Page 224 of Sweet Temptation

A few minutes later, Andre walked in. I’d booked him as extra security, just in case. Halloween parties could be chaotic, and the added bullshit of people in costume insured an unwelcome degree of the unknown. I wanted backup and an extra set of eyes on Summer tonight.

I headed over to meet him, nodding at one of the bouncers to let him in behind the velvet rope.

“Thought we weren’t dressing up,” were the first words out of his mouth as I shook his hand.

“What can I say,” I said dryly. “My woman’s persuasive.”

“No shit,” he said, scoping out my ears.

By now, he knew I was screwing Summer. I’d never outright admitted it, but after I’d stripped naked in front of both of them while I was drunk on tequila—with a blatant erection—I’d given up on even trying to deny it.

“You couldn’t have defied my orders, just this once,” I grumbled, “and showed up in costume?”

“I got you, bro.” He unbuttoned his black blazer, under which he wore one of those cheesy black T-shirts with a tuxedo picture printed on it. You could barely make it out in the dark. Hardly passed as a costume at an event like this.

“Gee-fucking-thanks,” I said.

“Always got your back, brother,” he said solemnly.

“Don’t you dare take those bunny ears off,” Summer said in my ear. She’d slipped up to me and squeezed my ass. “No matter what the boys say. I wanna tear that bowtie off with my teeth at the end of the night.”

Yeah, I kinda figured that. Was the only reason I was keeping it on.

She passed me her martini and I took a sip, like I’d promised I would. Then she gave me a lingering eye-fuck while she sucked an olive off the toothpick. “Hey, Andre,” she said, not taking her eyes off mine.

“Hey, Summer,” he said. “Nice costume.”

She smiled, then walked away to talk to the wicked, glittering ice queen that was Elle tonight… her ass rolling seductively in her ridiculous red leotard.

I was definitely gonna enjoy tearing that off her, too.

And fucking her in those wrestling booties.

“Dayyy-umm,” Andre said next to me, and I shot him a withering look. He tore his gaze away from Summer’s ass. “You are one lucky dude. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

“Good,” I muttered. I really didn’t mind him looking, so long as he kept his mouth shut about it. “Now go make yourself busy.”

In other words, too busy to check out my woman anymore.

“Will do,” he said cheerily, and headed out into the club.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ronan

After Summer played her set and came offstage, I walked her back down to the VIP area.

Some guy dressed like a pirate, from outside the roped-in area, reached past a bouncer to touch her arm. The bouncer gave him a healthy dose of stink-eye. But Summer held up her finger like, Just a minute… and lifted the velvet rope so the guy could duck under.

I let it happen, since Summer seemed to know him.

I followed them, Summer and the pirate, through the crowd as Summer was swarmed; her friends all wanted to tell her what a great show she’d played, and she deserved to hear it.

I hovered at her side.

The pirate was on her other side, standing way too close to her for my liking. Waiting, while a bunch of her friends interrupted them; then the two of them talked.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying. She was right next to me, but the volume in the club had gone up substantially since we’d first arrived, and they had to lean right into one another’s ears to be heard.

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