Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(67)

“Get dressed. We’re eating dinner. Then I’m taking you home for dessert.” I lifted my hand to my mouth, licking her arousal off each finger.

She watched me intently as she tugged her pants up. “Are you sure? You just had that for breakfast.”

I laughed, dropping my hands to button my own jeans. “Oh, I’m positive. Now, let’s get this over with.”





“OH, I SEE HOW IT is. I get yelled at for getting some in the locker room, but when Flint comes limping in looking like he just had an orgy, everyone smiles,” Quarry said and signed when the hostess led us to the group already seated in the back.

A gorgeous Hispanic girl slapped him upside the back of his head, while Mia giggled, snuggling under his arm.

“Dumbass,” Flint mumbled. “Everyone, this is Ash. Ash, this is . . .” He leaned forward to look all the way down the table. “Jesus, why are all of you here?”

Everyone laughed; then all eyes landed on me.

Great. No pressure.

“All right,” he huffed, pointing at the end of the table. “That’s Leo James and his wife, Sarah.” He swung his arm to the Hispanic girl sitting at the other end next to Quarry. “That’s their daughter, Liv. Then you know Max, of course.” He pointed to a guy covered in tattoos with his arm draped around the back of a blonde’s chair. “That’s Caleb Jones, and his wife, Emma, who is Sarah’s sister.” He waved his finger back to the end of the table. “The ugly guy is Aiden Johnson, and the ogre next to him is Alex Pearson. They run security for Leo, who runs security for Till and Slate.” He sucked in a dramatic breath before continuing. “You already know Till and Eliza and Slate and Erica.” Lifting his hands to sign, he finished with, “Oh, and the pink flamingo next to Quarry is Mia March.”

They all laughed as Mia lifted her hands and signed what I could only assume were choice words.

“She loves me,” he told me, signing something back.

She flipped him off as Quarry barked out a laugh. Then he tipped her back for a kiss that made the entire table groan in disgust.

“Hi!” I waved with both hands before sitting in the chair Flint had pulled out for me.

All eyes followed me as I sat down.

“Quit gawking and go back to talking,” he demanded, and apparently, I wasn’t the only one who naturally followed his orders, because within seconds, everyone started chattering again.

“Who the hell are all these people?” I asked quietly as Flint settled beside me.

“Your search party,” he answered matter-of-factly, waving a waitress down to order our drinks.

Not. Awkward. At. All.

The girl across from me interrupted my inner embarrassment. “Hi, Ash. I’m Liv. Q’s told me a lot about you.”

Quarry suddenly became unstuck from Mia’s mouth and tossed his arm around the back of Liv’s chair.

“The good or the bad stuff?” My eyes flashed to his arm and then back to her.

“Good. He told us you were a pickpocket.”

My gaze shifted to Quarry. “That’s the good stuff?”

He shrugged, ignoring me to go back to signing with Mia.

“I have been known to lift a wallet a time or two.”

Flint choked on a sip of water. “A time or two? You have my wallet right now. Beautiful, don’t think I missed you swiping that while I was doing the intros.”

“No way,” Liv breathed. “Like right now?”

“Yeah, but what he doesn’t know is I got his keys too.” I placed them both on the table as Flint patted his pockets down, cursing.

“Badass,” she breathed.

Mia reached over Quarry to catch Liv’s attention, pulling her into their silent conversation.

I looked up at Flint, who was watching them talk while Q sat like a king guarding his harem. “What’s the dynamic there?”

“Liv and Q have been best friends since they were kids. She lives in Chicago, so she’s only around sporadically. He started dating Mia about two years ago. They’ve been joined at the pelvis ever since. Mia is all kinds of scrappy. You should have seen the brawl that almost ensued the first time she met Liv. They got over it at some point though. Now, Mia and Liv are best friends and Q’s the third wheel.”

“Is Mia deaf too?”

“Yeah. She lost her hearing as a kid. Brain tumor.”

“Oh, damn,” I whispered.

He snuck his hand under the table to rest it on my thigh. “She’s fine now. Well, fine enough to jump Quarry on every flat surface in Till’s house.”

A laugh bubbled from my throat.

“I give her hell, but she’s a cool chick. She keeps Quarry’s ass in line, so we all love her.” He began perusing the menu.

“Hey, Flint,” Slate yelled from the end of the table. “What ever happened with that potential fight for Griff in Atlantic City?”

“Oh, let me tell you this bullshit. Four figures. Four. Hang on.” He turned to kiss me. “I’ll be right back.” He snagged his crutches and headed down to Slate and Till.

Just as he got close, Eliza excused herself, and Flint filled her chair.

They had a heated discussion both verbally and through sign. I guessed the bad stuff was spoken in sign, since Till looked over his shoulder every time one of them lifted their hands. I couldn’t help but laugh at how animated Flint was with his hands. For such a stoic man, sign seemed to really bring out the drama in him.