All First Chapter Samples

“Don’t waste your money. He’s not gonna take a drink from you.” The bartender gave me a snide look like he thought I was a moron as he started to walk away.

“Guess you don’t want a fifty then.” Shrugging as I not-so-subtly waved the folded bills around, I turned to head back over to my table where I knew the twink that’d been serving us would do what I wanted in a heartbeat.

“Wait.” The asshole bartender who thought he was hot shit leaned against the counter and studied me. “You have thirty seconds to satisfy my curiosity or I’ll have security toss you out.”

God, he was so full of himself.

It made me wonder if he knew that Niko only kept him around because he thought the guy was hot and he didn’t flirt with the dancers. I was starting to get the impression, though, that the only reason he was so professional with the other staff was because he was straight.

“Dance with me.” The arms that wrapped around me were strong and just tight enough to make my heart skip a beat. “I saw you watching me.”

Was it the young guy who’d been so confident?

The tall guy leaning against the wall?

The club was so dark that even when the strobe lights flashed it didn’t help me to figure out who was behind me or who I’d been staring at to begin with. I’d gone with vibes over logic, so either of them felt like a good option.

Panic or laugh?

That was the question running through my head like a rabid Pomeranian as I looked down at the present in my hand.

Weren’t Secret Santas supposed to be funny?

This was work, not family.

That was supposed to mean presents were silly and cute and low stress. That last one was key because the only reason management had even agreed to let us continue the tradition was because we’d promised not to take it too seriously or to get in a competition this year.

Last year had been…stressful.

So far everyone had obeyed the rules…well, everyone but my Santa.

Looking down into the decorated bag piled with tissue paper, I thought it should’ve just been filled with candy or something silly…nope. My Secret Santa had gotten me a big baby bottle filled with Hershey’s Kisses and a new binkie.

A fucking binkie.

“Why does monster hunting always go so wrong?” Somehow I’d ended up stuck in the trap I’d set up instead of the monster I was supposed to be hunting and that was actually the least of my problems.

Because I liked being tied up.

I still couldn’t figure out how I’d ended up at the surprise wedding, but the one thing I was confident about was that I wasn’t answering any more calls from that neurotic fucking omega.

“We’re so glad you could make it.” Austin beamed but I wasn’t sure who the we were. It could’ve been in the royal sense or he could’ve meant the people in his head. “Did you have a chance to talk to the happy couple?”

He raised one eyebrow challengingly, even though his smile was still firmly in place.

“Yes.” That wasn’t good enough for the dramatic omega, and in other social situations I’d have been a dick, but it was a wedding.

And I wanted something from the crazy man.

Maybe.

“My mother said I’m supposed to put myself in your hands because I can’t be trusted to pick for myself.”

Had that come out weird?

The way the owner Conner was staring at me with his mouth open said I’d been awkward in some way. Taking a guess, I smiled and expounded. “The last Dom. Well, he said he was a Dom—wait, where was I? Oh, yes. Well, he stole my TV, and the guy before him tried to get me to do some sort of auction where I’d submit to a Master for a month, and that just didn’t seem like a good idea. I have to work and my mother said the whole thing sounded fishy.”

She was probably right, but he’d been wonderful at giving me attention.

She kept saying that attention whores attracted trouble—and she would know.

I thought explaining my questionable dating history would clear up the curious looks I was getting from the half-naked club owner.