Page 93 of All Our Ghosts

He raises a brow down at me. “You sure?”

Just then the group of women erupt in laughter again. This time it’s so loud it carries over the sounds of the clubhouse. I glance over my shoulder where Layla raises the tequila bottle in the air, her eyes glued on the two of us.

Holden tugs me to his chest, dipping his head so he catches my gaze. “Layla givin’ you shit?”

I sigh and press my hands to his chest. “It’s fine.” I look over my shoulder again at the women but it’s Holden’s fingers that gently grip my chin, tugging my gaze back to his.

“We don’t lie to each other,” he says firmly, but the soft look in his eyes soothes my racing heartbeat. “If she’s causing issues, she’s out.” A coy smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “No one disrespects my old lady.” He teases pressing his lips to my temple.

“Holden, it's fine.”

He studies me for a moment longer. “I’ll tell Cole to get her out.”

I shake my head as he moves to pull away from me. “No–” I blurt, tugging on his shirt, “don’t. Please, it’ll just cause more issues and I really would just like to have one day without shit hitting the fan.”

Holden sets down the plate of food he has in his free hand and wraps both arms around me. “Okay, alright,” he breathes into my hair. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse?”

I nod against him. “I will. She’s pissed because you don’t give her attention anymore.”

“And I won’t again,” he says pulling back from me slightly. “I’m done with all that shit.Youare what I want.” Holden smilesand kisses my forehead. “What did you tell me earlier? Show them who I am to you?”

I smile, already feeling better as the irritation and tension melts from my body with some sort of magic power that he suddenly has over me. One touch from him and I’m goo. My worries seemed to drift away in the wind and right now it’s exactly what I need.

“Hey,” he says gently as he releases his grip from around me and takes my face in his hands, those bright blue eyes boring into me with nothing but adoration behind them, “everything will be alright.” Holden smiles. “Just have some fun tonight, okay? The guys and I have to meet later after all this but when we’re done…” His voice drops into a low rasp. “I want to peel this dress off of you with my teeth.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks as my tongue flicks over my bottom lip. “You can’t say things like that to me.” I breathe, curling my fingers into the front of his shirt again.

“Why’s that?” He counters, that smoldering grin plastered to his face again.

“Because I’ll drag you upstairs myself.” I laugh trying to ease the ache growing between my thighs.

Holden tips his head back and chuckles. “Don’t tempt me, Sunflower.”

“Don’t temptme,” I grin.

He dips his head, capturing my lips with his. “I brought you food,” he whispers against my lips. “Figured you might be hungry.”

My heart swells as I glance down at the plate of food. At the same time my stomach seems to rumble at the sight of potato salad, ribs and two slices of watermelon. All piled on the plate and way more food than I’ll probably eat, but still, the idea that he thought about what I needed and took care of it himself ismaking it a hell of a lot harder to stand here and not drag him back to our bed.

“You’re making me hungry for a lot more than food right now,” I mutter, earning another light laugh from him.

A laugh rings out from behind us as Blake tosses a few empty bottles in the bin. “I saved you guys once from being caught doing nefarious things,” she grins as we both turn to look at her. “But see, now I’m torn on stopping this.”

“Blake!” I laugh.

The brunette shrugs. “You’re both hot, what can I say?”

“Jesus,” Holden sighs, tugging me closer to his chest in a brief embrace. “I’m escaping this conversation.”

“Oh C’mon, Nash! Let me watch.” Blake all but whines, though the grin on her face lets me know she’s only screwing with us.

“Absolutely not.” Holden shakes his head as he plants a quick kiss on my forehead once again and backs away from me. Something more than adoration flickers in his gaze as his pupils eat away at the blue in his eyes. “Eat, Sunflower. You’re gonna need all the energy. Forlater.” He tosses a pointed look at Blake before moving around the bar and turning to find the rest of the guys.

“What a boner killer,” Blake teases, holding out a beer for me.

I take it with a laugh, taking a long swig. The hoppiness of it is bitter to my tongue but I relish in the warmth that blooms in my throat. I turn to watch Holden and Cole gather around one of the tables with a few of the guys.

Blake steps up next to me, leaning against the bar. “How you holdin’ up?”

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