Rafe didn’t even notice that Shane was looking around for a threat. Rafe’s eyes were tuned in to Ari, who was clad only in a skimpy bikini while some guy was sitting on her lounge chair practically drooling over her. The thing that made it even worse was that the guy could barely be older than a kid. Was she that desperate for male attention?
He knew damn well that she’d been thinking of no other man but him as he’d made her scream out in ecstasy this morning.
“I need a beer.”
“I can agree to that.” Without questioning Rafe’s outburst any further, Shane walked by his side as they made their way to the bar.
“Hey, sugar, what can I get for you?”
“We’ll take two Coronas.”
“Coming right up,” she said with an exaggerated smile as her gaze took in Rafe’s bare chest.
This he was used to — women flirting, checking him out. Ari was good at bruising his ego, and he shouldn’t allow her to have that kind of power over him.
“Here you go.”
Rafe turned his attention back to the blonde bartender as he pulled out a hundred and placed it on the counter. “Keep the change,” he said while giving her his best smile.
Her eyes widened as she got caught in his stare and Rafe leaned forward closer than he needed to as he grabbed the drink. “Th…thanks,” she finally replied. Gaining back her composure, she added “I’m off shift in ten minutes.”
The hope in her eyes did nothing for him, but as he turned to see Ari kicking back with his sisters and the guys circling them like sharks, his fury rose again.
“I’ll be right here,” he said with a wink before Shane grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the counter.
“What are you doing, Rafe? Harmless flirting is one thing, but if you’re considering messing around with this girl, that’s an entirely different matter. Have you forgotten that you’re here with Ari?”
“I haven’t, but she sure as hell has forgotten she’s here with me. Not that I give a damn. I can replace her in a heartbeat,” Rafe growled.
Shane turned to see where Rafe’s gaze had landed and then Shane tensed as he watched Lia lean forward, her hand resting on one of the guy’s legs.
“I think we need to go see the girls,” Shane said as he started parting the crowd on his way over. Rafe followed slowly behind as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I wasn’t expecting you girls here,” Shane said as he glared at the young men. Rafe had to fight to keep his fists from clenching. As he glared at the man sitting too close to Ari, he took pleasure in seeing fright penetrate his eyes.
“We’re just relaxing,” Lia said as she glared at both of them. “Boys, this is my brother…and his friend,” she added as an afterthought. Rafe noticed that she didn’t tell Shane and him the boys’ names.
“I talked my friend into covering the last few minutes of my shift. Want to take a swim?” Rafe watched Ari’s eyes widen as the bartender pressed her large, barely clad br**sts against his arm.
“That sounds like a great idea, sugar,” he said as he placed his hand on her lower back and tugged her even closer. She purred with happiness as her hand came up and ran down his chest. He was sure she’d hurried out to him before he could catch the eye of another girl. Rafe knew that he was a great catch; he had no illusions that his attractions went deeper than good looks and ready cash.
“Excuse me, bitch. You can take your slutty paws off my brother. He’s here with another girl,” Lia said as she stood up and glared at the bartender. Heck, Rafe didn’t even know the woman’s name.
Claws came out as she glared right back and her body tensed against Rafe’s.
“In case you didn’t notice, he’s got his hands around me, so whether he came with someone or not isn’t the point. Obviously, he’s leaving with me,” she said before grabbing his head and pulling it down to hers.
Rafe didn’t fight her when she pressed her lips to his and kissed him. His hand tightened on her waist as he pulled her close and kissed her back in front of everybody.
When he finally pulled away, the bartender sported a smug look on her face, which he could understand. But when he turned his head, guilt rose up as he saw the devastation on Ari’s features. Maybe he’d taken this a bit too far.
“You know what? Go off with your tramp, Rafe. Ari is far too good for you,” Rachel snarled as she took Ari’s hand and started leading her away.
“Ari, stop!” Rafe released the bartender and stepped toward the girls. Three heads turned with blazing eyes and zinged him with a nasty look.
“I’d give them a bit of time to cool down, brother,” Shane said with a slow whistle.
“Forget about her. I’m more than you need,” the blonde said.
As Ari and his sisters left, Rafe pushed off the girl’s clingy hands. “It’s not going to happen. Leave me.”
Her mouth dropped open before she raised one lip in a sneer, then stomped off to find her next wealthy victim. It seemed Rafe had pissed off just about everyone he could today. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of this one.
“I’m sure glad I’m not you right now,” Shane said with a laugh. “I’m going to text the girls and tell them how sorry I am that you’re such an ass. I get to be the white knight once more.”
“You’re a prick, Shane,” Rafe growled before downing his beer. He decided he’d probably do best to avoid all three of the girls for the rest of the night.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Hurry up, Shane. I can’t believe you guys complain about how long it takes us to get ready when you’ve been in the bathroom for an hour primping,” Rachel called with irritation.
“It’s called personal hygiene, Rachel. You might want to try it sometime, squirt. Besides, if you don’t like how long I’m taking, you can always go back to your own room,” he called back, not in the least offended by her taunting.
“I like your room better. It’s bigger than ours, which is just wrong. Besides, I prefer the grunge look. As a matter of fact, I was thinking this whole toothpaste and shampoo thing is for wimps. I’m going to go au naturel,” she mocked.
“Mmm, you’ll fit right in with all the woodland creatures in the forest,” he said as he walked by and ruffled her hair.
“Shane!” she cried out as she rushed into the bathroom to fix her carefully styled hair.