re the height of unattractive.

“Where are you staying?” I repeat my question. “I can book you a ride to your hotel.”

“But I don’t wanna go back to the hotel,” one of them screeches loud enough to make my ears want to bleed.

“There’s a taxi waiting at the end of the alley,” Harper whispers to me.

“All right, mermaids. It’s time to go.” I begin herding them out the door.

“I got this,” Trent says before taking over and leading the women away.

I shut the door behind him. “I can handle the door while he deals with the women.”

“Actually,” Harper says but doesn’t continue.

“What?”

She studies me for a long moment. I lock my limbs before I begin to squirm under her scrutiny.

“We need to talk.”

Damn. I thought I was making progress with her. But I can handle whatever bullshit she throws at me to push me away. I’m not giving up.

I wasn’t planning to give up before yesterday. But after yesterday? There’s no way in hell I’m giving up after she allowed herself to let go in my arms.

“Okay. Lead the way.”

She forces her way through the crowd until we’re on the other side of the bar. She opens her office and motions me inside.

My cock twitches. It wants a repeat of what happened yesterday in another office in another bar. I inhale a deep breath to get myself back in control. Harper wants to talk. It’s not time to get naked.

I settle into the chair across from her desk. “What do you want to talk about?”

She perches her ass on the desk. “You weren’t hitting on those mermaids.”

I rear back. “Of course not. They were drunk. They needed help, not a man leering all over them.”

“And you didn’t make a sexual innuendo when I lifted my shirt.”

“I did not,” I reaffirm since I don’t know where she’s going with this.

“And you didn’t tell everyone what happened in the office atBootlegger.”