And I slid my foot around the leg of a wooden chair at Madoc’s table and yanked it out, guiding Pasha down into it.
“Guys, you remember Pasha, right?” I jerked my chin to my friends, the flush of heat on the right side of my face not going unnoticed as I felt Tate’s eyes on me.
“Hey,” murmurs sounded around the table.
I stood, holding the back of my assistant’s chair, as Fallon stood up and grabbed a bottle of beer out of their bucket. She plucked off the cap and set it in front of Pasha.
I gave Fallon a nod of thanks, knowing that my friends were the best thing I could give Pasha right now.
My eyes drifted to Tate, and even though her gaze was defiantly trained on an empty space across the table, I knew I was the only thing she was aware of.
Her loose waves were draped over one shoulder, blanketing her breast, and she sat still and quiet, as if she were expecting me to do or say something.
I dropped my eyes to Ben’s hand rubbing the inside of her thigh, and then noticed that she, too, had her hand on his leg.
Steeling my jaw, I turned around to make my way back across the dance floor when Madoc called out. “Dude, just sit here,” he prompted. “Come on.”
I laughed at all the eyes on me. “I don’t think so,” I said, and then added, “Tate’s uncomfortable.”
Her narrowed eyes instantly pinned me. “We share the same friends, Jared. I can handle it.”
I cocked my head, amusement warming my skin. “Really?” I challenged. “Your breathing is shallow. Your fists are clenched. You’ll hardly look at me,” I assessed, raking my eyes down her body. “And you didn’t have your hand on him”—I arched a brow at Ben—“until I walked over here.”
I smirked, reveling in the silence that greeted me. “You’re right,” I taunted. “You’re not uncomfortable. You’re nervous.”
I knew I was right. I knew that if I felt her cheeks, they’d be warm, and if I put my hand over her heart, it would be racing.
But as much as I was satisfied that I’d nailed her mood, I couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t bounding out of the chair and hitting me.
Not that Tate was exceedingly violent, but she’d at least be shouting at me.
Instead, the corner of her full pink lips curled into a sinister grin as she stood up and held me entranced with her stormy eyes.
She arched a brow, looking amused. “Nervous?” she repeated. “I’m actually entertained that you think you occupy more than a bare minimum of my memory, Jared. That’s how easily forgettable you were.” She inched closer to me, stalking nearer with her calm, even steps. “And I’m actually quite entertained when I look back and think about how much I deluded myself about you.”
Her condescending tone made me grit my teeth. A fucking memory?
I was all of her memories.
“The only way you can win an argument is by throwing a fist,” she taunted. “Your antisocial behavior bored me out of my mind, and your lack of conversational skills in public was embarrassing, to say the least.”
What the fuck?
My hot gaze zeroed in on her, and I slowly lifted my chin as anger swarmed through my chest.
I closed the distance with a last step and looked down at her, inhaling her soft scent. I bared my teeth, letting my buried temper seep out. “You liked my conversational skills when we were alone well enough,” I pointed out, continuing as I enunciated every word. “In the car, on top of the car, in my shower, in your bed”—I got in her face, growling—“on nearly every floor in nearly every room of your house, you loved my conversational skills then.”
I registered a snort behind Tate, and her furious wide eyes turned on Juliet.
Her friend looked up, her face falling at Tate’s glare. Madoc’s and Jax’s eyes were focused on the ground, as they wisely bit back their amusement.
Ben appeared at Tate’s side, taking her hand and not sparing me a glance. “Let’s go,” he said firmly.
Tate looked at me with fury warming her face and nodded. “Absolutely.”
But as she let Ben lead her away, she stopped and leaned in, whispering for only me to hear. “You were good for some things,” she remarked. “Just not for others.”
My lungs emptied as I watched them leave together, and all the while the stares of everyone at the table burned a hole into the back of my head.
Fuck me.
She called to every nerve ending on my body, and I wanted nothing more than to have her underneath me. Despite the fact that she’d just insinuated I was good for only one thing.
I smiled.
The next time her claws came out, she would be reminded of every damn thing that I was good for.
Chapter 7
Tate
“You know, it’s okay if having him around unnerves you,” Ben said softly, holding my hand as we walked up the brick path to my house. “You were together for a long time.”
I offered a tight smile, squeezing his hand. “Jared doesn’t unnerve me,” I maintained. “He aggravates me.”
We climbed the wide wooden stairs into the soft glow of the porch light, and I flicked my gaze quickly to Jax’s house, noticing that all the lights were still out.
I’d opted to come home, since I’d guessed Jared would probably be staying at Madoc’s.
Whenever he got home, that is. He’d had Pasha and a date with him, after all.
I stopped halfway up the stairs, turning to look down at Ben, who was one step below. “I’d invite you in,” I started, lightly tugging on the front of his polo, “but it’s really a mess.”