“I didn’t know she was going to be here,” I say, not thinking about my response. That much is apparent when I look back at Beau and his brows are pressed together. “I mean, I knew she was going out with a friend, but she didn’t say they were coming here.”
“Dude, the Rustic Inn is the only bar in town,” he says. “I think she’s checking up on you.”
“Right,” I say, my voice heavy with disbelief. “I’m going to go say hi. Do you want to come with me?”
“No, I’m good,” he says, taking a swig of his beer. “I just got a good look at the redhead, and I can say with confidence that she’s not a fan of me.”
“Marie?” I ask, raising a brow. “We went to school with her. You’ve known her since kindergarten.”
Beau opens his mouth, but then snaps it shut again, shaking his head. “It’s a long story. I think I spotted Johnny over by the pool table. I’m going to go say hi.”
“Okay,” I say, filing that information away for later. “I’ll come grab you when I’m done.”
I turn, expecting to find Emery’s eyes searching for mine, but instead I’m met with the back of some guy’s head. He adjusts his stance to lean on the table-top beside her, and when I get a clear shot of her face, she has a full smile and crinkled eyes that feel like the kind of gut punch that would take my breath away.
I stop in the sea of people and tell myself to relax. She’s just being polite—something she only seems to do when I’m not around. But then he leans closer, and I grit my teeth together so hard that my jaw makes a quiet popping sound.
I’m moving before I can tell myself any more convincing lies. It takes me five seconds flat and a lot of targeted elbowing to get to her. It doesn’t take long for her eyes to lock on mine and the douchebag’s gaze to follow.
“Hey, babe.” I smile, grabbing the small of her back. She tenses for a moment before relaxing into my touch.
“Hey,” she smiles, turning to me. She raises a brow, secretly asking what the hell I’m doing. I couldn’t answer that question even if I tried.
I can feel the stranger’s eyes on me, and I don’t even look up to see if I know who it is before making my next move. Bold? Sure. But the only thing that’s going to shut up the jealous rage monster inside my head is going full alpha male for the next five seconds.
I dip my head, brushing my lips against hers. I’m slow and hesitant at first, but then, when I know she isn’t going to pull back or pinch me again, I sink into the warmth of her mouth. The noise of the bar fades, and no matter how corny it sounds, I feel like we’re the only two people in the room.
I deepen the kiss more. Maybe it’s to make a point, or maybe it’s because I know there’s a good chance I won’t get to revel in this feeling again. Our lips mold perfectly together, and I don’t want to pull away, but then the grating sound of someone clearing their throat causes me to pull back.
When our eyes meet, her lips are still parted, and hercheeks are flushed just like they were last night. Her fingers dance across her bottom lip like she can’t believe what we just did. So, to break the bubble of anxiety threatening to explode inside her, I lean into her ear and whisper, “I told you we’d have to kiss eventually, Bambi.”
CHAPTER 13
EMERY
Idon’t have time to process what just happened. One second, I’m playing the dutiful wing woman for Marie, and the next, Knox’s mouth is on mine.
And I freaking ate it up. I didn’t hesitate or push him away. I let his mouth swallow mine without a second thought.
Even with his lips gone, the heat still lingers. Everything from the rough scrape of his stubble to the faint taste of cold beer on his tongue is seared into my brain.
Which is a problem. A huge problem.
First of all, I’m not supposed to go brain dead from Knox Cooke’s kisses. I was hoping we’d make it through the rest of this arrangement without locking lips. But now I’m trying not to let my legs fold underneath me and act like his caveman reenactment is completely normal.
“Thanks a lot, prick,” Marie says with an angry frown. “You scared off the only decent man in this entire bar.” I look up to find the guy from earlier has made a very impressive Irish goodbye.
Knox tightens his arm around me, and that’s when I realize he’s still holding me. My eyes focus on Marie,wondering if I’m going to have to stop her from biting his head off. “Oh,” is all he says. “I thought?—”
“You thought he was hitting on Emery,” she cuts him off, sticking out one of her perfectly manicured nails to poke him hard in the chest. “Even if he was hitting on her, jealousy isn’t a good look on you, bud. Add that to the list of red flags I keep reminding her of.”
Knox’s body goes taut and his arm slowly slips away.
Is it bad that I found his jealousy kind of…hot? I know that’s incredibly toxic of me, and maybe I’ve been reading too many erotica novels about morally grey men, but damn, I didn’t realize how much I wanted a man to claim me like that.
But not Knox. He is off limits.
At least behind closed doors. That doesn’t mean that I can’t lean into this feeling for a little longer. I can chastise myself later.
