“Just give me five minutes, babygirl,” he pleaded. “I need to speak to you.”
I shook my head when I heard Lavender sigh, indicating she was already giving in to him before verbally saying so. She turned to face me, her eyes begging for me not to cause a scene. I ignored Daven staring at her arse, and focused on my best friend.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to be crying over him tomorrow, but if you want to talk to him, go ahead. I’ll wait for you.”
Relief flooded Lavender, and a bright smile took charge of her face. “I owe you one, Bookworm.”
“If my brothers catch me, you owe me more than one,” I grumbled as Daven took hold of Lavender’s hand and led her away from me.
One second Lavender was right in front of me, and the next she was replaced by some tall, drunk lad who was blatantly staring at my breasts while swaying on his unsteady feet.
“Can I help you?” I asked angrily.
The lad’s hooded, bloodshot eyes flicked to mine, and he nodded as a sick-looking grin curved his mouth.
I backed up away from him and said, “Not in this lifetime, buddy.”
I intended to give him the finger, but my back hit something hard, and hands grabbed hold of my waist, bringing me to a halt.
“Easy, darling,” his gruff voice said.
Life could not be this cruel to me.
“Sorry,” I said in a voice that was not my own, hoping Kale wouldn’t notice that it was me who’d just backed my arse into his body.
“Don’t worry about it – hey, are you okay?”
Why the hell did he have to care about everyone? Why couldn’t he be like a regular lad and just mind his own business? I knew the answer to my questions before I thought of them. Because Kale was caring and an all-round perfect human being – that was why.
In a last feeble attempt to hide my identity, I covered my face with my hands when Kale rounded on me. “Are you sure you’re – wait a second. Drop your hands.”
He knew. I heard his voice change when something familiar about me registered in his mind. “Why?” I grumbled into my hands.
“I better be seeing things,” he growled. “You better not be who I think you are.”
I groaned and dropped my hands from my face down to my sides.
“Lane?”
Oh, bugger.
I should have kept my face covered; it would have saved me the torture of looking at him while he looked like a bloody Greek god. He had on dark jeans and a buttoned-up, collared blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I never thought rolled-up sleeves could be so attractive on a man, but damn it, they were. He had on a beanie hat matching the dark colour of his jeans too. I swear to God that the sight of him did unholy things to my lady parts.
He. Looked. Fucking. Hot.
I stared up at him with wide eyes and found I couldn’t respond to him because my throat was clogged up with naughty proposals. I quickly cleared the sin from my throat, and lifting my hand to my neck, awkwardly scratched it.
“Hey, Kale.”
He drilled his bloodshot eyes into mine.
“Hey, Lane,” he growled.
I innocently smiled. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Yeah,” he replied, his voice dangerously low. “Fancy that.”
I lowered my hand to my side and frowned. “You won’t tell my brothers that I’m here, right?”
He didn’t respond, and it made me nervous as I glanced around, making sure they weren’t in close proximity. “Kale, you’re my best friend; you can’t throw me under the bus here,” I pleaded. “You know Lochlan will go crazy and embarrass me.”
Layton would just be disappointed and give me a lecture about the dangers of partying, alcohol and boys. Lochlan, on the other hand, would go insane, and if I didn’t have Layton on my side to defuse the situation, I would be toast.
Kale grunted to himself, then said, “You shouldn’t be here.” He lowered his eyes to my body and swallowed. “Especially dressed like that.”
I felt a little giddy when his eyes lingered on my midriff and legs a little longer than necessary. “Please, it’s just a skirt and crop top,” I said, waving his worries off.
He licked his lips. “Have your legs always been this long?”
I looked down at my legs, then back up to Kale, my eyebrow raised. “I’ve been five foot nothing since I was twelve. They’re still short and stumpy.”
His eyes didn’t waver from said legs. “They don’t look stumpy. They look longer.”
I snorted and shook my head. “You’re losing your mind.”
“I think I am, because your legs are seriously looking good to me right now – and so is the rest of you. Since when do you dress like this?” he asked, and swayed a little.
“Are you drunk?” I quickly grabbed his arms. “How much have you had to drink?”
“I’m good, just a little tipsy.” He shrugged. “Just a couple cans of Bud, but we did some Jack Daniel’s shots when we got here. Three of them, I think. Or maybe it was four?”
Whisky? I thought on a groan. Brilliant.
My Uncle Harry loved Jack Daniel’s, but he always said it was a grown man’s drink for a reason, and seeing Kale struggle to keep his balance proved that theory correct. He wasn’t slurring and still had his wits about him, but he was slowly starting to fade.
I opened my mouth to ask if he wanted me to get him a glass of water, but out of nowhere two girls appeared at his side and shamelessly pressed their bodies up against him, giggling. “Hey, Kale,” the red-headed girl on his left purred. “Do you remember me?”
“And me?” her blonde friend murmured.
I glared at the both of them, anger and jealousy swirling inside of me. “If you have to ask, maybe neither of you was very impressive.”
I clamped my mouth shut when I realised I’d just spoken out loud, while Kale, on the other hand, laughed. Both girls ignored him and narrowed their eyes at me, moving to step towards me, but Kale prevented them from getting near me – thank God. He stepped forward and blocked my body with his.
“I don’t think so, ladies.”
I heard annoying complaints, and threats, but instead of Kale getting mad at the obvious ex-mattress-dancing partners he was turning down, he politely sent them on their way with the wish of them having a great and safe night.
Even tipsy he was almost too perfect, and it irritated the hell out of me. He turned to face me, grinning down at me. “Are your claws stowed, kitty?” he asked.
I pretended not to know what he was talking about. “Can I get you some water?” I asked.
He chuckled and took hold of my hand, sending jolts of electricity up and down my spine. “Come with me. I want to talk to you somewhere I can hear you clearly.”
I followed him then and was surprised to find he was leading me back up the stairs Lavender and I had just descended. At the thought of my friend, I cringed. “Shit, Lavender,” I grumbled, and looked over my shoulder but saw no sign of her.
She was probably still with Daven, the prick.
“Where are you bringing me?” I shouted over the blaring music to Kale.
“Somewhere quiet,” he replied, and led me down a long hallway and took a right, then opened the first door on the left. We entered a white bedroom that was dimly lit by a lamp in the corner of the room.
“Whose bedroom is this, pup?” I asked Kale.
I heard the door close.
“It’s a guest room.”
I blinked and turned to face him, only to find him leaning against the now closed bedroom door. “How do you know it’s a guest room?” I quizzed.
He grinned. “I’ve been here to party a few times.”
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to know how many girls he’d shagged in this house, or in this room. “I don’t want to be in here if you bring girls here for sex.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve never had sex with anyone in here. I just know it’s a guest room.”
I eyed him, and when I saw the truth in his hooded eyes, I nodded.
“Come here,” he said.
I blinked. “Why?”
He shrugged. “’Cause I want you to.”
“Okay,” I said with a quizzical look, and I walked over to him, stopping a few inches away.
“You never answered my question downstairs,” he mumbled and reached out, placing his hands on my bare hips, causing my eyes to widen.
I blinked at the sound of my thudding heartbeat.
“What was your question?” I asked, not recalling anything I had said, because he put his hands on me.
He smirked. “I said, since when do you dress like this?”
I nervously swallowed. “Since tonight. They’re Lavender’s clothes; I’m just borrowing them.”
He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and let his eyes roam over me once more. He looked at me like he appreciated what he saw. He looked at me like I wasn’t a kid, or his best friend. He looked like he . . . desired me.
“Since when do you look at me like that?” I asked, my breathing becoming a little rapid.
Kale’s eyes flashed with fire as he grinned at me. “Since you wore those skinny jeans and I saw you in your bra two months before you turned sixteen. You started looking more like a woman than a little girl.”
I almost fell over. He’d noticed me back then?
I rolled my eyes as if what he said didn’t affect me. “It’s my boobs, isn’t it?” I asked, teasing.
I was trying my hardest to play it cool.
Kale’s eyes zeroed in on my chest. “It’s always the boobs, Lane.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You perv.”
“Hey,” he smiled, flicking his whisky-coloured eyes up to mine. “You asked.”
I playfully shoved him. “If you’re done teasing me, we can go back downstairs.”
He didn’t move an inch.
“Who says I’m teasing you?” he murmured.