Page 26 of Someone to Tempt
A blush crawls up my throat at the way his mouth caresses that word. And Jesus, take the wheel, because thinking about caressing and Jake Byrne’s mouth is not a good combination for my brain.
My body is a whole other story.
“You need to get your mind out of the gutter.” I sound bored and dismissive. I love that for me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?” he asks. “You said you wanted to have more fun, and I know fun. The dirty kind is my favorite.”
“Introduce us to your friend,” Molly squeaks, doing a fine impression of a kid who just sucked down half a helium balloon.
“He’s not my friend.”
“Iris and I aren’t friends.”
Jake and I speak the words at the same time. That he’s willing to admit it irritates me, crazy as that sounds.
Molly glances between the two of us. “I definitely heard the word partners.”
“Me, too.” Avah finishes her margarita and then grabs mine.
“We’re in the same dance class,” I reluctantly admit. I still haven’t introduced Jake by name, so neither realizes he’s the guy from the street and my past. I want to keep it that way. “I wouldn’t have picked that class if I’d known he was part of it.”
“I wouldn’t have to be part of it, if you didn’t need a partner.”
“Hmmm…” Molly’s hum is soft and drawn out. Clearly, she’s intrigued. I don’t want intrigue where Jake is concerned, especially after the pseudo-agreement Jodi and I came to this afternoon.
“So you’re a bonus,” Avah says, making a show of looking Jake up and down. She likes to do that—to use her boldness to unbalance people. I could have told her Jake isn’t easily rattled.
“I’m a lot of things,” he says, taking a swig of his beer. Why do I find his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallows weirdly sexy? “But a bonus isn’t one of them. Is this pole dancing something new? And are spectators invited to the classes? Because I’d pay for?—”
“You aren’t invited,” I tell him before he can finish. “Why are you even here?”
“Same as everyone else.” Another wink for Molly. “I’m here to channel my inner songstress.”
“You don’t have an inner songstress, Jake. You have an inner annoy-the-crap-out-of-me-ness. Did you hear me talking to Char after class today?”
“You think I’m here because I knew you were going to be here?”
“I hope so,” Molly says.
“Me too,” Avah agrees. “Wait… Jake? As in the guy who ran you down on Main Street?”
“Almost,” he corrects. “Almost ran her down on Main Street. And only because she jumped in front of my truck.”
“I did not.”
“Did too.” He leans in. “No take backs.”
Avah chokes out a laugh as Molly offers another throaty hum. They both have elbows on the table, chins cradled in their hands like they are avidly watching a fascinating play unfold.
“Can I get you two some popcorn?” I narrow my eyes at my traitor friends and ignore the fact that I might be slurring my words just a little.
“This is so good, I don’t even need a snack,” Molly answers. “Would you like to join us, Jake?”
“Who is not from State Farm,” Avah adds with a wink.
Jake grins at the lame joke, and Molly offers him a wide smile. “I’m Molly and this is Avah. We’re part of Iris’s book club. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Avah throws me some wicked side-eye. “But apparently not everything.”
