“You were great. Very entertaining,” I answer with a chuckle. He licks his salt, takes a shot of tequila and sucks on a lime while maintaining eye contact.

My eyebrow shoots up in Devin-like silent ridicule.

“It’s all in the tongue.” He licks his lips and leans in to me. I pull back.

The low growl from Devin behind me puts a smirk on my lips. Wannabe misreads the situation. He grabs my wrist. “How ’bout you ditch the statue and let me show you a good time?”

He just crossed the line from entertaining to creepy. I wrench my hand free and place it in the middle of his chest, pushing him away in an unmistakable rejection. Yep, he’s definitely oiled up. I pull my hand away and gag at the slick mess covering it. Wannabe still doesn’t take the hint and leans in again, dragging a finger along my exposed collarbone.

“Enough,” Devin barks from behind me.

Tingles flood my stomach when he snakes his arm around my waist and pulls me against him. His body is cool, but the touch is searing. The connection burns through me. I lay my hand on top of his and close my eyes, focusing on his thick fingers spreading from the waist of my pants to just below my bra. His hold is firm and possessive. I’ve never wanted to belong to someone before, but I want to be Devin’s now.

Wannabe is focused on Devin behind me and his lips twist into a pout.

I give him a little wink. “You know the best thing about statues? They stay rock hard all night. So I’m good. Thanks.”

He chuckles, tips his shot glass to us and downs it before stalking off to find his next conquest.

Devin’s grip tightens around me and I shiver, my body desperate to melt into his.

I twist in his arms just enough to meet his glare. I’m surprised at the real jealousy and a bit of annoyance in his features. I lift my hand to his face and stroke the scruff on his clenched jaw. “You almost lost me to a rock star there, Big Man.”

His lips curl up at the edges in the closest I’ve ever seen to a smile. I nuzzle his nose and he responds with a soft hum. The rumble of the loud bar fades away as I stare into Devin’s deep, dark eyes. More than anything, I want to break through that veneer he wears and hear the truth hiding in those soulful orbs. The arm locked around me makes him seem so strong, but his gaze is gentle. Vulnerable. I want to protect him.

I take the beer out of his hand and set it on the bar next to mine, twisting to face him full on. He’s still sitting and I’m taller than him, tucked between his thick thighs. He glides his hands under my shirt, burning me with his icy touch. He massages my shoulder with one and slides the other to my lower back. Still cupping his face, I move a hand up under his shirt to rest on his bare pec. We’re both fully dressed, but the skin-to-skin touch feels intimate. The people around us don’t exist. We’re in our own world. I am connected to him in a way I never want to lose. Dropping my forehead to his, I close my eyes and focus on the ragged breaths he takes and the heart beating under my palm.