I tried to pull my hand out of his grip, but he wasn’t letting up. “I think you have the wrong idea about us.”
He led me to the edge of the dance floor and spun me around, completely ignoring me.
One thing I learned about Jax Lockwood was that everything he did was intentional. It was almost like a game to him to see how far he could push. And it was safe to say he was clearly pushing it tonight.
I risked a glance past his shoulder, noticing a few people watching us, including Nate.
Jax followed my gaze. “Told ya. Now let’s give him one hell of a show.”
“You are manipulative,” I grumbled at his nonsense.
We weren’t just catching Nate’s attention. A few players were watching us, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
“I prefer matchmaker.” He snaked a hand around my waist while keeping a respectable distance. “You’re also a little liar. You can dance just fine,” he teased.
I laughed. “Serves you right for trusting me.”
“You know he likes you, right?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He chuckled. “I absolutely do. I’m never wrong.”
“Wow. Humility really isn’t your thing, huh?” I laughed despite myself.
“It’s an occupational hazard.”
I rolled my eyes, but the truth was, I found myself relaxing for a minute and snuck a peek over his broad shoulder. Sure enough, Nate was still watching.
His jaw was tight, and he was drilling holes into the back of his friend’s head.
For one dizzying second, I debated whether I should pull away or lean into him to see what Nate would do.
“Wanna piss him off?” Jax murmured against my ear.
“No.”
“Oh, come on, scaredy cat. He deserves it. Just play along.”
I laughed under my breath. “I swear to God, you must be drunk because you’re not operating at full mental capacity tonight.”
He gently guided my arms up his chest until my fingers rested along the back of his neck. “I wish. This is me, fully sober.”
The sensible thing to do would have been to pull away, because I was convinced Jax was a little crazy.
“You are insane.”
“And you need to be more convincing.” His eyes flicked past me. “I give you my word, if he doesn’t come over by the end of this song, I’ll let you go on your merry little way.”
With a reluctant sigh, I leaned in, resting my weight against his. If anything, I was doing this to prove a point.
“Atta, girl.” His eyes were teasing, and I almost laughed until I saw Nate stalk across the room. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if this was just a game anymore.
“Is he coming?” he whispered.
“Yes.” Something warm and unsettling landed in my chest.
“Perfect.” He smiled and twirled me around.
