Page 169 of Tempting Fate

As she swings her hips, Lily’s high-waisted miniskirt rides up her thighs and the three preppy pricks she brought to the bar tilt their heads back to take in the view. Mouths open. Eyes filled with bad intentions. If I hadn’t watched them try not to piss their chinos after the girls dragged them inside the compound, I’d have scooped their beady eyes out with a rusty spoon by now. There’s no way they have the guts to make a move on either woman. Not when the two dozen men they’re sharing the bar with are openly carrying.

Of course, the moment I put that thought out into the universe, the one closest to Lily decides to test my resolve. He pushes his stool back and climbs up on the bar with the girls. I expect him to go for Nadia. She’s been trying to reel him in since they arrived. He doesn’t. Instead, he takes Lily’s hand and twirls her. When she’s spinning back around to face him, he purposely tugs her off balance. Eyes wide, fear bleaching the colour from her face, she unwillingly tumbles into his embrace.

Her palms land on his chest.

She freezes.

Douchebag with the three-hundred-dollar haircut doesn’t notice her reaction.

I’m on my feet before his hand has finished dropping low enough to palm her arse.

“Easy,” Toker cautions. He clamps a hand on my shoulder and presses me back down into my seat. “She doesn’t belong to you no more… by your choice.”

Slash snorts. I shoot him a look filled with the promise of another beat-down. Fixing Toker with the same expression, I tell him, “Doesn’t matter if I’m with her, I won’t stand by and watch this jackarse paw at her when she’s not up for it.”

As if she hears my words, Lily’s gaze finds mine. I meet her head-on, unblinking and steadfast, promising her with my eyes that if she gives me the sign, I’ll pull the prick off her.

Lily’s chin lifts defiantly.

Her gaze narrows into a scowl.

“She’s gonna do it,” Toker murmurs from behind me. “Even with all the partyin’ she’s been doin’, Cherub hasn’t closed the deal with any of these suckers yet. Girl’s on a mission tonight, though.”

Isaiah actually sounds worried when he replies in a low voice, “If she takes him to a room, Venom’s gonna go nuclear.”

I block out the two pricks currently commentating my life like it’s a sitcom. My shoulders are rigid as I force myself to sit back on my stool. Lily smirks at me. My leg bounces to the beat of my racing pulse. My hand closes around my beer bottle tight enough to make my knuckles scream.

Toker is right. I can see it in Lily’s eyes.

It’s been three months since I stole a taste of her.

Told her it was a mistake.

Demanded she move on.

Lied to her that I was going to do the same thing.

After all this time, she’s finally going to do it.

Tonight.

Right in front of me.

It’s unfortunate, more so for Lily than for me, but I think Isaiah might be correct, too.

If she touches this dickhead, I’m going to lose it.

I know it’s not fair.

I abandoned her.

Doesn’t mean I’m capable of bearing witness to her efforts to patch herself back together, using another man’s attention as glue without snapping.

“He’s not here, you know?” Hunter sidles over to our table. He swipes my long-forgotten beer from my hand and passes it to Toker, who drains it. “Our so-called prez. Brutus. King Fuckwad from Couldn’t-Give-A-Fuck-Stan… whatever name his royal pain in my arse is going by nowadays. He never is when she comes to the compound… truthfully, I don’t think they’ve said more than three words to each other since the shit hit the fan, and that was only because Charlie tricked them into bein’ in the same room.”

“Do you have a point?” I cock an eyebrow and glower at him. The new haircut and the tattoos he’s had inked along his hairline make the teenager look edgier than he really is. “Or are you just a fan of your own voice?”

Hunter smirks. “Just tryin’ to offer some brotherly advice before this cold war you’ve got goin’ with little Cherub blows up in your face. She’s been slowly goin’ off the rails for weeks. You’ve spent the night breakin’ into a cold sweat every time she comes within a metre of another man. Why don’t you just put both y’all out of your misery?” While Slash looks like he’s sucked on a particularly bitter lemon, Toker and Isaiah break into belly-rumbling laughter. They only get louder when Hunter leans into my space to add. “Plus, I’ve got a hundred against Sander that you pounce on her tonight… once I track the moody little shit down, I’d really like to take his cash home with me.”

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