"Because that won't get you murdered or worse," he growled.
I threw up my hands. "What do you want from me?"
"For you to get your head out of your ass."
Gray had never, ever snapped at me like that before. I got enough insults from the rest of the men in my life. I didn't need them from him. "Go away."
"Why, because you know I'm right?"
"No, because I don't care if you are. I'm doing this with or without your help." I shoved at him and this time he moved. So there.
"Fine. But I will be right over there watching every move every man makes on you, and if for one minute I think you're not safe, I'm hauling your ass out of here."
I had a retort about how he couldn't handle an ass as big as mine, but held my tongue. Partly because I knew he could. Much more because I wanted him to.
I contented myself with sticking my tongue out at his back.
"I saw that."
"You did not."
He pointed to the mirror behind the bar and kept walking. I stuck my tongue out at him again. He smiled then narrowed his eyes in the you-better-behave look.
What, or he'd spank me?
Umm, probably. Wasn't that a fun-filled thought?
Gray took up position standing in the opposite corner of the bar where he had a line of sight on everyone, including me. The scowl on his face had him on the verge of turning into Jekyll. He was cranky about my little revenge plan. He'd get over it. He couldn't stay mad at me.
Okay, back to work finding the man of my naughty dreams. A group of guys wearing jeans and frat-lettered sweatshirts pushed in through the door. Even I knew better than that.
Up next was the best prospect of the night. The perfect good-girl rebellion, all leather and tattoos. I bet he had a motorcycle.
Let's see if Gray liked my choice. I jerked my chin in Son-of-Anarchy's direction and raised both eyebrows silently asking for a go ahead.
Gray rolled his eyes and shook his head. He took a long swig of beer and leaned against the wall. For being on high alert, you'd never know he was more than another guy in a bar cruising the room for chicks. I'd rarely seen him with a woman, much to my childish, hard-core crushing delight. Now I knew it was because his kind of dates happened in the dark corner of a BDSM club.
Wouldn't doing dark and dirty acts in a place like The Asylum be just as good of a revenge on stupid Marc as a skeezy one-night stand from a low-class bar?
I pushed the beer away and stood. Screw this place. I was going to The Asylum. With Gray.
CHAPTER THREE
Ménage Me
Three steps across the room and I stopped short. Hold the phone then hang it up. Two well-dressed, well-groomed, well-well-well-aren't-you-the-hottest-thing-around guys pushed through the front door, lifting the Zagat rating of the bar by two stars just with their presence.
Hmm. Sex club with my five-year crush or a threesome with two cute anonymous dudes? My heart said Gray, my mind said what the hell are you thinking, you aren't ready for any sort of BDSM or sexy times with a man like that.
Right. You can't always get what you wah-unt.
Plan B would have to wait. I had a ménage to attend to.
The guys made their way through the crowd toward the pool table. I followed their progress, planning my opening pick-up line in my head. Something along the lines of "Wanna fuck?" ought to do it.
The taller black-haired man glanced around the bar and pointed to a table being vacated by a bunch of co-eds. The two veered around the crowd eyeballing every one of the girls. His tan friend navigated the way through the throngs of Friday night partiers and I distinctly saw him grab one chick's ass.
They were definitely on the prowl.
I ordered a couple of Gray's whiskey shooter-beer combos and had them sent to my new targets. Maybe that would earn me some points. Surely my offer of no-strings sex would be appreciated, but which one would go for me?
The waitress delivered the order and pointed in my direction. I raised my glass and my brow, asking to join their table. They looked at each other, used their wingman mental telepathy communication skills, and then the shorter dark one waved me over.
Yeah, that's right. Bitch got her some boys.
I grabbed my drink from the bar, slid off the stool, making sure to let my skirt ride up for any interested onlookers and made my way over to their table.
"Hello, boys. Care to help a girl find some entertainment for the night?" Might as well get right to the point.
Tanned hottie leaned forward, cupped his chin into his hand, and studied me. I thought I saw a twinkle of interest in his eyes. I would actually prefer the bigger of the two. The one studying me probably wore smaller sized pants than I did.
The other leaned back, spread his arms across the chairs, and looked me up and down. He was brooding compared to the boyish summer light sitting beside him. They were equally qualified to be underwear models, but in contrast to each other. Yin and Yang.
"What kind of entertainment you looking for, doll?" A hint of an Irish brogue made him even sexier.
I looked from one to the other, tipped my head to the side, and licked my bottom lip. Obvious? Yes.
Fake it till ya make it, right? Being shy, quiet, and complacent hadn't gotten me anywhere except lonely and alone. I liked trying on this new persona of the bad girl. Maybe I would get everything I was looking for tonight.
"Have a seat..." He raised a questioning eyebrow.
I glanced to where Gray had been standing and didn't see him. Well I was a big girl. I didn't need his approval.
"Angelina," I filled in.
"I'm Hawk and this is Ian." My soon to be Black Irish lover pulled a chair out with his foot and offered his hand. How very gallant. I took it, absorbing the heat of his skin into my cold fingers. His touch sent a warmth through my whole body that ended right between my legs. I could imagine all kinds of fun in the sheets with this man over me. He was perfect for the evening's intrigues.
"Hi. You guys come here often?" Oh, yeah. Real smooth.
Ian leaned forward and looked me up and down, his eyes pausing for more than a two count at my boobs. "You are one hot little Latin lover, darlin'. We haven't seen you here before. I would have noticed all of that."
Whoa. It was slightly disconcerting to have those fiery blue eyes focused on me like that. These guys were not the distant, proper gentleman from the country club, that was for sure. Neither was being shy about showing his interest in me.
That was a new one, and it gave me the boost of confidence I needed to keep faking it.
I didn't know if the warmth building inside was the alcohol or arousal, but I knew I wanted more of it.
The shots I'd bought for them were still sitting on the table. I snagged one and drank it down in one quick gulp. "You boys wanna flip a coin to see who gets to take me home tonight?"
Ha. Had that actually come out of my mouth? I don't know who had taken over my body and brain, but I liked her.
Hawk grabbed the other shot and brought it to his lips. "Why do we have to flip for you when we could just share?" he asked and then swallowed the whiskey.
What? Share? Like both of them...together? Something flip-flopped behind my breasts.
"Hey, Angel. Who are your new friends?" Gray set a bottle of water in front of me, swung a chair around to the table, plopped down into it, and slung his arm around my shoulders.
No no no no no no no. "Go away," I whispered between my teeth and smiled at Hawk and Ian.
"Hey, man, we didn't know she was here with someone." Hawk raised his hands and sat back in his chair. Ian pushed away from the table.
"She is." His grip on my shoulder tightened. "But that doesn't mean she can't have some fun."
The two men glanced at each other. I was losing them and it was all Gray's fault. I pushed away from him and out from under his arm.
Ian shook his head. "If you two are doing some sort of break-up game, we do not want to get in the middle of that."
I laughed, awkwardly. "No, no. It's nothing like that. I swear."
What was I supposed to say, though? That I was slumming it in a dank and dirty bar looking for a revenge sex one-night stand and this was my bodyguard who I wished was actually my lover and...damn it. If Gray screwed this up for me, I swear I was going to fire his ass.
"What's it like then?" Ian asked.
Gray grabbed the beer in front of me and took a swig. He was acting so casual, like there wasn't a volatile fire sparking right in front of him. He rubbed my arm, petting me. "Angel here wants to sow her wild oats."
Hawk frowned and narrowed his eyes. "And you're just going to let her?"