Thorn: Carter Kids #2 (33 page)

I was fairly certain that my mouth was hanging open as I watched our friends all squeeze into the booth to get their picture taken with Noah. “Did she just…”

“Sit on his lap? Yep.” Sean filled in for me, watching the same spectacle unfold, as Stephanie sank down on Noah’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, flaunting her big breasts in his face like a weapon of male destruction.

“Come on, Babe,” Sean said in a determined tone of voice, reaching for my hand. “Let’s squash this.”

I shook my head when he took my hand to lead me over. “I’m not going over there,” I told him as panic clawed its way out of my stomach and into my throat. Tonight, I was determined to be on my best behavior. No outbursts and no slapping, but Stephanie was pushing me. Seriously, that woman was number one on my throat punch list. I watched Noah as he smiled and placated his admirers. Envy swirled inside of me. It was a natural emotion for me and when it came to Noah Messina, jealousy was my middle name. Tugging on his hand, I dug my heels into the plush carpet. “I mean it, Sean. I…I need to go.”

“No,” he countered, dragging me across the dance floor to the booth where our friends were fan-girling all over my ex. Shoving me forward, Sean kept a death grip on my hand. “You need to step up,” he argued. “That is your man, Teagan Connolly. So get off your high horse and go claim him.”

“What if he doesn’t want to be claimed?” I asked, admitting my deepest fears. “What if we go over there and he ignores me?”
Or worse, walks away again…

“Well, it looks to me like you have two choices,” Sean grumbled. “You can either go over there and face him like a woman, or be a coward and let Stephanie sink her claws into him. Pick your poison, Teagan.”

“Okay,” I whispered, steeling myself for rejection and giving up the fight of trying to breakaway from Sean. I was going to have to face Noah sometime. I knew I didn’t deserve him, but I wanted him badly enough to make a fool of myself trying. Noah was worth swallowing my pride and, as Sean had so sweetly pointed out, getting off my high horse for. I wanted to be the woman who went home with him tonight. Pathetic or not, there it was. I wanted Noah Messina more now than when I was seventeen and I was, once again, willing to bend my morals in order to be with him.

I was in serious shit.

NICK AND HIS MEN DIDN’T STAY LONG
, just long enough to sign and raise a toast to my extended contract, before leaving to catch his flight.

He’d put a tab on the bar for us for the rest of the night, with strict instructions for me to let loose and enjoy myself before the grueling training started up next week.

Letting loose and enjoying myself was a fucking impossible thing for me to do after the information I had received tonight, but I was trying.

It was like Lucky had said; if they knew where she was, they would have got to her by now. Teagan was safer here than anywhere else, and I needed to calm my ass down.

Quincy was celebrating the good news by drinking himself into a stupor and mauling every woman that looked sideways at him. For a man in his forties, Q had the stamina of a horned up teenager.

Lucky was being his normal self; cool, calm, collected and completely unfazed by the multi-million dollar contract I had just signed – or the women who were throwing themselves at us.

I watched in amusement as he continued to drink it up, all the while fending off overly friendly female admirers, grinning and politely declining every offer, like I knew he would.

I had met the kind of women he messed around with and I knew full well that none of the women that had approached us tonight would work out for him.

The guy had two rules he lived and fucked by – never bring them home, and never go back for seconds – and none of these women fit that bill. The women here tonight were good women, horny and up for a good time, but no way in hell would they be up for the kinds of things he was.

To be fair to Lucky, it was a good fucking rule, guaranteed to keep feelings and emotions out of it, but sometimes it bothered me that nothing seemed to faze him. It was like that part of Lucky had checked out years ago when his girl was killed and he was just…blank inside.

Sitting back with a beer in my hand, I felt on edge as I studied everything that was going on around us. As much as I tried, I couldn’t fucking relax. I was coiled tight with tension, waiting for that prick to make his next move...

“You’re Noah Messina, right?” a smoking hot redhead asked, stepping into my line of vision and distracting me from my thoughts.

“The last time I checked,” I replied dryly. Never mind the fighting; I deserved that huge ass pay rise for putting up with this constant fucking interruption into my life.

Stifling back a growl, I put on my professional face and asked, “what can I do for you, Red?” even though I already knew what she wanted. They only ever wanted two things; my dick and a photograph. Well, one of those was out of bounds, so I gave her the nod for the picture.

Squealing, she flagged down her gang of friends and waved them over before squeezing past Quincy and Lucky and landing her ass down on my lap.

“I watch all your fights,” she purred as she wrapped her arms around my neck and posed while her friend snapped away with her phone. “You are so much
bigger
in real life.”

“I bet,” I grumbled, resisting the urge to toss her on the floor. “Are you done?”

“Just one more,” she promised before calling out, “Guys, come here. I want a photo of all of us with The Machine.”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered under my breath. “Fine.”

“Excuse me,” the brunette who was taking the photos said to Lucky. “Would you mind taking a photo of all of us with Noah?”

“Sure thing,” Lucky chuckled standing up and taking her phone, highly amused at my discomfort. “That’s what I’m here for.”

I glared at Lucky who was laughing his ass off at my expense. He knew I hated this shit. Within seconds of calling her friends over I was surrounded by three guys and the brunette, who had settled down beside Red. I tolerated the photographs, I even did the small talk and pretended I was interested, but when Red dropped her hand, I’d had more than enough.

“No chance, sweetheart,” I growled in her ear. I wasn’t putting out. She needed to discover some boundaries and learn not to put her pussy on a taken man’s lap. “Up. Now.”

“What’s the problem?” Red purred, clearly not taking the hint, continuing to massage my dick with her hand. “I’m not looking for anything serious,” she added, “just one night with no strings.”

I wasn’t fucking buying, but from the hungry gaze Quincy was giving her, he was, so I stood up and dumped her on his lap before sitting back down.

“Not interested?” Lucky chuckled, bumping my shoulder with his when he sat down beside me.

“If I’m getting my dick wet, I can guaran-fucking-tee it won’t be her pussy around it,” I growled, feeling pissed off and flustered.

Swiping a bottle of Bud off the table in front of me, I chugged it back, draining it dry. “I need to go see her, man,” I hissed, slamming the empty bottle back down on the table. “I can’t fucking sit here and pretend nothing’s wrong.”

“Your luck just rolled, Messina,” Lucky replied in a low tone, inclining his head towards the dance floor. “Looks like the bait has come to you.”

My eyes scanned the room and locked on Thorn. She was huddled next to a lanky, blonde – clearly gay – guy who was trying to force her over to our table.

All of my anger over the way she had treated me the other day evaporated the second I laid eyes on her, which was what always happened; I couldn’t stay mad at her and I couldn’t stay away from her.

I wished she would hurry the fuck up and make her decision. I needed to know whether I was chasing after her ass tonight or not.

A burning ache settled in my chest and I found myself rubbing the skin over my heart as I watched her. Jesus Christ, she looked like an angel, dressed in white with that blonde hair of hers flowing down her body. All she was missing was the halo.

“An angel with a devil tongue,” Lucky piped up, reading my thoughts, and I smirked. Teagan had a tongue like a cobra; venomous and posed to strike when threatened. She was constantly on guard and I loved the fact that I had always been able to penetrate those walls she built around herself. From day one I had gotten underneath those walls she put up to keep people out. Problem was, it was the same for me. At some point between wrecking my car and breaking my heart, she had gotten under my skin and had become my greatest weakness.

Slapping my shoulder, Lucky added in a serious tone, “see, man, she’s perfectly fine,” before getting up and making his way through the crowd to the bar.

“Hey there,” Teagan’s companion said cheerfully when they reached our table. “Mind if we join you guys?”

“It’s actually pretty full here, Sean,” Red replied in a sickly sweet tone, lifting her head from Quincy’s mouth long enough to speak. “Maybe you guys should find somewhere else to sit.”

Teagan’s face turned bright pink and that protective streak inside of me roared to life. “Then move,” I told the redhead without hesitation.

“Sit down, Thorn,” I said gruffly, eyes locked on Teagan as I shoved up and made room for them to sit.

The friend I now knew as Sean took the spot furthest away from me, giving Teagan no option but to sit next to me. I made a mental note to buy the man a drink later.

Teagan looked like a skittish foal as she maneuvered her way around the table before sitting down beside me, using her hair as a curtain between us.

“My name’s Sean,” the friend gushed with a smile, leaning over Teagan to shake my hand. “I’m a huge fan of yours, Mr. Messina.”

“It’s just Noah,” I replied, accepting his hand. I could feel Thorn’s body trembling as she kept her head down and spent an uncharacteristic amount of time studying her neatly trimmed fingernails. “And thanks for the support,” I added, and oddly enough meant. “Appreciate it.”

“Could I…bother you for a photo?” Sean’s cheeks reddened as he looked from Thorn’s face to mine. He smiled almost guiltily. “Please?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, smirking when Teagan’s head snapped up and she mouthed the word
traitor
to him.

“Great,” Sean chuckled, pulling his phone out of his pocket, visibly sagging in relief. Clambering awkwardly over Teagan, he knelt in front of me with his phone held out for a selfie.

When he was finished taking his picture, I tossed him my phone and drew Teagan into my side, holding her possessively, letting all the fuckers here know
don’t touch
. Sean’s eyes lit up as he took several pictures with my phone.

“Now,” I whispered into her ear when her friend returned my phone to me. “I’ll have a photograph of you.”

She nodded once before dropping her head to stare at her hands again.

“You not gonna talk to me?” I asked after a moment, highly amused at this coy version of Teagan. She was usually all piss and smoke. It was why I loved her. Reaching for my beer, my hand grazed her bare thigh and she jumped. “Easy baby,” I chuckled, before leaning back and snaking an arm around her. “I’ve touched you in far more intimate places.”

“I don’t really know what to say to you,” Teagan said in such a quiet voice that I had to lean closer to hear her properly. “Well, obviously I do know what I
should
say,” she added, eyes cast downwards. “But I really don’t see how it can change things now.” Sighing heavily, she whispered, “Never mind. I’m rambling.”