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Bleary eyes try to focus on me. “This your girl?”
“She’s my everything as far as you’re concerned,” I snarl.
The asshole takes a breath and squares up like he wants to challenge me, but one look at my face and the tipsy groper wisely retreats. My glare follows his stumbled stride to the bathroom. Good fucking riddance.
Harper whirls to confront me. The lit fuse in her gaze sparks my arousal. When we finally get to fucking, our combined passion will be explosive. My body thrums in anticipation of joining hers.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Her sharp tone rises above the thumping music to smack my wayward thoughts.
“Saving you.” My possessive tendencies belong to her. It’s no surprise that my protective side manifests for her too.
“From what?” She pauses to scan the crowd, fake concern replacing the fire in her expression. “Dancing?”
“Did you want him pawing at you likea feral cat in mating season?”
Her hip cocks to the side. “I was about to handle it.”
“How?”
“A sharp elbow to the ribs usually does the trick.” She demonstrates and narrowly misses the person behind her.
The storm wreaking havoc on my composure regains momentum. I go rigid as more failures against her pour down on me. “Are you often in situations where you need to defend yourself?”
“Why does it matter to you? I’m single and free to dance with anybody I like.”
“Well, I don’t like to see my friends treated that way.” That casual title is wrong for her on too many levels to count.
Harper catches the distaste curling my upper lip. “Oh, please. That bullshit is stinking up the bar. Ginger and Callie aren’t far if I require reinforcements. Stand down, buddy.”
“Too late. I’m already off my stool.”
She clutches her forehead with a groan. “We just had this conversation. You weren’t going to intervene, remember? It was your grand plan.”
“There’s an adjustment period,” I grumble. And I’m a total fraud.
Her smile is pure satisfaction, as if she predicted this exact event. “Having regrets the second another man’s hands land on my ass?”
I clench my jaw against the impulse to immediately agree. “What’d you think about my peace offering?”
Or—more accurately—fuel for her blaze.
“Weak at best. These panties aren’t dropping.” Harper tugs at her fastened jeans. The truth is in her alert awareness. She’s sober, which is how I prefer her for this altercation.
I prowl further into her space. “Are your panties pink? The thong I peeled off you—”
She claps a palm over my mouth. “Knock it off, Jake. That’s behind us, remember?”
My fingers circle her wrist to remove the gag before I lick her soft skin. “I’m not so sure about that anymore.”
“You better be joking,” she snaps.
“And if I wasn’t?”
“I’m not interested.” Daggers glint at me from her glare. “I won’t be your fuck buddy. We’re barely friends as it is, and even that’s a stretch.”
That final word reminds me of Harper’s graceful movements. Static stirs in the air, drawing my attention to the space separating us. I push my luck and cinch an arm around her waist. A solid pull delivers her snug against me.
Our nearness soothes the demand that’s been pacing under the surface. The irritation flees entirely as my lungs expand with a greedy inhale. She smells like flowers and rain after a drought and long-awaited comfort. The combined fragrance labels her as mine. I tighten my hold, daring to duck my head until our foreheads touch.
