The Sinner
Casziel’s smile was barbed enough to break skin. “Guy.”
I nudged him with my elbow, but Guy wasn’t paying him any attention. He was staring at me as if he’d never seen a woman up close before.
“Lucy…” He gave a low whistle. “Wow, you look…”
“I know, right?” Abby cried, ruining the moment.
Not that there was a moment to ruin. I’d been yearning for Guy to see me as more than an office fixture for two years. Now that he was, all I could feel was the heat of Casziel’s wrath radiating like a furnace…and the answering heat in my body. A burning desire that was exciting and new and yet had been smoldering for ages, ready to catch fire. One touch, one heated glance…
You’re nuts. The dress is so tight, it’s cutting off oxygen to your brain.
“I take some credit for the dress, but this is allll Lucy,” Abby said. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”
“She is,” Guy said. “You are, Luce.”
“Oh, uh…thank you,” I managed, not daring to look at Cas. But I didn’t have to. He was telegraphing his emotions with breathtaking clarity. Protectiveness. Possessiveness. Jealousy…
He’s just playing the part. Like we planned.
Finally, Guy blinked as if coming out of a trance—one that I’d cast on him—and turned to the group, beaming.
“Shots! We need to celebrate the impending nuptials of our fearless leader.”
“None for me, thanks,” Jana said. “My kid doesn’t need Cuervo-flavored breast milk.”
Kimberly laughed, then fixed Guy with a mock stern look. “Just one for me. And I’m holding you to your promise that everyone will show up at the office tomorrow.”
“Oh, we will.” Guy grinned as the bartender lined up six little glasses and filled them with tequila. “I just can’t promise we’ll get any work done.”
“Are you bringing Cas to the wedding, Lucy?” Kimberly asked. She turned to him. “You’re more than welcome.”
“Yes, are you?” Abby asked. “You have to. I insist.”
I coughed and caught Cas’s glance. “Um, sure. If he wants to go…”
Smooth as black silk, Cas put a hand to his heart. “I would be honored if you would have me. My thanks for the gracious invitation.”
“Holy chivalry Batman.” Nylah shook her head, her dark curls brushing her shoulders.
Kim nodded. “Someone’s mother raised him well.”
Everyone laughed and reached for their glasses.
“To Nylah and Kimberly,” Guy said, holding up his shot. He turned his gaze to me. “And to new beginnings.”
No one missed the smile he gave me. Especially Cas. His eyes shot molten daggers at Guy, and then the demon tossed back his tequila as if it were water. I held up my glass for the toast but didn’t dare taste it. There was no chance I was going to get drunk again, not after waking up on my kitchen floor in a puddle of broken glass.
I ordered a bottle of water from the bartender. When I turned back around, Abby had her arm linked in Cas’s again, and they were deep in conversation. His back was to me; I couldn’t read his face, but Abby looked rapt and naturally sexy in a way that I’d never look, no matter how many red dresses I wore or how many pounds of makeup I put on my face. I studied her, as if I could tell if they’d slept together just by reading her face.
Which would be perfectly okay and none of my business.
An hour slipped by, then another. Ocean Alliance staff took turns warbling songs on a small stage set at the back of the bar. I wound up at a table with Jana, Abby, and Cas. Guy sat at the next table over, but he’d moved his chair so that it was lined up next to mine. He seemed to have started the celebrations before we arrived and got progressively drunker as the night wore on. We chatted now and then about our coworkers’ singing abilities (or lack thereof). Every time I risked a glance at him, he was watching me.
And Casziel was watching us.
Even with Abby practically sitting in his lap, peppering him with questions, his gaze slid between Guy and me, and he didn’t like what he was seeing.
The night was dragging, and I was more than ready to leave when Dale stopped by to chat with Jana, and Abby excused herself to the restroom. Cas and I were left alone.