The other one looks familiar, but I’m not sure why. I can’t place her face.
Daphne’s holding her hair twisted up on top of her head. Her skin is flushed from dancing, and a tiny drop of sweat drips down the front of her sparkly shirt, where it disappears between her cleavage.
“She’s home for good,” the taller woman with pink hair replies.
Carys turns to face the woman. “Shh.” She raises her finger to her lips. “My mom doesn’t know I dropped out of school yet.”
Oh shit.
Yeah, I know Coach’s wife enough to know that’s not gonna go over well.
The other blonde with the three women announces she’s running to the ladies’ room, and Chloe grabs her hand to go with her.
I take advantage of the distraction to catch my little assistant’s attention, taking a step back so I’m next to her. “Hello, Miss Brenner.”
Shocked, her pale blue eyes fly up to meet mine. “Max Kingston... in a bar? I thought you’d be way too uptight for a place like this.”
Becks throws his arm around my shoulder, butting into the conversation. “You mean a bar our brother owns? Even Max isn’t that uptight.” He reaches his hand out in front of her. “Becket Kingston. Nice to meet you...”
I shrug Becks off. “Becket, this is Daphne Brenner.” I wait for him to fill in the blanks but can tell he’s clueless. “My assistant.”
“My friends call me ‘D.’” She gives him her hand, and the fucker kisses her knuckles until I elbow him in the gut.
He stumbles back a step but recovers well. “Oh. You’re the poor woman in charge of my brother? I think we need to get you a drink. Max is a dick.” Becks turns back to Sawyer and tells him to add the ladies’ drinks to his tab.
Daphne leans into me, and the clean, crisp scent of pears invades my senses. “Does he actually pay his tab, or does your brother let him drink for free?”
Her white-blonde hair falls forward, and I tuck a lock behind her ear on instinct.
It’s as soft as I’ve imagined since the day we met.
Maybe it’s the relaxed atmosphere because I’m actually enjoying a night out with my brothers. Or maybe it’s because I’ve fought the pull toward Daphne since the first time we met, but giving in feels natural.
She shivers, but steps into me. “I didn’t really picture you as a bar kind of guy.”
“And why is that?” I take a pull from my bottle of beer and watch as Daphne takes it from my hands and holds it up to her pouty red lips, the movement tempting me with promises I’m not sure she’s ready to keep.
“It’s kinda hard to imagine you relaxing, I guess.”
With that bottle up against her lips, teasing me, I imagine what it would look like to have them wrapped around my cock, while I wrap her silky hair around my fist and angle her just where I want her.
I’ll just keep that thought to myself. “You’re playing with fire, Miss Brenner.”
“I’m in the mood to watch something burn, Mr. Kingston.” She sips the beer, then hands it back to me, and my cock jumps in my pants at the forbidden idea.
I’m tracking an escalating argument happening behind us when I grab her waist and spin the two of us, holding her between me and the bar to keep her safe. Sawyer catches the move and whistles for a bouncer, who flies around the corner of the bar. The sound of flesh on flesh can be heard over the music as chaos ensues in the immediate area.
Daphne’s fingers grasp my forearms, icy blue eyes wide and trained on me as her friends fight to see what’s happening from behind Becks.
“Hey, you okay?” I bend my knees and look into her eyes.
She nods, a little shaken. “Thanks to you.” Her tongue darts out and wets her lips.
Our eyes lock, and something passes between the two of us. It only takes a second for me to memorize every emotion flickering in her pale gaze.
Desire.
Want.