Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(26)

Completely undaunted, Seth chuckled. “Man, I got that with one look.” He lifted his beer in salute and turned to leave. “You might have a problem with long-term, but I don’t.”

Knox stayed rooted in place, the plates all but forgotten as he tracked Seth’s path back to the rear table Axel had set aside for Otter and his crew. Nursing his anger was stupid. Totally out of character. But in the space of two seconds, he’d gone from laid-back and happy to ready for murder, which was hands down not his thing. Fists and head-to-head was Beckett’s gig. Knox was more the cut-your-nuts-off-on-the-sly-and-smile-while-doing-it type. So, why the fuck was he so uptight?

Convinced Seth was going to keep his ass at a distance, Knox headed back to his crew. If there’d been any lull in conversation while he was gone, it didn’t show by the time he got back. If anything, Darya looked like she’d been friends with his brothers and their women for years instead of hours.

He settled into his chair and passed the plate he’d gotten for Darya two seats over. Somehow Beckett and Danny had lured her between them all of twenty minutes after her info bomb and hadn’t stopped talking her ear off since. More than once he’d caught her giving one or the other a light touch. Her fingertips on Danny’s shoulder, or leaning her head against Beckett’s shoulder as he pulled her into a side hug. Funny how the simple affection looked right with his brothers, but he’d wanted to rip Seth’s head off for just looking at her.

She lifted her gaze to his, smiled an unspoken thank you and picked up a rib.

He picked up his own rib and dove in.

“She’s pretty,” Viv muttered low beside him.

Pretty was an understatement. Her eyes alone were the kind of shit people wrote poems about, a mixture of ice and a clear spring day. Added to her winter-blonde hair, she was nothing short of otherworld regal. “She’s smart. Driven.”

“Mmm hmm,” Viv said. “I’m sure it’s the smart and driven part that’s got you watching her like a hawk, too.”

Fuck.

He tore his attention away from Darya and wiped his fingers. “Just trying to get a handle on how she ticks. I’ll teach her better if I understand her.”

Jace swiveled his head and cocked a shit-eating grin. He might not have actually joined in on the conversation, but his look said he’d heard every word and was crying bullshit foul right along with Vivienne.

Danny barked a resounding laugh and Darya stood, a tiny smile playing on her lips as she scanned everyone around the table. “I’m making a drink run. Anyone need a refill?”

“Me.”

“Me, too.”

“I could use another scotch.”

This from Beckett, Danny and Axel as they stood and reached for their wallets like synchronized swimmers. In the space of ten seconds, all three had bills outstretched and wavering in the soft summer breeze.

Gaze moving from one hand to the next, Darya giggled. “I think I can cover the expense of four drinks.”

Vivienne propped one elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. “You’re sitting at a table overloaded with testosterone. If you don’t let them pay, you’ll wound their male egos.”

“She’s right,” Nat said. “Take the money. You have no idea how bad these guys can pout.”

Darya rolled her eyes, eyeballed Axel’s, Beckett’s and Danny’s outstretched hands, then snagged Axel’s hundred-dollar bill. With a playful mew aimed at Beckett and Danny she said, “You two can pick up the tab next time.”

Axel snickered, reclined against his seat back and crossed his arms like he’d just trounced his brothers in a world class debate. “The lass has taste.”

“Hardly.” Gabe curled her hand around Zeke’s bicep and grinned. “More like she figured out you’d pout the longest.”

With a quick woman-to-woman smile, Darya side-stepped between Beckett and the table and headed toward the bar. “Something like that.”

Zeke waited only long enough for Darya to make it out of earshot before he shifted into serious mode. “Big play, her sharing her real name. If she’s runnin’ like you think she is, that’s a huge vulnerability. Takes guts. I like her.”

Trevor nodded. “Me, too.”

Axel and Danny chimed right behind him.

“Yep.”

“Agreed.”

Beckett shrugged in a classic I-told-you-so move and pinned Knox with a superior look. “I never misread people. I told you she was good.”

Jace shifted enough to give Knox his full attention. “You wanna take her on, you’ve got the all clear from us.”

“And if that past of hers comes calling,” Axel added, “you let us know that, too. She might not be one of us yet, but we’re not lettin’ her swing alone.”

With his focus squarely centered on Darya’s swaying ass as she made her way to the bar, Knox’s brain lagged at least five seconds before Axel’s quip registered. “What do you mean she’s not one of us yet?”

Trevor grinned over the rim of his longneck. “He means the way you’ve been eye-fucking her all night, he thinks it’s only a matter of time before you’re callin’ rally and throwin’ down.”

He opened his mouth to tell Trevor to stop with the bullshit then promptly lost his train of thought.