He always escorted women out of his apartment to make sure they left. The one time he didn’t, he came back upstairs after closing to find her still in his damn bed.
She wasn’t there for long. She also never took a trip up those steps again.
Now he only hoped tonight’s catch-and-release didn’t hang around until last call. Despite what she might think, she was not getting round two.
She wasn’t getting any kind of conversation from him, either. With the way the bar was hopping, at least he had a good excuse to ignore her the rest of the night if she stuck around.
As he always did after taking a “break,” he checked in with either Stella or one of the prospects to see if there was anything he needed to be aware of.
“Problems?” Dodge asked Possum as he stepped behind the bar and closed the hinged portion behind him. If he didn’t, some asshole would think they could come back there and help themselves.
They couldn’t and Scar made sure they never made that mistake again.
The lanky, narrow-faced prospect shook his head. “Nope. But some chick’s askin’ for the manager.”
“Fuck.” Dodge frowned. Shielding his mouth with his hand, he asked, “Is it a chick I’ve banged?” just in case the other chick he just banged was nearby and listening.
“Can’t keep track of everyone you banged. But if I had to guess, probably.”
“Tell me where she is without lookin’ at her.”
“Ten o’clock.”
“Your ten or my ten?”
Possum squinted.
Dodge shook his head. “Just fuckin’ point.”
The young prospect jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Dodge lifted his gaze in that direction. The bar was so packed, it was impossible to tell who he was indicating.
But before he could ask Possum to point her out again, the woman who he’d taken upstairs was there leaning across the bar, sliding a slip of paper along the shellacked wood toward him.
What the fuck.
“You forgot this, baby,” she said in her husky voice. Her tits and that voice were what had caught his attention in the first place. But neither her tits or her voice were worth the annoying shit she said when she hadn’t been gagging on his cock.
So, fuck no, he hadn’t forgotten to get her number. He glanced down at the paper that included her name, too. He jerked his chin up at her, grabbed the slip of paper, crumpled it up and tossed it in the overflowing trash can under the bar.
Her blue eyes went wide for a split second, then narrowed. “Nice. Can I at least get a rum and Coke?”
Dodge turned to Possum, now busy pouring a draft beer. “She wants a rum and Coke. Start her a tab.”
“A—” she sputtered. “After that, you aren’t letting me drink for free?”
“You drink for free, it comes outta my pocket.” Not true, but she didn’t need to know that.
“What we did wasn’t worth you buying me a drink?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Want the truth or d’you prefer a lie?”
Her mouth dropped open and, when it snapped shut, she huffed and yanked her purse off the bar. “Well, here’s a truth for you, asshole… You sucked. You have a micro-penis and I had to fake an orgasm just to get you to hurry up and finish. Plus, your apartment is trashy. Just like you.”
“Yep,” was all he said with a grin. He grabbed a clean glass from under the bar and lifted it in the air. “You still wanna open that tab, or no?”
“Fuck you. I’ll drink elsewhere instead of this rat trap.” She slipped from the stool, shot him a single finger salute and elbowed her way through the customers crowding around the bar.
“Stella don’t like it when you chase away customers like that.”
“Stella ain’t here, now, is she?” The boss-y lady usually went home early now that she was getting huge with Trip’s baby planted in her belly. Trip didn’t want her working late, being on her feet too long or overworking herself. Dodge didn’t blame the Fury prez for putting his boot down but it did put Dodge in a bind some nights when he didn’t have that extra set of hands.
“Also don’t think she likes you bangin’ all the customers with tits.”
“Not all of them.” He only banged the ones he didn’t have to chase. If they came up to him and were clear about their interest, he considered them. But if they played hard to get and pretended they were being coy, then fuck them.
Possum bent over and when he straightened, he had the crumpled slip of paper in his hand. “Can I have this?”
Dodge eyed it and shrugged. “Yeah, but if she agrees to meet up with you, bring a gag.”
Possum grinned. “I can gag her with—“
“Tried that.” He twisted his head toward the end of the bar closest to the entrance. “Now point out this chick again. This time be fuckin’ clear.”