He schooled his features as he joined them. She put her hand on the first man’s bicep with familiar affection. “These are friends and former coworkers from the Dollhouse. They all worked security. Cody Welsh, meet Quinten Parks, head bartender.” Quinten nodded as he shook hands with the tallest man in the bunch, who had wavy black hair that extended well past his bulky shoulders. The man nodded at him as he assessed Quinten with eyes so dark the pupils weren’t visible. His hand rested on Camilla’s shoulder, stroking her hair in an affectionate gesture that made Quinten want to grind his molars into dust.
“Heath Lindsey,” Camilla continued with introductions, gesturing to the second man, who had short-cropped blond hair and beard. He smiled easily and nodded at Quinten as they shook hands.
“And Spencer Ketchum,” Camilla murmured as she placed a gentle hand on the third man’s chest. The gesture carried a lot of fondness, and Quinten had to work to not give the guy with the short brown hair and beard the evil eye. Like the others, Ketchum was intimidating, but Quinten noticed the loving glance he shot at Camilla. The close connection she had with all three was palpable.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you—all of you,” Quinten lied as he shook Spencer’s hand.
He took in the way all three kept their affectionate gazes on Camilla. Unreasoning anger boiled up inside him as he was hit square in the face with reality, only to be doused by a wave of uncertainty and fear. Had all the work they were doing been too-little too-late? He watched them as they interacted and noted the way they focused on her every word. All three of those men were in love with Camilla. Or had been. He kept his thoughts to himself as he returned to work and she stood and chatted with her friends. The painful sensations in his chest only grew worse as he listened. Quinten had difficulty quelling the urge to pull her away from them.
“So you’re working as an assistant manager here?”
“Yeah, but I’m planning on opening my own club, one of these days. Hopefully soon.”
“Where are you planning on opening? Here in Divine?”
She slipped back through the opening at the end of the bar and laid out three napkins for them. “No, I don’t think Divine can handle another large club. I’m thinking San Antonio or Austin. How about you guys? Are you working security somewhere? Wanna come work for me?” Quinten’s heart did a free fall in his chest. She’d really leave? Up to that point he’d been in denial of that very issue.
The big, quiet one, Cody, spoke without hesitation. “Name the place, angel, and we’ll be there.” Quinten schooled his expression and stifled a territorial growl as the other two nodded in agreement without hesitating. “We’re subcontracting right now, so we have some flexibility.”
Heath chuckled. “We’d rather have you bossing us around, sweetie.” She rolled her eyes, the color of turbulent green seas, and giggled as they all nodded again.
She has them eating out of her hand, and she probably doesn’t even realize it!
“We’re mobile and still single,” Spencer murmured.
Feeling like baring his teeth at the titan, Quinten didn’t resist the urge to place his hand at the small of her back. The silky flesh between the edge of her shirt and the low waist of her shorts seared his palm. The urge to let his fingers slide farther south was nearly impossible to control. Perhaps feeling threatened by the prior claim these men might have on her heart heightened his emotions and his senses. The urge was powerful to kiss the satiny flesh in the dip above her collarbone, which was exposed by the open neckline of her little sailor top. He wanted to pull her close and make the men see they were too late.
The last thing he wanted to do was walk away from her but he was having a hard time controlling his suddenly Neanderthal need to mark his territory. Territory which technically wasn’t his. Nor did he want to upset her with an uncharacteristic possessive display. Ben would still be there to watch over her.
Taking a tremendous risk, Quinten allowed his fingers to do what he imagined doing with his lips, and slid them a little farther down and stroked. He heard her soft gasp and smiled when she froze and gooseflesh spread under his fingertips.
“Bar’s all yours, Camilla. I’ll see you this weekend.” She smiled and nodded at him, but the merriment in her eyes seemed clouded with confusion, and her cheeks were slightly pinker. He crumpled the box and turned on his heel. He looked back at the men and lied again. “Pleasure to meet you all.”
He glanced back at her right before turning the corner into the office Ben occupied behind the bar. He caught her troubled look directed his way and the furrow between her brows before she turned back to her friends and took their orders.