Page 8

"I'm observing my environment." He folds his arms over his chest. His eyes dip to my side, lingering on my cutouts. "I'm an observant person."

"You're a jackass."

He doesn't reply. Instead, his eyes wash over my flesh, stopping and inspecting areas like it's his fucking job.

"You're staring," I state.

"Observing."

"That's what you said about my ass."

"At least your man is consistent."

Movement catches in the corner of my eye, and I shift sideways as a group of people appears beside Ekon. It's the ones who motioned for him when he first came in.

"What's up, Mav?" A man appears on the other side of Ekon.

"Nothing much," replies Ekon. "I'm just hanging with someone from work. This is Yue," he states, angling himself so the person in front of him can see me. His mouth rolls over my name, saying it perfectly. Yuu-ah.

"Maverick," coos a high-pitched voice.

Ekon stiffens, leaning against the back of the stool. A fake smile takes over his face. "Hey, how are you?"

"I just loved watching you dance tonight," she explains.

A group of other women and men appear, each person from his posse. The women are all begging for his attention. Ekon's body tenses, tightening like a string about to snap. Tilting my head, I glance around them. One of the women from earlier steals a glance in my direction.

"Maverick, would you like to come and sit with us?" she ponders. "We would love to have you dance outside of the club."

Ekon's jaw trembles, and for some reason, I throw an arm over his shoulder. His skin is cool, dousing the flames on my body.

"He's a grower, not a shower," I say, causing Ekon to burst into laughter. "You'll be disappointed if you don't let him warm up."

"As if I'd let a woman leave me upset and unsatisfied," he replies, voice hitching toward the end. He turns in my direction, forcing our lips closed to each other.

My body tingles, pussy pulsing like it knows what he can do. Sighing, I shut my eyes and release Ekon, moving back into the safety of my sanity.

He looks at me for a beat before moving to his friend. "Yue, this is Mac. Mac, this is Yue," Ekon introduces us. "Now that we're beyond this, I'm going to hang here for a minute."

"But I brought some women."

"I brought myself," Ekon explains. "That's more than enough."

A snort rolls through me. Who the hell is this arrogant? All eyes ram into me.

"Let's play a game," starts Ekon. "I'm not hungry, but Yue, I would love to spend the night playing with you."

My thighs tense at his words. "Pass."

He lifts his chin. "Got it. You're scared."

My spine tingles at his words. My hands grip the bar top, tightening against it. I'm a grown-ass woman, in my mid-thirties, but damn it. I can't let a challenge like that from him slide. "Tell me about it."

"Truth or dare." Ekon's eyes find mine, holding them hostage. My heart pitter-patters rapidly in my chest. "For truth, you take a shot and answer. Dare, you do the dare. No backing out."

The woman who called him Maverick leans forward, pushing Mac out of the way for the stool beside Ekon. "I'm in."

Another jumps in, sitting beside the first person. Mac joins them and then one last woman sits on his other side, bringing the total of us to six.