Page 23 of Burn With Me

Leaning into me, he gives me a quick wag of his brows as he says, “We live together. If you catch my drift.”

Holding his gaze, it takes everything in me not to hit him square in his smug-looking face. Briefly, I wonder if he’s the one Ginny lost her virginity to. But that only makes me want to hit him even more.

“Everything alright here, gentlemen?” Stacey’s dulcet voice drifts between us.

Chris steps back, his eyes snapping to her in surprise, quickly morphing into appreciation as he unabashedly rakes his gaze down her body. She allows me to wrap my arm loosely around her waist as she waits for an introduction.

Ginny emerges from the crowd at that moment, faltering when she sees me standing there with my arm around another woman. Making a huffing sound of disbelief, she shakes her head slightly and presses my drink into my chest. “Here ya go. Great meeting you.”

Her eyes are heavy with disappointment, and for a moment, something akin to betrayal. Chris watches it unfold with amusement dancing over his features, while Stacey shifts slightly away from me as if to tell Ginny with our body language that we aren’t together.

However, Ginny waits for no introduction as she turns and flees without another word. Chris loudly sucks air through his teeth, producing a clicking noise as he shakes his head. “Sorry about her. Bit of a troublemaker. She’s got a few problems up here,” he says, tapping his temple. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you. Always a pleasure meeting the financial donors.”

Is this guy for real?

He takes a few steps back, running his eyes over Stacey’s body once more, before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

“What wasthatall about?” Stacey asks, stepping awayfrom my body as she visibly shivers. “That guy gave me a seriousick.”

“Yeah,” I agree, before tossing back my drink in one gulp. “Same here.”

Half an hour later, I’m growing tired of the charade.

Ginny’s actively avoiding me, running off whenever I get close enough to talk to her—throwing me shady glances across the room and staring at Stacey for long periods of time like she’s plotting ways to stick gum in her hair.

I’d be annoyed with how juvenile she’s acting if it weren’t for the fact that it was making me want to drag her into the bathroom and fuck the attitude out of her.

She’s acting jealous. Like one of the women I’ve fucked who acts shocked and hurt when I show up somewhere with another female on my arm.

Her behavior should be enough to wipe my hands clean.

Only, it’s not.

It’s making me want toplay. I can feelGinny’s eyes burning a hole in my back from across the room.

As a man who is all but begging for a donation excuses himself to get another drink, my hand wraps around Stacey, and I lower my lips to her neck as if I’m going to kiss it. She startles and starts to pull away, but I tighten my grip and don’t let her go. “Jackson, what the fuck are you doing?” she grits out between clenched teeth. A nearby couple turns and gives us a disapproving glance as the man ushers his wife away.

“Getting what I want.” Discreetly, I look behind us under the guise of scanning the room, and just as I thought, Ginny is staring with a scowl on her pretty face.

Pretending not to notice, my hand drifts lower on Stacey’s waist.

“Move that hand any lower and I’m going to cut it off, Jackson. Who’s the poor girl this time? The redhead from earlier?” she croons sweetly through a fake smile. “You know, I expect a bigger bonus at Christmas for this shit.”

Turning my attention to her, I move my mouth to her ear, making it look intimate while I whisper, “You can have as big of a bonus as you want. This one is different, Stacey.”

She turns her head into mine, helping me to complete the scene, her blue eyes aglow with mock adoration as our gazes lock, and she asks, “Thenwhyare you playing your normal bullshit games with her?”

Deep down, I know she’s right. Dropping my arm, I take a step back and clear my throat. My head swings in Ginny’s direction, but she’s no longer there.

Stacey grabs two glasses of champagne from a passing tray and holds them out to me. “She went out on the terrace.”

Giving her a thankful look, I step forward and take them, kissing her cheek lightly before stepping away.

It doesn’t take me long to find Ginny. Her red hair summons me, like a beacon against the night sky. Making sure herbrotherisn’t in the general vicinity, I sidle up against her as she leans against the rail and watches the water below. “Ginny.” Her name is my only greeting as I hand her one of the glasses.

“He’s going to make my life hell if you pay too much attention to me,” she says forlornly, catching me by surprise at the ease with which she says it.

“Yeah, your brother is a creep. Does he always handle you that way?” Turning to the side, my elbow finds the rail as I search her profile for any sign that tells me he’s the reason she broke down the other night.

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