“Yours is . . .” I curled one finger at him, and he inched forward. I leaned over the bar. “Angel’s tit.” I breathed into his ear and then licked his lobe.
Blake froze, his head still turned to the side as he processed. He grabbed the glass zealously and downed its contents in one shot before licking the brim. “I’ll take a pair of those, please.” He slammed the empty glass in front of me.
“The pleasure would be mine.”
He winked. “Count on it.”
“Oh, I will.” I turned, purposefully swaying my hips as I went to make him a second drink.
I smiled, adding a cherry to Blake’s glass when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I extracted it and saw an incoming text with my sister’s name displayed across the screen.
Abby: Look up.
My face screwed in confusion. I lifted my line of sight to the other side of the bar, directly in front of me.
“Surprise!”
My mouth fell open as I looked into eyes the same shade of green as mine. “Holy shit, Abs. What’re you doing here?” My heart bounced all over my chest, and my belly freefell to my knees. My eyes darted around, taking inventory of who she was with.
“I got tired of waiting for you to come visit me, and I wanted to check up on you. Plus, these guys wanted a girls’ night.” She thumbed toward a group of friends.
A girls’ night. I scanned their familiar faces, my pulse slowing.
“Rick, cover for me a minute,” I shouted as I ran out from behind the bar. I wrapped my arms around Abby’s neck, then turned to her friends with a huge smile on my face. “Hi, guys! I haven’t seen you in so long.” I kissed each of them, and then laced my fingers with my sister’s. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.” I wanted to take full advantage of finally having Abby to myself without Damon. I missed her something fierce.
Blake’s gaze followed me around to his side of the bar. Recognition showed on his face. He must have put the resemblance together.
“Abs, this is Blake. My boyfriend. Blake, this is my sister, Abby.”
“Hot damn, girl. You can pick ’em.” Abby offered Blake a toothy smile and stuck out her hand.
“What’s with the hand? Give me a hug. We’re practically family.” Blake pulled her in for a tight squeeze.
“And this gentleman here is Eric. But don’t get too close. He bites.” I nudged his shoulder.
“Very funny.” Eric stood to his full six-foot height and took my sister’s hand, staring into her eyes. “Nice to meet you, Abby.”
Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked away, her cheeks growing flush.
“Told you.” I smirked.
Abby withdrew her hand and fiddled with the buttons on her chest. “Nice to meet you, too.” Then she remembered her friends. “Um, this is Barbie, Jena, and Kelly. Ladies, meet Blake and Eric.”
She looked down to the floor as they shook hands. I’d never seen Abby so flustered. She was always so controlled and put together. And she’d never once had eyes for anyone but Damon. Maybe there was trouble in paradise?
One could only hope.
“I have to get back to work. What’re you girls drinking?”
“Long Island Iced Teas.”
“Oh, that sounds delish. I’ll take one, too. Gimme some sugar.” Jace came up and wrapped his arm around Abby’s neck.
“Jace!” she squealed.
“So he is alive.” I scowled at him.
“Hush it. I’ve been getting my freak on.” He looked at Blake and waggled his finger in a zig-zag motion. “And so have you, I might add.”
“Touché. Gimme a kiss. Some of us have to work.”
Jace leaned forward, dangling one calf behind him as he planted one on my lips. He turned to Blake. “Not a word. I’m allowed to do that.”
Blake put his hands up defensively. “I wasn’t going to say anything. Don’t get catty now.”
Jace smiled. “Good boy.” He turned his sights on Eric. “And you. You ready to play with the big boys yet? I won’t wait around forever, ya know.”
Eric scoffed. “Psshh . . . I know I couldn’t handle you. You’re too much man for me.”
So his flirting really did know no boundaries.
“Honey, you have no idea what you’re missing. You’d love a ride on this disco stick.” Jace pulsed his hips and turned dramatically, throwing a hand in the air. He palmed a stool and wrapped his legs around it, staring at Eric with his eyebrow raised and his tongue propped on the side of his mouth.
I nearly spit out my drink. “Okay, calm down, killer. There are no poles in this bar.”
“Too bad.” Jace fingered the straw in the glass I’d set in front of him, took a long hard pull, and then let out a shiver. “Whew. God, I love your heavy hand.” We blew air kisses at each other.
Jace patted the stool next to him. “Abby, get your ass over here. We need to catch up. You bitches, too. It’s been too long.” He waved her friends over.
Abby, it seemed, still hadn’t recovered from her encounter with Mr. Smooth. She nearly tripped, pulling her gaze from the side of Eric’s head as she took the seat beside Jace.
“Pretty, isn’t he?” Jace winked at Eric, who was caught staring at Abby.