Rich Player (The Dirty Thirty Pledge 3)

She smiles. “We could dance toward the edge of the dancefloor.”

“Good plan.”

I turn us again as the guy tries a third angle of attack. Turning so that I’m facing him, I just shake my head. And because I’m feeling a little brazen, I give him a small smile while I do it. The rage on his face is well worth it. When I turn back to her, I put my hands on her hips. “Make it convincing.”

And she does. Arching her back, she rolls her hips with mine, and smiles at me as we dance our way to the side of the crowd. I glance back for just a second, and he’s still coming, moving through the dancers to our side, and the look on his face is murder. I’ve seen it before in First Shot, and if I have a chance to stop it before it gets there, I do.

This is a man who feels entitled to someone that doesn’t belong to him. He’s drunk, and unless he gets thrown out, he’s probably going to hurt someone. I’m not going to let that happen if I can help it.

“Let’s go.” I grab her hand and pull her the last few feet out of the crowd and toward the doors where there are several large bouncers. If this guy is as pissed as I think he is, he’s going to follow us anyway.

I’m right.

I stop short in front of one of them, and she doesn’t waste any time. “Excuse me,” she says. “That man there has been harassing me and trying to touch me inappropriately.”

The bouncer raises an eyebrow and looks at me. “And this guy?”

“He helped me get out of the crowd.”

I nod. “Guy was following her, and it was about to escalate. In fact, it might escalate right now.”

The creep walks up behind us and grabs the woman’s shoulder. His face is seething with rage. “How dare you walk away from me. You think you can just dance with me and change your mind and dance with someone else? You bitch. You owe me a dance.”

She makes a face. “I don’t owe you shit. This is a dance club. I can dance with whoever I want to, and I was never actually dancing with you. In case no one ever told you this, walking up and putting your dick on someone isn’t dancing.”

He tries to pull her back toward the dance floor, which is a stupid move, considering all the bouncers are now looking at him. Either this guy has absolutely no sense of self-preservation or he’s blasted out of his fucking mind. Possibly both.

The bouncer grabs the guy’s wrist and twists. “I think that’s enough,” he says. “You’re clearly not able to respect the wishes of the club’s patrons, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment. That means that we’re going to take your information and your picture and you’re never going to be let back in here again. I hope it was worth it.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” the guy says, his mouth hanging open. “You’re going to let this bitch kick me out? She practically begged me to dance with her, and I didn’t want to. Then she suddenly sees this asshole and changes her mind. You can’t kick me out cause some bitch is flaky.”

The bouncer laughs, a deep hearty laugh. “Even if that were true, which I doubt that it is, people are allowed to change their minds. Come with me.”

It’s almost comical when he tries to flail out of the bouncer’s grasp, and even funnier when another one steps in to help and they practically carry him away from us, presumably to the office where they’re going to take his information so he never sets foot in the club again.

I turn to her with a smile after they disappear with him. “That was better than I even expected.”

“That was pretty great,” she says, and her smile is both relieved and brilliant. It shines genuine compared to the fake smile she was using when we were dancing and being chased. “I’m Diamond, by the way.”

I hold back in a laugh. “Diamond? Is that your real name?”

“Maybe,” she says. “Buy me a drink and there’s a chance you’ll find out.”

Up close to her like I am now, I was mistaken when I thought that she was hot. She’s fucking stunning. Piercing green eyes and full lips and a body that looks like it belongs in the centerfold of a swimsuit catalog. And even though I was trying to get her away from Mr. Creep, I’m human, and I felt those curves all up against me. I’d be an absolute fucking moron not to say yes. So I gesture to the bar across the room, “After you.”

2

Diamond

My heart is still pounding in my chest as I push my way through the crowd to the main bar. I’ve had some bad experiences in clubs before, but that one was easily the worst. The first part of it, at least. That guy was going to try something; I felt it in my gut, and the guy who’s about to buy a drink noticed and stepped in. That’s the first time that I’ve ever had someone stand up for me like that.