Page 10 of Unbar the Barred
Jupiter ignored him, and Trey took the hand, surprised at feeling work roughened skin against his.
When Jupiter finally answered, lingering over the handshake, he didn’t look at the other guy. “Because, Rue, you were fussing about having a cold shower and I was in need of astiffdrink!” He stared at Cassidy when he emphasized the ‘stiff’.
Trey would have wondered how Rue had arrived before Jupiter if his wolf wasn’t snipping and getting worked up at Jupiter eye fucking Cassidy.
Cassidy made a noise in the back of his throat. “If you can let go for a moment,” he snapped, his aquamarine eyes swirling with an unusual temper, “I’ll have a glass of water. I’m parched.”
Jupiter chuckled and dropped Trey’s hand, his gaze shifting between them. “It seems you are. Care to join me for a glass of wine?”
Trey swallowed the ‘fuck no’ that wanted to come out of his mouth, seeing Kendrick eyeing them all with amusement. These were Silas Starling’s brothers and Silas contributed a lot to the town and Trey liked the man. So he kept the scowl off his face and went to get the water and the wine, believing the evening, which had taken a wrong turn when Cassidy showed up with a group of over friendly men, was now somehow worse. There was a deep ravine up ahead and he couldn’t see it. Despite that, he continued to head in its direction!
Chapter Six
Cassidy
Shocked by his own sudden burst of temper, Cassidy eyed Jupiter like one would a rattlesnake. With caution.
“You got the hots for Trey.” The way Jupiter said it didn’t come out as a question, more an observation.
Cassidy watched Trey’s back as he walked to the wine cooler, unsure if he should respond. “We fuck, that’s all.”
It was crude, but Cassidy felt out of sorts and was thrown off by his urge to warn Jupiter off. The Starling brother’s PAs had plenty to say about Jupiter and his sexual exploits. The man had a reputation and a smile the devil himself would want.
“Is that so?” Jupiter sounded intrigued and there was a glint in his eyes as he stared at Cassidy. “Want to put that theory to the test?”
“What do you mean?” Cassidy asked, interested despite himself, when Jupiter gave him a kind of knowing smile that made no sense.
He didn’t answer immediately as Trey returned with a glass of water and an open bottle of red wine. “Want me to leave the bottle here?” Trey asked, placing Cassidy’s glass in front of him.
“Perfect, and I’ll have two glasses, or will that be three? The offer still stands if you care to join us?”
The smile he gave Trey set Cassidy’s teeth on edge. He wasn’t the jealous type. He knew he wasn’t bad looking, that in the right light he could look pretty good, but Jupiter was on a whole other level.
Had the man set his sights on Trey?
The PAs spoke about Jupiter being dominant, so he couldn’t see how Trey would interest Jupiter, but maybe a trip…
“No! Sorry, we’re busy, but enjoy it.”
How Trey sounded brought Cassidy from his thoughts and he stared at Trey in shock, working on figuring out why he would be rude to Jupiter. It just wasn’t in Trey’s nature, even when pissed he was always polite.
Jupiter offered over a fifty-dollar bill and Trey snatched it and walked off, casting a look at Cassidy that came over as worry. But why, Cassidy had no clue, or none that made any sense.
After Trey returned with Jupiter’s change and left to serve the next customer, Jupiter poured himself a glass of wine from theopen bottle. He took a sip, and a groan of appreciation followed. “Would you like a glass? It’s good.”
Cassidy didn’t drink, he came to Trey’s bar for two things, Trey and dancing. “Nah, but thanks.”
Jupiter took another sip and looked to savor it. “Your loss.”
“’Bout what you were sayin’ earlier. What were you gettin’ at?” Although Jupiter appeared a bit of a jerk, Cassidy had good instincts and so did his chicks. When Jupiter had wandered around the ranch and found Cassidy working, Jupiter had come in and gotten a true introduction to Darling Ranch from Cassidy’s girls. They had loved on him, even Lynda hadn’t been averse to getting acquainted.
After another sip, Jupiter eyed Cassidy with a serious look. “I like you—”
Cassidy held up his hand. “Sorry, I’m not interested.”
Jupiter chuckled, not looking in the least bit put out at how blunt Cassidy was. “Not in that way. But Trey does.”
Fascinated despite himself, Cassidy came closer, keeping his voice down. “How do you know that? Like I said, we’ve been fuckin’ for two years, and he’s given me no sign it’s more than just sex.”
