“You should totally hit that!”
“Fuck off.”
“Seriously, no strings - just lots of orgasms.”
“Shut up, Mags!”
Hetter sticks his head between the two of us and looks between our faces and then over to Chase.
“What do you think they’re saying to each other when they do that lady Jedi trick?”
Chase mumbles, “Who fucking knows.”
Maggie hauls Hetter away with a laugh and wave. Chase’s arm tightens around me briefly before he lets me go and steps away. Right away I miss the feel of his heat against my skin and wish…
“Let’s go before you get into more trouble. Luke can follow us back to your place in your car.”
Any good feelings I was having toward him fly away at his tone.
“Excuse me? If by trouble you mean me walking past someone minding my own business and getting accosted then I’ll remind you that I didn’t ask for your help at all. I can handle myself just fine withoutyoumaking trouble worse than it needed to be.”
His eyes darken in anger and he says through gritted teeth, “He had his fucking hand on you.”
I step up to go toe to toe with him and spit right back.
“That’s right, he had his hand on ME. My body, my choice, my decision on how to handle it! You decided that was your call. You’re not my…you are not my anything. I can handle myself, Chase. I’ve been doing it just fine for the last ten years.”
His gaze drops to my mouth briefly and for a split second I think he’s going to rage-kiss me but instead, he backs off and swipes at his mouth.
“I’ll be at the bar when you’re ready to go.”
I watch his back as he threads through the diminished crowd and joins Luke back at the bar. I sigh in frustration and move to go back to my table but glance over my shoulder when I feel someone’s heat at my back.
The sweet smell of pot hits me as Rex presses up against me. He drops his mouth to the side of my neck and murmurs, “What did I tell you when we were kids about jerking the stick my brother has up his ass, Stormy?”
I stifle the moan that moves up my throat when his lips move against the sensitive skin on my neck.
“You always said I’d be the one to pull it out when the time was right.” I turn to face him and my breasts drag across his chest, making my nipples throb. “Are you okay? It looked like you were limping when you went outside.”
“Right as…Rain,” he winks at me. “Just a few aches from some old injuries.” He changes the subject like he doesn’t want to talk about that. “Last call in half an hour, pretty girl. Are we driving you home?”
I nod and when he asks if I want anything else to drink, I ask for a coffee instead of another beer. Drunk me has learned her lesson about being in that state around all three of the Kingston boys. I go back to my table and Star brings me a cup of coffee, promising me it’s from a fresh pot. I pull out the folders from my purse and study the changes Hetter drew in on the blueprint during dinner. I need to keep my eye on the prize. My prize, my future. One that will depend on me, not a man.
Rain
Idon’t lift my head again until the music cuts out and the lights come up. Starlight stops by my table with her apron clutched in her hand and her purse hanging from her shoulder. I give her a soft smile when I take in how tired she looks. She takes a deep breath.
“Um, I just wanted to say…to say… I’m sorry…about earlier. Blain, he shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. So, I’m sorry.”
I reach out and place a hand on her shoulder and feel the small tremble in her slight frame.
“No, honey. You don’t apologize for him or for anyone else. That wasn’t on you. But I will say it was cool to see the badass you hide so well. You just snapped your little fingers and he backed right off. Good for you!”
She perks up at that and some of the droop comes away from her shoulders. She gives me a little shy smile and lifts a hand with a small wave.
“Thanks, Rain. Um, have a good night.”
I watch her walk down the hallway Rex had gone down earlier toward the back of the building but instead of going out the exit to the alley, she slips through a different door. I gather up my folders, sliding them away and carry my empty coffee cup over to the bar. Rex is wiping down the stations and Chase and Rex are lifting bar stools to set them upside down on the scarred wooden bar top.
