Page 77 of Feel Me

The band explodes with a very loud and obnoxious dance song, making it hard to make out the sounds around me. But I don’t need to hear. I see enough. Trevor drifts away, maintaining eye contact with Declan.

Declan makes sure Trevor looks away first. “Tell me he’s a friend of yours,” he says, turning to look at me.

In other words, tell me you didn’t sleep with him.

Perhaps he expects me to lie or tell him something to stroke his ego. While Trevor’s advances were unwelcomed, I refuse to lie. And a boost to his already soaring ego is the last thing Declan needs. “He’s not a friend,” I say, hoping he’ll drop it.

Maybe he would if Wren didn’t rush me. She punches my arm affectionately. “Holy shit, you banged a representative?”

“Ah,” I say, because yes, that’s all I have.

“Not now, love,” Evan says, leading her away.

She nudges Finn. “I told you she had a wild side,” she tells him.

He nods. “I can see that.”

They’re trying to make light of it. I’m grateful for it and find myself smiling.

My lifting spirit is short-lived when I realize that Declan isn’t smiling. In fact, his expression about as calm as an advancing tornado.

I meet him with equal force. Wren rushes back, snagging my hand and leading me away. “Be right back, hotness,” she tells Evan.

She takes me far from Declan and Trevor, escorting me toward the double doors that open into the lobby, but not before snagging a glass of champagne and handing it to me and taking one for herself.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“The bathroom,” she says.

“You have to go to the bathroom?” I ask like an idiot.

“No,youhave to go to the bathroom and give Declan a minute to cool down. It’s either that or have sex with him. It’s what women do when their men go all alpha. Trust me, I know.”

“Does, um, Evan frequently go alpha?”

She laughs. “Oh, yeah. But you won’t hear me complain. When I met him, he was like a pent-up beast locked behind a cage of pinstripes and prestige.”

“And now?”

She tosses me an impish glance over her shoulder. “Now the beast gets to come out and play.”

“Oh. Okay . . .”

We hurry into the bathroom, falling onto the couch in the sitting area. My shoulders slump when the door swings shut and mercifully kills what’s left of all the noise.

Between the clamor of voices, the band determined to break the sound barrier, and Declan, forget my hearing, I’m overly stimulated in all the wrong ways possible.

“You okay?” she asks.

“No,” I admit.

Wren crosses her legs, the material of sequined navy blue gown hugging her statuesque figure. Her hair is in a loose French braid making her stunningly feminine, a strong contrast considering the comments that fly out of her mouth.

“All right. Maybe not,” she agrees. She smiles softly. “But I think you will be.”

I lean back on the couch, welcoming the quiet and the lack of drama. Except I know both will leave me the moment I leave the bathroom. “I wish I was certain of that.”

She considers me a long moment. “So, you and the rep . . .”

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