“Yes.” He shifted closer, his grip on her hair getting tighter. He thought he had her ensnared. She could see in his eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I even dreamed about you last night. About how fucking amazing you tasted. How alive you were in my arms. Hell, I even dreamed about the way you cried out my name in Mexico when you came all those years ago. About how tight you felt around me… That’s something I could never get out of my head, no matter how hard I’ve tried.”
She swallowed down the moan that tried to escape and chugged the last of her martini just in time for the bartender to bring the new one Tyler had ordered for her. She slipped her hand into his pocket, took her phone back, and then hopped off the stool. “Well, keep dreaming, because that’s the only time you’ll get to touch me, or hear me cry out in pleasure, again. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to work on my list.”
New martini in hand, she walked off with her head held high. If her entire body was screaming for her to turn around and straddle him, right here in the freaking bar, well, it could piss off.
She wasn’t giving in.
Chapter Six
Damn it all to hell, that woman was stubborn. He could fucking see the desire in her eyes and yet she pushed him away again. Refused to give in to the white-hot passion burning between them.
Tyler downed his drink and handed the empty glass back to the bartender. “I’ll have another, please.”
For a second there, he’d thought he had her. But she’d rallied and held him off, her adorable nose pointed up in the air the whole time. When he’d thought that she had a man back home, an inexplicable rage had filled him. Jealousy, too. Lots of ugly green Hulk jealousy.
After all this time, he still ached to have her. Any other woman in his life had trouble holding his attention for longer than an hour, yet with Christine…being back in her company made him feel as if he’d never stopped thinking about her. Never stopped wanting her.
That had to mean something.
“I wasn’t sure if you two would be leaving together or what.” Colton sat beside him. “Fuck, man. What were you up to over here? A battle of wills, sex edition?”
Tyler shook his head and forced a laugh. “Nah. We were just talking.”
“Sure you were.” Colt looked at Christine, as if he was trying to read her. Good luck with that. You’d have better luck reading an ancient, unknown language. “You guys had a thing before, right?”
Tyler choked on his drink. When he could breathe again, he rasped, “No. Why? Who said something?”
“No one.” Colt shrugged. “Okay, Kady kind of did. But not really.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Tyler said, patience just barely there. “What do you mean?”
Colt grinned. “She told me something happened in Mexico that neither of you would talk about. I think she’s avoiding the answer staring her in the face. It’s not like it takes much to put two and two together.”
Tyler forced a laugh. “Well, maybe you should check your math. There’s nothing going on between us.”
Colt said nothing. Just arched a brow.
Uncomfortable with the silence, Tyler shifted in his seat. Now would be as good a time as any for the big brother talk he needed to have with Colt. Turning the attention away from him and Christine was simply an added bonus. “So, we’ve been friends for a long time.”
Colt scratched the back of his head and leaned on the bar. “Uh, yeah.”
“And you know I like you.”
Colt’s brow lifted. “Yeah…look, if this is about the whole ‘being in love with your sister’ thing, it’s a little late to—”
“No. It’s not that.” Tyler narrowed his eyes on Colt. “Even though I like you, I need to know you’ll take care of Kady. Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid, but make sure she’s not scared to take risks. Treat her like a princess, but not so much so that she forgets what it’s like to live. Don’t make her cry. Don’t break her heart. And above all…”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler saw Christine cross the room and smile at some tall dude. Why was she flirting with that guy instead of him? Was this all part of her “list”? If her list was all about ways to piss him off, or getting him turned on before walking away…well, she was winning. Hands fucking down.
Colt cleared his throat. “If you’re done glowering at Christine, I’d love to hear the rest of that sentence.”
Tyler forced his attention back on Colt. He needed to stop being so damned obvious. “And above all, don’t make me have to kill you. I’m a doctor—I can get creative.”
Colt laughed. “I’ll do my best. But since it is now my goal to make her smile as often as possible, I think I’m safe from your creative ways.”
“Seriously, man.” Tyler forced his attention back to Colt. “I’m not fucking around about this. Make her happy, or answer to me.”
Colt’s smile faded and he locked gazes with Tyler. “I know. I will.”
“Good.” Tyler signaled the bartender, satisfied now that he’d had his little talk with Colt. “I’d hate to have to hurt you.”
Colt clapped him on the shoulder. “Me too, man.”
“Now that we’ve gotten that over with, how about a drink?” Tyler asked. “God knows I need one.”
“Did I hear something about a drink?” Brock, one of the other groomsmen, asked. “Because I could definitely go for one of those.”
Brock sat down, and Logan did the same. Reed trailed behind a little more slowly. His attention was focused across the room, perhaps on…Julie? Hmm. That would make for an interesting pairing. He didn’t know the other three groomsmen very well. Brock and Reed had grown up near where Colt’s dad settled in Tennessee, and Colt had gone to college with Logan. But what he knew of them, he liked.
Reed was a cop and looked more likely to shoot than to ask questions with his dark looks. Brock was a quintessential Southern boy, complete with charm and charisma. And Logan? The guy looked like he’d be equally at home hanging from a rock face or facing down a boardroom. Out of all of them, Tyler related to him the most.
They were both happily married to their careers.
Logan sat on the empty barstool next to Tyler. “Evening, gentlemen. Refresh my memory. What’s on tomorrow’s agenda? Mountain biking, poker…what was it again?”
“Scavenger hunt. Tomorrow afternoon,” Tyler said. “You ready for some outdoor adventure?”
Logan grinned. “What do you think?”
Brock lounged on a barstool on the other side of Colt. “I think you’re both going to win, because Lord knows I’m not about to go traipsing across the mountainside for a prize I can buy myself.”
Reed sat down next to Brock, his attention still across the room and his frown even deeper than before. He nodded at Colton’s glass. “What are you drinking?”
“Whiskey,” Colt said, waving at Kady. “But not for much longer. My bride’s beckoning.”
“Nice,” Brock said, grinning at Kady. He signaled for the bartender to come over. “Not before I buy the first round of drinks, though.”
“Is it from Julie’s company?” Logan asked, grabbing one of those coasters that all bars had and dealing them down the bar like playing cards. “If so, line ’em up.”
“They have that here?” Reed asked, a brow up. From what Tyler could tell, he’d stopped watching Julie, but only because her family’s business had come into play. If he needed confirmation of his suspicions—which he didn’t—he’d gotten it right there. “I want to try some, too.”
“Sure,” Brock agreed. The bartender came up, and he smiled at her. “Hey, sugar. Can we get a round of One-Eyed Jack Whiskey?”
“And two champagnes,” Logan added, but the girl had eyes only for Brock.
“Sure thing,” she said, her cheeks flushed. “R-Right away.”
Not a big surprise there. From what Tyler had noticed over the past day or so in the man’s company, women melted into a puddle of goo when Brock turned on the Souther
n charm. Last night, he’d learned that he’d once charmed himself out of an arrest all because the cop was a woman. No one knew what Brock had done to get arrested.
He hadn’t been so quick to share that part of the story.
Logan shifted a little on his feet. “Next round’s on me, but it’ll have to be tomorrow after the scavenger hunt. Tonight I have to drink and run.”
“Why?” Brock asked, his drawl thicker than usual. “You got a hot date?”
Logan cast an odd look Colt’s way. “Hotter than you four.”
“Speaking of which…” Tyler eyed Logan’s casual gear. All of them were suited up except for him. He wore khaki shorts and a T-shirt, with a pair of brown leather sandals. “Dude. You realize this is a black-tie event, right? Not a visit to the Outback?”
“Seriously,” Colt said. “What the fuck, man?”
Logan shrugged. “Hey, I wore this for you, big guy.”
“Huh?” Colt frowned.
Logan leaned in and lowered his voice. “Long story, and no reason to get your panties wadded, but I’m dressed like this so your little sister would come tonight. You asked me to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t hide in her room, and this is what it took.”
Colt shook his head and clapped him on the shoulder. “Okay, I’m not even going to ask. But, thanks. You’re the best.”
“It’s nothing.”
Colt shook his head and withdrew his hand. “Actually, no. It means a lot to me.”
Logan looked vaguely uncomfortable with his friend’s gratitude, but he didn’t reply. Interesting.