Reno ignored him. “April didn’t have a fair shot to explain her situation to Lexi. She should get that chance—then let your woman decide how she wants it to play out.”
Austin curled in his bottom lip while scratching his chin. “Yeah, I’ll agree to that. Lexi’s been carrying around an attitude and it’s killing my action.”
Denver barked out a laugh. “The bubonic plague couldn’t kill your action.” He tapped his bare feet on the floor when all the men turned to glare at him.
“A horny plague couldn’t help yours,” Jericho said, taking a long drag of his smoke.
“Shut it, dickhead,” Denver snapped. “I get enough action.”
“Not much action going on at the library,” Jericho said matter-of-factly. “I’ve seen you go after those good girls, but you know what? They go for guys like me. Quit holding out for Miss Perfect.” He smashed out his cigarette and rose from the stool. “Good girls always have a dark secret. That secret is going to chew you up and spit you out once they realize they can do a lot better than you.”
Denver rolled his eyes as Jericho headed out of the room. Jericho might have been the ladies’ man of the house, but he was the least likely of all the men to settle down. Aside from Wheeler, but that was a given. Denver talked a lot of game, but saw little action from what the guys noticed. His standards were too high, as if he were always looking for faults and no woman was good enough.
That’s why when Denver hit on April during the party, Reno had felt his wolf trying to come out. April was a good girl and that was an attractive quality to Denver, even though he didn’t go out with humans.
Reno thought about the trust she had given him in the bedroom the night before. She needed to get past some of the bullshit that had happened in her past. He’d lived a long life and figured out some hard lessons on his own, but April had shown him that it was okay to give up some of that control. He’d never had a woman who understood him or sought to please him in the way he needed in order to move past his own issues. After she fell asleep in his arms, he’d decided they weren’t using belts or ropes in the bedroom anymore. That was a one-time deal. Maybe kinky worked for some women, but for Reno, it had always been less of a game and more of a necessity. Next time he was going to be real sweet to April. A woman like her deserved more than the bondage and submission he had required of all his past lovers. She inspired him to be something he’d never been before.
Romantic.
Wheeler grabbed his wallet off the bar. “I’m heading out to the mall. I have to meet someone.”
“Next time you see my girl, you treat her with respect,” Reno said.
Wheeler shot him the middle finger as he walked out the door.
***
When Trevor picked me up from the mall, I didn’t say boo about running into Wheeler and the drama that ensued. Naya slapping Wheeler and then delivering a smoldering kiss that left his knees shaking? It was the most incredible moment I’d ever witnessed.
Aside from Reno turning into a wolf.
Before going home, Trevor took me to a double feature at a movie theater across town. Afterward, we swung by a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered the cheese enchiladas, and Trevor chowed down on tacos, chimichangas, flautas, and I don’t know what else. Our table transformed into a buffet and we shared food and a pitcher of cold beer. He was surprised to see me eating because I’d always had a fear of people spitting in my food. But because Trevor was super flirty with the waitress, I didn’t think we’d have to worry about that. He knew it was one of my quirky little hang-ups but had once told me that it’s what made me adorable. Nobody could have asked for a better friend than Trevor.
We made up for lost time and he told me a few jokes that had me in stitches. One girl flirted with him shamelessly from a nearby table, and Trevor was just as shameless flirting back. He loved attention and didn’t care who it came from. But he still played for one team, and it was interesting to see how no one could figure it out.
On the way home, we could barely buckle our seatbelts. “Babe, you can really put it away. I don’t think I’ve met another girl who can eat an entire serving of nachos before the meal arrives and then have room for dessert at the end,” he said as the car zoomed around a corner.
“Thank God you had coupons for dinner or I would have been embarrassed to pay that bill, as much as we ate.”
His contagious laugh filled the small space, and he flipped on the radio. “That was the most fun I’ve had in an eternity. We should call up some old acquaintances and get together one night. Maybe hang out at Lucky’s Bar or have a barbecue at the lake.”