“One, having to convince a woman to come home with me is new. Two, no woman I’ve ever met has come close to earning such a vow from me.”
He shifted so that his lips could brush hers lightly, teasingly, and Eva immediately felt herself began to melt into him. The first explanation was understandable, if sort of “enraging”, the second was chill as fuck. But she believed him.
He lifted his head. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
She was about to nod when she remembered Nika. Shit! She peered around Gabriel’s shoulder but couldn’t see her friend. “I can’t leave yet,” she said with an embarrassing amount of disappointment in her voice. “I came with my friend.” She pulled back, finding it hard to concentrate with the feel of him against her. All that heat and muscle. “Would you mind if we had a drink with her and her husband? Or, I suppose, I could come to the hotel—”
“I don’t mind meeting your friends,” he cut in.
Oh. Well, that was sweet. “Okay.” Nika was going to freak out. “Just a warning; Kevin’s odd. Don’t take anything he says too seriously.”
At Gabriel’s nod, she led him back to the table. Nika and Kevin were still there but no longer talking, and before Eva could do much more than smile an apology, her friend raised a hand.
“Don’t get comfortable.” There was a new tightness in her voice. “We’re leaving.” Her eyes went to Gabriel. “But you might like to make introductions before we go.”
Eva drew him forward. “This is Gabriel. Gabriel, this is my best friend, Nika.”
A faint smile curved Nika’s lips. “Ah. Eva was just telling me about you.”
An unreadable expression crossed Gabriel’s face. “Was she,” he mused as he shook her friend’s hand.
“Yup. This is…Kevin.” Nika motioned beside her, and Eva barely stopped herself from grimacing at the hesitation.
Gabriel gave Kevin a nod when the idiot didn’t move a muscle to indicate he would be as polite as his wife by shaking hands.
“Lucky I came out,” he said, eyeing Gabriel and his friends as he took a pull from the bottle of beer in front of him. “Didn’t know you were in the habit of hookin’ up with strangers, Eva. Gonna hafta’ rethink allowing you to hang with my wife.”
As Nika wilted, Eva bit her tongue. She knew Kevin had no manners, but he normally took the coward’s way out by being passive-aggressive, making his insults appear as jokes. Not tonight, apparently.
But remembering her promise, she forced a smile and reached out to give Nika’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Then she completely ignored the asshole staring at her—hoping for a reaction?—and touched Gabriel’s forearm.
“Since they’re leaving, we might as well go.”
Banked fury simmered in those dark green eyes that were now drilling a hole through Kevin.
Eva practically dove for his ear. “Please don’t say anything. It will only cause Nika more problems than she already has. We all know he’s a jerk, so let’s just leave it, okay?” She drew back and was just about to try to bodily yank him away when the tension seeped from his muscles. He gave Nika a respectful nod.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Nika.” Then he focused on Kevin, his expression like granite. “I’ll let this slide because Eva asked me to, but if you ever speak to her like that again, I’ll personally deliver you to a hell you’ve only ever read about. You got me?” He stared and waited.
And waited.
Not moving a muscle until the coward nodded and muttered a gruff, “Yeah. Got it. Sorry, Eva. Was only jokin’.”
Nika grabbed Eva in a hard hug that had them both stumbling a few steps. “Oh, my God,” she breathed in Eva’s ear. “Where did you find him and where can I get one?”
“I’m so sorry.” Eva held tightly to her best friend. “I shouldn’t have called and asked you to come out tonight. Are you going to be all right?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. And don’t be sorry. I love our time together. It isn’t your fault or mine that he’s such a prick, so forget it,” she said dismissively as she pulled back. “He isn’t a prick, though.” She tipped her head toward Gabriel who was talking to Quan. “Holy shit, he’s fire. Nicely done, Ms. Almost-Not-A-Virgin, nicely done.”
Eva had to smile as she high-fived the offered palm, but her mind was still on the “prick” comment. That was the first time she could remember Nika actually admitting what Kevin was.