“Looking for you,” Sam said, his grin widening further when I glared at him. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your very attractive friend?” He winked at Leigha. My adrenaline was still high from hitting Peter, my body on alert for any threat to my woman. In my head I knew it was just Sam fucking with me. I still couldn’t help the growl in the back of my throat. Before I could stop her, Leigha reached out her hand.
“I’m Leigha Carmichael.”
“Sam Logan.” He took her hand in his and shook it. She winced. Irritation flared inside me. I snatched her hand back and examined it.
“Introductions are over. This is Leigha. Leigha, the silent one is Axel. You met Sam. Now we’re getting ice for your hand.”
Fortunately for my temper, she didn’t protest when I took her uninjured hand and dragged her toward the nearest bar. Yes, I was acting like a Neanderthal. No, I couldn’t help it. I’d let my woman get in a situation where she had to punch a scumbag to protect herself. I was proud of her for fighting back, but she shouldn’t have had to. I should have been on top of it. I didn’t have time to deal with Sam and Axel. They fell into step on either side of us.
“How did she hurt her hand?” Axel asked, taking a sidelong look at Leigha’s hand.
“Punched an asshole,” I said.
“Where were you?” Axel’s brow was raised again, partly in curiosity, mostly in censure. I didn’t need it. I knew I was responsible.
“Following him. Too slowly, it turned out.”
“Dylan, I’m okay,” Leigha interrupted. “Really. I’ve been wanting to punch Peter for months. If you’d shown up earlier, I’d have missed my chance.”
That was my girl, trying to give me what I needed. I had no doubt Leigha had enjoyed hitting that fucker, but she shouldn’t have had to. We reached the bar and claimed a row of high-backed stools.
“A bag of ice for the lady’s hand,” I said to the bartender. He nodded and disappeared into the back.
“So you ditched us for a girl,” Sam said, shaking his head. To Leigha, he said, “What are you doing with this guy? Why don’t you give me a shot and see what I can do for you?”
To my right I saw Axel shake his head. Sam was the funny one of the three of us. I opened my mouth to tell him to shut the fuck up when Leigha spoke, her voice caught in a laugh, light and sweet.
“You might want to rethink that offer. I punched the last guy who tried to get me away from Dylan.”
Sam winced and pretended to duck his head in fear of her fists. Axel smiled and shook his head again. He knew me well enough to hold back the teasing until I’d at least taken care of Leigha’s hand. So did Sam, but he was always willing to test my temper if he thought it was funny.
“Did you leave the guy alive?” Axel asked, only half kidding. I shrugged.
“Yeah. But he’s not going to look too pretty at his wedding.” Leigha giggled.
“Christie is going to be so pissed. Even if his nose isn’t broken, he’ll look awful. He was bleeding everywhere.” At Sam and Axel’s confused look, she said, “Christie is my sister. I’m here for her wedding. Peter is the groom. And Dylan and I met when I was crying into my drink because I didn’t have a date for the wedding. He came to my rescue.”
“I can’t imagine you didn’t have men lined up out the door to take you out,” Sam said, dropping his jokester persona for the smooth charm he used on women. He’d better check that with Leigha. I’d taken him down before. I’d do it again if I had to. Leigha just smiled at him and shook her head.
“I live a quiet life,” she said in explanation. “So, you three are friends? Do you guys work with Dylan?”
“No,” I said, cutting in. “Sam owns Desert Vistas Construction and Axel is the western head of Sinclair Security. I contract with him on occasion.” Leigha looked from Sam to Axel to me.
“Okay. Wow. I know both of those companies. They’re huge. So you’re all billionaires? And you hang out together? You’re like the Alpha Billionaire’s Club. Talk about dates being lined up out the door.” She looked at her feet, trying to hide her smile. “I might faint from the concentration of hotness.”
Even Axel smiled at that. For someone who was shy by nature, Leigha was coming out of her shell. I approved of her growing confidence, even though I hated that she was using it to flirt with my friends. The bartender returned with a plastic bag of crushed ice. I thanked him and took it, pressing it gently to Leigha’s bruised knuckles. I knew my friends. They sensed Leigha wasn’t one of my interchangeable dates and they weren’t going to leave us alone until they got a feel for her. I might as well settle in and make the best of it.