Jesus, was that jealousy?
Her head began to pound. God, they all needed to talk. To figure out what the hell was going on between the three of them. Not to mention she needed to give them a piece of her mind for lying about their plans for the evening.
But one look at the stress lines scrunching Screw’s forehead, and all she wanted to do was comfort him in any way possible.
“Jazz, I’ll send LJ out to take care of that tomorrow,” Copper said.
“Huh?” She blinked as he pulled her from her head. Oh, the wall. With a wave of her hand, she shook her head. “Whenever.”
After hugging her girls, they took off with their respective men, leaving her alone with Gumby and Screw. Suddenly, the air thickened and she couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Part of her wanted to rail at them as Copper had for putting themselves in danger. The other part wanted to squeeze the hell out of them while sending up a prayer of thanks that they hadn’t been hurt. And yet another part, the part she didn’t fully understand yet, wanted something darker and more pleasurable from both of them.
“I need a fucking drink,” Screw announced. “You got anything stronger than wine?”
Jazz shared a look with Gumby then said, “Uh, yeah, there’s some Jack Daniels in the cabinet above my refrigerator.”
“Great.” Screw headed into the kitchen.
She followed him with her eyes. “Do you think he’s okay?”
Gumby pulled his glasses off, giving his eyes a good rub. “I’m not sure. What I’ve learned of that man is he feels a lot, and all of it much deeper than he ever wants anyone to know.”
“Hmm.” She’d wondered that about Screw. If his joking and bullshitting was a front. “You like him.”
“I…” He shrugged. “I’m sorry I never told you.”
“Told me what?”
“You know that I’m—that I like—” He cleared his throat.
“Oh, that you’re bisexual? Why would you be sorry about that? It’s your private business. You didn’t owe that to me, or anyone for that matter. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
He grunted.
Ahhh, so that’s how it was. He wasn’t comfortable with it. At all. In fact, as he’d just demonstrated, he couldn’t even say the words out loud.
As if things weren’t complicated enough. Now she not only had something weird and messy going on with two men, but one of them was closeted.
She couldn’t just do things the easy way, could she?
“Should we check on him?”
“Yeah, go on in. I’m just gonna hang up my jacket.”
“All right.” As she began to walk away, Gumby grabbed her wrist and tugged her to him. He crashed his mouth to hers in a kiss full of more hunger and need than he’d given her yet. The lingering flavor of whiskey hit her senses, combining with his taste and stealing her breath.
God, he made her weak in the knees.
“We’re gonna figure out all this shit, okay, baby?”
Did he mean with the club or with her and Screw? With her head buzzing more from that one kiss than the wine she’d drank, she nodded.
“And don’t worry about your neighbor, either.”
Jeremy, right. What a disaster.
“Go check on him.” He gave her ass a light swat, shot her a wink, then headed down to the guest room.
She basically floated into her kitchen, coming to a stop right in the doorway. Slumped in a chair that had been turned away from the table, sat Screw, the uncapped bottle of whiskey on the table next to him. Since she’d never opened the bottle, the level of liquid let her know he’d already taken a few healthy swallows.
His legs were spread wide in that way men so often sat, with his hands resting on his flat stomach. His head tipped back against the top of the chair and his eyes were closed. Someone who didn’t know him, might find him at peace, maybe even sleeping, but not Jazz. She noticed the frown, the tension in his jaw, and the lines running across his forehead.
The need to reassure him, to take away whatever pain he tried so hard to hide, grew impossible to ignore. Without thinking, without allowing herself to analyze or question her motives, she walked into the kitchen with a single-minded purpose.
When she reached him, she immediately lowered onto his lap, straddling him. He jolted and his eyes flew wide. She took full advantage of the moment his mouth dropped open, capturing his face between her hands and kissing the ever-loving hell out of him.
He hardened in an instant. The impressive erection pressed into the V of her thighs. Jazz moaned into his mouth and ground her pelvis against his.
“Jazz,” he rasped as he tore his mouth from hers. “Be sure. Christ, Jazzy, be sure because I’ve wanted this. Wanted you for so fucking long, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop once I get you under me.”