A Brutal Betrayal(22)

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s your friends. I can’t impose.”

“I thought we were friends too. Besides, this will be good for you and them. They need to learn a little self control around a beautiful woman, and you need to be able to hang out with other people. And I’ll be there so you feel comfortable.”

“I, I couldn’t.”

“You can and you will. Come on, you trusted Tracy to meet someone new. Now, it’s your turn to trust me. I’m not taking no for an answer. Swing by my office after work and we’ll go together. If you’re not there, I’m going to come get you. And I know where you live. I have it on file,” he teased.

If you insist.”

I do.”





Chapter 11

Wednesday night had rolled around and Declan was both an excited and nervous wreck. At the time, inviting her to hang out with his friends had seemed like a great idea. Now, though, he wasn’t so sure. His friends could be crude—he was sure Megan could handle that—but his issue was what they would discuss. If his friends decided to talk sports or about the “good old days,” he was afraid Megan would feel left out. He also wasn’t so sure how much of his past his friends might inadvertently share with her. And then she walked into his office wearing a modest burgundy dress with a blazer. It was completely conservative, not showing any cleavage and stopping just above her knees, but it still managed to look like the most seductive dress ever. The way it clung to her figure, accentuating her curves—he was done for. Oh, crap, his thoughts going back to the fact that they were going to meet up with his friends. How the hell are those animals supposed to keep their hands off her if I am having a hard time getting my thoughts under control and I’m a professional? And he also couldn’t hide the tiny little nagging jealousy that others would get to enjoy the beauty that she was.

When they made it to the bar a few blocks down, Declan led Megan to the booth he knew his friends would be in.

“Stop staring,” Declan scolded his friends when he caught the expressions on their faces. He couldn’t blame them. Megan didn’t realize how beautiful she was. Her hair was pinned back, but a couple of loose tendrils had escaped and framed her face. She was wearing very little makeup, and she looked refreshing.

“Megan, this is James, but you can call him ‘Bear’; this is Marshall and Steve,” he introduced as he pointed them out.

“And guys, this lovely lady is Megan. I warned her about you guys, but please don’t prove me right.” He laughed.

“Nice to meet you all,” Megan answered a little shyly as she scooted into the booth beside Declan. He let her have the edge just in case she wasn’t comfortable around his friends yet. She seemed to realize that and gave him a nod of appreciation.

“Why do they call you Bear?” she asked James.

“Isn’t it obvious,” Marshall laughed. “He’s pretty fucking, er, freaking huge.”

That seemed to break the tension because Megan threw her head back and laughed. “You can say fucking,” she said between breaths. “I might have picked up a cursing habit myself over the years. I’ve just been trying to kick it, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t said worse.”

“You? No way,” Steve admonished.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Well, look at you. You look like a sexy librarian.” She did. Steve was right. Declan turned to see Megan blush. “There is no way there are any bad words coming out of your prim and proper mouth.”

“Wanna fucking bet asshole?” She narrowed her eyes, but there was a glint of amusement in them.

Steve brought his hands up in mock surrender. “Damn, that was kind of hot.” Declan had to agree with that. And he felt himself scoot just a bit closer to Megan. It was instinct, he couldn’t help it.

“Then what the hell are you doing with Dec,” James asked. “Not that we mind, of course; you should come with him all the time,” he smirked.

“Declan invited me and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Ah, he finally grew a pair. Good for you.” Marshall clapped him on the back.

“Oh, fuck off. Megan needs to get out more, and I figured if she could survive you assholes, she should survive anyone.”

“Well, I guess that’s true.”

“So, Megan, I have a feeling we’re not going to be watching too much of the game with you here, so you might as well start talking.”

“Huh?” she asked.

“Tell us about yourself. I mean, besides the cussing like a sailor, apparently,” Steve chuckled. Yes, that was something Declan hadn’t even realized that he didn’t know about her. He wondered where she picked it up from and why. And why is she trying to stop cursing? He started to wonder about all the things he didn’t know about Megan. He wanted to learn them all. The little things. What she was like growing up. What her favorite food was. All the cheesy things he could think of. He found himself mesmerized by her words as she told the guys what she did for a living and some random details that he already knew.