Page 52 of By His Vow
“Leave it with us,” I say quickly, although I’m not sure he buys it.
“Actually, Chris, I wanted to pick your brain about something,” Kian says, leading the older man away and toward the bar for more drinks.
As they step up to order, Kian looks back over his shoulder and jerks his chin in the direction of the stairs, silently encouraging me to go after her.
Without responding, I turn around and step closer to the window.
It takes me a second or two to locate her, they’ve shifted a little since I was forced to look away, but she’s still dancing with that asshole who thinks he’s got a chance.
I shake my head before lifting what’s left of my scotch to my lips and swallowing it down.
With the alcohol warning my stomach and desire and irritation running through my veins, I take off toward the stairs without bothering to look back at the men I’m meant to be entertaining.
Fuck them. They don't need me.
Neither does Tatum, to be fair. But the motherfucker she’s dancing with sure needs to know that she isn’t going to be spending the night in his bed anytime soon.
She might pretend that she doesn’t want to be in mine either, but I have every intention of proving her wrong.
The only place that Tatum Warner belongs is with me.
The image of her rolling around in my sheets has my cock threatening to go full mast by the time I get to the bottom of the stairs.
The music is loud down here—so loud I can barely hear my thoughts as I move through the almost unbearable heat and the scent of body odor.
If I needed a reminder of why I no longer go clubbing, then this is it.
Drinking scotch in the VIP lounge is far more my thing now.
“Fucking watch it,” I bark when a guy misjudges the flat surface he’s attempting to walk on and crashes right into me.
I shove him away, sending him toward the floor with one hard push.
“Fucking asshole,” he slurs before rolling over like a demented turtle stuck on its back.
I force my way through the crowd, the air getting thicker with every step I take.
More than a few wandering hands brush over my body. Each time I feel someone’s touch, I have to force myself not to reach out and snap their fucking wrists.
“Hey, handsome. Dance with me,” a woman purrs behind me while another looks me up and down as if I’m the most delicious thing she’s seen all month.
I mean, to be fair…
I shut that thought down and rip my eyes from the shameless woman in search of one that I’ve no doubt will be her complete opposite when I make my presence known.
With my fist curled and my grip on my sanity beginning to slip, I finally spot them ahead of me.
Tatum moves against the guy as if they do this every night of the week.
Something hot and uncomfortable explodes within me.
Lori has her back to Tatum, her tongue down some dude’s throat.
She has no idea that her best friend’s world is about to tilt on its axis again.
Twice in two days…
I smirk, loving how easy she makes it.