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By the time we closed our final round of funding, we ended up owning only seventy percent of Date Crashers. Neither of us had a trust fund or a rich uncle who could loan us the money. We were still at MIT when we had our first offer for funding. I didn’t see any other way to grow Date Crashers. And now, we have to give Exact Match ten percent of our company if we want to partner with them on our expansion plans.
“Mind if we crash the party?”
Maxwell Carter, the CEO and majority shareholder of Exact Match, runs a hand through his dark brown hair and then extends it to me.
I hesitate for a second, considering how nasty it is to touch his hand after being in his hair. Sloan nudges me in the side with his elbow. He reminds me to act normal when my brain forces my body to come to a screeching halt.
I take his hand, and Max pulls me up to my feet, greeting me like an old friend. Sloan stands, and they exchange the same uncomfortable pleasantries. His partners, Ryan and Shawn, who are Max’s younger brothers, are at his sides. Max slides his arm behind the back of a beautiful, raven-haired woman wearing an emerald dress that molds to her petite body.
“Savanna?” Ash steps forward, her mouth wide with shock. “Oh, my God! You’re married now?”
Savanna and Ash hug and all of us stand there, confused.
“Are you still acting?” Savanna asks Ash.
So, that’s how they know each other.
Ash shakes her head. “I’m working for Vinnie Sax.”
Savanna’s smile widens. “You work for Vinnie? Wow! What’s the chance of that?” She looks at Sloan and me, and then her gaze shifts back to Ash. “What are you doing here?”
“Sloan’s my brother.” She moves her finger between Sloan and me with a silly expression on her face. “I’m living with these idiots until I can move back into my apartment.”
Who is she calling an idiot?
Savanna asks more questions, and Ash fills her in on her current living situation. They talk about the last auditions they went on, and I can tell Ash is hurting on the inside when Savanna tells her about the part in a movie she recently scored. Instinctively, I cup Ash’s shoulder for support, and she shoots me a warning look. Given the situation, Sloan won’t mind if I show Ash some comfort.
“I’m glad your sister’s here,” Max tells Sloan. “She can entertain Savanna while the men handle business.”
He bends down to talk to his wife, who beams with delight as he whispers into her ear. She smiles and then smacks a kiss on his cheek. Savanna tugs on Ash’s arm, and she turns to exchange a few words with her.
Ash pounds the rest of her beer and announces that she’s leaving with Savanna to dance.
Sloan shakes his head.
“You’re not my dad,” Ash snaps.
“Stay where we can see you,” Sloan says.
Ash rolls her eyes, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “You’re impossible.”
“We’ll be fine,” Savanna assures Sloan with a bright smile that looks more wicked than sweet. “Your sister is in good hands.”
“She is,” Max promises, kissing his wife on her forehead, and then he turns to face Sloan. “Let the girls do their thing. We have some drinking to do.”
This is how Max and his brothers prefer to handle business. I’m down for whatever, but I don’t like the ides of Ash dancing with strange men. She looks gorgeous in her dress, like a sexy goddess with a body made for sin.
After Max steals Sloan’s attention, getting him to forget about his constant worrying over his sister, Ash taps me on the shoulder. Our eyes meet, and she leans forward, her fingers digging into my bicep. With her lips close to my ear, her breath on my skin sends a shiver down my neck.
“Come find me when you can get away from Sloan.” She sticks out her tongue, and it brushes my earlobe so softly my cock jerks from the sudden contact. “You owe me a conversation… and a dance.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ash
I’m a cocktease, but Dylan deserved to get a taste of his own medicine after teasing me earlier. He promised to rip my clothes off next time, and now I can’t stop thinking about the next time.
Dylan makes my head spin, throwing my emotions and self-control out of whack. Tonight has to go well for my brother. He stressed it on our car ride to the club at least a dozen times. So, I will be on my best behavior.
When we reach the dance floor, the club is in full swing. Savanna raises her hands above her head and screams. She sways her narrow hips to the techno beat, leading me through the crowd. We push past the sweat-slick bodies and make a place for ourselves at the center of the dance floor.
