Page 36 of Fastlander Fighter

“Ha!” Corey belted out. “Captain! You brought her to meet us on your first date instead of spending quality time with her? Well done.”

“I’m showing respect, assface,” Captain said smoothly.

“To whom?” Silver asked. “To Sloane?”

Captain sighed, leaned back in his chair and glared at the girls, then slid his gaze to his brother. “To Gunner.”

The entire Fastlander Crew went dead silent, and still as statues.

It was Owen who moved first. He rubbed his ears, and then said, “I think I’m hearing things. Did you just say you are showing respect to Gunner? To your brother, who you fight every other fuckin’ day? And hate? Openly?”

“Pizza’s here,” Captain said blandly.

Sure enough, several servers were headed to the table with enormous, steaming-hot pizzas.

Gunner hadn’t moved by the time Sloane had settled her cue stick on the rack and grabbed her drink. He still hadn’t moved by the time she passed Captain, squeezing his shoulder as she passed just for the excuse to touch him. He hadn’t seemed to move by the time she sat back between Hallie and Silver, and he didn’t seem to move as the rest of the Crew silently took slices of hot pizza from the metal rounds that covered the center of the table.

It wasn’t until Captain reached for a plate and pulled a couple of slices onto it for Sloane that Gunner seemed to defrost.

He lowered his glowing, bi-colored gaze to the table, hands clasped in front of his mouth, and then he looked at Sloane. “You take the first bite.”

Unsure of the dynamics here, she nodded and looked around at the expectant faces of the others before she lifted a slice of pizza and blew on it, then took a huge bite. The moment she did, the others dug in, except for Captain. He was looking at his brother. He nodded once.

She didn’t understand what had happened, but she would ask him on the way home. For now, she would just enjoy the night with the Fastlanders and appreciate that the man she had a crush on wasn’t hiding her from his shifter friends. He was bringing her around on the first date and asking them to get along with her, and that meant something big to her.

Ryan had always had his own friend group, and had disrespected her on so many occasions with that group. He liked hiding his behaviors, and they had enabled it—even laughed at her behind her back.

But Captain? First chance he got, he’d brought her to dinner with his people.

She lifted her gaze to him, and he was watching her with a soft smile on his face, as if he could read her charitable thoughts toward him right now.

That was good-man stuff right there.

Chapter Twelve

“Have fun?” Captain asked, pausing at her apartment door.

She pulled her key out of the door lock and turned, rested her back against the door and looked up at him. “I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun. For a while I just felt like…”

“Like what?” he asked, pushing his hands deep into his jeans pockets.

“Like me.” Her cheeks heated and she dipped her gaze to the sidewalk, but his finger was there suddenly, hooking under her chin and lifting her shy gaze back up to him.

“That’s a good thing,” he murmured. “I remember how full of life you were. I saw her again tonight.”

She sighed and lifted her attention to the porch light, where three bugs lazily swirled around. “Being back here is confusing.”

“I can imagine,” he said, dropping his hand back into his pocket. He was so tall and muscular, he blotted out the moon above them. His eyes were glowing brightly, and his chest rose and fell with his breath.

She whispered an admission. “My heart is beating really fast.”

“I can hear it. Why?” he asked, canting his head like a curious animal. “I won’t hurt you.”

“It’s not that. I just…” She glanced at the masculine curve of his lips. The bar buzz had worn off a couple hours ago, and it had been a purposeful thing. She’d stopped after that first drink so she could be clear-headed for this moment. Honesty was best. “I haven’t kissed a man in a long time, and half of me thinks you’ll try to kiss me. The other half of me thinks I’m not your type and we really are just hanging out as friends. Part of me is terrified, and part of me is confused, and another part is hopeful, and I don’t know how to do this. I was with Ryan for a long time, and he was all I saw, you know? I was loyal. He stopped kissing me and touching me a few years ago, probably because of Naomi. I was so confused for all that time, and I didn’t feel pretty, and I didn’t understand—”

Captain’s lips pressed to hers, stealing the awkward admissions from her throat. Sloane froze under his affection.

He held there for a few seconds, perfectly frozen against her, and then slowly, slowly, he thawed. He brushed his fingertips against her throat, then rested his thumb against the front of her neck, angled his head, and moved his lips against hers in another kiss.

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