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“You already met Tris and Iver,” Madd says, gesturing in their direction. “And that’s Archer and his brother Ares.”
Javi mumbles greetings to each of them, but I barely hear him. Instead, I flinch as I feel the subtle brush of the backs of his knuckles along my bare thigh beneath the table.
Shit, why the hell did I wear a dress tonight?!I mean, I’d react to him touching me like this no matter how many layers of fabricwere between us, but it’s even more tortuous when it’s skin on skin, his knuckles leaving a trail of sparks in their wake.
I suppress a shiver.
“So Javi, how are things going?” Tristan asks curiously. “How are you finding the ol’ Twilight Grove Motel?”
“It’s good,” he replies coolly, pulling his hand back to his own lap.
“That place is a dump,” Ares mutters.
Javi lets out a low chuckle, unphased by the criticism. “Trust me, we’ve stayed in worse.”
“Oh yeah, like where?” Tristan asks, sliding his forearms onto the table and leaning in with interest.
Real subtle.
Javi doesn’t miss a beat. “Our last spot was in Tiffin, Nebraska.” He holds up his hands in front of him. “And before you say you’ve never heard of it, trust me, no one has.”
The other guys laugh softly, Archer sliding a beer toward Javi across the table. I guess that means he’s in.
Tristan asks another question, though it’s hard for me to focus on the conversation when everything in my body is calling to Javi right now. We’re so close, yet so far apart. My knee drifts toward his, resting against the weight of it. His eyes flicker in my direction and we share a momentary, charged stare. Then he looks away.
I glance across the table, noticing how all the guys are focused intently on Javi, eating up every word that falls from his mouth.My breath catches when my gaze slides to Sloane, though, because she’s not paying attention to the conversation either- she’s staring right back at me, her eyes alight with fascination. Like sheknowssomething.
Why did it never occur to me that Sloane is the absolutelastperson I should be around while harboring a secret? She’s a damn psychic. Her abilities may not be as developed as her mom’s, but I know they’re growing stronger each day now that she’s sealed her mate bond with Madd.
Shit, she’s definitely gonna tell Madd. And then he’ll doubt my ability to remain objective about vetting Javi and his pack and he’ll take me off the task, rendering me useless to the rest of them. Or worse, what if they find out I buried the footage of him crossing the border the night of the full moon and strip me of my position on the squad altogether?
Javi’s knuckles brush my thigh again, yanking me from my self-destructive thoughts and slamming me back into the moment. “I dunno, Ohio or Kentucky were probably the worst places we’ve found ourselves in,” he says, his fingers lingering on my leg, slowly teasing against my skin. My heart races faster as his hand slides onto the top of my thigh, wrapping around it. “This place is paradise compared to those. There’s a lot about it that makes me to want to stick around.” His large hand tightens around my leg, giving it a little squeeze.
And just like that, I’m panicking for a completely different reason. I’m no longer thinking about my job or my friends, but the heat coursing through my body at the slightest touch from the man beside me, pooling in my core as I resist the urge to squirm. Not only is this entire situation awkward as hell, but Ibasically want to jump his bones right now because the stupid bond between us is overruling any rational thought in my head.
The only choice I have is to try to dull my senses by drinking it away- and it’s with that thought that I pick up my beer, throwing it back and finishing off the bottle. Weirdly enough, it seems to do the trick. By the time I place the empty bottle down on the table in front of me, I’m feeling a little more settled.
“You want another?” Javi asks casually, nudging me with his arm.
And just like that, I’m back to freaking out.
What the hell is he doing?!
“Sure,” I stammer, staring down at the table to avoid his eye contact.
His hand slides away from my thigh as he eases off the barstool. “Anyone else?”
“Yeah, I’ll take one,” Ares says, never one to turn down a drink.
Javi nods, turning to head for the bar.
Okay, he’s clearly just being friendly, not singling me out. In fact, he’s been cool as a cucumber since he sat down beside me. Nobody would have a clue that there’s something going on between us if they judged it from his demeanor alone.
He’s a better liar than I am- and I’m not sure how I feel about that realization.
Javi passes by Avery on his way to the bar and she brushes a hand along his arm, giving him a flirty smile that makes me want to crawl out of my skin. My inner wolf rises up with a wave ofpossessiveness, and by the time Avery returns to our table, I’m so irritated that I’m ready to claw her eyes out for even looking at what’smine.
“Who wants more shots?” she asks brightly, setting a cluster of glasses down on the table.
