“I’ve got this, boss.”
“You didn’t have it three seconds ago when he touched my woman. Where the fuck were you, Kansas?” Dean steps forward, forcing Kansas back a step.
“Busy night. But I’m here now.” Kansas tries to de-escalate the situation, while I can’t stop playing what he said in a loop.
My woman.
Except, I’m not.
Dean and Kansas hold a silent standoff while the bleeding asshole who touched me curses as security drags him away. It isn’t until he’s gone that Kansas’s shoulders relax, and he plants his hand on Dean’s shoulder. He leans in to say something I can’t hear over all the noise in the club. A few people around us watch, while others barely tear their gazes off the women on stage for a second to see what was going on.
When Kansas finally steps back, Dean nods, not relaxing the slightest as Kansas leaves.
Brandy pauses long enough to slide him a shot across the bar, which he downs in one swig. His eyes avoid me.
“You good?” I ask.
“I’m fine.” Dean scratches the back of his neck, and that’s when I notice the smallest smudge of red lipstick on his skin.
And that’s all I see.
Red.
“Willa?”
My focus snaps back as he says my name, and he’s looking at me like he just asked me a question, but I didn’t hear it. I couldn’t. All I can see is that bright red lipstick.
“I didn’t need you to save me,” I snap, tension building in my shoulders.
“You could just say thank you.”
“You could just fuck off. But I guess neither of us is getting what we want right now.”
Dean’s eyes sweep me over. “What pissed you off? Was it that guy? Because he’s—”
“Did you just fuck that girl who works for you?” I cut him off.
“What?”
I point to his neck. “Lipstick.”
He wipes a hand over it, inspecting the red on his fingers. “That’s not—”
“What it looks like? Yeah, I heard that a thousand fucking times from Kincaid, too, Dean. I know how it goes, and I don’t care.”
His jaw tenses. “I’m not my brother.”
“Whatever you say.”
“I’m not.”
I shove off the stool and start to walk away, but Dean grabs my arm before I can. He spins me to him, and my hands land on his firm chest. My fingers curl, and I hate him as much as I want him, which makes this so much worse.
Dean grabs the sides of my face and forces me to look up at him. “I didn’t fuck anyone just now.”
“I already told you I don’t care.”
“Clearly you do.” His gaze hardens. “Tiffany needed help with a customer who requested her for a private show. He was getting too handsy and needed to be dealt with. She went to thank me with a kiss, and I pulled back, so she got my neck. I didn’t fucking touch her.”
