Banking the Billionaire (Bad Boy Billionaires Book 2)(77)

“You left him with someone I’ve never met? Who is this person?”

I walked toward one of the beer coolers Georgia had arranged for the bar staff to set up. Longnecks stood out of a bath of sloppy, semimelted ice, so I plucked one out with two fingers and gave it a gentle shake to shed some of the water. The cap gave way to my twist easily, landing right in the center of the garbage can as I tipped the bottle to my lips and took a swig before answering.

“Yep. I’m paying someone to watch my pig, thanks to you. And it’s a sweet lady in the building next door.”

She raised her hands palms out in front of her. “Phil is so much more than a pig.”

“You’re right. He’s a manifestation of you trying to win our little game.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied, getting up in my space once again.

I opened my arms to accommodate her, leaned back against the wall, and pulled her between my legs. “Bullshit.”

“Hey, guys,” Wes said as he approached us, easy smile lighting up his green-hazel eyes. He was always running fifteen minutes behind schedule. Luckily, he’d somehow managed to make himself important enough that people waited for him.

I half expected Cassie to move away, go talk to Georgia or one of her other friends, but instead, she turned her back to my chest, pushed her ass to my crotch, and settled into me the way I was on the wall.

She pulled out her phone and glanced at it as she waved at Wes, but his eyes never left mine. And they were mighty f*cking amused.

“Hey, Cass, did Thatch tell you—” Wes started, and I waved a wild arm frantically to head him off. I shook my head to emphasize the point just as her eyes left her phone and met Wes’s.

A Wes who had paused midsentence because I’d activated the bat signal.

“Did Thatch tell me what?”

It wasn’t that she wouldn’t know about Sean eventually, but I knew she’d both flip her shit and be angry with me that I hadn’t said anything sooner, and I wasn’t ready for the negative side of that coin. My plans for tonight were going to be flirting the line with pissing her off enough.

“Um,” Wes stalled and widened his eyes at me uncertainly. “Did he tell you how much he sucked at rugby practice earlier?”

I closed my eyes and waited for the fallout. I was surrounded by absolute shit liars. How could I be so gifted in something all of my friends struggled with? Wouldn’t I start to rub off eventually?

But Cass didn’t call him on it, instead dissolving into a gentle laugh. “Yeah, right. Have you seen this guy? He tosses people around for breakfast. Trust me, I know.”

Wes’s smile came back at that, and it’d taken on an air of insinuation. “Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”

“Fuck. Forget I said that shit, or I’ll kill both of you.” She shoved off of me so hard it made me grunt in the middle of my laugh.




Cassie’s hand fell easily into mine as she talked to the people around her. She didn’t notice the way people’s eyes went there, the way they watched and smiled—or sneered in the case of a few women and pricks with dicks—but I did. Their eyes widened just slightly, and the corners of their lips turned up or down just enough. The tiny tics of a person’s thoughts out there for anyone to see if they took the time.

I knew I hardly ever did, and I honestly don’t think Cassie ever concentrated on anyone else’s opinion. But tonight, as I publicly claimed her as mine over and over again, I found myself fascinated.

I gently tugged her hand before releasing it and sliding a possessive hand around the curve of her waist to settle on her opposite hip. She sank into me effortlessly, and I wasn’t sure if she’d even noticed what I’d done.

“Excuse me, ladies, but I’m going to steal my girlfriend for a little while.”

Once again, mouths turned up and down in equal supply, but the corners of mine went distinctly north. Cassie hadn’t even questioned the sentiment. I’d obviously done a stellar job of desensitizing her to it. And tonight, I had practically followed her everywhere she went, touching her without permission and interjecting about our relationship anytime the opportunity presented itself. Pushing the boundaries as always, I’d even told a couple of guys I was planning to propose soon. She’d smiled. Of course, she’d felt secure in the fact that I was joking.

I wasn’t so sure.

It was the most fun I’d had in a long time.

Once we were several feet away, Cassie’s commentary returned. “You didn’t even wink at any of those women, Thatcher. Is your game failing?”

I bit my lip to stop a smile, but I didn’t fight the urge to lean down and press a subtle kiss to her lips. “It wasn’t really necessary.” When I pulled back, I didn’t deny her the pleasure, though.

“Ah, there it is,” she breathed. “Just delayed a little, I guess.”

“Something like that.”

I held the door as we walked inside and then pushed through the crowd until we came to another door on the other side. It read Emergency Exit in big official letters, but I knew there was no alarm on it. At practice, one of the guys had been telling a story about drunkenly stumbling through it while trying to woo a woman. Not exactly A game material, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. That was a lesson he really needed to learn for himself.