RAEGAN -
Em had broken the ice between us, and I couldn’t stop smiling because it had been so long since I’d actually had deep, belly-laughing fun. Even before Mexico, I had been hopping between homes with a newborn baby. There hadn’t been time for me to take a break or anyone around to even allow me to do that. I worked, I took care of Braden—most of those hours were spent with Kate—and sometimes I managed to squeeze in sleep. But anything else, there just wasn’t time for.
“I love her!” Em called out to Lane, while hugging me and simultaneously pulling me away from him.
“Yeah, well I loved it when she was over here,” he called back, gesturing with his now empty arms. I smiled brightly at him and followed Em to the pool table, leaving the guys behind to continue talking at the bar.
Quinn brought over drinks for all of us, and we propped up on barstools near the pool table we had claimed for the night. The guys from earlier had cleared out, which was nice because now we had the chance to just hang out without the stress of one of the husbands getting antsy.
“You have no idea how hot your boyfriend is,” Quinn said to me.
I laughed at her and took a sip to hide my reddening face. “Oh, I have every idea how hot he is.”
“Mmm, I’m sure you do,” Em added.
“Oh, you guys act like you aren’t married to walking dreamboats yourselves,” I huffed playfully.
“That doesn't mean we can’t fantasize about what he looks like under those clothes,” Em started. “Look, I can’t think of Cole like that because he’s practically my brother… it weirds me out. I know what Jace looks like because I sleep with his identical twin every night. Lane’s my only mental fantasy.” She tapped the side of her head as if the image was there right now.
“Em, if I didn't love you, I’d throttle you right now,” Audrey laughed. “Don’t think about my husband when you’re with Jaxon.”
“Hey, you’re the one that’s been with both of them, you lucky bitch!” Quinn yelled, a little too loud. Audrey’s face immediately turned as red as her shirt.
“Whoa, what?” I had to ask.
“I was with Jaxon before Jace. It was stupid. I don’t like to talk about it.” Audrey’s words were clipped.
“We need more shots!” I called to our waitress. “This just got good.”
“As long as we can talk about something else besides my husband and Lane’s bodies,” Audrey begged.
“Aww, why not Lane’s?” Quinn fake-pouted.
“Ew, guys he’s my brother. I do not want to keep talking about him like that,” Audrey complained. I smiled because even though Lane had basically said as much, that was exactly what I wanted to hear from her.
Just then Audrey’s eyes narrowed in apparent annoyance. The rest of us followed her glare and landed on a tall, beautiful blonde who was walking her hip-swaying self toward Lane. It was obvious she was on a mission, and the way she looked at him was as if she knew him—in a personal way.
“What’s up?” I asked Audrey quietly.
“She’s a problem.”
Em and Quinn looked at one another, and then I saw the light turn on in Em’s eyes. “Is that her? The girl from that one night at your house?” she asked.
“Yes,” Audrey ground through her teeth.
“What girl?” I asked again, although they were all zoned in on Miss-way-too-short-skirt that had saddled up next to Lane at the bar. She moved close and I watched as he tried to inch away from her. Jax and Cole both scooted further away, and Jace turned his back on her completely.
“Are you the jealous type?” Audrey asked me.
“I don’t… think so,” I stated uncomfortably. I thought about her question and then asked, “He’s slept with her, hasn’t he?” She squirmed uncomfortably at my question and then nodded her head. I looked back over to Lane and the blonde. So, I had been right… he was familiar with her.
The way she moved her hips and pushed out her chest toward him proved she wanted him again, although her boobs were nowhere close to what I was packing and her hair was obviously bottled. She reached seductively across Lane and grabbed his beer bottle. Someone behind me gasped when the blonde took a long pull from his beer and gave it back to him.
“I have to give her credit, she sure is working it,” I laughed. I looked back at the girls and they were gaping at me with open mouths. “It’s kind of hot, don't you think?”
“Uh… hot is the last thing I would call her,” Quinn grumbled.
“I’ll second that. If she takes one step toward Jace, I’m ripping her extensions out,” Audrey huffed.
“Not her,” I chuckled. “Just the whole situation.” I gestured toward the bar, where Lane was tossing the beer bottle into a trashcan on the opposite side of the bar as if it were contaminated.
Right on cue, two more scantily-clad blondes sauntered over and smiled at him, the same as the first had. Now Lane was the one fidgeting uncomfortably on his barstool. One of the girls reached out for his bicep, and he politely pulled it from her grasp.
For some insane reason, my body was heating up. The whole situation was ludicrous, because shouldn’t I have been wanting to pull out their hair and dig my fingernails into their eyeballs?
“Elaborate,” Em interrupted my thoughts. “Because even I would be going jealous girlfriend on their asses right now.” Jax, Jace, and Cole had fully removed themselves from the groupie party surrounding Lane. Meanwhile, Lane gave each of the guys pleading eyes and they all subtly shook their heads. They wouldn't be going to help him.
“They want him,” I stated.
“Yes, I can definitely see that. So shouldn’t you be staking your claim?” Em asked.
“He wants me. That’s what’s so hot about this. They want him, but yet he only wants me.” God, I was craving him right then.
In my periphery, I noticed the waitress had returned with our shots, but mostly my eyes were glued to Lane, watching as he tried to dodge and escape the girls who were clamoring for his attention. With extreme discomfort on his face, he finally braved looking out at me past all the blonde hair. At first he gave me a desperate face, as if silently telling me he didn't want their attention. Then, his entire demeanor changed. The lust in my eyes must have been obvious—hell, it was practically written across my entire body.
His eyes narrowed slightly and he sat up a bit straighter on his stool. The movement made his body appear even larger, and his biceps noticeably flexed under the sleeves of his shirt. He was absolutely delicious and he was looking right at me. I felt my nipples harden under my thin shirt, and I should have looked away from him because I couldn't walk around like that. But I couldn’t force myself to look anywhere else. He was too intoxicating and I was too horny.
His hand came up to where I could see through the bodies and he crooked his finger back and forth at me. I shook my head coyly at him, just to egg him on. He cocked an eyebrow and motioned for me to get over there. Now.
I grabbed a shot glass and threw it back. It definitely wasn’t another shot of ‘Blue Balls.’ This was straight vodka and I hadn’t been expecting that. I sucked in air through my teeth and gave myself a moment to stabilize. I was going straight into the lion’s den; the liquid encouragement was absolutely necessary.
My feet moved before my brain did. My body was on autopilot as I rounded the pool table, maneuvering my way toward Lane. His eyes were glued and the girls around him had finally turned to see why they had lost his attention. I couldn’t wait to break it to them that they never had it.