“A woman after my heart.”
“Are you testing me right now, Jackson? Because you really don’t want to choose her as a pawn in this game.”
“Oh, calm down, Devlin. We’re just fucking with you.”
“You should know by now I don’t let anyone fuck with me without leaving them doubly fucked over.” Devlin pushed the seat of my underwear aside and slid a thick finger between my wet lips. I practically jumped out of my seat. Pleasure raced from my core, tightened my nipples, and shortened my breaths.
“No lesson necessary. I think I’ve learned more than enough from you and your father over the years.”
Devlin’s fingers stilled, and I was thankful for the reprieve and the tablecloth keeping Devlin’s indecent show of ownership private.
“The next time you bring him up—”
Jackson held a hand up in defeat. “Okay, okay, I get it.”
I used Devlin’s distraction to shove his hand away, pushed my dress back down, then quickly rose from my seat and walked away. The bar seemed like a safe place to simmer for a while before things between Devlin and me got out of hand, and yes, I felt a huge argument coming on.
Halfway across the floor, Devlin caught my arm and spun me around.
“How dare you!” I didn’t mean to be so loud, but I was seething.
He looked around as a few people cast us a glance with my outburst. Devlin pulled me off to an empty corner of the room.
“How dare I? I wasn’t the one offering a man old enough to be your father a chance to fuck you.”
“I find it wildly inappropriate and a little amusing that you felt the need to prove you own that part of me when Jessica was practically sitting in your lap all night.”
“She wasn’t.” He closed his arms around me, trapping me against his body. “For the record, I own every part of you.”
“Fuck off, Devlin.” I shoved against his chest and he growled, but loosened his hold slightly. “We never said we were exclusive, so I have every right to explore my options.”
He grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away. “You don’t want to play this game.”
“It isn’t a game. There are consequences to every action, and I don’t like being the only one hurt in the fallout.”
He shook his head as I shrugged away from his hold. My feelings for Devlin were dangerous. I’d been too lost in the magic of it all to see every secret he kept could potentially tear me apart. I didn’t know exactly what role Jessica played in his life, but I was positive it was an intimate one.
I went straight for the bar. It wasn’t the wisest of choices. Drinking wouldn’t take away my annoyance. It would just make me verbal about it. It didn’t matter, because I planned to avoid Devlin until we got into the car, and then…
Well, then the battle would ensue.
Chapter Eleven
Juliana
“Take it easy, killer.” Jackson’s figure stepped into my peripheral vision, but I didn’t even glance at him as I slammed the shot glass onto the bar top. I motioned for another, and the bartender looked at Jackson questioningly.
“We’re not together. He has no say in what I drink.” Devlin didn’t even have a say in what I drank, who I flirted with, and apparently, I didn’t have a say in who he flirted with. I was tired of the male dominant bullshit for tonight. It worked in the bedroom, but tonight it just pissed me off.
Jackson threw his hands up to signal he wasn’t trying to control what I drank. Another shot glass was placed in front of me. I picked it up and swirled it.
“So is Mr. Ward responsible for the bender you’re on?”
“No.” Hearing his name prompted me to put the glass to my lips and drain it quickly.
“Are you sure?” He leaned on the bar and gave me an all knowing look.
I gave him a look that told him he wasn’t getting an answer to that question, so he could stop fishing.
“Fine, but before you collapse in a drunken stupor, can I at least request one dance?”
I shook my head, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Come on, jealousy is a better form of revenge than alcohol poisoning.”
Maybe he had a point. I glanced over at our table and found Devlin watching us while having a heated discussion with Jessica.
“All right, let’s dance.”
It turned into three dances, and by the time he led me back to the table, I was considerably calmer. Devlin was missing, but Jessica watched me, waiting for an opportunity to make her move.
I nursed the small glass of champagne, pretending to not feel her gaze on me. The moment Jackson stepped away from the table to speak with someone, she scooted over a seat.