Page 71 of Lone Star

“Uh-oh,” Ten said, still in that fake accent. He’d twisted his head around, somehow – Reese had missed that, Reese hadn’t been paying attention, had been watching their surroundingslike he was supposed to. Tenny watched him now with a sideways, threatening grin while the woman kept gyrating on his lap. “I think my buddy’s feeling kinda left out.”

The woman paused, peering at Reese over Ten’s shoulder. “He can come join us if he wants.” She bit her lip in a way Reese read as measuring. “He’s cute, too.”

“Nah, I don’t think he will. He’s shy.”

Her eyes and smile widened together. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Ten gave her a light smack on the backside. “Go on.”

Reese didn’t understand what he intended until the woman slid gracefully to her feet and then stalked toward him. He pressed back against the wall and thought wildly of escape – even though she wasn’t a threat, even though Tenny would have laughed at him, and that would have been shameful.

His belly tightened, and his breath grew irregular, and then she was right in his face, grinning at him, smelling of strong perfume. “Ooh, you are shy, aren’t you?” Her voice low, throaty. “What’s the matter, baby? You’re not scared of me, are you?”

A ridiculous question; a stupid one. But his belly squirmed like he’d swallowed something alive, and his face and neck felt flushed.

She chuckled, close enough now that her warm breath fanned across his throat. She lifted a hand, then, and reached for him.

It was instinct. He saw her long red nails, sharp as blades, and he moved, quick as a blink. He grabbed her wrist, grip lock-tight, and her touch never connected.

Her eyes widened; her mouth fell open in a shocked O.

Tenny was there behind her, suddenly, a hand on her shoulder. When he spoke, it was with that same unhurried drawl, but his gaze was dark and sharp on Reese.

“It’s alright, honey, you only startled him. Like I said: he’s shy. An honest to God virgin, this one.” To Reese, he mouthed,Let go.

Reese frowned, but he did let go; this woman wasn’t a threat; it had only been instinct, automatic and unthinking.

She took the wrist he’d gripped and massaged it with her other hand, chuckling weakly, her expression frantic. “That’s okay. Happens to everybody. A virgin, huh?” She aimed for that same low-lidded, secretive look she’d given him at first, but it didn’t land.

Tenny’s hand slid down her arm, and he turned her away from Reese, into himself, head angling down and expression shifting remarkably: from the ugly glare he’d given Reese to the easy, charming smirk he’d given the woman before. “Come on, don’t worry about him. Some guys just can’t lighten up.”

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…

“You can dance for me, though, sugar,” Tenny said, arm going around her waist as he steered her back toward the chair.

Fox reappeared, then, and Reese knew a startling amount of relief. Albie and Candy were behind him, and none of them so much as glanced their way.

Fox snapped his fingers and said, “Let’s go, boys. T, get laid on your own time.”

Tenny fell into step beside Reese as they headed for the door. “Did you think she was pretty?” he asked in an undertone, back to his real accent.

Reese didn’t answer, the skin prickling unhappily down the back of his neck.

Ten snorted. “You really are a virgin, aren’t you?”

Again, he didn’t answer.

“You’re even more pathetic than I thought.”

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…

Twenty-Six

“I didn’t know you have a brother,” Michelle said. “A biological one, I mean.”

Jinx took another drag on his cigarette and exhaled in a hard stream. “I used to.”

“Oh.” There was a story there, and doubtless he was about to tell it to her. That’s what he’d meant when he said he wanted to talk to her, alone; when she’d suggested they go sit on one of the picnic tables over to one side of the parking lot. His face had been not just serious, as always, but grave, his expression weighted with something heavy. It was this: it was a biological brother he “used to” have. “Jinx. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

---