Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(27)

At the bar, Seth ambled up beside Darya and leaned his elbows atop the makeshift surface as if settling in for a long chat.

Cock sucking no good son of a bitch. Which part of she deserves better did the asshole not get?

Darya ducked her head at something Seth said, laughed and tucked her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear to reveal a pretty blush. A blush another man had put there.

Beckett’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts. “Knox?”

He whipped his head around to face his best friend. “What?”

Smirking, Beckett cocked his head. “Asked when you’re gonna put her to work. We need to get her prints scanned in if she’s spending time in the office.”

Knox let his gaze slide back to Darya. She’d put some distance between her and Seth while she placed her order, but what little she’d created, Seth gobbled up with a sly advance.

Beckett chuckled. “I’m so winning this bet.”

“Calm the fuck down. I’m lookin’ out for her. Nothing else.” Only taking his attention off Seth long enough to cast Beckett an annoyed scowl, Knox chin-lifted toward the play going down not thirty feet away. “She’s not into him. You think I’m gonna leave her without an out if she needs one?”

Trevor swiveled in his seat to check things out for himself. Grinning, he spun back around, wrapped his woman up in the crook of his arm and zeroed in on Beck. “Any chance I can get in on this action?”

“Jesus.” Knox snatched his beer off the tabletop and planted his foot on the rung of the empty chair next to him. “Stop thinkin’ with your dicks and look at her. She’s tried to head back this way twice and he’s cut her off.”

“I don’t know.” Vivienne pursed her mouth in a considering way, but it didn’t do enough to hide the smile behind it. “She seems like a sharp girl to me. Pretty sure she can shut Seth down if she wants to.”

Darya handed Axel’s hundred dollar bill to the bartender, but Seth wrapped his big paw around her wrist, pulled it back and offered his own cash.

Motherfucker.

He stood, slammed back the rest of his beer and plunked the empty bottle on the tabletop. “She wants to go for it, that’s fine, but if she wants an out, she’s getting one.”

“Oh, I’m thinking she’s getting something,” Zeke said as Knox walked away.

Not to be left out, Axel’s and Jace’s razing comments trailed right behind it.

“Probably has a mind to show her his oversize hard drive.”

“Go get her, tiger.”

Knox flipped them all the bird without looking back and kept moving. He stepped in behind Darya and laid a possessive hand on her shoulder. This close, her scent hit him hard, barely there roses and crisp winter even while the summer heat pressed around them.

She shivered beneath his touch, her body going from relaxed to full scale alert in a second.

He squeezed in what he hoped she’d process as a comforting gesture. “Everything okay?”

Seth turned from the counter and tucked the change in his pocket, open annoyance written all over his face.

Darya twisted as much as she could with him crowding so close, her gaze resting briefly on his hand before she lifted it to his face. It was a look, nothing more, but he’d swear it sparked with an electric current. But was that for Seth, or for him? “I was just talking with your friend,” she said to Knox before she faced forward again. “Seth, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Seth’s gaze dropped to Knox’s hand then shot Knox a knowing smile. “There a problem?”

“Nope.” At least not one he was willing to analyze. Not now, tomorrow or any day after that. “JJ just looked like she could use a hand with the drinks.”

Fuck, he hated that name. Now that he knew the real one, it felt wrong on his tongue, but risking the bogus identity with anyone outside of family wasn’t an option either.

“You didn’t need to do that,” Seth said. “I’ll give her all the help she needs.”

Yeah, Knox knew exactly what kind of help Seth had in mind. “No need.” He forced himself to release his grip and handed two drinks off to Darya. “You grab these, and I’ll follow you with the rest.”

She hesitated only long enough to study his face, way too much scrutiny moving behind her stunning blue eyes before she turned back to Seth, all poised politeness. “Thank you for the drinks.”

Seth moved in close, cupped the side of her face with a gentleness that shocked the shit out of Knox. “Darlin’, anything you want, I’m happy to give. You just say the word.”

Not going to happen.

Knox cleared his throat.

Darya took a big step backward. “Right. Well, thank you.” With one last piercing glance at Knox, she wove her way back to the table, Seth’s stare rooted on her ass the whole way.

“How much are you out for the drinks?” Knox asked.

“My treat.” Slow, like he didn’t have a care in the world, Seth leaned one arm against the bar. “Any chance any of those are for you?”

Knox snatched the last two drinks off the bar. “Nope. You just shucked out a handful of cash for a no-go and drinks for Axel, Beckett and Danny.”

“Too bad.”

“I know. Sucks when you crash and burn.”