Page 75 of The Fixer

Well, damn.He sat back. “No, I’m just Charlie. My parents never intended to call me Charles and thought it would keep things simpler.” He swallowed nearly half his beer to cool himself off.

Sultry eyes swept him languidly from head to stomach, practically undressing him. “You’re quite the prize, Charlie Hunnicutt. Wonder what else you can do.”

His cock roared to life, eager to show her what else he could do. “Had enough of the Silver Lode?” He looked around for the closest exit, despite his inner voice shouting down the idea.

Joy straightened and took a long pull of her beer. He was tempted to reach across and take it from her, but she was Joy Holiday and therefore held a tight rein on her actions at all times.

Her delicate brows pulled together. “I’m not sure I can drive right now. Maybe if I work it off … Let’s dance.” She wobbled to her feet.

“Yes, your highness.” Adjusting himself quickly, he motioned to their waitress to bring waters.

Joy tugged his hand and jerked him toward the dance floor, calling over her shoulder, “Not highness. I’m the boss.”

He followed, both willing and concerned. How much had she had to drink, and why hadn’t he paid closer attention? She couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds, and it wouldn’t have taken much beer to make her tipsy.

Out on the packed dance floor, she fizzed with laughter. He put his arms around her, more to hold her up than to feel the press of her body against his, though he had nothing against the latter.

They danced one fast song, and Joy rose up on tiptoe and looped her arms around his neck. “Let’s dance this one, then sit back down. I’m feeling a little dizzy,” she whispered beside his ear.

Though it shouldn’t have, having her mouth so close to his ear had chills swarming him. He tucked her against him to protect her from the bumping bodies until the song was over. When they returned to their table, though, two dudes had commandeered it.

Joy planted her feet in front of one guy, parked her hands on her hips, and tapped her foot. “Hey, you took our table! You can’t do that!”

Uh-oh.

The guy stood; he was tall and broad. Charlie was no slouch, but this guy was massive—and he had a buddy who wasn’t much smaller. He slid a glare Charlie’s way. “Does this little lady belong to you?”

“I’m not a little lady,” she fired back, “and I don’t belong to anybody!”

Charlie wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her against him. “Sorry, dude. The missus has had one too many. We’ll find a different table.”

Joy protested, and he tightened his grip even as amusement percolated inside him. Damn if she wasn’t a hot-blooded troublemaker! “Let’s go, princess. I’m not in the mood for a bar brawl tonight.”

Behind him, the big guy laughed. “Good luck with that.”

“He took our drinksandour table,” she hissed.

Charlie walked her to an outdoor patio that was roped off and pushed her gently onto a chair. Then he bent down, hands on his knees, and leveled his gaze with hers. “I asked the waitress to get us waters. She must have misunderstood and thought we were done with our beers. Not those guys’ fault.”

Joy popped up. “Then I’ll have a talk with her. She owes me a beer. And you too.”

Shit, the beer was hitting Joy all at once.

Charlie took evasive action. Hesat in the chair and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her middle to anchor her against him.

She twisted and squirmed on his thighs. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Her tone was more curious than peeved. He took that as a good sign.

“Keeping you here until you sober up. You’re our ride home, remember?”

The waitress picked that moment to poke her head out. “You can’t be out here. It’s closed.”

“I don’t think you want us inthere, sweetheart. How about those waters you never brought? And two Cokes in place of the beers that disappeared.”

She sauntered over. “I’ll bring them, but you can’t stay out here. I’ll close out your tab too.”

Great. Now they were being thrown out? He pulled a credit card from his wallet and handed it to her.

Within minutes, the waitress brought out a tray and slid it onto the table. It held four water bottles, two jumbo to-go cups, and a pair of straws.

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