Well Built (Book Boyfriend #3)(45)

"Whoa! Jesus, you look like the fucking Hulk, and you need to calm down," Nolan said, clearly trying to be the voice of reason. "Don't go charging down there like a bull in a china shop."

Kyle raised an irritable brow at his friend. "Tell me you wouldn't feel the same way if it was Claire greeting an ex so enthusiastically."

"Okay, point taken," Nolan said, backing off slightly. "Tucker isn't a bad guy, so don't do something stupid you'll regret later, like planting your fist against his jaw."

Kyle wasn't going to hurt the guy, but he was going to stake a goddamn claim on what was his and make sure that Tucker knew it. "You go and take care of Claire while I go and . . . diffuse the situation with Tucker. Swear to God, I won't touch him."

"Fine," Nolan said, and they both headed toward the stairs.

When they reached the first floor, Nolan veered to the right, where Claire had gone, and Kyle strode directly to the far end of the bar, where Tucker and Ella were talking. Tucker was smiling at her in a way that made Kyle's blood run hot in his veins and told him that the other man might not be over the woman he'd been engaged to marry. From what he recalled, Ella had been the one to end things, not Tucker.

As he'd promised Nolan, Kyle cooled his jets as he came up beside Ella, surprising the two of them with his sudden appearance, which he took full advantage of. Ella was staring at him with big, where-the-hell-did-you-come-from eyes, but before she could say anything, Kyle stuck his hand out for the other man to shake.

See, he could totally be courteous and amicable. "Hey, Tucker," Kyle said in an easygoing voice that belied the instinct to beat on his chest like a caveman before flipping Ella over his shoulder and whisking her away. "Good to see you."

"Uhh, you, too, Kyle." Tucker winced slightly at the crushing strength of Kyle's fingers wrapped around his hand and visibly relaxed when they finally let go. "It's been a long time. I heard you bought the old Piedmont building."

"Sure did." The last thing Kyle wanted to do was make small talk with the other man, even if they had grown up together and attended the same high school. "If you don't mind, I'm going to steal Ella away for a dance."

Ella sputtered a reply-or a protest, it was difficult to tell which-and even when Kyle grasped her elbow to lead her into the fray, he could feel her resistance. There were so many people dancing that they were pushed close together, and he took advantage of the situation to secure an arm around her waist and align their bodies from stomach to thighs.

Ella's eyes flashed with indignation, and fuck if her red-hot attitude didn't make him hard. Her face was flushed, a light sheen of perspiration dotted her skin, and her gorgeous breasts heaved above the low-cut, formfitting top she was wearing that showed off way too much cleavage to the male population.

"What the hell was that?" Ella shouted to be heard while pushing against his shoulders with the flat of her hand to separate them, to no avail. "And what are you doing here?"

Because of the loud music, he dipped his head close to her ear as he slid his free hand into the thick, silky hair she'd left unbound for the night, wrapping it around his fist just because he could. "Apparently, I'm saving you from your ex."

She jerked her head back, but not very far considering his fingers had a firm grip on her hair. But enough that she could look up at him and he could see the fire in her gaze. "Don't be a dick," she said, taunting him with the insult that Wes had used to call him out on his behavior toward her today. "Regardless of what happened between Tucker and me, he's still a friend. Not that it's any of your business!"



       
         
       
        

That fucking word grated on his nerves like nails screeching down a chalkboard. "You sure do collect a lot of friends," he drawled in an insolent tone, even as he realized that this conversation was no longer about Tucker and all about the two of them. "And the problem is, as you already know, I don't want to be your fucking friend." He emphasized the point by sliding his hand possessively over the curve of her butt in those tight black jeans she was wearing so he could grind the hard length of his cock against her mound.

She squirmed in his hold and bucked her hips against his to try and break free, but between his strength and the help of the people around them inadvertently pushing him and Ella together, she wasn't going anywhere until he decided she was.

Her chin tipped up obstinately, and she gave him a devious smile that was a little too smug for his liking. "Is that why you had a stick up your ass this afternoon when I came next door to say hi?"