Page 89 of Alive At Night

She lifted a brow. “Or what?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, and she grinned.

I could really get used to seeing Juniper St. James smile at me.

It was a radiant fucking smile.

Mimicking Grayson, I looped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to sit on my lap. Juni released a small shriek, and I ignored the looks on both Nessa’s and Grayson’s faces as I welcomed a new form of hell: Juni trying to find a comfortable way to sit on top of me.

This was ten times worse than when she’d accidentally sat on my lap in the office. Because now I wasn’t too afraid to admit how much I liked the feel of her. And I wasn’t as good at keeping thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking out of my head.

When she shifted into a position that put my slightly stiff cock in direct contact with her ass, I stifled a groan. Juni still heard. Or at least, I assumed she did, considering how she tried to scramble off my lap.

When I didn’t let her, she glanced back over her shoulder. “I’m squishing you—”

“You’re not. Don’t insult me.”

“I would never dream of insulting you.”

“Well,that’sa lie.”

“Juniper!”

Juniper’s whole body jerked toward the sound of her name, causing me to suck in sharply at the jolt. Juni didn’t seem to notice this time, though. She was too busy smiling back at Sofia, who was trying to coax her onto the dance floor again.

“Go,” I said, tapping her on the hip. “Go celebrate with your sister.”

She hesitated, which would have surprised me about the old Juniper. The one I thought I knew. But I understood things differently now.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked.

I wasn’t much of a dancer outside of the easy sway we had done earlier, but I would become one if Juni asked it of me.

“No, you can stay,” she said.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, more confident now. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

And then, because I knew Sofia was watching, I kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll be here,” I breathed in her ear.

Juniper shot off my lap so fast that my body, once again, nearly went into shock. But I used another one of Nessa’s shots to help myself recover.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, I chatted with Grayson and Nessa while keeping track of Juni in my peripheral vision, dancing with Sofia and the other wedding guests. But apparently, I wasn’t watching closely enough.

“Jules,” Grayson said, interrupting Nessa’s explanation of her new tour schedule. His tone of voice—and how he’d cut his wife off—immediately had me leaning forward, tense.

Without saying another word, Gray pointed to the dance floor. One look and I saw it. No explanation necessary.

A guy with slicked-back hair and an ill-fitting suit was way too fucking close to Juniper. Close enough that he could reach out and—

“Oh,hellno.”

My vision went hazy, and I was on my feet and across the room.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

juniper

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