“So this place is rad, right?”
I toss her a sideways glance. “Sure. Illegally rad.”
She scoffs. “Oh, you’re not actually gonna make a big deal about that, are you? The guys play here all the time. It’s their money they’re gambling away. So I don’t care.”
I glance over at Jaxon, who’s taken a seat at a table. There’s an empty one beside him I’m assuming has Noah’s name on it. “Yeah, I guess. So we’re just supposed to sit here while they play?”
She gestures toward an empty couch. “And drink. And hang.”
She sounds way more enthusiastic than I feel. But I did agree to come out tonight. So acting like a spoiled brat isn’t doing my friend any favors. She tips her beer to her mouth and sips.
Noah returns, holding out a bottle of something dark and bitter. I accept it with the most genuine smile I can muster. “Thanks. I’ll stay right here and hang out with B while you guys play, okay?”
He leans over and plants a wet kiss on my cheek. At the same time, his palm finds one of my butt cheeks and I let out a squeak. When he squeezes, I try my hardest not to cringe.
It’s pretty difficult. A feat, really.
Bryn watches my face, biting her bottom lip as Noah saunters away.
“You don’t even like him a little bit, do you?” Her voice is bordering on a laugh.
Sighing, I shake my head. “Of course I like him. We’ve all been friends so long I like him by default. But God, don’t you think he’s an ass? Seriously? He just palmed my butt like it was a piece of meat.”
She leans to the side, looking behind me, before straightening again. “I mean, it is a super nice butt.”
I slap her arm, not too hard, busting into a laugh. “Well, I do squats.”
She giggles. “Yeah…you probably work way too hard on that ass. But even if you didn’t? That’s all Moroccan natural beauty right there. You’re barely even wearing makeup right now. And your face is flawless.”
I shrug. “Can’t beat these genes, baby.” I lower my voice, my tone going serious. “I told him we aren’t gonna be a thing, B.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, I bet he took that so well.”
I lift my bottle to my lips, and as I do, a shadowy figure moves into the light a few feet away.
He’s tall. Definitely taller than my five-foot eight, and probably a little taller than Noah’s six feet even. His sandy-colored hair is just a little too long, curling around his ears and brushing the collar of the suit jacket he’s wearing. He’s young, but his attire makes him stand out. He’s professional, but something about his style gives him edge at the same time.
He turns, still surveying the room, and I find myself wondering what he’s doing here. He doesn’t fit the mold of the rest of the guys in the room throwing their parents’ money away. He’s not much older than the clientele in the room, but he looks like he’s lived longer. Broad shoulders fill out the jacket. I can tell that there’s a nice body under that suit.
And then he turns to face us, still taking stock of the room. My lips forms a round “O” around the mouth of the bottle. The bottle that I realize at that moment isn’t even opened.
“Great. Thanks a lot, Noah,” I mutter, pulling the bottle away from my mouth.
The guy’s face is…beautiful.
Not the kind of beautiful you see on guys in magazines. Not perfect and pristine, like Noah’s chiseled features.
No, it’s beautiful in a rough, hewn, imperfect way.
Deep-set green eyes the color of jewels. They’re perfectly clear, too, as they jump from place to place around the room. And there’s this little hump on his otherwise straight nose, like maybe it’s been broken before. His eyebrows are thick, a little darker than the sandy color of his hair.
And his mouth. It’s like it’s made for sin, the way his lips are plump and luscious and perfectly full.
My God.
The skin around his eyes is smooth, like smiling is something he never does.
Like me.
The minute I notice our only likeness in a sea of differences is the moment his gorgeous green eyes lock onto mine.
Lock, and stay locked.
Like, for a minute too long. And I take that minute to forget everything else in the room except for the fact that he’s staring at me.
And then he glances away.
I let out a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding.
“What the hell are you staring at?” Bryan’s words drift toward me like they’re coming from a distance as she leans toward me, trying to see what I’m looking at.
My heart beats faster as I continue to watch the man now moving like a predator to a different corner of the room.
“I think I just saw the devil’s apprentice,” I murmur aloud to Bryn. “And he’s hotter than sin.”
Five
ACE
“Ace.”
When X calls my name, I have to rip my eyes away from the most stunning girl I’ve ever seen.
There’re smokin’ hot girls in here every night the Ring is open. They’re always hanging all over the arm of whatever rich-boy douche brought them in.
But this girl…the air around her practically ripples with all the ways she’s different.
She’s not hanging on any dude. I mean, I’m sure she’s here with someone. But I can’t tell who, because she’s standing with another girl. She just put a beer to her lips, only to discover it isn’t open.
What asshat gave her an unopened beer?
“What?” My tone is irritated when my gaze lands on Xavier.
He nods toward the door. “Everyone’s in for the night. Thought I’d let you know that I’m gonna start making rounds.”
I nod absently. “Good. Let me know if there are any problems. Counts will be here in about half an hour to work in the office.”
He nods, scrutinizing my face. “You good?”
My eyes stray back to the girl who appears, in every single way, to be some kind of dark angel.
I toss my answer over my shoulder as I’m walking away from X. “I’m about to be.”
When I glanced away, she shifted positions. She and her friend are now sitting alone on an empty couch. Her long sheath of raven hair drifts down behind her, matching the dress and the fuck-me-now heels she wears. As I round the couch, I see that her perfectly smooth, almond-colored legs are crossed in front of her, that sexy dress riding high on her thigh.
“Goddamn.” The word slips out under my breath as I lock in on her.
Pulling a bottle opener out of my pocket, I slide into place onto the couch beside her.
She turns to face me just as I gently take the unopened beer from her hands.
Popping the top, I hand it back to her. Without taking my eyes from her startled ones, I lean back against the cushions.
“Looked like you needed an assist.” My voice comes out cockier than I intend it to. The last thing I need is to be lumped into the same category as all the other dudes in here, but I can’t help it. It’s like my tongue isn’t cooperating with my brain.
Her gorgeous, deep-brown eyes narrow. The thickest lashes I’ve ever seen frame them, and I’m stuck there for a minute, staring into her eyes.