Page 89 of Vicious Luna

I reach down to pat the pockets of my little white sundress,shrugging. “Must’ve left it in my bag in Sloane's car,” I reply dismissively. “What’s the problem?”

“Other than the fact that you were supposed to be home hours ago?”

“Yeah, what of it?” I challenge, my hackles raising. “I went out for a drink, not to rob a bank. Chill out, bro.”

He slaps a palm against the table, leaning in to get in my face. “Are you forgetting what happened the last time you went missing?”

“I’m not missing!”

Madd balls his fists and Cam advances, golden flecks glimmering in his dark irises. He attempts to shoulder his way in front of me in some reckless attempt at being protective, but with my brother on the warpath, he’s only putting himself in the line of fire. “Hey, don’t…”

“Stay out of this,hunter,” Madd snaps, elbowing him away.

I jolt to my feet, putting my body between them before a fight breaks out. “Enough!” I shout, staring my brother down with a hard look that tells him I mean business. “If you wanna fight about this, we can do it later, but I’m not gonna have you charging in here just to ruin my night. I’m sorry I didn’t answer my phone, okay? It was an honest mistake. But I’m right here, and I’mfine. So fucking cool it.”

Madd folds his thick arms across his chest, his frown deepening as he stares back at me. The look in them tells me this isn’t over, but he also doesn’t snap back at me, which means I’m off the hook at least temporarily.

“Babe, chill, we were just having fun,” Sloane reassures, coming around the table and reaching out to set a hand on his arm. Some of the tension drains from his shoulders the moment she makes contact and he swivels to face her, his jaw ticking. “Like Aves said, everybody’s fine. We didn’t mean to worry you, we just came for a quick drink.”

His posture deflates with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, well finish it up then and let’s go,” he grumbles.

She sticks out her lower lip in a pout, giving his arm a little squeeze. “But I haven't even gotten to dance yet…”

"Dutch," he growls in warning.

She holds up a finger, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. “One dance and you can take me home, Duke.”

“Fine,” he breathes, reaching across the table to pick up her drink. He throws back the rest of it, wipes his mouth off on a tattooed forearm, and slams the glass back down before winding an arm around her waist and yanking her into his side. “Let’s dance, then.”

Sloane grins victoriously as he steers her toward the dance floor, and I mouth ‘thank you’ as she peeks back at me over her shoulder, tossing me a wink.

“I’m gonna head out, too,” Lo announces, sliding off her stool and under Javi’s waiting arm. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, yeah, go get some,” I laugh, waving her off.

A blush rises to her cheeks, but she doesn’t bother denying that’s exactly what she’s headed off to do. I swear the quiet ones are always freaks in the sheets.

“Another one bites the dust,” Andie comments, sipping on her drink as she beckons Nash closer with a flick of her head. He prowls up behind her, setting his large hands on her shoulders and compelling her to tilt her head back to look up at him.

“What are the chances you’ll call it an early night?” he asks, gazing down into her eyes.

Her lips pull into a grin. “Slim to none.”

“Figured as much,” he grumbles, sidestepping to take the stool next to her. His ass has barely hit the seat when the song changes and Andie jumps up with a squeal, grabbing for his hand. She doesn’t have to say a word for him to understand her directive. Nash eases off the stool, allowing his mate to pull him in the direction of the dance floor.

“You good?” Andie asks, glancing my way as she scoots by.

“Yeah, do your thing,” I call back, blowing her a kiss as I drop back down onto my stool. I sweep my gaze around all the empty seats at the table before turning to Cam, still standing stoically at my side. “Did Madd give you orders to haul me outta here, or are you gonna sit down and join me?” I ask.

A glimmer of amusement sparks in his gaze as he sidesteps to ease down onto the stool beside me, sliding a shot glass out of the way and resting his corded forearms against the lacquered tabletop. “No orders, he just didn’t trust leaving me alone in the packhouse,” Cam murmurs, his gaze flickering over the interior of the bar. “Though I wasn’t expecting him to bring me to a rager.”

“It’s ladies’ night,” I say, shifting my weight on my stool as I eye those thick, inked forearms and fight the urge to climb onto his lap. I lift my glass, tipping it to him in indication. “Girls drink for free.”

He furrows his brow in confusion. “Then why are there so many dudes here?”

“That’s kinda the point,” I laugh. “Girls come to drink for free, guys pay a twenty dollar cover to come to try and get laid.”

He shrugs a shoulder, fingering a coaster. “Makes sense. We didn’t pay a cover, though.”

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