Page 3 of Her Captivated Hero

“Lieutenant, here comes the bouncer,” Dex warned.

Gray took the weapon, putting it under his jacket, and turned to see a different bouncer headed their way. Griff was helping the shaky executive to his feet.

“What seems to be the problem?” the bouncer asked roughly.

Ten women started to talk at once, but Riya stayed silent. She just moved closer to Gray and that was alright by him. The bouncer turned to the pin-striped-suit guy.

“I saw you go down. What happened?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” the man answered shakily. “It was all a misunderstanding.” He slid his way past the crowd of women and disappeared. Riya swayed in front of Gray and tried to whisk the gun out of his hand. He slid it into the back of his jeans, and grabbed her wrist instead. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

“Ladies, we don’t need any problems here. You got me?” the bouncer glowered. Gray stifled a grin as he saw the younger bouncer from before come up behind the man giving the lecture.

“Harry, these guys just took down the shooter over near the Swing Bar,” he said as he put his big hand on his co-worker’s shoulder. “Phil said to set them all up with free drinks for the rest of the night. That includes their pretty lady friends.”

Harry looked disgruntled. “There was a problem over here, Tony. One of these ladies took down a man, and I think she used some kind of stun-gun to do it.” He pointed at Riya.

“Is the guy dead? Is he injured? Is he pressing charges? Where is he?” Tony smiled and winked at Riya as he shot out the questions. Gray put his hand around her tiny waist. Tony smiled even broader, as he watched Gray’s less than subtle claim.

“He left,” Harry admitted.

“Then we’re done.” Tony surveyed the women, and saw Griff with Miranda, Dex with Kenna and Gray’s hand on Riya’s waist. Tony then offered his arms to a blonde and to Susan, the bride-to-be. “Let me escort you ladies back to your table. Then I’ll get Trixie to set you up with a round of drinks.”

“So are you going to finally come and sit with us, instead of just watching from the back?” Riya asked as she peered up at Gray from beneath her bangs.

“I’m not sure Miranda and Kenna want their men honing in on their fun,” Gray said.

Riya’s eyes cut over to where Griff and Dex were settling in next to their wives, then looked pointedly back at Gray and grinned.

Dimples, she has dimples.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she teased.

He glanced back at the table. Yep, they were being welcomed, especially Griffin. Then Gray realized it probably wasn’t that often that the young parents had a night out. His eyes narrowed when he saw that Kenna was drinking a glass of water, instead of the margaritas that the rest of the ladies were favoring. He looked over at Dex and saw an even more proprietary gleam in his eye than when he had called off the bouncer.

Well hell. If he had to guess, Kenna was pregnant. It must be pretty recent news if Dex hadn’t told him. Good for them.

“Okay, your point is taken,” he admitted ruefully to Riya.

She grabbed his hand. Her grip was firm, despite the fact that his hand dwarfed hers.

“Come on.” She tugged. She didn’t pull him to the table. Instead, she tugged him toward the dance floor. Gray realized they were playing a sexy ballad.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“You move like a jungle cat.” Her smiled sparkled. “I would love to see what you’re like on the dance floor.”

Jungle cat? Who says that kind of thing?

“You’re just making a play to get your gun back, aren’t you?” he questioned.

“You’ll just have to dance with me, and find out.”

Her golden eyes flashed up at him. They were framed with the longest black lashes he’d ever seen, and Gray would bet his next paycheck they weren’t false. The woman packed a punch in her low-ride jeans and T-shirt that didn’t quite meet the top. It left a tantalizing swath of warm, honey-colored skin showing. No wonder the guy in the suit had been so enthralled. Hell, half the men in the place had their eyes on her.

“So tell me Riya, how do you know the bride?”

“Susan and Miranda work at TAID. Miranda’s the project manager on the job I’m liaising with from UCSD. It’s all really boring, but Susan and Miranda have made it fun.”