Be My Hero (Forbidden Men #3)(43)

I started to smile until I remembered reality. If she was referring to Tris, Tristy wouldn't care if I went home with a dozen girls every night. But I liked having this barrier between us. I didn't want Tink to know what a sham my 'marriage' was. Because for her, I had a bad feeling I'd want to dissolve all my vows and get an annulment or some shit, which I definitely couldn't do. Not if I wanted to keep Julian safe.

"I guess I'll be keeping my mouth off your head, then."

Eva nodded. "Good."

When she turned away and strolled off, I stared after her and gritted my teeth when I took in her ass. Shit, I almost wished pregnancy had done to her backside what it'd done to Tristy's—making it twice as wide—because her taut cheeks looked too good to resist.

She glanced back. "Are you checking out my ass?"

I snorted and shook my head, but confessed, "Of course. And I'm completely confused. Isn't having a kid supposed to make your butt big?" I motioned my finger toward her. "Not deliciously juicy like that?"

"Trust me, honey." She winked as she smacked a hand on her ass. "This is huge compared to what it used to look like."

"Dear God in Heaven." I whimpered to myself as she turned away again. A person wouldn't be able to tell she was carrying a kid at all, because from the back, she was curved to perfection. When she put an extra, cocky sway to her hips, most likely knowing I was still gawking, I grinned.

Shit. I think I liked her. Along with her killer body, she had sass and spunk, along with some softness, and a big ol' heart ready to care for people. I grinned, remembering how she'd tried to manually help Lowe drink his water the other week. I had a feeling she didn't even realize how truly compassionate she was.

Popping into the bathroom before I returned to the bar, I checked out what she'd done to my hair. I laughed aloud when I saw that she'd given me a stubby Mohawk.

"Damn," I murmured, carefully touching the gelled spikes. I liked it.

***



"What the f*ck!" Ten hissed as soon as I strode into the bar again. "If you think that hair is going to help you win the auction—"

"It is." I patted his shoulder with a placating smile. "Sorry, sucka, but you're going down tonight."

"Fucker." He scowled after me as I strolled away to check on a table full of ladies who looked like they had deep pockets and could afford to win.

Time to start promoting myself.

But I caught sight of Eva at the bar, perched on her stool as she demolished a bowl of nuts. It was strange enough for a pregnant woman to enter a bar when it was closed, but for her to stick around after it opened . . . that did not make me comfortable. If anyone harassed her, I'd be forced to kill them.

Weaving my way to her, I replenished her stock of nuts and rested my elbows on the bar top to watch her gnaw on her bottom lip as she stared at the second bowlful, silently debating with herself if she should eat more or not.

"If you're still worried I'll let any woman buy Lowe, I promise you I won't."

She gave in and scooped up another handful before answering me with a perky smile. "Oh, I'm not worried about that at all. I have no doubt you're good for your word."

I swelled with pride. I was a complete stranger who'd majorly unsettled her peace of mind the first time we'd met. Yet here she was, claiming to trust my word.

That didn't explain why she was still here, though. "So, you're sticking around because . . . ?" I lifted my eyebrows. "You want to see who ends up buying me?" I gave a sudden, naughty grin. "You jealous, Tinker Bell?"

She rolled her eyes. "Cute. But, no. I'm waiting for my ride. Reese should be back to pick me up in a few minutes."

Shit. She was stuck here. I loved that because it meant I got to bask in her presence longer. And yet I hated it because my nerves were going ape-shit, knowing there'd be no way to keep a constant eye on her in this crowd.

"You know, if you get uncomfortable out here, I can show you a room in the back you can chill in until she shows up."

She laughed. "Trust me, I'm pretty comfortable with the whole bar scene."

"Yeah, but—" When my gaze fell to her stomach, she held up a finger and shot me a look that told me not to even go there.

"If you say anything like in your condition, I'm liable to turn into Eva the super bitch and go off on you again."

I grinned. "Duly noted. But seriously, I don't like this. At all." My palm drifted over her belly before falling away. She jumped at the brief contact. "If someone messes with this precious bundle, I'm going to lose my shit."

Her eyes lit and she drew out the word, "Oooh. So that's what it's about?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Your overprotectiveness." She twirled out her finger. "I was confused why you were so nice, yet controlling, that first night we met. But now that I know you're a daddy . . . " She shrugged. "It makes more sense."

I pulled back, confused. "What makes you think I'm a daddy?"

"Because . . . " She popped more nuts into her mouth and chewed. "Reese said so. Mason told her you needed a new shirt because your baby had thrown up on the other one."

With a nod, I shifted a step back, reminding myself why I needed to keep my distance from her. Julian needed me. And to keep Julian in my life, I needed to keep Tristy in it. And I couldn't exactly be a good, faithful husband to Tristy if I was here drooling over Eva, the one woman who could make me do anything.