“Why?” I asked, suspiciously.If he was going to start ranting about giving my ex another chance while eye-humping me right now, I might just die.
His gaze slowly trailed down my entire body, taking in every inch of me sitting in front of him. He leaned back, bit his lip, and gradually drew his eyes back up my frame, until they were once again fixed on mine. He took a deep breath in and slowly released it. “I’d have a hard time letting you go, too.” Then, he barked out a huge laugh and relaxed his shoulders. God, he was such a tease. How could any woman take him seriously?
“Shut up,” I laughed, straightening my posture.
“What? Why?” he flirted.
“You think you got game. Coming up on me with your sugar-coated words,” I laughed. He was just messing around with me, nothing serious, he wasn’t really trying to start anything. It’s okay if I teased and bantered back.
“Game? You want to play a game? How about we go somewhere dark and play what part ofyouis in mymouth?”
I couldn’t help laughing. Loudly. God, the way Ryan Cage looked at you was the way all women dreamed of being looked at. It was silly to get all squirmy in my seat, but it was innocent enough. I knew nothing would happen between us, so a little flirting and having a smile on my face was nice. It had been a few months since I could flirt openly with someone I was attracted to.
When the crowd of people ordering drinks next to us left, I saw my brother and his girlfriend sitting together in a small booth near the end of the bar. They’d been together for two months, starting back when I was withthe asshole. It killed me not telling them what was happening. Now I hide it like pure shame.
They were holding hands, and Dean’s face was buried in her neck. Her smile was amazing. I waved to her when her glance crossed mine, and she smiled wider, waving me over.
I stood up and stretched, grabbing my purse off the bar. But before I could tell Ryan about joining Dean and Liv, a heavy hand grabbed me around my elbow, pulling me back. “Detective Cage,” the voice rumbled haughtily. “And Officer Fury.”
“Sir,” Ryan greeted the man behind me with a respectful smile and nod.
I spun around, lifting my face to the Captain and offered up a humble, friendly smile. His hand unhooked from my arm immediately. “Captain Anderson, How are you, Sir?” I waited for him to nod his head and continued. “Ryan and I were just about to get a drink with my brother and his girlfriend. Will you excuse us?”
“Yes, of course. You both have a good night,” he rumbled, nodding his head.
Yanking Ryan by the arm, I dragged him toward the back of the bar where Liv and Dean sat. There was a flurry of hellos and hoots as more people from their squad joined us, and I slid into the booth, pulling Ryan in next to me.
As the conversations spun around us, he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “You want to tell me what that was all about?” His breath was hot against my skin, making goose bumps pucker out all over my neck.
I leaned into his warmth and found myself staying there, telling myself the bar was crowded and no one would notice. “He just gives me the creeps.”
He chuckled low and nodded. “Yeah, I hear a lot of people say that.” He didn’t shift away. The side of his body was flushed up against mine in the booth, and I found myself wanting to run my hand along his arm to see how he would react.
He’d probably jump three feet away from me.
This is what I did all the time. I read signals wrong. It’s how I thought I had a three-month long relationship with someone who was just having a prolonged one-night stand with me.
“So where did you grow up, Cage?” I asked, clearing my throat and scooting myself away a few inches. I didn’t want to sit and talk about creepy men or think about ex boyfriends or serious shit. I wanted to just talk about mindless stuff, have another drink, and make my escape home.Alone.
Ryan shifted himself in the booth and moved closer, closing the small distance I had blatantly put between us. Once again, the left side of his body was crushed against mine.
I needed a drink. Or to leave, because I was aroused so suddenly by his closeness, I actually contemplated climbing over his lap and dry humping him.
Instead, I lunged across the table and grabbed Liv’s drink, taking a huge sip from the straw and choked back a cough. It was sweet and bitter and bright yellow. Liv shrugged and pushed the drink toward me even more.Lord, she is such a good friend.
“Brooklyn,” Ryan answered, suddenly focused on something behind me.
I cocked my head over my shoulder to figure out what he was concentrating on and felt him skim hot fingertips softly over the expanse of skin that peeked out between my shirt and skirt as I had bent forward.
His touch sent a spark of electricity off between my legs, and I almost fell forward across the tabletop.
“Nice splash pad,” he smirked, tracing my ink with the pads of his fingers.
“Splash pad?” I asked, laughing. “My tattoo?” I pulled my shirt down and sat back against the cushion of the booth, pursing my lips. I needed to get the heck out of here before I did something stupid, like fall in love.
“Yeah,” he smiled, flicking his fingers at it. “Sexy as hell.”
“Why are you calling it a splash pad?”
