“I talked my friend into covering the last few minutes of my shift. Want to take a swim?” Rafe watched Ari’s eyes widen as the bartender pressed her large, barely clad br**sts against his arm.
“That sounds like a great idea, sugar,” he said as he placed his hand on her lower back and tugged her even closer. She purred with happiness as her hand came up and ran down his chest. He was sure she’d hurried out to him before he could catch the eye of another girl. Rafe knew that he was a great catch; he had no illusions that his attractions went deeper than good looks and ready cash.
“Excuse me, bitch. You can take your slutty paws off my brother. He’s here with another girl,” Lia said as she stood up and glared at the bartender. Heck, Rafe didn’t even know the woman’s name.
Claws came out as she glared right back and her body tensed against Rafe’s.
“In case you didn’t notice, he’s got his hands around me, so whether he came with someone or not isn’t the point. Obviously, he’s leaving with me,” she said before grabbing his head and pulling it down to hers.
Rafe didn’t fight her when she pressed her lips to his and kissed him. His hand tightened on her waist as he pulled her close and kissed her back in front of everybody.
When he finally pulled away, the bartender sported a smug look on her face, which he could understand. But when he turned his head, guilt rose up as he saw the devastation on Ari’s features. Maybe he’d taken this a bit too far.
“You know what? Go off with your tramp, Rafe. Ari is far too good for you,” Rachel snarled as she took Ari’s hand and started leading her away.
“Ari, stop!” Rafe released the bartender and stepped toward the girls. Three heads turned with blazing eyes and zinged him with a nasty look.
“I’d give them a bit of time to cool down, brother,” Shane said with a slow whistle.
“Forget about her. I’m more than you need,” the blonde said.
As Ari and his sisters left, Rafe pushed off the girl’s clingy hands. “It’s not going to happen. Leave me.”
Her mouth dropped open before she raised one lip in a sneer, then stomped off to find her next wealthy victim. It seemed Rafe had pissed off just about everyone he could today. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of this one.
“I’m sure glad I’m not you right now,” Shane said with a laugh. “I’m going to text the girls and tell them how sorry I am that you’re such an ass. I get to be the white knight once more.”
“You’re a prick, Shane,” Rafe growled before downing his beer. He decided he’d probably do best to avoid all three of the girls for the rest of the night.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Hurry up, Shane. I can’t believe you guys complain about how long it takes us to get ready when you’ve been in the bathroom for an hour primping,” Rachel called with irritation.
“It’s called personal hygiene, Rachel. You might want to try it sometime, squirt. Besides, if you don’t like how long I’m taking, you can always go back to your own room,” he called back, not in the least offended by her taunting.
“I like your room better. It’s bigger than ours, which is just wrong. Besides, I prefer the grunge look. As a matter of fact, I was thinking this whole toothpaste and shampoo thing is for wimps. I’m going to go au naturel,” she mocked.
“Mmm, you’ll fit right in with all the woodland creatures in the forest,” he said as he walked by and ruffled her hair.
“Shane!” she cried out as she rushed into the bathroom to fix her carefully styled hair.
“You started it.”
“Grow up!”
“Are you two at it again? I swear, it’s like babysitting,” Lia grumbled as she walked from the room looking like his wet dream incarnate.
As Lia stepped toward him, he couldn’t take his eyes off her long hair tumbling down her back, and the way the stunning black stilettos accented her bare legs. Her dress molded to her br**sts and then ran out over her hips, the shimmering material swirling around her legs like the thundering end of a waterfall.
Rachel’s phone rang and she excused herself, but Shane was oblivious to her. When Lia finally looked up and their eyes met, he wanted to march her backward toward his room and make her his.
No matter how much he told himself that sleeping with her would be a mistake, the longer he was in her presence, the more he seemed to forget that fact. He needed to be buried inside her body while her fingernails scraped down his back, as she claimed him as her own with the same intensity.
The absolute need to have her was starting to short-circuit his brain.
“Sorry, guys, but you’re officially on your own.”
Shane turned to see Rachel taking off her silky blue shrug.
“What do you mean?” Shane asked, feeling a bit light-headed. There was no way he could spend the evening alone with Lia with the way she looked now. Each day around her zapped a little bit more of his will to resist.
“I have an important call I have to make,” Rachel said as she breezed away and closed her door. Lia followed, but no matter how much she knocked, her little sister wouldn’t open up.
Neither of them knew it was all a ruse — Rachel was giving them the night together alone.
“Well, Shane, it looks like it’s just you and me,” Lia said with a wink as she grabbed her shawl.
Shane felt pressure build in his gut as he watched her turn her well-defined yet feminine back to him. No matter which angle he faced, she was just as appealing. He beelined for the liquor cabinet and poured himself a double, downing it in one gulp. Please give me strength, he thought before walking to the door and opening it for her.
“Which show are we going to see?”
“I don’t know. Your little sister is the one who purchased the tickets. She told me to hold onto them since they wouldn’t fit in her purse, but I haven’t had a chance to look yet,” Shane replied as he grabbed the envelope from his pocket and walked by her side to the elevators.
“You were putting a lot of trust in her.”
“She wouldn’t stop pestering me until I caved in. I’d rather be playing a bit of blackjack than attending what I’m sure will be a girlie show.”
“Oh, have some faith. Rachel has great taste.”
It wasn’t Rachel’s taste in shows that had Shane on edge — it was his fear of not being able to keep his hands to himself. As Lia walked ahead of him, the sway of her h*ps caught his eye. She had just the right amount of curves for a man to grab hold of while he thrust deep inside her heat.