Page 16 of Clinch'd

Licking my lips, I whimper when he raises a dark brow. That’s it, a fucking brow and I’m wet and uncomfortable.

A woman taps his shoulder, drawing his attention away and I glare at her, standing with her back to me. She’s clearly one ofthem, with her perfectly form fitting dress falling to her ankles and accentuating her tiny waist. Her long blonde hair is pulledback in an artful updo and once again self-conscious, I touch my unbound hair wishing I had thought to pull it back.

With a groan, I turn away to gain my bearings. Eventually I’m going to have to figure out a way to get him to speak to me because I have to make this work and it’s the reminder, I need to straighten my spine and pull myself together. Focus, Minnie.

After another excruciating hour where I sit at the bar by myself and watch Cooper socialize out of the corner of my eye, I’m gearing up to approach him when the lights dim and flicker twice and the patrons start moving toward the tables.

I search for Beast but don’t see him, panicking when I realize I don’t know where to go, but Cooper’s deep rich voice makes me pause and I swing around with a gasp.

“Ah, Minnie, it's a pleasure to see you again. Can I escort you to the table?”

His bright eyes blaze as he stares at me and holds out his arm. “I don’t know where I’m sitting,” I say softly, my cheeks heating. Damn you, Beast.

He chuckles and my heart jumps, the husky sound like crack for my already stimulated hormones. “I do. They always put us together.”

“Why?” I ask, placing my hand in the crook of his arm.

He rests his hand over mine. My mouth is suddenly dry, and I note absently that my fingers tingle against his warm skin, the material of his shirt no match for the heat.

When he tightens his hold, foolishly I wonder if he feels it, too.

“Because we’re the brutes who cage fight,” he says dryly.

“Oh.”

We’re quiet after that and I take my seat gratefully when he stops before a table with the same man who greeted us outside already sitting there. The man looks me over with a curl to his lip and I shrink under his censure but summon a cool smile when I sit down opposite him.

I don’t know what he knows about me, but it doesn’t matter because I’m here for a purpose and I need to stay the damn course.

The blonde who stood with Cooper earlier beams at him from the same table but a couple of chairs away and her happy facade fades to a frown when Cooper sits down beside me.

Her pale blue eyes fly my way, and she studies me closely. Beside her is another suit who nods at Cooper before looking me over as well. I’m starting to feel like a damn fish in a bowl, and it’s decidedly not cute or fun.

My arm tingles where Cooper’s brushes mine as he says quietly in my ear, “You look fuck hot in that dress, baby.”

I whip around, a flush surging in my cheeks, and resist the urge to squirm at the heat staring back at me.

Instead, I smile weakly, before looking at the silverware. Focus. Focus. Shit.

The guests quiet as a sharply dressed man appears on the stage before us and clears his throat in the microphone, the sharp report causing the guests to laugh and titter.

There’s no sign of Beast and I’m so acutely aware of Cooper sitting beside me that I’m only half paying attention to the emcee. My limbs tingle at his closeness, and my core pulses heavily. It’s fucking weird and I’m caught between leaning closer and moving away.

I startle when a waiter appears, placing a plate with food before me. And leaning into Cooper, I bite back a gasp when he places his warm large hand on my thigh.

“Mm,” he hums under his breath while I stare at that hand dumbly.

The waiter leaves the food, but Cooper doesn’t remove his hand and even though I should push him away, I don’t. Instead, I sit stiffly shivering under the rough caress of his fingers against my heated skin, goosebumps rising in the wake of his touch.

I can only imagine the rasp because the emcee is still talking but he has slight calluses on his fingertips that create all kinds of naughty scenarios in my head.

“Eat,” he breathes into my ear, and I look into his eyes. They blaze at me, the pupils dilated as his hand skims past the edge of my skirt and closer to my pulsing core.

My mouth parts on a silent moan and his lips quirk, that tiny white scar catching my eye. It’s so wicked.He’sso wicked.

His fingers brush my panties and I look away with dazed eyes only to focus on the man sitting across the table. He lifts a brow, his dark eyes knowing and it’s this that inspires me to slam my legs closed.

My already heated cheeks blaze as Cooper eases away and when I glance up at him below my lashes, I see he’s frowning at the jerk opposite.

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