Page 35 of Iron Willed Warrior

Oh, hell no.

Brynn’s smile widened dangerously. I could tell she wanted to punch him for whatever he’d just said. But she didn’t. Instead, she eyed me on her periphery. A challenge.What are you going to do, Cole?

She was playing her role, so I had better play mine.

“Excuse me,” I said to the other people waiting. I ignored their complaints that I was cutting in line. I reached Brynn and slid my arm around her waist. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“You know this old guy?” Green Sunglasses asked.

Old guy? Was this kid serious?

I pulled her closer, the lines of her body meeting mine, and was gratified when the smug kid’s hand got knocked aside. I wasn’t a super possessive guy by nature. I rarely got jealous, and that was something that my ex-wife hadcomplained about. Among themanythings that hadn’t pleased her about me. But right now, the act felt all too natural.

Brynn shrugged. “This is Cameron. He’s my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? But I just bought you a drink.”

I spared a glance for the kid she’d been flirting with. He looked annoyed, and I didn’t blame him. The man was an innocent bystander in this dress rehearsal of ours. Even if he did seem like a dipshit.

“I’ll pay you back,” I said. “She doesn’t need anyone to buy her drinks but me.”

The kid lifted his chin. “Fuck you, dude,” he slurred. “If you were satisfying her, she wouldn’t be dressing that way.”

I took a quick, threatening step in his direction. The kid stumbled back, knocking into a woman. Her beer spilled all over him. There were shouts.

Brynn grabbed my arm and pulled me in the opposite direction through the crowd. Along the way, she ditched the martini on an empty table.

When we reached a shadowed corner, she spun around to face me, her hand still on my arm. She was laughing. “I’d say that went well for a first try.”

“But did you have to pick the most asinine idiot in the room to cozy up to?”

“Couldn’t help it. I seem to be a magnet for those.”

“You’re having way too much fun with this.”

“It was pretty funny.”

“Won’t be funny when it’s Garon Westwick you’re flirting with.”

“No, but that guy was no Garon Westwick.”

I glowered over my shoulder in the direction of the bar. The kid’s green sunglasses were still visible on top of his head. Looked like he was wiping himself off and arguing with someone else. Probably the woman he’d bumped into. Thekid was irrelevant, but I still wanted to teach him a lesson for his behavior to Brynn. A visceral lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.

This was why I hated undercover work. Playing a character, constantly switching gears. I preferred to keep things simple.

Track down the threat. Neutralize it. The end.

Brynn wrapped her arms around my neck. In those heeled boots, she was as tall as me. Eye to eye. Chest to chest.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

She brought her lips close enough to brush my ear. “I’m practicing,Cameron. The reason we came here tonight. The boyfriend story was your idea, if you recall.”

Trickles of heat flowed through my veins. “Only because you insist on using yourself as a honey trap. I’m still not crazy about that plan.”

“You did well with the jealous boyfriend act, though. I almost believe you’re attracted to me.”

Because you make me want to push you up against the nearest wall and ravage your mouth, I responded silently.How’s that for attraction?

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