Page 39 of Under the Radar

I kissed her with everything in me. All the frustration, want, and need I had been feeling. I licked into her mouth, tasting the flavor of the tequila lingering on her tongue and the sweetness I instinctually knew was her.

She whimpered softly, meeting my onslaught with the same level of passion. It was only someone yelling, “Get a room!” that broke us apart.

I looked down at her. Her eyes were glossy, slightly unfocused. I grinned. “Sorry I was late.”

“You’re forgiven.”

“Who the hell is this?” Blond Guy demanded.

“Oh, ah, this is Chase,” Hannah said, turning to face him, staying in the circle of my arms and resting her hand on top of mine. “Chase, this is Dan. We work together.”

I met his glare, not liking how he looked at her. I felt the tension in her body again. “Hey,” I greeted him coolly. “Dan. Right. Hannah talks about you on occasion.”

“Is that right?” he replied, almost gloating.

I nodded and pressed a kiss to her head. “Well, we live together, so work comes up in our conversations.”

His face flushed. “You live together?”

I could barely hold back my glee at his indignation. “Yeah, we do.”

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on Hannah. “You never said that.”

“I said no. That should be enough. I don’t broadcast my personal life. I told you there was someone else.”

Her words hit me. That was what her mother asked her. “Is there someone else?”

Hannah had said yes.

Had they been talking about this guy? Not me?

Hope flickered.

He stormed away, and Hannah sagged in my arms.

“Well, that will make next week interesting,” she muttered then turned to me, still in the circle of my arms.

“Thanks.”

I looked down at her, seeing the weariness on her face. The blurriness of her gaze. I felt how she swayed a little in my embrace. “Hannah Gallagher, are you drunk?”

She shook her head, then stopped. “Maybe a little. I had tequila. Only one. Maybe two.” She pursed her lips. “Might have been three. That’s never a good idea.” She waved her hand. “Then Dan showed up. Only supposed to be girls,” she muttered.

I laughed, feeling relief. Joy. Hope again.

“You ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

“You want to go home now?”

She nodded, leaning her head on my chest. “I walked.”

“Me too. We’ll get a cab.”

“M’kay.”

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