Page 36 of A Taste of Whiskey
They linked arms with Sasha, and the three of them rushed to the dance floor.
“What is going on over there?” Birdie asked as they danced. “That woman’s all over Ezra, but he’s looking at you.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m with Flame tonight.” Sasha sounded way more confident than she felt, but what was that saying?Fake it until you make it?That was her freaking motto tonight.
Quinn danced closer. “So you’re going for it?”
“Maybe.” She twirled around, unable to believe she’d said it, much less believe she was thinking about kissing Flame so she could finally get her answers.
“Ezra and Flame arebothwatching you,” Birdie said. “Time to turn up the heat!”
They fell into their own version of dirty dancing. One that drew a lot of male attention and usually drove her brothers mad. The tequila had done its job. Sasha was in a rebellious mood, and she put everything she had into that dance, moving her hips and shoulders seductively. She flipped her hair over one shoulder, turning a lustful gaze in Flame’s and Ezra’s direction, letting them decide who it was meant for.
They danced to a few more songs, and when “Rock and a Hard Place” came on, Flame strode toward the dance floor, looking mighty fine.
“Excuse me, ladies.” He took Sasha’s hand, pulling her in close. “I believe you asked me to save you a dance.”
“Yes, I did.” She wound her arms around his neck, swaying to the music.
She saw Ezra walk past the dance floor, hands fisted, eyes blazing, causing the hurt, guilt, and anger inside her to coalesce with the tequila, making her all sorts of confused. She closed her eyes, focusing on the feel of the man she was dancing with and not the one making her heart hurt. Flame tightened his hold on her, and she felt every inch of his hard frame. He was a sensual dancer, his big hands moving up and down her back as his hips swayed against her. This was a man who knew how to use his body. Her pulse quickened. He was a good man and a good friend, and this was her chance to see if they should be more.
She gazed up at his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw, telling herself it was now or never. But when he gazed down at her with those sea-blue eyes and lowered his lips toward hers, her heart won out. “I need to use the ladies’ room,” she said, causing him to stop short of kissing her. “Sorry. Too much tequila.”
“That’s all right, darlin’. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She hurried off the dance floor and saw Ezra watching her as she headed toward the hall that led to the ladies’ room. Her pulse quickened as he fell into step beside her. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to. Tension crackled in the air around them, hot and sharp and strangely intriguing. His fingers wrapped around her upper arm, tugging her past the entrance to the ladies’ room, to the end of the hall, into a tight alcove that had an old pay phone attached to the wall.
She yanked her arm free, and he wasright there. So close she could see fire in his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I was about to ask you the same question,” he seethed, his chest brushing hers as her back met the wall.
Angry Ezra was so hot, her traitorous nipples rose to greet him. But that didn’t matter. It was his fault her head was so messed up about other guys, and she was pissed. “What I do isnoneof your business.”
“The fuck it isn’t.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you had a chance with me, and you didn’t want it.”
He leaned in, his mouth an inch from hers. “The fuck I didn’t. I made my desire for you perfectly clear.”
“That doesn’t mean shit when you follow it up withWe can’t do this.”
He gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw bulging. “You don’t belong withhim.”
“You have some nerve telling me who I should be with.Hedoesn’t turn me away or toy with my emotions.Hewill kiss me andkeep…on…going.”
“Goddamn it, Sasha. You know I want you,” he said through clenched teeth. “I just can’t act on it and risk everything Gus has and needs.”
The mention of Gus had her thundering heart hurting again. It took everything she had to say, “And I would never ask you to, so there’s our answer. Good night, Ezra.” She pushed past him and walked back to Flame.
Chapter Ten
AS EZRA NEARED the end of his four-mile trail run, his skin felt too tight, his head was too fucked up to think straight, and his goddamn heart felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. He wasn’t a violent man, but if Flame were standing in front of him right now, he’d fucking tear him to pieces. Or die trying.
Sasha didn’t come home last night.
He knew that because he’d been just fucked up enough to sit out front, watching for Flame’s truck. He wasn’t proud of that, but he couldn’t have stopped himself if his life had depended on it. He ran faster, sprinting the last half mile, thinking about everything that had gone down last night for the millionth time. He was a prick for going off on Sasha the way he had, but a man could only take so much. It was one thing to see her flirting with Flame. He’d thought she was doing it to get under his skin, but when he’d seen her in Flame’s arms on the dance floor, letting him touch her in that sexy outfit, he’d been too angry to be rational. Even now, in the light of day, that thought hit like shards of glass.
