Page 17 of Promised Secret
My eyes were still locked on the stranger, my grip on him growing tighter just thinking about how he was all over Dan earlier.
Was it crazy that I wanted to chop his hand off for trying to grope Dan?
Dismemberment was definitely against the police handbook. As a law-abiding officer, it was strictly against the rules, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t think about it.
“Clay,” Dan repeated, this time his warm touch landed on my wrist. He subtly shook his head, and I released the stranger’s hand.
The man shook the hand I’d had in a death grip and glared at me. “That’s right, you better?—”
The rest of his sentence abruptly cut off when he saw the look I was giving him. “Fuck, y’all are crazy,” he yelled, back already turned to us in his rush to escape.
I glowered as I watched him leave and tried to push down the urge to follow him and show him just how crazy I’d go to protect the people I cared about.
“Clay.”
Dan’s warning tone had me breaking the daggers I was shooting at the man’s back to look at him.
Dan sighed and swept a hand through his hair. He’dstyled it today. His longish bangs, gelled meticulously to frame his face, turned into a mess from the disturbance. Not that it mattered. Dan looked good, even if he was sporting bed head.
“What are you doing here, Clay?” Dan asked again.
I shrugged.
“Oh, no. We’re not playing that game right now. You don’t just get to chase away my dance partner, then stay silent,” he yelled with a finger pointed at my face.
I wasn’t going to think about why I had the sudden urge to suck on his finger.
I looked to the floor before I had more weird thoughts. Maybe I slept wrong or something, since tonight seemed to be filled with them.
“He was being inappropriate to you,” I spoke loud enough to be heard over the booming music.
“That’s what people do here.We’re at a club,” he argued.
“But you weren’t enjoying it.”
Dan opened his mouth, then closed it, and I knew I’d read his body language correctly. When he was dancing with Frederick earlier, I hated it, but I could tell he was enjoying himself. It changed once the other man got his grubby hands on Dan.
Dan closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids. I wondered if the flashing lights were giving him a headache.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?” he asked again, sounding more tired now.
I tried to shrug again, which earned me a glare that threatened bodily harm if I didn’t cut my bullshit.
“I ran into Rosa on my way to the clinic, and she said you and Frederick were going out for some trouble. I got worried, so…” I rubbed the back of my head, not really wanting to admit the next part.
“So what? You followed me?” he guessed, right on the target.
“You should be more aware of your surroundings when you’re driving. I was behind you the entire ride here,” I replied.
“Jesus, Clay.”
Dan did the angry hand through his hair again, messing up his hairstyle even more. I preferred it this way. He didn’t need to doll himself up to look nice. He looked best in his usual casual and cozy style.
Dan muttered something too soft for me to hear over the blaring music. He shot me a glare, then spun around.
“Where are you going?” I called, grabbing his hand to stop him.
“To dance.”
