Page 3 of Brutal Reign
“Where’s Micah?”
“Couldn’t get out. His parents have been breathing down his neck lately.”
“I know the feeling,” she chuckles, gazing into the flames.
“Heads up, beautiful,” Beau calls out as he returns with a beer, tossing it toward River. I snatch it out of the air in front of her, cutting him a glare before I turn to meet her eyes.
“Thanks,” she breathes, reaching out to take the can from me. Our fingers brush, my pulse kicking up a notch.
Fuck.
She shouldn’t be here.
This was supposed to be a chill night, but now I’m on edge.
Ace plucks the joint he rolled earlier from behind his ear, digging a hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulling out his Zippo lighter. The two of us are so in tune with one another that it’s fucking scary sometimes. A little herb is exactly what I need right now to take the edge off.
He sparks it up and takes a couple hits, Riv wrinkling her nose when the skunky smell wafts her way.
“Got a problem?” I ask her as I reach over to steal the joint from Ace.
“No,” she replies stiffly.
I pinch it between my lips, inhaling deep and holding the smoke in my lungs. “Then take a hit,” I challenge, holding it out to her in offering. “Dare you.”
Hazel eyes bounce between the smoldering joint and my own as she chews on her lower lip. “Nah, I’m good.”
I exhale the smoke on a chuckle. “Yeah you are,” I tease, eyes dropping to the unopened beer in her hand as I take another drag. “A perfect angel.”
She purses those full, glossed lips, narrowing her eyes on me.
“Dude, have you seen the rack on that Bella girl?” Beau remarks as he flops back down in his chair.
I turn to glance toward the girl in question, shrugging as I pass the joint back to Ace. “I’d hit it.”
“Good luck,” Riv mutters.
I swivel my gaze her way again, making a scoffing sound in my throat. “I don’t need luck. I’mme.”
“Yeah, well unless you’re her fated mate, I doubt she’s interested,” River replies dryly. “Pretty sure she’s saving herself for him.”
“So she’s a prude then,” Eli comments.
Riv rolls her eyes so hard I’ll bet she sees the back of her skull. “And you’re a douche,” she fires back, the corner of her mouth pulling into a smirk as she tilts her head. “Then again, that’s not exactly news, is it?”
Eli clutches his chest dramatically, wincing. “Ouch, Riv, I thought we were friends.”
“Nah, I just tolerate you,” she teases, sticking her tongue out at him.
A hot spike of jealousy flares in my chest, my hands clenching into fists atop the armrests of my chair.
“Being picky doesn’t make someone a prude,” Ace murmurs, knocking the ash off the tip of the joint before passing it back to me.
“There’s a difference between being picky and holding out for someone who you might not ever even meet,” Eli reasons.
River finally cracks open the damn beer she’s been holding, smiling to herself as she raises it to her lips. “I dunno, I think the idea of saving it for your fated mate is kinda romantic.”
“Well, that’s something a nerd like you won’t have to worry about,” I snort.