Page 6 of Fast Fury

He was damn good, too. Adorable, charming, his willingness to poke fun at himself endearing as he hammed it up, adding dramatic movements and gestures while he pretended to tell Elsa the ice princess’s story and belt out the lyrics. Abby shook her head at him.

A bra flew past her head and landed on stage three feet in front of Kai. He grinned and winked at the thoughtful audience member as he continued his performance.

Cindy leaned her head close to Abby’s to be heard over the music. “I’d throw mine too, but I need one under this top.”

Abby didn’t answer, staring at Kai. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, he was that magnetic. The entire bar was singing along now, even the guys. How did he even know the lyrics to this?

At the end of a loud, drawn-out note he suddenly stopped, a comical expression on his face, one hand raised in the air, fingers curled upward in a dramatic pose. The song ended abruptly, then the opening bars of Taylor Swift’sShake It Offstarted up.

More laughter swelled around her, the volume becoming almost deafening when Kai started dancing around on stage, his gestures and goofy facial expression priceless. Abby grinned and shook her head, then started clapping along with everyone else.

By the time Kai struck his last pose a couple minutes later, nailing the ending, there were four bras on the stage, and one pair of panties. While he stood there with that killer smile and accepted the adoration of his enthusiastic audience, his teammates were all whistling and yellingHana ho—whatever that meant—as they flashed the ubiquitous Hawaiianshakaat him. That, she knew.

“Thank you for that riveting performance, Master Kai,” the announcer said. Kai gave him a thumbs up and bent to scoop up the bras and panties, handing them to one of the bouncers before returning to the center of the stage. “And now it’s time to find out if the king has fallen. Let’s have all the contestants on stage, please.”

Six guys lined up with Kai, including Logan and two other guys from the team, Jamie and Easton. All big, good-looking guys.

But none of them even came close to Kai.

The announcer called each performer forward and asked the crowd to rate their act by volume of applause. The first three acts got anemic responses. Jamie and Easton got a slightly less lukewarm reaction. They both stared at the audience with incredulous expressions and raised their hands in a perplexed “what the hell more did you people want from us” gesture.

Logan stepped forward next. Cheers and shouts rang out throughout the room, several women screaming his name. He grinned good-naturedly and put his arms in the air, basking in the praise. Before stepping back into line, he gave Kai a shot in the shoulder with his fist. Arms folded across his massive chest, biceps bulging under the sleeves of his T-shirt, the punch didn’t even budge Kai.

Finally, it was his turn. He lowered his arms and stepped forward, unleashing another round of swooning female response.

“And now, for our defending champion. What did you think of Master Kai?”

The audience’s reaction nearly shattered Abby’s eardrums, but she was too busy whistling and clapping to care. Cindy was hopping up and down as much as the two women in front of them, their shrill screams adding to the din. As for Kai’s teammates, they were all booing and giving him the thumbs down.

“And the king keeps his crown!” the announcer shouted. “Congrats to our defending champ.” He walked onstage to clasp Kai’s hand and raise it in the air victoriously. Kai’s smile hit her straight in the gut, and when those dark brown eyes landed on her and held, it felt like her heart stopped beating.

Holding her gaze, he crossed to the front of the stage, the two women there seeming to melt away as he hopped down right in front of her. With his focus entirely on her, for a moment it weirdly felt like they were the only two people in the building.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” he said, reaching those long, powerful arms around her back to pull her into a hug.

Unprepared for it, Abby had to lock her knees to keep from melting to the floor. As his clean, spicy scent swirled around her and those warm, steely muscles pressed to her front, every nerve ending in her body seemed to short-circuit. Including the ones in her brain.

She distantly heard someone clear his or her throat beside her, and remembered Cindy was standing there, waiting for an introduction. “Oh. Um, this is my best friend, Cindy,” she said, pulling away. “Cindy, Kai.”

Kai offered his hand to her. “Hey. Nice to meet you.”

Cindy’s smile was full of dazzled female appreciation. “Likewise.”

He introduced them to his teammates and significant others, a couple of them new to Abby, then faced her. “You wanna grab a bite now?”

She glanced at Cindy in question before answering. “Sure.”

“Actually, I can’t stay,” her friend said.

Wait, what? They always hung out on Friday night.

“I just came for the show. Gotta meet some other friends across town. See you later, Ab.” Cindy hugged her, leaning close to murmur in her ear. “You better call me later and tell meeverything,” she warned, then shot Kai a gorgeous smile and sauntered away.

Abby stared after her. This wasn’t part of the plan. Butthere’s nothing to tell. He’s just a friend.

One that gave her shivers whenever he touched her now. But that was her problem, not his.

“So,” Kai said, drawing her attention back to him. “Shall we?” He set a hand on her lower back and gestured toward the rear of the bar where all the tables were set up.

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