30. Reed
The night is still young, but Wilder is already drunk.
He’s got me locked in the booth with his full body turned toward me.
One of his arms is draped along the backrest behind my head, meaning his proximity is everywhere.
I can feel his heat, smell his cologne, and taste the whiskey on his tongue every time he grunts a response to one of Bobby’s questions.
The dim lighting keeps catching the sharp line of his jaw, and I have to stop myself from reaching out to stroke it.
I also have to force myself to keep looking away, to keep conversing with the others, because it’s safer than the temptation sitting beside me.
I’ve accepted I want him now, it’s just a simple fact, but it’s not just that I am physically attracted to him, it’s everything else too.
I now know a version of Wilder Miles that is completely irresistible, and there is nothing I can do about it.
Bobby laughs at whatever Wilder just said, and I am drawn back to the moment.
The two of them seem to be enjoying themselves, but when I trail my stare over Wilder I notice something is off about him.
It’s not obvious, not aside from how quickly he is knocking back the drinks, but there is a nervous edge about him tonight, and I’m not the only one who has noticed.
Caden has been watching him all night, like he is waiting for him to do something, but he’s not sure what.
I’m not either, the only thing I know is that Caden seems to be watching him, like a father would a child.
Which is weird considering I know the twins are younger than Wilder, yet Caden has an older aura about him.
Like he’s seen and done too much in his short lifetime, and for some reason it both eases me and puts me on edge at the same time.
Every time I glance over at Wilder, there’s another empty glass and another fresh drink.
Way more than I have ever seen him drink before, and I’m not sure why.
While Caden appears to be watching him protectively, Bobby appears to be doing so warily, like he can sense something I can’t.
Like he is ready to step in and deescalate the situation if needed, as if he has had to before.
It’s honestly the same kind of tension I usually feel when I attend family dinners at my father’s house, except here I can still feel the love and not just the wrath.
Still I know there is something unspoken, something I’m not privy to, but I can feel it the same way you can feel electricity before a storm.
It’s enough to have me leaning in even closer to Wilder, ignoring his intoxicating scent. “Hey,” I whisper, my voice low compared to the music, but still the sound of it pulls his attention to me instantly. “Are you okay?”
Something dark flickers across his expression, before he pastes that smirk he showcases to everyone across his face instead. “What kind of question is that, Blue?” he tosses back, trying to use the same tactic he uses on the press, putting the question back on me, but it won’t work here.
“A valid one,” I tell him firmly, holding his stare, and again there is a flicker in his eyes, gone too quickly to decipher, but it tells me all I need to know right now.
“I’m in a bar surrounded by my family and best friends, with a hot guy tucked into my side, of course I’m okay.”
There’s the lie. One I expected, and one he thought he could hide with a flirty smile, but again, I know him too well for that now.
“Then why do you keep staring at Caden like he killed your puppy?” I ask outright, making his eyes widen, his gaze darting across the table to his cousin, before coming back to me.
“You’re being too perceptive as usual,” he grunts, instead of giving me an answer, reaching for his glass again.
“And you’re drinking too much because something is bothering you,” I counter back, and he grins, as if me noticing that it is important to him.
I can feel both Bobby and Caden staring at us now, clearly having heard our conversation, but Wilder doesn’t seem to mind.
In fact, he looks amused, looking at me over the rim of his glass, as he polishes off another drink before licking his lips. “Come dance with me, Blue,” he demands, already pushing out of the booth without waiting for me to respond.
I know I shouldn’t, we’ve done it once before and I barely survived, but for some reason, his words pull me from the booth before I can even second guess his request. Then he is tugging me away from the table where Caden and Bobby remain, until we can lose ourselves in the crowd.
I spot Casper over by the bar, flirting with some blond woman, while Knox and Beck watch, and Matteo is dancing with a pretty brunette by the DJ.
Wilder avoids them all, pulling me into a corner like he did last time.
Then his hands find my waist and he starts moving, not dramatically or over the top, just a slow sway in time with the music, like he is perfectly comfortable here.
Like he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of us, and I find it strangely attractive, which is deeply unhelpful considering my current predicament of already wanting him.
Just like in the booth his body crowds me, the three inches of height he has on me feels all the more looming as we rock against one another.
I feel him everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and I let myself lose myself in the moment completely. Song after song rings out around us and we move in sync, letting our hands explore each other’s bodies, while still keeping a respectable amount of space between us.
“Don’t look at me like that, Blue,” he groans, dropping his head to mine, like it is the most natural thing in the world for us.
“Like what?” I ask, the alcohol suddenly making me feel bold.
“Like you’d let me take you here in front of everyone.
” I swallow thickly at the image he just painted, unable to get any kind of response out, and his eyes darken.
He looks at me as if he can see inside my very bones and read every sordid thought written there about him.
“You would, wouldn’t you?” he muses, his hand sliding up to grip the chain he bought where it wraps around my torso.
He tugs on it roughly until my body slams into his, not leaving any space between us.
“You’d let me fuck you right here in this club if I asked.
” His stare searches mine, and I don’t know what’s worse, the devastating look on his face at the prospect of what he just said, or the fact he won’t find a refusal on mine.
My lack of response has him moving in even closer, like he is going to kiss me right here in front of everyone, and for some insane reason, I don’t pull away.
Because the truth is, I want him to kiss me.
I want to feel his mouth on mine, and see my lipstick stained on his.
I want to swallow his moans and pretend, just for a night, that I can allow myself the luxury of him.
Then Casper's voice cuts through the moment from somewhere behind us. "I fucking knew it!" he calls, making me startle back a bit, as he throws an arm around Wilder’s neck. Wilder himself looks ready to kill him honestly, but his cousin’s expression is nothing short of pure delight. “No wonder you two slipped off,” he continues. “I knew you wouldn’t last the full trip without fucking one another.”
“Cas,” Wilder warns, but he isn’t deterred in the slightest, not even when the blonde woman on his other side smacks his chest playfully.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Knox confirms, deciding to join the party on the dance floor, and I feel my entire body heating.
“Aw come on, leave them alone, they’re still in denial about their feelings,” Beckett adds, and it’s at that moment I will for the ground to open up and swallow me.
“I will kick all your fucking asses,” Wilder warns, but none of them seem to believe him, and I can’t say I blame them considering how many drinks he’s had tonight.
“We’re heading back to the lodge,” Casper announces instead, tugging the woman tighter against him, running his hand up and down her waist.
“Already?” I ask a little too desperately, and he looks at me and grins, as if he can tell just how mad I am about his interruption.
“Yeah, photo boy, I’ve found my entertainment for the night.” He nods his head toward the woman who is grinning suggestively, as she rubs herself against him. “And it seems you’ve found yours,” he adds, wiggling his brows at me suggestively.
Before I can respond, Matteo materializes out of nowhere, with the brunette he has been pursuing, looking between us all. “Are we ready?” he asks no one in particular, as if this departure was already prearranged, and Casper nods.
“Born ready, baby!” he replies, as Caden and Bobby appear at our sides too, both also looking ready to leave.
Did I miss a damn roundup?
Apparently I did, because now Casper has found himself a distraction for the night, his twin feels like we can all go home.
Caden trails his eyes over all of us before nodding at Bobby, and then they are moving.
Wilder surprises me by slipping his hand into mine, tugging me along as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I try to ignore the butterflies swirling in my stomach, but I can’t help it.
It seems with him they are becoming a persistent problem, and right now is no different.
He drags me into the seat beside him in the car of course, with Caden in the front and Bobby on his other side.
The two of them paying no attention to how his hand mindlessly strokes my knee, as if it is somehow calming him down.
His stare still remains on Caden, and I try to think back over some infraction I may have missed over the last couple of days, but I come up empty.