I leaned back in the chair and studied the man before me, his answer seeming a bit too serious for a silly question at a wedding. And while there was a niggling at the back of my brain that there wassomething, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. But it was enough to have me intrigued.
The detective in me needed to know more, not to mention the man. Unanswered questions were like my kryptonite.
Not to mention, there seemed to be something familiar about him, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I assumed I’d probably met him at one of Vic’s family gatherings, considering we were at her cousin’s wedding. But it only made my curiosity increase the more I watched him and thought about him.
“Who says I didn’t already know the answer?” I quirked an eyebrow at him as I raised my glass to my lips, never breaking eye contact.
He let out a chuckle as he cast another glance at the bartender with a frown. There was something about the way they’d glanced at each other, or carefully kept from looking at each other at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew each other. The thought twisted my gut in an unpleasant way.
I let out a soft hum as I turned away from him and rested my elbows on the bar, focusing on my drink once again.
When the bartender brought over a beer and slid it over to the stranger next to me, without him having to ask for anything in particular, it only reinforced my suspicions. I had no reason for the way jealousy clouded my vision and clawed at my insides, but it tended to be an irrational bitch.
I squashed down the voice yellingmine!and tried to ignore the handsome man, instead keeping my gaze on Victoria in the mirror.
“Waiting for your wife?”
My drink sputtered out of my mouth as I tried not to choke any more than I already had at his words.
“What?” I turned and looked at him, my brows drawn in confusion.
He shrugged. His dark eyes roaming over me, assessing. Caressing… possessing. Like he owned me.
Which was ridiculous, considering he didn’t even know me.
I didn’t even know his name.
So why did I want it to be true?
“The way you’re watching that mirror. It’s obvious you’re watching someone.” His voice was a low growl. The jealousy was obvious and it sent a spike of arousal and need through me.
It couldn’t be wrong to be happy he was just as jealous as I had been just moments ago, right?
I thought about teasing him. But the way my cock was quickly plumping had me ready to squirm in my seat and I didn’t think I’d last much longer. He seemed like a sure thing to take back to my room.
“Honestly, I’m just wondering if I need to wait for my friend to tell me she’s ditching me or if I can ditch her first. But it doesn’t seem very gentlemanly to leave her alone.” Not that Iwould ever insinuate to Victoria that she was incapable of taking care of herself. She’d been a cop before me, but my instinct would always be to look after and protect my partner, even in a social situation that comprised mostly of her family members.
“So, not a girlfriend, then?” Tall, dark, and handsome quirked up an eyebrow. I let out a full-bellied laugh that left him looking perplexed yet amused.
“Oh, God no. Just a friend. We work together. I’m a hundred percent gay.” I felt my cheeks darken, unsure as to what prompted me to blurt out that declaration. Not that it was a secret. But it wasn’t usually something I led with before I even exchanged names with a stranger. The tug of his lips at the information left me thinking maybe it hadn’t been such a bad thing, though.
The way we’d been dancing around each other, flirting, I was sure he’d picked up what I was putting down already. But I still wasn’t used to being so blunt about it.
“Sorry,” I muttered, turning back to my drink.
I was such an idiot. I didn’t know this guy, despite the flirting, or being at my bestie’s family event. Not that I was overly worried. While I wasn’t the biggest guy, I had almost a decade as a cop with more than my share of experience where I had to be able to handle myself in a fight.
“For what?” the guy next to me asked, the puzzled expression clear on his face.
“It’s not usually something I just blurt out, especially to random men. Sometimes people get the wrong idea.” I tried to shrug it off, not feeling as confident as I had a few minutes ago, but the way he stared at me made me feel exposed and vulnerable, but I wasn’t sure if it was in a sexy way.
He continued to study me for another moment before he gave a slight nod and took a sip of his drink. “What about when the wrong idea is the right idea?”
My head snapped in his direction, sure I had heard him incorrectly.
“I’m sorry. What?” I felt like an idiot as the other man sat there and smirked at me.
“Nathan Turner,” the man said, extending his hand.
