“Hey, I happen to think those are both admirable qualities.”
“Having a death wish is admirable?” he asked skeptically as we walked through a crowd of women toward the patio doors. Several sets of eyes followed us as we did. I did my best not to make direct contact.
“Okay, maybe not. But there’s a certain amount of bravery—”
“No,” he denied, cutting me off. “You can’t save this one.”
Fair enough.
I chuckled and tipped my head in defeat.
“Surprise!” the crowd shouted as we walked out the doors, and I didn’t waste the opportunity.
“Oh, my God,” I squealed with a hand to my chest. “You guys shouldn’t have!”
Plus, I knew Kline didn’t really like the attention anyway.
“Thatcher Kelly!” Cassie chastised, waving her arm in a reprimand. Her tits bounced with her gesture. I waggled my eyebrows and made my advance while Kline rushed his wife and scooped her into his arms. He didn’t make any other effort to address the crowd, and I wasn’t surprised. It just wasn’t his thing—especially not when Georgia was in the room; he only had eyes for her.
“Hey there, honey,” I sweet-talked as I pulled Cass into my arms and tightened my hold. Her chest pushed deliciously against the bottom of mine, and her hands shot up to grab me by my belt. The tips of her fingers snuck under my shirt and grazed skin. I held back a shiver.
“Why do I spend most of my time plotting ways to kill you when we’re apart, and then hug you when I see you?”
Hopefully because you’re falling in love with me.
“My good looks and charm?” I joked.
She didn’t answer, though, her eyes holding mine contemplatively until someone knocked into her from behind. We both swayed from the force, but I at least kept her from hitting the ground. She stepped away from me and our bubble after she gathered herself. I kept a hand at her elbow until I knew she was safely balanced back on her sickeningly hot heels.
Goddamn, her legs go on forever.
“Whoops, sorry,” the clumsy woman apologized, putting a flirty hand to my arm and smiling.
I excused her politely but kept my face neutral. Cassie’s eyes, however, became significantly smaller.
“I’m Jennifer,” the intruder offered.
I stuck out my hand in an effort not to be rude. “Thatch.”
“Oh, wow. That’s a fantastic name.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing when Cassie’s face took on the lethal edge of an assassin.
“It really is a great name, honey,” Cassie emphasized before reaching around and brazenly giving my cock a squeeze. “He’s got a monster—”
“Cass!” I shouted, startled.
“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.
Tucking her back snug to my chest, I put my hand over her mouth.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer. My girlfriend and I both think so.”
“Where’s Phil?” Cassie asked with a smirk as Jennifer mouthed a horrified “O-kay” and walked away.
“At home with the sitter.”
“You left him with someone I’ve never met? Who is this person?”
I walked toward one of the beer coolers Georgia had arranged for the bar staff to set up. Longnecks stood out of a bath of sloppy, semimelted ice, so I plucked one out with two fingers and gave it a gentle shake to shed some of the water. The cap gave way to my twist easily, landing right in the center of the garbage can as I tipped the bottle to my lips and took a swig before answering.
“Yep. I’m paying someone to watch my pig, thanks to you. And it’s a sweet lady in the building next door.”
She raised her hands palms out in front of her. “Phil is so much more than a pig.”
“You’re right. He’s a manifestation of you trying to win our little game.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied, getting up in my space once again.
I opened my arms to accommodate her, leaned back against the wall, and pulled her between my legs. “Bullshit.”
“Hey, guys,” Wes said as he approached us, easy smile lighting up his green-hazel eyes. He was always running fifteen minutes behind schedule. Luckily, he’d somehow managed to make himself important enough that people waited for him.
I half expected Cassie to move away, go talk to Georgia or one of her other friends, but instead, she turned her back to my chest, pushed her ass to my crotch, and settled into me the way I was on the wall.
She pulled out her phone and glanced at it as she waved at Wes, but his eyes never left mine. And they were mighty fucking amused.
“Hey, Cass, did Thatch tell you—” Wes started, and I waved a wild arm frantically to head him off. I shook my head to emphasize the point just as her eyes left her phone and met Wes’s.
A Wes who had paused midsentence because I’d activated the bat signal.