“Jesus, Parker, you’re going to hurt yourself, get off the bar.” Seth’s hand is still raised, waiting for me to accept his chivalry.
“No. I need to complete this task and there’s no way I’m going to let you sabotage me.” I push his hand away and narrow my eyes. “That’s why you really came here, isn’t it? You’re trying to keep me from completing another task.”
He flashes me what I’m sure he thinks is a charming smile. “If I say yes, will you get down?”
“No.” I stick my tongue out at him and then turn my attention back to the rest of the crowd, most of whom seem to be watching this exchange with too much interest. “So yeah, any kissers out there?”
“Fuck yeah!” a male voice finally calls from somewhere in the depths of the bar.
A second later, he sweeps through the crowd like a white knight on a horse. And he’s cute. Thank Thor. Though even if he weren’t, I don’t think I’d care at this point.
He holds out a hand to help me off the bar. “I’m—”
“Don’t tell me!” I take his proffered hand and hop down with as much grace as I can muster. “Sorry, but for this to be as official as possible, you have to be a stranger.”
He shrugs. “Whatever works.”
And with that, he sweeps me into his embrace and lays one on me, much to the delight of the crush of people surrounding us. As kisses go, it’s definitely not terrible. Thestranger’s lips are warm and soft and even though he tastes like beer, it’s not overwhelming or gross or stale.
It also doesn’t affect me nearly as much as Seth’s squeezing my fingers.
It’s over before I can take in anything else. He returns me to a standing position with a grin. “Not bad for a stranger. Though if you want to becomenotstrangers, I’d love to get your number.”
I’m about to politely decline when I feel an imposing presence hovering over my shoulder, pressing way closer to me than necessary.
Seth lowers his voice at least an octave. “She’s not interested.”
I whip my head around. “Excuse me? Who the hell asked you?”
“The task is over, Parker. You kissed a stranger, now he can move along.”
“What if I don’t want him to move along?” I do, obviously, want him to move along, but not if it means Seth gets away with this possessive alpha bullshit.
Seth leans down, his lips brushing my ear. “We both know you don’t want him, Parker.”
The contact and the words send a jolt through me, and my mouth goes dry. I want to shove him away and rip into him for pulling this macho act with me. But I can’t seem to move.
Someone nudges me, and it shakes me out of my haze. When I look up, my stranger has disappeared. May and the guys are watching us with wide-open eyes. And Jessica looks crushed.
I take a step away from Seth. “Maybe you should worry about your own date and leave mine alone.”
“Lana...” There’s a hint of protest and more than a little sadness in the tenor of his voice. He looks like someone just canceled Rachel Maddow.
I let my fingers brush against his, just for the barest flash of a second. I watch his breath catch in his chest and feel mine do the same. “You should go.”
He spins on his heel without another word. Jessica doesn’t meet my eyes, silently following Seth out of the bar.
“Hey.” May hands me a fresh margarita. “That is a him problem, not a you problem.”
“What the hell was that?” I fold myself back into the group, and even though I just met these guys an hour ago, they comfort me like we’re lifelong friends. “He was the one who assigned the task in the first place! It is not his place to go all overprotective big brother!”
The guys and May exchange looks. Looks that sayWho’s going to tell her. Looks that say everyone here gets it but me.
Ben places a warm hand on my shoulder. “Let’s just say the vibes weren’t exactly overprotective big brother, honey.”
I take down a long gulp of margarita, afraid to even ask the obvious question.
“That was a jealous boyfriend if I’ve ever seen one.” Justin pairs the stark words with a gorgeous grin.
