Page 23 of Alpha Reid

“You’ve gotta get out there, man!” one of them urges.

“Totally,” another agrees. “What’s taking so long?”

“Serena here doesn’t wanna take a shot with me,” Chase fake pouts, his eyes coming to mine again.

A stocky blonde dude swings his gaze to me. “Aw, why not?”

“It’s his birthday!” his other friend adds.

I roll my eyes at their insistence. Now I can see the high school maturity level. “Sorry boys, I’m not a fan of shots,” I reply, draining the rest of my drink and sliding my empty glass onto the bar top.

“Well if you won’t take one with him, why don’t you let him take one from you?” A dark-haired guy asks, grinning mischievously.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Huh?”

“Why don’t you climb up on the bar, let him do a body shot off you,” he suggests, waggling his eyebrows.

My first inclination is to tell him to fuck off, but instead, I take a beat and turn over his suggestion in my mind. Fuck it, this is what being young is all about, right? Being alive? Why shouldn’t I let loose and have a little fun? Lord knows I’ve earned it. I sweep my gaze around the group until it lands on Chase, a smirk creeping across my lips. “Okay.”

His brows shoot up in surprise and he nearly chokes on the sip of beer he was drinking. “Really?”

I shrug, sweeping my hair behind my shoulders and acting like I’m not as surprised as he is that I just agreed to this. “Sure, why not?”

“Allllright!” the dark-haired guy cheers while the others whoop and yell excitedly, pushing empty glasses out of the way and making space on the bar top. I spin around so that my back’s to the bar, placing my hands on either side of my body and hoisting myself up to sit on the edge. This is a little complicated in a short skirt, but I manage to make it work without flashing everyone. The guys yell at the other patrons to give me space as I twist around, lying back on the bar and propping myself up on my elbows.

One of the guys starts chanting ‘body shots!’ as a bartender makes her way over, a bottle of Patron in hand.

“Lift your shirt, hon,” she says, and I comply, baring my belly so that she can pour the tequila onto it. She hands me a lime, which I think I’m supposed to put between my teeth?Shit, I didn’t think this part through.

There’s so much commotion that I don’t even notice the crowd around the bar parting, and it isn’t until they hush that I turn my head to see why…

I’m met with a very disapproving pair of blue eyes staring back at me. Then comes his voice, a hard edge to it that I’ve never heard before sending a shiver down my spine. “Up. Now.”

CHAPTER NINE

Reid

I don’t know what it is about a woman in red lipstick that I find so damn attractive, but when that flame-haired little vixen descended the packhouse stairs tonight in a tight little skirt and red lips, it immediately did something to my dick. I’ve been sporting a semi all night, barely able to think straight around Serena. Hardly able to breathe. I’m actually somewhat relieved when one of the girls suggests they go take shots and I’m given a little bit of a reprieve to collect my thoughts.

“So how’s it been going?” Gray asks as soon as the girls are out of earshot, turning his attention to me.

“Good,” I mumble absently, eyes glued to Serena’s ass as she heads for the bar. The crowd fills in behind her and I turn back to the guys, meeting Gray’s dubious stare.

“Yeah?” he asks skeptically.

I shrug. “Sure. I mean… as good as it can be going?” I scrub a hand over my face, chuckling wryly. “Fuck, man, I don’t know. I can’t get a read on that girl at all. As soon as I think I have her figured out, she pulls something that has me guessing all over again.”

Gray sighs, leaning back on his barstool. “I mean, you can’t know anyone after just a couple of days, right?”

“The girl’s been through it,” Brock grumbles from beside me. “Give her time.”

Jax leans in, dropping his voice low. “Has she told you anything else about her time as a prisoner or how she got away?”

I give a little shake of my head. “Not yet. Like I said, I’m not gonna push her until she’s more settled here.”

“Well don’t take too long, we need all the intel on the shadow pack we can get,” Theo says gruffly, lifting his beer bottle to his lips and taking a swig.

“Another round?” Sophie asks as she approaches our table, reaching in to collect the empty bottles. I like Sophie, I really do, but I’m still a little pissed about how she fucked with Serena earlier. Not that she’d know it- I pride myself on my ability to conceal my emotions. Think first, react second.

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