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She blushed prettily, “Well, a lady never kisses and tells…”

“Seriously? You’re going to go with coy now?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about who Nerida’s slept with, think about yourself,” Dex said. “You’re gonna get some offers tonight, if you want them.”

Gulp. I turned away from the women, almost afraid of what I might see, and sure enough there were plenty of guys checking out our table, some even looking directly at me.

I grabbed my drink reflexively, feeling much safer taking a long, slow drink than looking out at the combined workforce of my new place of employment.

Buddy shifted at my feet, sitting up and giving out a low growl.

I twisted to see a tall guy in a pair of worn blue jeans, work boots and a white singlet had appeared at my side of the table, waiting for me to notice.

His long, dirty blond hair fell over his shoulders in a messy wave, and he regarded me with a small smile.

“I’m Shaun,” he said, holding out a hand.

I looked at it dumbly, seeing the long thick fingers, the callouses on the palm, the grime that had collected under the nails, before realising he wanted me to shake it.

I didn’t want to touch him at all, afraid I was going to dissolve into a little puddle of goo and then my dog would be put up for adoption, hopefully to find a new owner who could keep her cool around hot guys.

Buddy gave another sharp bark which helped me snap out of it.

“Buddy, chill! I’m sorry, I’m Julie,” I said, shaking his hand.

“I know.”

“Word’s got out, huh? So, what do you do, Shaun?”

Keep it light and professional , I told myself, and you’ll be fine. You can do this.

“Whatever you want me to,” he said with a purr, “and for as long as you want me to.”

“Oh.”

I’d heard people’s voices described as a purr in books before, but never really known what that meant.

I now knew. His voice was a low, sexy rasp, his words coming out with complete confidence that I would drop trou and let him fuck me, right here, right now.

I understood why he would come across like that, as I felt like I was barely restraining myself from doing so.

Vaginas are funny things, much harder to sense than I assume a dick would be, but mine was awake and paying attention.

All of a sudden, I felt…slippery, like everything was slick and ready to have something very large pushed inside me without any resistance.

“Everything OK here?”

My awareness jerked away from my nether regions, and my eyes flicked up to see Finn watching me still holding Shaun’s hand, a smile on both of their faces.

Finn was professionally polite, but Shaun?

He looked very pleased with himself, his nose working as he seemed to be taking in deep breaths as he observed my embarrassing lapse in manners.

“I’m sorry…” I stuttered out.

“Don’t be. You can hold any part of my body you like,” Shaun said.

“Shaun, mate, this is Julie, a new employee,” Finn said. “She’s only just been given a contract, hasn’t even signed it yet, and Kelly hasn’t had a chance to go over the terms and conditions yet.”

Shaun nodded to show he understood, but those pale blue eyes still held mine. “Come and see me when she’s spoken to you,” he said, capturing my fingers again and brushing his lips across my knuckles, “anytime, anywhere you choose. You just let me know.”

And that was apparently the end of that conversation. My hand was released, and I was treated to the view of yet another A-grade butt as he returned to his seat.

“You OK, Julie? Is there anything you need to help you settle in?” Finn asked.

Dick and lots of it , my brain supplied helpfully.

Naked muscly bodies overlapping themselves into some kind of super horny carpet that I could roll myself all over and then fuck myself to death on.

Shaun naked, on his knees using his tongue to…

Shit, I’d settle for just one dick right now.

I last got laid over a year ago. A hot young truck driver had rolled into town for a ‘good time, not a long time’ and I’d made use of him, but since then…

Most of the young people had left before me, looking for better opportunities, which meant it was me and the menopausal set.

“I’m fine,” I said and forced a smile, “but I’d kill for a coffee. Dex’s brew is going to put me on my arse.” Finn faltered at this for a second, then pointed to a bar over on the back wall.

“Come this way, and I’ll show you the bar,” he said.

He showed me the expensive looking coffee machine and was going to demonstrate how to use it, but I’d dealt with more temperamental beasts at my old job.

I felt a little less flustered, going through the familiar motions of making a coffee, pouring myself a double strength mug and handing him the other.

“Milk with one. Just the way I like it,” he said, a little shocked.

“Most people do,” I said with a shrug and sipped my own dark brew, feeling a little bit more settled now there was some distance between me and the masculine smorgasbord in front of me.

“So, you remember what I said, right? No one here is going to try anything if you’re not into it. There are a lot of guys here, and they are always keen to see new female staff, but no definitely means no. Anyone who pushes that is out on their ear, no questions asked.”

“What about women? What if one of us was trying to push ourselves onto a guy who didn’t want it?”

It took Finn a while to answer, like maybe he had never thought of it before.

Finally, he nodded, “I think the same rule applies. We want people to feel safe here, and they can’t if their wishes aren’t respected.

No one’s going to come and try and break into your house or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. ”

“I don’t know if worried is what I’m feeling,” I muttered. “Hey, where are the other women? Like Kelly and Doc Hobbes?”

“Kelly’s over there at the management table, Doc Hobbes has her meal in the clinic most days, Stevie’s with the guys, and who else…

? Yeah, Karen the receptionist is with her partner, Burt, over there.

” My eyes swivelled over to the table the girls were sitting at.

There were several guys hanging around it, talking to the women.

With the smiling and touching going on, I was pretty sure they were flirting.

“That’s the single women’s table. Nerida was probably playing a joke on you, getting you to sit there, as usually women only do that… ”

“If they are looking to get laid. Got it. Look, I’m going to grab Buddy before someone starts chatting him up. Do you mind if I sit with you guys?”

“Ah…sure.” He didn’t sound too pleased with this, but I didn’t care. I walked through the gaps between the tables, ignoring the comments and looks and called to my dog.

“The single table? Really ladies?” I said as the girls turned around to me. “I’m going to go and sit with Finn, but thanks for the heads up.”

“Sit with Finn?” Nerida said. “But then everyone will think…”

“It’s all good. Enjoy your meal, and I’ll catch you tomorrow,” I said, and then I marched off to where Finn was sitting.

He just stared down at his empty plate as I arrived, but all the other guys looked from me, to him, and back again, quickly shuffling to make room for me and Buddy, who hopped up on the bench seat with a little growl.

“You locked that down quick, Masters,” the sandy haired guy sitting in front of Finn said.

“Yeah, I’m happy to play by the rules, if we get a chance to compete, but if the minute new blood gets here, she’s marked? Well, that requires a response,” the darker haired guy next to him added.

I frowned, looking at them, then Finn, and back again.

The boys were locked into some kind of staring contest, like maybe they could use a Care Bear Stare to resolve whatever they were talking about.

The thing was, and I didn’t want to assume and come across as a self-absorbed twat, but it seemed they were talking about me.

“What’s new blood?” I asked. All eyes up and down the table swivelled over to me. I met the hazel ones of the sandy haired guy sitting across from Finn head on. “Well?”

Finn started to say something but the guy just replied, “You, love, you’re the new blood. New girl, new chick….” his eyes trailed down to take in no doubt the intricate embroidery on the neckline of my top, “new woman.”

“So you were talking about me, whilst I was sitting right next to you, to Finn? And how am I marked?” I looked down at my blouse, my arms. “Pretty sure I don’t see any marks, unless you count this scar here, when I cut the top of my finger off a few years ago.

” I was kind of joking, kind of mad, yet every eye strained to see the small circle of white scar tissue.

“I’d be happy to count whatever part of your body you like,” the darker haired guy said.

“Well, as exciting as that sounds, I learned to count all my fingers and toes when I was a little girl. Right now, I really need something to eat…” Three hands instantly went out to grab my plate, the sandy haired guy able to wrest it away from the others with a grin.

Finn watched him with a dark look as he got to his feet, his own plate in his other hand.

“Anything you prefer, my lady?” one of the other guys said.

Seriously? This place was fucking bonkers.

It needed a whole lot more women to dilute what seemed like a ridiculous amount of seething testosterone.

Stupid thing was, they could easily have run tours for single women through the place and made a lot of money and settled these guys down.

“No seafood, no eggs,” I said with a sigh, “they make me ill.”

“But plenty of protein to keep your strength up? I’ll be right back.”

“Really, I can’t fill my own plate?” I said with exasperation, watching as he joined the line of workers getting food from the bain-maries. “What if I don’t like what he brings me?”