After I drank my tequila under Miles’s bemused supervision, he leaned over and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I could get shut down for serving hard liquor to underaged girls.”
I bit my lip. “Sorry. I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
He raised a slow smile. “I think I’m already in trouble.”
I darted my gaze around the darkened space. Were some undercover cops hanging around? Or was his bartender going to report him?
“I need to get back to the door, but if you have any other dares you need help with, come find me.” His hand drifted to my bare shoulder, lingered, then slid down my arm. And then the weight of his fingertips disappeared, and he walked away.
Cheers erupted beside me as Savannah leaned over the bar to plant a wet one on the female bartender.
Her eyes glittered as she pulled back. “One card to go, and I’m done. This issooomuch fun.” She held up a hand for a high five, which I delivered.
I stretched my neck from side to side, trying to relax so I could enjoy this game too, then scanned the club for my next victim, one I needed to take a selfie with. I spotted two guys standing against a wall, nervous and twitchy in their pressed shirts and khakis.Not habitual clubbers . . .
As they tracked Savannah’s retreat, I walked over to them. “Hi.”
One of the guys pushed square glasses up the bridge of his nose and gulped out a, “Hi.”
To think I was one of the least intimidating people ever. “So, I have these dares to accomplish, and one of them is taking a picture with a random guy. Would you be game?”
He tugged at his shirt collar, color creeping into his neck. “Yeah, sure. Of course.”
“Can we use your phone? I left mine at my table.”
He joggled his head and dug his phone out of his jeans pocket. It took him a few seconds and some awkward body contortions to wriggle it out. After he turned the camera app on, he raised it. His grip trembled a little, then a lot when I pressed in closer.
An arm clapped my shoulder and then a face squeezed in between me and glasses-guy. He snapped the shot that Lucas had photobombed.
“Mind retaking it, man?” Lucas said. “I think I shut my eyes.”
Ugh.“What part of leave me alone didn’t you get?”
“I take my Beta-job very seriously, Knickknack.”
I leveled the mother of all glares on Liam, who was back to looking amused—or was it pleased?—then shoved Lucas aside and stalked toward Adalyn to ask if she knew anything about this.
“I really doubt they told Liam and Lucas to babysit you.” Adalyn looked over my shoulder in the direction of the bar. “I mean, your brothers are protective, but to my knowledge, they haven’t held another sit-down since—”
“A sit-down? What sit-down?”
“Oh crap.” She raised her palm to her mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you about that.”
“Well, now you did.”
She sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. Anyway, when you turned fifteen, your brothers sat-down the eligible males in the pack and told them you were off-limits.”
My eyes felt like they were about to rocket out of my skull. “And you knew?”
“Of course not. I only heard them talk about it a couple weeks ago.”
My fingers were balled so tightly my nails were tattooing little crescents into my palm. If I didn’t calm down, my claws would come out.
“Shh.” Adalyn wrapped her hands around both my wrists. “Don’t shift. It’s in the past.”
“Apparently, not so much in the past if they’re having me watched.”
“I really don’t think it’s their doing.”
