Nobody was allowed to fuck with Andie. Nobody.
I knew exactly how fast Josh’s temper would turn on me if I ever defied that inviolable commandment. Every time I’d made an only sort of joking comment about asking Andie out—or so much as hinted that my interest might lie in that direction—Josh’s eyes had gone hard and cold, reminding me I’d find no forgiveness if I ever crossed the line.
Which I never planned to do.
Josh and Andie were the two best friends I had. They meant more to me than some of my blood family did. If I ever acted on my baser urges with Andie, I’d lose Josh’s friendship and probably Andie’s too.
Josh didn’t think I was good enough for her, and he was right. If I’d been her brother, I wouldn’t have wanted a guy like me dating her either. I didn’t trust myself not to hurt her, and if I ever hurt either of them, I’d never forgive myself.
That was why she remained my one unbroken rule. The one line I’d never dared to cross and never would.
But I couldn’t stop torturing myself. I couldn’t stay away from her. Couldn’t stop thinking about her and craving her attention. Couldn’t resist imagining how it’d feel to tangle my fingers in her sleek, brown ponytail and tug her head back for a kiss. Couldn’t help the ache I felt every time I laid eyes on her.
Dancing was the closest I ever got to be to her. The one way I could enjoy touching her without ruining everything. I loved it, even though it nearly killed me every time. The feel of her hand in mine. The warmth of her body, so goddamn close. Her strong thighs and generous hips brushing against me. The smell of her skin when it started to heat up—which wasn’t a smell I should have known by heart, but thanks to years of dancing together, I did.
But the thing I loved most about it was the way she followed my lead, not just unquestioningly, but so reflexively it was like we were one person instead of two. Like she was an extension of my body, and I was an extension of hers.
It wasn’t anything I’d experienced with anyone else. And let me tell you how badly I wanted to find out if that connection between us extended to the bedroom.
But that wasn’t something I’d ever get to do, so I danced with her instead.
Dancing was also the only time that girl ever did what I wanted without giving me shit or mouthing off. She was the kind of woman who could start an argument in an empty house. Not that I didn’t love bantering with her, because I fucking did. I got off on it big time when she smarted off at me, which probably said something twisted as hell about my psychological profile. But I didn’t care, as long as she kept looking at me with that fire in her chestnut eyes.
I was a glutton for punishment. I always had been. Always doing shit I knew would get me in trouble. Maybe sometimes doing it because it would get me in trouble.
Yeah, there was definitely more than one kink in that psych profile of mine.
So I couldn’t just leave Andie alone altogether. I had to see her. I had to keep her in my life. I had to dance with her.
I had to push myself to the very edge of my self-control again and again.
And then I had to walk away, every time.
After one dance, I led Brianna back to the bar for more shots and more beers. I needed to be a lot drunker than I was. Fast.
By that point, Andie and the arm-toucher had moved to a table not too far away, and the arm-toucher’s wingman had peeled off. I positioned myself so Andie was in my line of sight, just over Brianna’s shoulder.
That whole glutton-for-punishment thing was a powerful compulsion.
Brianna was talking about hair again, and she reached up with both hands to comb her fingers through mine as she described how she’d cut it if I let her. My eyes flicked involuntarily to Andie, and I caught her watching as Brianna fondled my head. Our gazes locked for a second, and she wrinkled her nose at me before turning back to her tourist friend.
“How about another round of shots?” I said to Brianna. Untangling her fingers from my hair, I headed to the bar again.
“You might want to pace yourself,” Mariana said, raising an eyebrow when I ordered another round of shots and chasers for me and Brianna, plus an extra shot for me to drink on the spot.
“This is me pacing myself,” I replied with a wink, and she laughed, shaking her head as she set out three shot glasses.
By the time I got back to Brianna, Andie’s city boy was leaning in close, his hand on her shoulder as he spoke into her ear. I shoved Brianna’s shot at her as I downed mine, trying to quench the burn in the back of my throat.
The alcohol was finally starting to do its work. Some of the hard edges in my brain were getting softer. My limbs felt looser, and the spiked band around my chest—the one that always tightened when Andie was near—had eased up some.
My stomach only churned a little when I saw the guy with Andie press his mouth to her neck, right in the exact spot below her ear that I’d always wanted to taste.
“Did you hear me?” Brianna said, and my attention snapped back to the woman I was allegedly trying to seduce.
I reached up to twirl a lock of her hair around my finger. “Sorry, I got distracted for a second thinking about how pretty you are.”
Brianna blushed and repeated her question about whether I’d ever seen some reality TV show she was obsessed with. While she was telling me about this dude on the show who apparently had sex with his Volkswagen Beetle, I caught a glimpse of Andie in my peripheral vision, pulling away from the guy she was with. She wasn’t smiling anymore, and the stiffness of her posture set off all my protective instincts.
I stayed where I was, keeping my eye on the situation. Andie was more than capable of standing up for herself, as I was certain this fool was about to find out.
He made an appeasing gesture as he said something to her. Whatever he’d said really pissed her off, because her face flushed bright red and her eyes got that same cold, hard look she and her brother both got when they were about to lose their temper.
I clenched my hand around my beer bottle as I watched, not even pretending to listen to Brianna anymore.
Andie said something back to the dude, her jaw tight and her lips drawn in a scowl. He threw his head back and laughed as he replied, which only pissed her off even more.
“Call me kiddo one more time, shitbird.” Her voice was loud enough to carry. Loud enough that Brianna turned her head to see what was going on.
Instead of backing the hell off like he should have, the asshole grabbed Andie’s arm.
“Oh fuck no,” I breathed as he yanked her toward him, trying to pull her into his arms. It was one thing to let Andie fight her own battles, and another to stand idly by when a man laid hands on her like that.
Blood roared in my ears as I closed the distance between us. By the time I got there, Andie had already stomped the shit out of the dude’s instep and shoved him off her. I put myself between the two of them, holding up my hands in a warning gesture. “You’re gonna want to back the fuck off, buddy.”
The smug asshole actually had the balls to look annoyed. “I’m trying to have a conversation with the girl, if you don’t mind. It doesn’t concern you, friend.”
Great. He was one of those dumbasses with something to prove, instead of someone with enough sense to cut his losses and walk away.
I stood my ground, my eyes boring into his. “Seems pretty clear she doesn’t want to talk to you.”