“Pep talk?” Maverick jokes as he steps beside me, looking at me as though I’ve lost my mind.
I have lost my mind.
“No. It’s exactly the opposite,” I growl, wishing it wouldn’t hurt if I punched my own crotch.
“O...kay... So, I finally found a group of girls who aren’t total prudes. You coming?”
I glance over at the table full of sexy women that Corbin is already working over, but my eyes involuntarily gravitate toward Tria again. Damn... those legs. Does she have to hold that stick like that?
I groan and actually slap my own face, which earns an eyebrow raise from Mav.
“Dude, did you do drugs or something? Because you look like you’re tweaking.”
I scrub my face and make a silent oath to never drink again. Yeah right. I need something hella-strong right now.
“Whiskey—straight up,” I say to the bartender.
“Whiskey? Really? The hard stuff makes you a little... crazy.”
Maverick is grating on my nerves. I have serious problems right now. Whiskey can’t make me any crazier than I apparently already am if I’m losing my mind over Tria Noles.
The bartender hands me the whiskey and I toss it back in one sip.
“Keep them coming.”
“Dude,” Maverick grumbles, “what the hell happened?”
Again, my damn traitorous eyes find the brunette I don’t want to want, and my pants get even tighter, which I didn’t think could be possible. She’s leaning over that table again, and all I can picture is fucking her on that damn thing.
“I’ve lost my damn mind. That’s what happened.”
He laughs, as though any of this is funny. He wouldn’t be laughing if he was hard as a rock for Tria. He’d be as freaked out as I am.
“Hey. Didn’t expect to see you two here,” a friendly voice says, and I groan inwardly before making a calculated turn—keeping my erection hidden—and face Kade Colton.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Maverick says, grinning. “Did the woman let you off the leash for a night?”
I pretend I have no knowledge of the fact Raya is here... with Tria.
“First of all, she doesn’t keep me on a leash, and secondly, I’m actually meeting her here,” he says, letting his smile lift at the very thought of her.
Like a nasty habit, I glance back over to the pool table, and my jaw clenches when I see a few guys talking to Raya and Tria. Did that fucker really just touch her? I’ll break his damn hand if he does it again.
What. The hell. Is wrong with me?
“Damn. I better go get my girl before someone falls in love,” Kade says, grinning bigger when he spots her shooing away the unwanted attention. Tria isn’t shooing away her groper. Why is she even speaking to that son of a bitch?
“You guys can join us if you want to,” Kade says while walking away.
“No, we’ve got—”
“I’ll come,” I say, interrupting Maverick.
I don’t know what I’m doing, but I can’t just sit back and watch this douche rub his hands all over Tria.
“Dude!” Maverick calls loudly.
“Catch up with you later,” I call over my shoulder, rushing my steps.
Kade tries making idle conversation with me as we close the short distance between us and the girls, but I tune him out. My attention is on one thing, and that’s the jerk whose hands are all over Tria. He doesn’t even know her.
“Sorry, boys,” Kade says loudly, “this one is mine.”
Raya’s smile could brighten a room when Kade makes a show of kissing her, but it only briefly distracts me.
“Kode,” Tria sighs, seeming annoyed with my presence.
I try to act casual as a waitress brings me a fresh glass of whiskey. “Care to introduce me to your new friend?” I ask, motioning to the animal who is groping her ass now.
She flinches when he moves in behind her. She doesn’t want him touching her. So why isn’t she just slapping him away? Why the fuck is this eating me alive? I can’t stand to see his hands on her.
***
TRIA
The only reason I haven’t punched this guy in the nose for his brazen gropes is because Kode Sterling is seconds away from unleashing his wrath. Why else would he come over here?
“I got us a booth. This place is supposed to have phenomenal burgers,” Raya says, tugging Kade’s hand. “You guys sitting with us?”
She looks from me to Kode several times, and then she looks at the jerk who is sliding his hand around my waist. I roll my eyes, and Kade pulls Raya toward the booth, deciding not to wait on a response.
“Okay, that’s enough,” I grumble. That’s all I can take.
He doesn’t let go. Instead, he tugs me to him tighter. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispers, acting as though he completely missed what I just said.