Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(112)
Trevor chuckled and shifted Callie away from the bouncer so she rested against his own chest. “I got her, Ivan. See if you can’t find the crowd something else to gawk at.”
“You know where you’re at, Callie?” Zeke checked her sister’s pupils for responsiveness.
As soon as Zeke pulled the light away, Callie blinked and focused on Viv. “I’m with Vivie.”
Fantasy Man’s voice resonated beside Viv’s ear, the tone low enough it zinged from her neck to the base of her spine. “Vivie, huh?”
A shudder racked her and she crossed her arms to combat the goose bumps popping up under her suit jacket.
His arm slipped around her waist from behind and pulled her against his chest, his heat blasting straight through to her skin. “You okay?”
Hell, no she wasn’t okay. Her sister was hurt and bystanders lined both sides of the street waiting to see what happened next, but all Viv could think about was how his voice would sound up close and in the dark. Preferably between heavy breaths with lots and lots of skin involved. She’d chalk it up to exhaustion, but her nonexistent sex life was probably the real culprit.
“I’m fine. Just tired.” She forced herself to step away and faced him, holding out her hand. “And it’s Vivienne. Vivienne Moore. Or Viv. Callie’s the only one that calls me Vivie.”
He studied her outstretched palm, scanning her with languid assessment, then clasped her hand in his and pierced her with a look that jolted straight between her legs. “Jace Kennedy.”
Figured that Fantasy Man would have a fantasy name to match. It sounded familiar, too, though with all the pheromones jetting through her body she couldn’t quite place where. Maybe wishful thinking or one too many romance novels. She tugged her hand free and stuffed her fists into her pockets. “Thanks for not letting me bust my ass in front of everyone.”
He matched her posture and shuttled his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other with his tongue. “Pretty sure I got the best end of the deal.”
Zeke’s voice cut in from behind her. “I think she’s fine. Just a nasty goose egg and too much booze.”
Viv turned in time to see the two men guide Callie to her feet. She weaved a little and looked like she’d fall asleep any second, but the pain seemed to have knocked off a little of her drunken haze. Her floral bohemian top was wrinkled and askew on her curvy frame, and her golden-brown hair was mussed like she’d just had monkey sex. Otherwise, she fit the rest of the crowd a whole lot better than Viv.
Pegging Zeke with a pointed look, Jace cupped the back of Viv’s neck. “Check Little Miss out, too. Didn’t like the angle her neck took when her girl went down.” He focused on Viv and held out his hand, palm up. “Keys.”
“What?”
“Keys,” he said. “Give ’em to me and we’ll bring your car around.”
“You don’t need to do that.” She pointed at the lot across the street. “I’m just over there, and Callie looks—”
“It’s almost two in the morning, your sister’s hammered and you both took a fall. Fork over the keys, we’ll get your car, pull it around and load your girl up.”
Four unyielding stares locked on to her—Zeke, Trevor and Jace, plus a new guy with black hair and a ponytail nearly down to his ass. The way the new guy trimmed his goatee gave him a Ming the Merciless vibe. She shouldn’t let any one of these guys near her, let alone surrender the keys to her car. “I think it’s better if Callie and I handle it ourselves.”
The muscle at the back of Jace’s jaw twitched and his eyes darkened.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Viv added. “I appreciate everyone jumping in to help. It’s way more than you needed to do. I just don’t know you guys. Have you watched the news lately?”
“That’s fair.” Trevor’s focus was locked on Jace when he spoke, but then slid his gaze to Viv. “But this is my bar, your sister drank too much while she was in it and hurt herself on the way out. It’s in my best interest to make sure you make it home safe. Anything bad goes down between here and there, you could give me and my new business a whole lot of heartache I don’t need, right?”
Trevor had a point.
“Give me the keys, sugar.” Jace crooked the fingers on his outstretched hand. “You’ve done enough solo tonight.”
She handed them over and Zeke stepped in, gently prodding the muscles along the back of her neck. “Any soreness?”
Viv shook her head as much as she could with Zeke’s big hands wrapped around her throat.
Behind Zeke, Jace handed off the keys to Ivan. A second later, jogging boot heels rang against the asphalt followed by the chirp of a disengaging car alarm.
Zeke tested her movement side to side and front and back as he’d done for Callie and checked her pupils. “I doubt you’d feel it until tomorrow anyway. Probably wouldn’t hurt to take a few ibuprofens before you go to bed.” He jerked his head toward Callie, still swaying next to Trevor. “Same goes for her. You’ll have a hard time keeping her awake and not puking with as much as she’s had to drink, but if she starts to act confused, can’t remember things or complains of ringing in her ears, get her to an ER.”
“You got anyone that can help you tonight?” Jace asked.