"Yes," I whisper back, biting back a grin when she shoots me an eye roll. But she holds my arm tighter, and that just makes my blood pump faster.
Dad has his radar on, and he spots us immediately when we make it into the main room. He excuses himself from his group, and quickly comes toward us, seeming truly excited to see the beauty on my arm.
"Raya, I'm so glad Kade convinced you to come. And you look ravishing," he says while taking her hand to kiss it.
That shouldn't bother me as much as it does. But I'm not crazy about seeing anyone touch her.
Fucking eh. I sound like a possessive moron, and she's not even mine. Yet.
"Thank you for inviting me," she says so sweetly, her voice soft enough to rival an angel's harp.
"Of course. I assume the two of you have been getting along a little better?" he asks, turning his eyes toward me as a knowing grin spreads.
How does he do that? How could he possibly know what I'm feeling for her, when I've only recently resigned myself to it? Could he look any smugger?
And why the hell do I want to smile? I really hate him.
"We're getting along," I say neutrally, keeping my grin held back somewhat, and refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing too much.
He knows. The bastard is telling me everything with his eyes. I wish I had that uncanny ability.
He keeps smiling, so I turn away, watching as Tag approaches. Shit. I should have told him about Raya. He's already undressing her with his eyes. I'll kick his ass.
"It's about time you showed up, and thank God you brought something worth looking at," Tag says, shamelessly eye-fucking my girl.
Dad laughs while slapping Tag's back, and then he nods to Raya. I'm working hard not to grind my teeth into nothing.
"I need to make my rounds. Have a good time, Raya. Make sure Kade doesn't leave you next to the wolves without him."
Like I'd let Tag anywhere close to her without me.
Dad makes a show of eyeing Tag, and the renowned player has the audacity to mock offense, acting as though he's shocked anyone would say such a thing. Slipping my arm around Raya's waist, I prepare to do something I've never done before.
"Where's Star?" I ask, invoking the age-old phrase that stops our group from ever crossing a line.
Tag smiles upon the mention of the name that hinders his quest. Star Morgan was a girl Ethan Noles—my cousin—and Maverick Sterling got into a huge fight over. It was nasty. After that, everyone decided to use it as a warning. You ask about Star, you're claiming your territory.
"I decided not to bring her. Wren's fiancée doesn't get along with her too well. Besides, I don't really do the dating bit. Too much drama," he says, seeming well rehearsed in the game. It's not the first time someone has used Star around him.
Raya seems confused as she stares across the room, and I silently tell Tag to get lost. He does. Much to my delight.
"You feel like dancing?" I ask Raya when it seems to be safe.
She looks around, seeming truly upset about something. What'd I miss?
"Something wrong, Raya?" I ask, moving her to a classical melody.
She gets closer than what's proper for this sort of dance, but I'm certainly not complaining. I just dance as though we're two people from the same world—her world. The world where you can dance to any song the way you want to. The world where you can breathe easily and take things at face-value because people say what they mean. Here, it's all double talk and underlying meanings. I'm sure as hell not going to teach her to be a part of my world.
Right now, I don't care if I make the socialites whisper about how close her hips are to mine. And I might tell them to kiss my ass if they let their whispers reach her.
"Just... Is there something wrong with me that I can't see?" she asks, breaking me out of my reverie.
Tilting my head in confusion, I ask, "Why do you say that?"
Her eyes move to Tag. Fucking Tag. I shouldn't have let him get anywhere around her. I know better.
"Tag Masters... he acted like there was something wrong with me."