“I’m sorry, Chase.”
“For?”
“Ruining the moment.”
“Don’t be.” I ran my fingers down the side of her jaw, memorizing the velvet feel of her skin. “Because I don’t want a moment.”
She gasped, her eyes instantly averted to the left.
“I want a lifetime.”
Her head turned so fast I was afraid she was going to throw her neck out of place.
“Take a shower, Mil. I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nixon
I checked the time on my cell and leaned against the wall. The desert heat was not in any way helping my already tense mood and irritated disposition. A guy walked by, flicking his cigarette into the dirt. Note to self: you know you’re edgy as hell when you’re halfway tempted to grab said cigarette and suck the nicotine dry from the remains.
And I didn’t even smoke.
Shhhit.
My head hurt, my muscles were sore, and Trace was pissed. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the building.
“Hey, there.” A flirty voice interrupted my self-inflicted torture session. I opened one eye, then two. A blond-haired girl in six-inch heels and something I can only assume at one point had been a shirt, hanging over her shoulder, walked into my personal space. Her shirt-dress thing barely met her thighs.
“Yes?” I kept my sunglasses on. If I took them off and glared, she’d probably run screaming down the street, and I wasn’t into scaring females… at least not in that way. I was downright pissed as hell and knew it showed.
“Just thought you looked lonely.” She lifted her shoulder and offered a teasing smile. Did that really work on other guys?
“You thought wrong,” I said simply. “I’m holding the wall up — like Samson.”
“Samson?” She looked around as if waiting for another man to appear.
“From the Bible,” I clarified.
“The what?”
“Gotta love Vegas,” I muttered under my breath. “Look, I don’t want any.”
“Any what?” She ran a manicured nail down my chest, biting down on her lip at the same time. I could only imagine her point was to get me to stare at her lips, but all I felt was irritation. Damn Chase and Mil. I just wanted to go to bed. I inwardly winced at the bad phrasing. Damn it, where were they? I needed to talk to Chase before tomorrow.
“Sex,” I clarified, my voice clipped. “I. Don’t. Want. Any.”
“But—” She twirled a piece of blond hair in her fingers.
“I’m g*y.”
She snorted. “Right.”
“I’m into men.”
“Oh really?” She closed the distance between us. Just as I was ready to seriously put my hands on her and push, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder.
“Hey there, hot stuff.” Tex said in a low voice as his hand grabbed my ass, cupping it with a little too much enthusiasm. “You ready?”
I ground my teeth together and forced a smile. “Yup.”
“Oh…” The girl stepped back. “Um, sorry, you guys, uh, enjoy your night.” She pushed past Tex so fast I was afraid she was going to teeter off her heels and get hit by a taxi.
“Tex…” I seethed.
“Hmm?” He took off his sunglasses and tilted his head as the girl hurried away.
“You can take your hand off my ass now.”
He gripped it even harder, “Why? Afraid you like it too much?”
I pushed against him.
“Just embrace your feelings!” He shouted, earning the attention of a family walking by with their two little kids.
I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him a few feet away from me, trying my damnedest not to smile.
“Admit it. You keep me around for comic relief.” Tex nodded with a smirk.
“I admit nothing.” I lost the war against smiling and barked out a strangled laugh. “But I do keep your ass away from Campisi, so remember that next time you start yelling about me being your lover.”
“True.” Tex grinned. “Oh, and P.S., don’t knock it till you try it.”
“P.S.,” I repeated in the same voice. “Still pissed at you for screwing over my sister.”
“Yeah well.” Tex sobered. “It’s for the best.”
“Breaking her heart and bringing in whores is what’s best for her?”
Tex lifted his hands into the air. “Look, I didn’t say my methods were sound or that they were intelligent, just let us deal with it, okay? We’re big kids.”
“Kids.” I gave a snort as the image of Tex as a menacing child filled my head. “That about sums it up.”
A town car pulled up next to the curb. Chase got out and then held out his hand to Mil. My eyes narrowed; she looked… different. Happier.
Her mom had just died, and she’d survived a bombing.
And she was smiling like the Taliban had just declared world peace.
Chase gripped her so tight that I saw the white of his knuckles.
I tilted my head, studying each of them when Tex said. “Dude, you get laid?”
“Tex,” I snapped. “Go get something for their luggage.”
“But—”
“Go.”
Tex flipped me off, but ended up jogging over to the main entrance while I inspected both Mil and Chase. “I’m not saying this to be an ass—”