“Impressive,” I added.
Will smiled at me. “I’m glad you think so. Guys, Jason Avery and Aylee McFadden are going to join us tonight. Surely, there are no objections?”
Chazz held out a chair for me and Jason nudged me toward it, even though I could feel his hand tense on my lower back. I nodded at Chazz with a small smile. “Thank you.”
He took the seat beside mine. “My pleasure. We don’t get many women who play.”
Will sat down across the table and snorted. “I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.”
Jason’s lip tilted up in a smirk. “That she does.” Then he turned to Will. “We going to play with seven?”
Will nodded. “Drake couldn’t make it tonight, but he’ll be at the party tomorrow. Would you like to join us? I’m sure my wife would love to see the lovely Aylee again. All she could talk about was how gorgeous and sweet she was,” he explained, smiling at me.
Jason put his hand on my thigh and squeezed. “Then we’d love to come. I’m sure Aylee can deal with me for one more night?”
I batted my eyes. “I think I can handle it.”
Will’s eyes brightened. “Great, then it’s settled. Make sure you don’t spend all your money tonight. You’ll need it tomorrow.”
By the end of the night, Jason was on edge. The tension was so thick I could cut it with a knife. Honestly, I liked knowing he was protective of me. He wanted to beat the fuck out of Chazz Davies and a part of me wanted to see it. I could still feel the way he pressed against me earlier. My body wanted more, but I had to convince my mind.
“Jason, you okay?” I asked.
He opened the door to our suite and held it for me, before storming inside. He threw his jacket on the couch and huffed. “I’m fine, just a little pissed off.” I caught his gaze in the window as he looked out at the city lights. “I know you’re not mine and I know you’re a strong woman, but when the others looked at you tonight, I wanted to tell them to back the fuck up. I want to protect you from them.”
The air left my lungs and I froze. His words touched me in places I never thought I’d have feeling in again. “I could tell,” I whispered. My heart raced in my chest, especially when I got the courage to touch his shoulder, to make that contact. I wanted to hear more. “Is that the only reason why you’ve been in a mood? Are you mad because you lost a round?”
He scoffed. “No, that’s not a big deal. I can’t always win.”
“Then what is it? We’re finally in the game we’ve been waiting on. Granted, we haven’t met Drake yet, but this is a huge step for the case. The party tomorrow will be the perfect chance to get a feel for what they’re really like.”
Sighing, he turned to face me. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I didn’t like the way Davies looked at you. Just do me a favor and stay away from him tomorrow.”
“That’s what you’re mad about? Really?”
Jaw clenched, he stood there, eyes blazing. “It was a stupid idea having you pretend to be a whore. Now those fuckers won’t respect you.”
“I don’t think they’d respect me either way. They’re douchebags. I could tell before they even opened their mouths. You knew this was going to happen.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think . . .” he stopped, averting his gaze.
“Didn’t think what?”
He stared up at me and all I could do was stare back. A woman could get lost in his eyes; they were so green. “I didn’t think I’d feel this protective of you.”
“Why do you? You don’t even know me.”
He brushed the hair off my face and stepped closer. “No, but I’m beginning to. And the thought of someone touching you or hurting you drives me goddamned insane. I wanted to break Davies’ hand tonight.”
I smiled and then bit my lip. “I wanted to break his hands too. I don’t like being touched by strangers.”