“No pot hits for me,” I told her.
She pinched my arm good-naturedly and let me go, and I grinned as I walked away. Inside, I felt nothing. This rare display of maternal warmth wasn’t enough to change my mind about her.
¦ ¦ ¦
By the early hours of the morning, the party was starting to wind down, both upstairs and here in the basement pool area. I swept my gaze over the room. It looked like something out of ancient Rome. Rough-cut stone pillars, Venetian plastered ceiling, soft lighting made to mimic candles and torches. Sitting in the center of the cavernous space was the pool itself, with a small swim-up bar. A lazy river wound around it, filled with people floating on tubes—most of them naked because no one had brought a suit. The water was aquamarine, reflecting the tiles, and I had to admit, I was a little tempted. To throw Stella in.
I glanced right, where she and AJ sat on a stone-cut alcove bench. He was sunk low, looking indolent, his full lips quirked up in amusement at whatever Stella was saying. They’d been there for half an hour, and I was about ready to go break up their little reunion. Especially since Stella looked so unbothered by the fact that there was a half-naked woman currently hanging off my arm.
“Excuse me,” I said, extracting myself from the woman’s grip.
She made a low, petulant sound and tried to reach for me again.
I sidestepped her. “Don’t be desperate.”
Someone nearby gasped. Another snickered.
The woman, one of the countless bottle-blond heiresses in the room, threw me a dark look and stalked away. Good riddance.
I beelined toward Stella, who glanced up in question, like she’d missed that whole exchange. Like she’d forgotten about me entirely.
A small flare of antagonism shot through me. Because, hell no.
I took her untouched drink from her hand and set it on the nearby table before scooping her up. She squawked in surprise, but before she could wriggle free, I plopped down where she’d been sitting, settling her on my lap in a way that forced her to wrap her arms around my neck for balance.
There, much better.
AJ arched a brow, looking amused. “Planning to use her as a human shield?”
Oh, sohe’dseen what happened. “Yes. Did everyone drop ecstasy before we got down here? I’ve been propositioned by, like, six different people so far.”
AJ and Stella exchanged a glance, and he laughed. “No.”
I sent him a blank look.
“You’re fresh meat. And you’re hot. They don’t need to be high to want to fuck you.”
“Oh, god, don’t,” Stella said. “His ego doesn’t need any more inflating.”
“Be nice,” I said, punctuating the words with a slap to her ass. “He might start thinking you don’t like me.”
“Ha!” AJ said, throwing his head back. “No threat of that. Pretending to ignore you? Only looking your way when you’re distracted and won’t notice? The woman is obsessed.”
Stella went so stiff that she almost fell off my lap. “I amnot.”
I would never let her live this down.
“Aw, come on, Sunshine,” I said, tipping back enough to peer at her. “It’s okay to admit your feelings in front of an old friend. Go on. Tell him how much you love me.”
“Sunshine,” AJ said, laughing even harder.
Stella’s arms tightened around my neck, and then her lips were at my ear. “I am going to put glass in your food.”
I pulled back, smirking. “Confirmed. She loves me.”
She started to respond, and from the look on her face, I knew it wouldn’t be anything nice, so I yanked her into her a kiss—quick, hard, over before the shock could even register on her face.
AJ’s eyes fell to my mouth as I pulled back. “Here,” he said, shifting forward. His hand rose to cup my chin, his thumb pressing into my lower lip and dragging it sideways. “Her lipstick smeared.” He stroked it the other way, his green eyes molten in the flickering light.
