I nodded at him. “Fox.”
“I didn’t know you were bringing your sexy ass over today,” Monroe said, her voice all smoky and breathy, hitting me right in the dick. “I thought you were gonna call,” she added, a hint of playfulness creeping in to her voice too.
“I decided not to take a chance on you ignoring my call.”
Her head dropped to the side, eyes full of heat. “You really think I would have ignored your call?”
“Right,” Fox cut in, “That’s our cue to leave you two alone.” He indicated for the asshole with his arm still draped over Monroe’s shoulders to leave.
“Thanks for everything, Fox. I’m excited about our plans. I just hope I can find a way to pull them off,” Monroe said.
The asshole said something to her that I couldn’t hear before following Fox out of her yard. I watched silently, tracking their movements. They couldn’t leave soon enough as far as I was concerned.
Monroe slid her arm around my waist and pressed her body against mine. “It’s good to see you, but I really wish you’d called first.”
Hardly paying attention to what she said, I growled, “Who was that?” I couldn’t keep the demanding tone from my voice even if I’d tried. I needed to know who he was and what the fuck he was to her.
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean? If we were dating, I’d say you sounded jealous.”
“Answer my question, sugar. Who the fuck was that?”
She let me go and took a step back. “Whoa, tiger, steady on there. That was Leo, Fox’s cousin and a friend of mine. What’s going on here?”
With a determined stride, I closed the short distance between us and took hold of her by the waist. “What’s going on here is that I didn’t like his hands on you.”
Her eyes widened and she planted her palms on my chest. Trying to push out of my hold, she said, “I don’t live my life making sure to only do things you like.”
I tightened my hold, not letting her move a fucking inch. “I never said you had to, but I would like to know what that asshole means to you.”
“He’s not an asshole, Hyde. He’s a good friend. That’s all.”
“Looked like more than that to me.”
“You are jealous.”
I ignored that. “You sleep with your friends, Roe?”
She smacked my chest. Still trying to move out of my embrace. Still failing, because there was no way in hell I was letting her go. “Oh my God, you did not just say that to me! We’ve made no promises to each other, so who I sleep with is none of your business.”
“I’m making it my business. And I’m telling you now, I don’t want another man’s hands on you.”
“Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the only man who gets to dictate that kind of shit to me is the man I’m dating. And seems as though you and I aren’t dating, you get zero say in whose hands are on me.” She hit my chest again and added, “Now let me go.” Her eyes were full of that fierce energy I loved in a woman.
“How about you and I start dating?”
She stopped trying to escape my
hold. “You don’t do dating.”
“I don’t do dating because I haven’t found a woman I wanted to date.”
“Oh, but now you have? Or is this just because you got your dick in a twist when you saw me with another guy? I’m not down with a man fucking me around, Hyde. If you only want me when you think someone else has me, you can walk away right now.”
“Jesus, woman, are you always this fucking difficult?”
Her mouth fell open. “Are you always this fucking insulting?”
“I don’t date women just to keep other men from them. I can’t stop thinking about you, Monroe. You’re there when I wake up, and you’re still there when I go to bed at night. And in between, you’re every-fucking-where. Hell, I’m even thinking about you when I should be focusing on club business.” I pulled her even closer to me and growled, “I just about lost my fucking shit when I saw that asshole’s hands on you. That’s never happened in my life.”