Razed (Barnes Brothers #2)(10)

Even as Keelie said it, a shiver raced through her, drawing her gut tight with dread. Oh, she most definitely wouldn’t get drunk. She rarely let that happen anyway, and never with a stranger.

“Yeah. Not that I’ve ever seen you drink more than a beer or two, but definitely don’t get drunk on a blind date.” Leaning forward, she stared at Keelie, face completely serious. “Now, you should probably order a beer. Because you’ll relax a little and, Keelie, sweetheart, you need to relax. Actually, you should probably get laid, but that’s for another night.”

Covering her face with her hand, Keelie muttered, “I knew I didn’t want dating advice from you two.” She was not going to discuss sex with Javi standing right there. She wasn’t. Absolutely not.

“Hey, this isn’t bad advice. Besides . . . you know how bad an idea it is to get drunk around a guy you don’t know.”

An ugly headache started to pound at the base of her skull. Yes. Keelie knew full well how bad an idea that was. But all she said was, “That’s why I don’t generally drink when I’m going out on a first . . . or even a second or third date.” She didn’t drink much and when she did, it was only within the company of friends.

Anais waved a hand. “Just order a beer at the bar. That’s all you need. One drink. You’ll loosen up a little. Now . . . the most important thing . . . and I mean it, this is serious shit—”

Keelie lifted a brow. “You understand the concept of serious, Ani?”

“Absolutely. But only in reference to men and metal.” Anais did take metal seriously. As the only piercer they had on staff at Steel Ink, that was a good thing. She excelled at her job. And the men definitely loved her. “Now, are you listening to me or not?”

“I’m all ears.” And she was. Considering that Anais actually looked halfway serious, Keelie wanted to know just what her friend considered serious.

“So am I.”

Keelie shot Javi a look. Part of her suspected she should make him leave. There was no telling what would come out of Anais’s mouth. She had no filter. None. But Javi was like a brother to her and if what Anais had to say was going to embarrass her, it would likely embarrass Javi, too. Keelie believed in sharing the misery.

Unaffected by Javi’s presence, Anais pinned Keelie with a wide, direct stare. “Listen, no matter what, no matter how hot you think this guy is—and he is hot, I’ve seen him—no matter how hot he is, you can’t give him a blow job on the first date.”

The bell over the front door jingled, shattering the silence that had fallen after Anais’s declaration.

She might have said something—anything—to ease the embarrassment crawling through her.

But then she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey . . . anybody around?”

That embarrassment exploded and, suddenly, she had a hard time breathing. Her heart raced. Blood crashed in her ears. Her hands felt hot and sweaty.

“Did you hear me, Keelie?” Anais asked, lifted a brow. The hoop there caught the light, shining back. “No blow—”

Blow jobs. She clapped her hand over Anais’s mouth just as Zane Barnes appeared in the doorway. Yes. It was exactly who she’d thought it was. Anais was going on about blow jobs and now—

An image formed in her mind. Full-blown, so detailed it might have actually happened, and larger than life.

Stop it, she mentally shrieked. Stop it right now.

Like it had happened yesterday, she could feel his hands on her, the way he’d covered her mouth as she came, muffling her cries, the way he’d twisted his fingers inside her, playing her body like he’d been born to do just that. His mouth on hers.

And now she could see herself on her knees. In front of him.

Oh. Hell.

His gaze came to hers, lingered.

Oxygen drained out of the room—he had some bizarre effect on the atmosphere, because when he was around, she couldn’t breathe. That had to be it; she refused to admit she just got that stupid around him. Her chest hitched and she forced herself to take in a slow, careful breath.

His lashes swept down low over his eyes and then he shifted his gaze to Anais and the way Keelie was gagging her. “Am I interrupting?”

“No.” Keelie pasted a wide, fake smile on her face and jerked her hand away from Anais’s mouth.

Zane arched a brow.

“Oh, we’re good,” Anais said, that angelic smile on her face. “I’m just giving Keelie a hard time. It’s so easy with her.”

Keelie wondered how easy it would be to tie the woman up, gag her, stuff her in a closet for a while. Anais was tiny. Keelie stood five nine. It probably wouldn’t take much.

Her heart continued to pound and her hands were still sweaty, and when she looked back at Zane, his eyes slid to hers, dropped to linger on her mouth, shooting another blast of memory pulsing through her. Her mouth started to tingle.

“I . . . ah . . . I’m heading out soon. Need to wrap things up out front.” It was a bald-faced lie but if she stood there so close to him for much longer, she was going to embarrass herself. Especially since she now couldn’t stop thinking about Zane. And blow jobs. And his hands on her.

She edged around him and cut into Zach’s office. Once inside, she shut the door and pressed her back to it. Eyes closed, she whispered, “Just shoot me now.”