Page 148 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

She snickers. “Arealguy. How many fake guys do you know?”

I cast a glance along the beach and catch glimpses of the man-seagulls. “There are loads around, Laine. You draw eyes everywhere you go, so it’s usually pretty easy to find the guys who are watching.”

She grins. “I think that was a compliment, so thanks.”

Chuckling, I drop my chin to my chest and reseat my hat. “You’re not plain. You’re not standard or boring. Everywhere you go, men watch. You forget the years I watched you and the girls dance at Club 188. You think I didn’t notice the billion drinks being sent to your group from guys wanting to say hey?”

She grins. “In my entire adult life, I think I’ve only ever bought a couple drinks.”

I shake my head and work hard to ignore the tightening in my gut. “All four of you, dancing the way you do, dressing the way you do, laughing… I was stuck on the stage, and Luc was busy playing, but he’d nearly blow a gasket every time drinks were delivered.”

“We found a blind spot in the club.” Smiling, she looks up at me. “We knew you guys were watching, so we scouted out that club, and we found a blind spot so we could dance and drink without you guys watching.”

“I could always see.” She frowns at my admission. “I was on the edge of the stage, and when you girls moved, all I had to do was arch my neck. I saw the night Britt met Jack.”

She grins. “You did? She went upstairs with him that night.”

“Mmhmm.” I’m not interested in discussing any of their sex lives. “I saw her. I saw him. I knew who he was when he walked up to you guys. But seeing as he zeroed in on Britt and not the rest of you, I felt it was okay to let it happen.”

Blonde hair falls over her face when she snickers. “That was very charitable of you.” Giving up on rubbing her legs, Laine simply pops up from her seat and looks down at me. “Do you mind?”

“Do I…” I swallow hard to loosen the ball in my throat that takes up residence when her belly button stops on the same level as my eyes. “Do I mind what?”

Instead of answering, she steps onto my chair and plops down in the gap between my side and the armrest. Fiery hot skin touches mine when her smooth back touches my chest and her long legs slide along mine.

“I already told you; it’s cuddling weather, and I was really lonely over there.” Snuggling in, she grabs my arm and yanks it over her hips until we’re practically spooning on the chair. “This is okay, right? We’re sharing a bed for almost a whole week. Jess and I spoon all the time.”

“Um…”

“I could ask Jess to snug, I guess. But where Jess goes, Kane goes. So then Kane will wanna snug, too.”

“Nope. I got it.” I pull her in until we touch from top to toe. I bury my nose in her hair, tuck my hand under her hip, and when she tangles her legs with mine, I do nothing to stop it. I simply sigh, because she has no clue what she’s doing to me. “Better?”

“Mmhmm.” She slides her fingernail along my forearm and draws patterns in my skin. “Much better. I didn’t wanna snug with Kane either, so thanks.”

She’s gonna kill me. She has no clue that this isn’t a couple siblings hugging on the fucking beach. This is a man who’s hopelessly in love with a woman, and each time she moves, I have to restart my countdown from a million to get the blood flowingawayfrom my dick.

“Ang?”

Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight.

Laine taps my arm. “Ang?”

“Mmm?”

Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven.

“If you saw everything, then you must’ve seen Graham approach me.”

I don’t have to count anymore.“Yeah, I saw him. Slimy fucking prick deserves a bullet between his eyes.”

She snickers. “Geez, tell me how you really feel.”

“I just did. I saw him come to your group. He saw you and Jess, and he thought getting a double was some kind of grand prize.”

When the softly sighing, quietly chuckling girl turns to stone in my arms, I realize my mistake.

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