Page 154 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

“Fuckkkkk!” He throws his head back. “Yes! Yes, I swear. I’m not in the business of hurting that girl, so I wouldn’t lie about this. Yes, she wants you. No, she’s not scared of you. Yes, she wants to kiss you again. No, she won’t freak out if you grab her ass while you dance.” He flattens his shirt over a bulge in the back of his jeans as the girls disappear into the bar. “It’s pretty fucking obvious she’s into you, so now that you know, what are you gonna do about it?”

It’s not as obvious as he thinks. If I fuck this up, I could do real damage. “If you shoot anyone tonight, I’m not bailing you out of the shit.”

He sniffs as we approach the entrance and slow our steps. The girls asked for space, so we have to give them space.

“I won’t shoot anyone that doesn’t deserve it. But if you don’t get your shit together soon with Laine, she’s gonna force your hand. Her sister shot at me; don’t think for a single second Laine isn’t capable of the same.”

Before I can reply, he pushes the heavy bar doors open. “Too late now. Time’s up.” Swaggering through the way only he can, when he steps into the bar and stops, everyone stops to watch us enter.

I’m a pretty low-key guy; I don’t like to draw attention to myself, so when the entire bar stops to watch us, I know they’re actually watching him. And that’s fine by me, because that gives me the opportunity to look across the dark room toward the pool tables where Laine is, and when my eyes lock onto hers, my mouth goes dry.

“She’s so fuckin’ beautiful.”

Chuckling, Kane bumps his shoulder against mine. “Uh-huh. They sure are.”

I turn to him with a scowl. “You know which one’s yours, right? Don’t fuck this up. This is why we practiced.”

“Mine’s on the right. Short shorts and a beautiful fucking grin that says she wants to fuck in the bathrooms before we leave.”

“Dude!”

“She has a teeny tiny little tattoo on her hip that I bet if you searched Laine’s body, you’d find one just the same.” He smirks. “Just a hunch, seeing as Jess’ says Thing One. Bet my left nut Laine is number two. I know which one is mine, just like I know yours is wearing a pretty dress that she chose just for you. That’s your siren, motherfucker. She’s calling you. If you ignore her, you lose her.”

He splits off and moves toward the bar to buy drinks with his dollar bills, so I head over toward the girls, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, trying not to draw attention to the fact I’m nervous.

She likes you, so what are you gonna do about it?

Fucked if I know, but when I stop in front of the girls, I catch a whiff of strawberries.

And ocean.

And shampoo.

“Hey, handsome.” Jess drags me down by the collar of my shirt and plops a wet kiss on my cheek. “You look great. Showered and everything.” Laughing, she allows me to straighten out and glances around me. “Did Kane see that? I’m working an experiment.”

“Kane? Woman, are you trying to get me killed?”

“He won’t kill you.” Sipping her fruity drink, she steps around me with a wide sway. “But making him jealous is a seriously fun game to play. He spanks; did you know that? God,” she groans. “I love it when he spanks.”

“No!” I spin and watch her approach the bar. “I didn’t fucking know that. I don’tneedto know that. I’d appreciate if you never shared that shit again.”

She waves me off and sidles up against his body, and when he leans in to feast, she arches her head back to give him space to move.

Laine’s soft throat clearing draws my attention back around.

Preparing myself and trying to not be a dick now that shit seems to be changing, I close my eyes and say a little prayer. This could be the start of the rest of our lives.

Please let this be the start of the rest of our lives.

Opening my eyes, my heart gives a fast one, two thump. Her long lashes flutter against the tops of her cheeks. This is the old Laine, the one from before Graham ever spoke to her. This is the confident and smiley version of her.

The bust of her beautiful dress digs deep into her cleavage and leaves a large patch of naked torso. High heels, the kind she used to wear, sparkle and momentarily steal attention from the dress. Long hair hangs loose, and despite the light coat of makeup smoothing out the sun’s kisses on her cheeks, a rosy pink still shines through.

“Hey, Ang.” She lifts a hand to my lapel the way Jess did, but much less certain. Perhaps even with shaking hands. Mirroring her sister, she drags me forward and presses plump lips sticky with gloss to my cheek. She hovers. Her hands shake against my chest and her heart races.

And if I just turned a tenth of an inch to the right, my lips would touch hers. Should I? Could I?

Dammit, just do it!

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