River... Redeemed (Studs & Steel Book 2)

by Heather Mar-Gerrison

  The doorman, who had introduced himself as ‘Buzz’ shook his head, “I’ll take you in – and Simon, my brother, will make sure you’re looked after. As much lemonade, water and coke you can drink.” He chuckled, “Kody was very strict about what you were allowed to drink and not – and who you were allowed to hang out with too.”

  I smiled, “Ah, yeah.” I nodded, “Stay away from River?”

  He laughed out loud and shook his head, “Yeah, River is a little... over-friendly shall we say?”

  I got it. He was a slag...

  Buzz pushed the door open that took us into the club. I looked around it awe. I’d never been in a place like it – there were mirrors everywhere and the furnishings were contemporary to say the least; big cubes for seating, with huge white leather sofas towards the back of the club. The bar was surprisingly normal compared to the rest of the room – but I guess there wasn’t much you could do with a bar...?

  The young guy behind the bar looked up and smiled broadly in welcome. “Hey, there – Harley, I take it?” he said as he eyed my uniform.

  I nodded, “Yeah, nice to meet you.”

  He shook my hand, “I’m Seth.” He said. He looked at Buzz, “Want me to introduce him to everyone?”

  Buzz nodded. Patting me on the shoulder he grinned, “I shall leave you in Seth’s capable hands – gotta get back to the door or anyone could walk in – and that’s not really the idea.”

  I laughed and turned back to Seth, “Right.” I said, “Just how many guys work here?”

  He shrugged, “Well, no one’s really full time – well, I guess I could be considered full-time – I’m here every night from six through to around four in the morning – but the dancers aren’t on all of that time – River, Alfie and Simon come on at around nine – but again, not every night – and Thai and Phil and Jaime are only here on Friday night and Saturday night as they have other gigs elsewhere that they want to continue with – Peyton’s pretty cool like that.”

  I nodded, “Sweet,” I agreed, “So, who’s here tonight?”

  He grinned, “River – the one we have to keep you away from in case he corrupts you.” He snorted.

  I grinned, “Yeah, Kody doesn’t like that guy at all.”

  Seth nodded, giving me a knowing grin, “That’s because he’s got a thing for Peyton.”

  I blinked, “Seriously?” I asked, “Wow – I didn’t know he was...”

  “You didn’t know he was gay?” Seth asked, looking shocked, “Seriously? Wow – I knew as soon as looked at him.”

  My jaw dropped, “Really?” I asked, “Wow – I’ve got no such thing as gaydar – I’m utterly clueless.”

  He chuckled, “So – I take it you’re gay?”

  I nodded, “Yup.” I said, “Although my luck with the boys is pretty much non-existent.”

  Seth chuckled again, “Well, you should have a little more luck being here – the place will be swarming with wall-to-wall gay tottie in less than an hour.”

  I laughed, “Are you gay?” I asked. Call me stupid but he seemed to be totally straight to me.

  He shook his head, “Nope. Just open-minded enough to have gay mates.” He grinned.

  I sat at the bar and he gave me a glass of coke. Thankfully he didn’t try to give me a glass full of ice and a slice of lemon – because I couldn’t bear either of those things.

  He looked up as a door opened somewhere in the back of the club, “Ah,” Seth said with a broad grin, “here come the boys.”

  I turned and almost fell off my chair. Three of the most beautiful guys I’d ever laid eyes on were walking towards me. I clearly recognised the one that was River – Kody had described him to a T. The one on his right had to be Buzz’s brother Simon, since he was just a slimmer, slightly taller version of him – he looked like he played rugby – that type of physique. But it was the one on the right that I really couldn’t take my eyes off. Oh, my God. Alfie... Quite the most adorable young man I’d ever seen in my life... He was about five feet ten, slim-built with a shock of untidy dark blonde hair and the brightest, bluest eyes I’d ever seen in my life. He was stunning.

  The three guys sauntered over. River was full of sass. He just oozed it out of every pore but as sexy and incredibly good-looking as he was – I wasn’t attracted to him at all – Kody had been worrying about my virtue over nothing.

  Simon was a pleasant young guy. He nodded and then he and River started to chat to Seth about something. Alfie looked at me with his enormous blue eyes – full of curiosity about me. He smiled shyly, “Hello,” he said, “you must be Harley?”

  I nodded and smiled back at him. He couldn’t have been more than about nineteen. Five years younger than I was and he looked so innocent and young. I immediately just wanted to protect him.

  Obviously he couldn’t be all that innocent if he was a pole dancer in a gay club, but he definitely looked it... and I was instantly intrigued – I wanted nothing more than to just get to know him better.

  “And I’m guessing you’re Alfie?” I asked.

  He raised his eyebrows and went a little pink, “Uh, yeah.” He said, blinking in surprise that I already knew his name, “How did you know that?”

  I shrugged, “I’d love to say lucky guess but you’d never believe me.”

  He chuckled and shook his head.

  I grinned at him, “Hey, it’s my job to know – I’m a cop!” I laughed and he let out another low chuckle that made my dick start to take an interest.

  “Come on,” he said, looking at me with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. My God, he was beautiful... “How did you really know?”

  I chuckled, “Well, River had been described to me by Kody Elden – Mr McKenzie’s temporary bodyguard...” he nodded with a grin and I guessed he had an idea that Kody was rather more fond of Peyton than he was willing to admit to, “and Simon looked so much like Buzz – you couldn’t really have been anyone else.”

  He nodded, a small smile still playing on his beautiful lips and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining those lips being pressed up against mine... maybe his tongue brushing along mine too...

  Focus Harley, I commanded myself. You’re here to do a job, not to find a boyfriend... Although I couldn’t help thinking that maybe I could do both...

  He nodded, “So, not because you have super extra-sensory perception, then?” he asked, slightly flirtatiously, I thought.

  I laughed, a thrill going through me that the might have been flirting with me. “No,” I agreed, “I’m no super-hero – sadly...”

  Chapter III – Harley

  Alfie

  Oh, my God. I never expected Harley to be as young as he was – or as attractive. Sure, Kody was a good-looking guy, but he had to be about thirty – and I kind of expected someone with a name like Harley to be older still. It was a nice surprise to find that he wasn’t much different in age to me – well, you know – he was probably about twenty-four or something. It was definitely doable... so long as he didn’t see me as a kid like so many guys did.

  But how did I go about it? Flirt? Chat? I really had no idea. I loved flirting with River – and dancing provocatively on the podium with him was a major turn on – but we weren’t involved with each other – and I had no intention of that ever happening. For starters he was a right old whore – and secondly, I was worth more than that – I didn’t want a boyfriend that shagged everything that came through the doors of his place of work. Seth had told me in confidence that he’d even shagged Peyton – when Peyton interviewed him. Wasn’t sure I actually believed it... but why would he lie about him? They were kind of best mates and Seth was straight – so it wasn’t jealousy or anything. Anyway – it was none of my business...

  I was, however, rather hoping that Harley might become my business. He was gorgeous. In his uniform he was absolutely incredible. I was trying to imagine what he’d look like without it – and then wishing I hadn’t since I was beginning to get a boner...

  I grinned at him, “
Well, it’s time I got on my podium and busted a few moves – are you here all night?”

  He nodded, “Uh, yeah – I’m actually here all week – I’ve been stationed here every night until the danger has passed for your boss.”

  I nodded, “Oh, right.” Of course he was. What else was he doing here? Way to go Alfie. Seriously.

  Harley’s smile was absolutely mesmerising. God he was beautiful when he grinned like that, “I can’t wait to see you dance.” He said, making my jaw about drop to the floor.

  Pulling myself together I grinned and winked, “Well, good.’ I said, “Maybe we could have a drink together, once I’m done?” My heart was in my mouth. Would he want to?

  His eyes lit up, “That sounds great.” He said, beaming at me.

  I climbed up to my podium and looked back towards him. He was sat on one of the bar stools, with his elbows resting on the bar behind him, just watching me. I blew him a kiss, making him laugh and then the music started.

  River was on the podium next to me. He raised his eyebrows at me, “You’ve made quite the impression with the officer.” He said with a grin.

  I shrugged, “Well, what can I say – when you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”

  He grinned, “Yeah,” he said, “And I’m guessing you’ve got it as far as he’s concerned – he didn’t look twice at me.”

  I stifled a grin. That probably had more to do with the fact that he’d been expressly warned off him but he didn’t need to know that. I was sure that he’d have been all over River like a rash if he hadn’t been told to stay away from him but that was okay. I knew River was the most attractive guy out of the lot of us. But I found Harley exceedingly attractive and hell, I’d take what I could...

  *

  Harley

  I sat on that stool watching Alfie writhing around his dance pole and moving provocatively to the music and I’ve got to tell you – I was absolutely transfixed.

  My eyes strayed a couple of times to the other dancers – only out of curiosity to see if they were equally as mesmerising – but they really weren’t. Sure, they could move and everything – and they were all sexy, there was no getting away from it. Alfie had something else though – his moves were just that little sexier. Just that little more polished maybe... or maybe it was just that I was so attracted to him. That he just did it for me.

  He did a really incredibly move where he was holding onto his pole, with his face mere inches off the podium and his feet pointing into the air like an Olympic gymnast performing for a gold medal... then did what I can only describe as a sort of mid-air backward roll and started to dance again. Fucking hell. He was amazing. I stared at him. He looked my way and I swear he gave me a secret little smile.

  I smiled back at him, feeling my face heating up with embarrassment. He probably smiled at all the guys like that – he was a performer after all – and no doubt the tips made up a whole lot of his wages. Of course he was gonna be flirty... For chrissakes man, pull yourself together – he’s just doing his job. He’s not interested in your pathetic little body... I was nobody’s bear...

  His session ended after another twenty minutes and just as promised he climbed down his podium and made a beeline for me – brushing off a fair few admirers to do so, which made me feel a million dollars...

  “Hey.’ He said as he slid onto the bar stool next to me and leaning his elbow on the bar, he rested his head on his hand and gave me his full attention, “So, what do you normally do?”

  I blinked, “Well, I’m a police officer.” I said.

  He rolled his eyes, “I know that.” He said, “Are you out in the field or whatever they call it – or one of those desk jockeys?”

  I grinned, “Desk jockeys?” I asked, “What the hell are they when they’re at home?”

  He grinned, “You know what I mean.” He said, going a little pink in the face.

  I nodded “I guess I’m a bit of both. I do a lot of football matches and crowd control.”

  He blinked, “What?” he said, “You have to go out and control riots and stuff?”

  I shrugged. I’d had to go out a few years back to sort out riots after a stupid decision had been made over putting some guy in prison that was quite likely innocent – that had been fucking scary... “Yeah,” I said, “It’s no big deal.”

  His jaw dropped and I figured I’d gone too far with my assumed nonchalance; as we’ve already established, I’m not all that big and definitely not all that brave... “Actually it was really fucking scary.” I admitted, “I was shitting myself the whole night long.”

  His smile made my heart start to race, “right.” He said, “I should have known – you’re not a super-hero, right?”

  I chuckled, “Right.” I agreed.

  Short Stories by Heather Mar-Gerrison

  Friends

  Zoe’s First Date with Fate

  Save The Last Dance (Dance #1)

  Can We Dance (Dance #2)

  Inevitable…

  Seven

  Something Stupid

  Maybe Never…

  Kiss The Boy (Boy Next Door #1)

  Are We Good...? (Boy Next Door #2)

  Equal Measures (Boy Next Door #3)

  Some Kind of Paradise (Boy Next Door #4)

  Without You... (Boy Next Door #5)

  Looking for Trouble (Boy Next Door #6)

  Best Boyfriend Ever... (Boy Next Door #7)

  Racing Hearts... (Boy Next Door #8)

  What If... I Belonged to You? (What If? #1)

  Coming Soon

  I need a little time... (Boy Next Door #9)

  What If... I Remember? (What If? #2)

  Contemporary Romance by

  Heather Mar-Gerrison

  The One That Got Away

  If I Can’t Have You

  Like No Other

  Summer Break (Summer Break series #1)

  Too Easy to Pretend

  Makes No Difference

  Operation Boyfriend (Operation Boyfriend #1)

  All Kinds of Trouble (Operation Boyfriend #2)

  The Trouble with Tyler (Operation Boyfriend #3)

  What Happens with Vegas (Operation Boyfriend #4)

  True… Love (Riverside #1)

  Tomas… Enchanted (Riverside #2)

  Tatum… Undercover (Riverside #3)

  Toby… Captivated (Riverside #4)

  Trey… Unbelievable (Riverside #5)

  Sam… Distracted (Riverside #6)

  Coming Soon

  Emilio… Enraptured (Riverside #7)

  Riverside… The Weddings (Riverside #8)

  Alfie... Abused (Studs & Steel #3)

  Buzz... Bedazzled (Studs & Steel #4)

  Simon... Spellbound (Studs & Steel #5)

  Stake Out... (Studs & Steel #6)

  Summer Dreams (Summer Break #2)

  Clean Break (Summer Break #3)

  When Deanna Met Lincoln (Operation Boyfriend #5)

  Misunderstood… Theo’s Fight For Love (Operation Boyfriend #6)

  Heather also writes historical romance eBooks

  The Duchess of Chittenden (Duchess #1)

  Highway to Society (Duchess #2)

  The Real Duke of Circhester (Brunswick #1)

  Philip Brunswick is getting married (Brunswick #2)

  Coming Soon

  Matilda’s Escape (Brunswick #3)

  An Unlikely Hero

  The Lady and the Blacksmith

  Rosy’s leap year

  Gabriella’s unexpected proposal

  The Other Son… (Duchess #3)

  Check out my blog at https://www.heathermar-gerrison.blogspot.com for news of my upcoming books.

  Follow me on Twitter: @hmgwriting

  Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.margerrison.5

  Follow me on Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/heathemg

  About the Author

  I live in Nottingham, England with my lovely, long suffering and incredibly patient husband and my two beautiful d
aughters. We also have two cats that we adopted from the RSPCA, Bella and Romeo... and a brand new member of the family – Enzo, our Border Terrier puppy...

  When I’m not looking after a wayward puppy – I’m generally writing a book, any spare time I get between these two pursuits, you can either find me curled up with a good book that someone else wrote and a cat or a dog on my knee in place of the laptop, or I’ll be pottering about in the greenhouse, whilst plotting my next storyline in my head, muttering to myself like a crazy woman.... It’s not easy living with all the voices of my characters in my head!