Her Gentle Giant, Part 1: No Regrets
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“If I had felt the need to use my fists, I would never have done it in such close proximity to you. I’d have taken him out the backdoor. I sort of wish I had, so we could settle this once and for all.”
“He seems like a decent enough guy, if a little persistent. I hope he finds someone else to pay attention to.” Changing to a safer subject, she said, “Grace said Ethan warned Dinah to leave the bouncers alone.”
“She reminded me a little of what Ethan has told me about Patricia Ramirez.”
“I’m sure Ethan was probably thinking the same thing, since he was on the receiving end of Patricia’s obsession back in June. It’s rare for Ethan and Ben to ban someone from the club, and they wouldn’t do it without good reason.”
During Patricia’s days hanging out at The Dancing Pony with her
friends, she’d gotten involved in some pretty sordid affairs and tried to intimidate some of the single women that came there. Patricia was a master manipulator and she’d spread a rumor that could have gotten Grace hurt and that wound up being the reason she got banned from the club.
They returned to the front where Mike and Rogelio carded a group coming in the door. Eli helped Rachel into her seat and checked in with the other two bouncers.
Rachel sat quietly for a good part of the evening, doing her best to let Eli focus on his job. She felt that he’d had enough distractions for the night.
She’d been there an hour when he leaned over to her, concern in his eyes.
“You’re awfully quiet. Everything okay?”
She looked up at him and sighed inwardly at the masculine beauty of his face. His massive presence next to her, coupled with his gentle but confident strength, made her heart do flip-flops. The tender look in his eyes made her melt inside thinking about what had happened on the dance floor.
“I’m trying to not distract you and let you do your job. Since we got together, I feel like I’ve kept you from working when I’m up here with you.”
“Are you bored?”
“No.”
“You seem withdrawn. Ethan does not mind that you sit up here with me, and he doesn’t expect you to sit quietly in your chair. Since you started sitting up here with me, I’m less distracted because there is no longer a
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stream of women who come to the front trying to get my attention. Mike said the same thing earlier. Honey, you being up here is a good thing. I don’t want you to think you distract me from my job.” He twined his fingers in hers and pulled her from her seat.
“I don’t want you to regret having me up here with you.”
“No regrets, remember?” He drew her arms around his waist and kissed her sweetly.
“Thanks. I’m trying to figure out how I fit in up here. Last night was so busy with other distractions that I didn’t have a chance to contemplate it.”
“It’s been nice to be able to work without the constant distraction of giggling females hovering around me, but I don’t need for you to sit there quietly. When you’re up here with us, it’s okay to be involved in conversations. It’s also okay if you want to mingle around the club. There must be people here you know tonight. Of course, there is always Grace. I thought you would have danced at least one dance together by now.”
“She and I thought it would be best if we didn’t because of the thing with Ace. We both agreed that might be asking for more trouble. And I don’t want to dance with anyone else but you. I’m content to wait until you have a break later on tonight.”
“The club is so crowded now he may not even see you. I’ll stay where I can see you, and I’ll intervene if he approaches you. I know that’s a sticky situation, but it’s not anything I can’t handle, honey. I don’t want it to keep you from having a good time when you come in. This is supposed to be fun for you, and you already know how I feel about watching you dance.”
He said the last sentence with a bit of a growl in his voice, and it sent a thrill down her spine. “You’ll stay where you can see me?” she asked coquettishly, pressing her breasts against him.
“Mmm, I wouldn’t miss a second,” he replied, smiling devilishly. He kissed her again and released her as she went in search of Grace.
She found her at Jack and Ethan’s table, perched in Jack’s lap, talking with Ethan and Ace Webster. Grace beamed and did a little rocking motion with her hands and hips, much to Jack’s delight and distraction. Evidently, that was body language for, “Do you want to go dance?” Rachel nodded as Grace leaned over to whisper in Ethan’s ear. A wide grin split his face, and he excused himself from the table and made his way to the DJ booth. Grace kissed Jack on the lips and spoke quietly to him as Rachel glanced over and