“Yeah, the line is almost all the way around the building,” Emerson said. “I feel bad, though. Bash asked me to help him pick some good potentials.”
“Ha! Bash isn’t picking anyone but you tonight. Look at him.” Willa jerked her chin toward the bar.
Sure enough, Bash’s eyes were on Emerson. She answered his smile with one of her own and pointed to the hallway with the restroom sign over it.
Yes, he mouthed with a nod.
“Go get your man!” Willa whooped with a sound smack on Emerson’s ass.
“Anyone need another drink?” Emerson asked, happy to be talking with actual people instead of pretend friends.
“Tell Layla and Kong we’ll take another round when they get the chance. We’d sure appreciate it,” the dark-haired alpha of the Gray Backs said as he hugged his mate, Gia, tighter on his lap.
“Sure. I’ll be back!”
It wasn’t so crowded here near the stage, but the closer she got to the bar, the more congested it was with women desperate to get their two minutes with Bash.
When she reached the end of the bar top, Layla set another shot in front of her and winked. “For the chosen one.”
“Thank you!” Emerson called over the country song the Beck Brothers were playing. “The Gray Backs are ready for another round when you get a minute.”
“Yep, I’ll get on it. Thanks, girl.”
“Emerson,” she introduced herself, offering her hand for a shake.
“Layla. That big gorilla over there is Kong.”
“Your mate?”
“That’s right!” She wiped down the bar with a quick swipe of a damp rag and gave Emerson a little wave before she went back to work.
The third shot of the night downed, she hissed at the burn in her throat and made her way carefully through the crowd to the hallway just as Bash announced, “I have to take a leak!”
She giggled at the funny way he said things. Damn, she really liked him, and now he was shunning all those pretty ladies to come spend a stolen moment with her in the hallway. Or at least she’d thought that was the plan until Bash came charging at her from the bar and ushered her into an office. He shut the door behind him and locked it, then pressed his forehead against the door and sighed. “This was a bad idea. How early do you think I can get out of this?”
“Bash! You’re supposed to be looking for your happily ever after.” Why was she encouraging this? She got green with jealousy every time she saw a woman paw at him.
He turned and crossed his arms, leaned back on the door. “My happily ever after don’t feel like it’s in that bar.”
“You’re the one who wants a mate,” she murmured, pressing her shoulder blades against the wall next to him.
“But you don’t.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I did before. I really, really wanted a partner, but it didn’t work out the way I planned. Some people don’t find their other half.”
“You ain’t dead, woman.”
“Bash…I have to tell you something.”
A knock sounded on the door, and a woman said in a whiney voice, “Baaaaaash. Come out and play.”
Bash threw the door a dirty look and then pulled Emerson between his splayed legs so close to him she could feel his warmth soaking into her skin.
“You look hot as fuck. And I know I shouldn’t say that stuff because Audrey says real ladies don’t like being talked to like that, but it’s the truth. I like your dress.” He fingered the tiny gold medallion necklace with her initials engraved on it—a gift from her sister for her last birthday. His finger brushed her skin, right above her breasts, and his eyes were locked on her collar bones. Bash’s intense attention dumped warmth between her legs.
“I like that compliment,” she admitted breathily. “I think you look hot as fuck, too.”
His gaze lifted to hers, and for a few moments, they stayed just like that, searching each other’s eyes, locked in that moment right before something big happens to change the foundation of a relationship.
He looked at her lips and leaned forward slowly, giving her plenty time to bolt. And with anyone else, she would have, but this was Bash. The man she’d had a crush on from afar for a long time, the man who she’d fallen head over heels for at the diner, the man who’d won her heart completely with his thoughtful barbecue present.
“Bash!” the woman yelled, banging on the door.
When Bash growled, Emerson couldn’t help herself. She lifted up on the balls of her feet and pressed her lips against his. He inhaled deeply and pulled her hand against his heart, pounding like a drum. When her palm was secure on his hard pec, he brushed his fingertips across her cheek, pushing her curls back. He angled his head the other way and straightened up, walked her backward as he gripped the back of her neck.