“They all like to be the first to plow some virgin soil, that’s for sure.” Rachel brushed her short blonde hair out of her eyes and stuck a cigarette between her lips.
Noelle’s worry that Jasper was taking pity on her vanished, replaced with the gnawing fear that he’d only find her interesting while she was mostly innocent.
So what? There were other men. She could be like Lex, free to touch whatever man she wanted. Or she could be like Rachel and earn her keep working the bar. “You weren’t at the party last night. Do you not go to them?”
“Sometimes. I usually sit out the action, though. Have a drink and watch the show.”
Noelle felt her cheeks warm. “You don’t agree with Lex about having fun with the men?”
Rachel laughed. “Lex is Lex, though most of the women around here enjoy it too. I don’t know—it’s enough for me to know that I could, if that makes sense.”
Why couldn’t that be enough for her? Probably for the same reason she was here in the first place. Some twisted, broken need inside her that pushed her to risk everything. “Are you waiting for the right person?”
The woman chuckled and picked up the shot she’d poured. “Yeah, maybe I am.”
Noelle gestured to it. “Can I try that?”
“Sure.” Rachel handed it over.
It burned going down and brought tears to her eyes. Noelle wheezed out a breath and wondered if her throat was actually dissolving. “Okay, the alcohol I was arrested for drinking? Most definitely watered down.” Her idea of drunk was probably as inadequate as her idea of orgasm.
The quiet amusement was back on Rachel’s face, sparkling in her eyes. “Stick around. This place is like that—intense.”
“Does it ever stop feeling…?” Noelle shook her head and set down the glass. “Feeling. That’s it. I feel so much right now, I don’t know what to do.”
That sobered the blonde, who straightened with a faint frown. “Why would you ever want to stop feeling?”
“No, I don’t want to,” she said quickly. “But intense is the right word. It’s so intense, all the time, and I don’t know if this is what life is, or if there’s something wrong with me.”
“Give it time,” Rachel advised. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
As if it mattered either way. The Broken Circle held a seductive promise, with its dark corners and smoky scent. Sometimes she thought she was a little high just from being here, like she could close her eyes and float.
Or she could open them and make choices, the first of her pampered, silly life. “Will you show me how to make that other drink again?”
“Anything you want to see.” Rachel began to gather the ingredients. “You going to the fights tonight? I was thinking about it, but I have a side job to get on. Maybe later?”
Fights. Violence was almost as taboo as sex in Eden. “Jasper mentioned that, but why are they fighting? Did something happen?”
“Yeah, they’re breathing.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “Why don’t they fight? To settle scores, win respect, blow off steam. Make the chicks’ panties fall off, that’s a big one.”
“I’ve never seen a fight. Is it really that compelling?”
“Depends. I’ll admit, there’s something to be said for sweaty, half-naked guys beating the shit out of each other. A certain…” Rachel’s lips curved in a tiny smile. “Animal appeal?”
Noelle tried to imagine it. Jas, stripped to the waist, fighting. Raw, unchecked violence. Fists against flesh, all of that power realized. “I guess I can see that.”
“I guess you can. Tonight, after closing. Main warehouse over on Sixth.”
“If you want, I could cover the bar for a while so you can do your other job.” She’d probably fumble half the orders, but no one seemed to care once the girls started dancing. “Then we could go over to the warehouse together.”
“Thanks, but it shouldn’t take long.” Rachel finished pouring the liquor and added a dash of bitters. “The generator over at the parlor’s been acting wonky, so I told Ace I’d fix it up.”
The name was naggingly familiar. “Ace… The one with all the tattoos?”
“That’s him. He does good work.” Rachel held up her wrist, where you could barely tell the cuff of ink obscured a city bar code. Then she turned and lifted her shirt, revealing two lotus flowers, one at the small of her back and the other between her shoulder blades, both connected by a tangle of vines.
As tempting as it was to reach out and trace one of the lifelike vines, Noelle kept her hands to herself. “That’s gorgeous. But didn’t it hurt?”
“At first. After a while, I don’t even think I was conscious anymore.”
“It hurt that much?”
Rachel laughed and took another drag from her cigarette. “No wonder Lex has taken to calling you baby girl.”
Heat rose in Noelle’s cheeks, bringing the first rush of humiliation with it. She didn’t know which stung worse—knowing everyone thought she was stupid, or knowing they were right. “I must seem ridiculous to you.”
“No.” The woman slid an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You’ve got a lot of living to do, that’s all. You want to come to the parlor with me? I’ll be finished before you know it, and we can go watch Jas kick the shit out of someone. He never loses, you know.”
Living. Most emphatically not what she’d been doing in Eden. Noelle reached for the remaining glass and knocked it back. It still burned its way down her throat and kicked in her stomach, but she liked the tingles that followed. She was warm. Loose.
She was living. “I’d like that.”
Ace
“Here’s your problem.” Rachel wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, leaving behind a black smudge. “Your voltage regulator’s shot.”
Ace knew he should be listening to the words coming out of her mouth, but damned if he’d ever been able to. Rachel Riley was a golden angel begging to be debauched, even in a pair of cheap overalls with grease on her face.
Fuck Jasper for sending her over here, anyway. And fuck Jasper for not fucking the new princess already. Noelle had come trailing in behind Rachel like a lost little duckling, and oh, she and Rachel made a picture. He’d carve out a kidney to see all that blonde and brunette hair tangled together—preferably while they fought over who got to suck his dick first.
For a man who’d had a hooker on him less than an hour ago, he was damn hard up for some blighted satisfaction.
Rachel waved a wrench at him. “Are you even listening to me?”
Ace blinked away the image of hot, clumsy blowjobs with a sigh. “Yeah, sweet thing. Something with a regulator is shot. Can you fix it?”
“Probably. I’ll adjust the phase compensation, see if that clears it up.” She grinned. “What’s it worth to you?”
“The whole ten inches?”
“Charming, but I prefer cash. Though I’m not above bartering.” She turned to Noelle and handed her the wrench. “What do you think? Could I use another tattoo?”
Ace’s dick went rock hard, and it had nothing to do with how Jasper’s princess pursed her lush lips as she considered the question. Having Rachel in his chair was torture. She didn’t just get off on the adrenaline of the needles—she went beyond herself. He’d seen women flogged into that blissful state before, but she’d been the first one to drift there while he laid ink.
It was the closest he’d ever come to fucking her. “Princess doesn’t know about tattoos, sweetheart. Jas is bringing her back tomorrow to get her bar code filled.”