Her guests were already attracting stares, especially Bel, who loomed over every single person in the club. She had never seen a guy so big before. Most people as tall as him had the whole willowy thing going on, but not Belial. He was as broad as he was high. The guy was a walking Everest.
And judging by the expression on Skye’s face as they approached the bar, he was making an impression on her too.
“Hey!” Eva called to her friend from across the counter.
Skye had frozen halfway through polishing a glass. “Whois that?” she whispered like she was being blessed with a heavenly visitation.
Eva was more excited to show off her own date. “Skye, meet Ash.”
She turned to the man still holding her hand. Their eyes met, and her stomach flipped at the instant connection. Man, their chemistry was off the charts.
“Ash, this is my best friend, Skye. She’s the one I told you about.”
He nodded at Skye but said nothing. She could tell he wasn’t used to socializing much, and didn’t blame him for being shy, considering the circumstances. The bar was packed and loud and not the best place for making new friends.
Eva looked back at Skye, waiting for her friend’s inevitable reaction to witnessing firsthand the level of sexiness that was currently holding her hand.
Except... Skye’s gaze traveled right over him like he wasn’t even there. “Yeah, hi,” she said blandly.
Eva blinked. After she’d told Skye about Ash, her friend had been almost more excited than Eva was to meet him, so why was she acting like this?
“This is the guy I told you about,” Eva said, giving her friend a pointed look.
Skye frowned and glanced disinterestedly back at Ash. “Him?” She seemed confused.
Eva frowned. First his brothers had implied she couldn’t be attracted to him, and now Skye was glazing over when she looked at him. Skye loved gawking at hot guys. This was so unlike her, it was like Eva wasn’t talking to her best friend. Was this some kind of mean joke?
She glanced over at Bel, Meph, and Raum, who had already found a group of women to flirt with. They hadn’t been near the bar yet. There was no way they could have orchestrated this.
She looked back at Ash to see if he looked hurt or pissed, but he seemed fine. “What’s wrong?” he asked, reading her confused expression.
“Skye is being weird. She was so excited to meet you, and I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” Maybe it was embarrassing to admit she’d been talking him up to her friend, but she felt bad, damn it.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get a drink and a table. I want to sit where we did last week so we can see the stage.”
She glanced over the crowd and saw their spot was open. “You go hold the seats. I’ll get us drinks.”
He bent suddenly, planting a kiss on her lips that had her wanting to abandon their jamming plans and take him straight back to her place. When he pulled back, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was having the same thoughts.
The only reason she held off was because she wanted to encourage him to play music. He was so talented, and she wanted him to overcome his reluctance to play in front of others. “Go get that table. I’ll meet you there.”
He nodded and released her, melting into the crowd. She watched him go, frowning as she noticed how nobody seemed to be aware of him. A few guys in the crowd stepped back warily, but not one female head turned.
Look at him!she wanted to scream at all of them.Are you all freaking blind?
She stepped up to the bar, waved Skye back over, and ordered two beers. “What is up with you?” she snapped at her best friend while she filled the drinks from the tap. “You were dying to meet Ash all week, and you barely looked at him.”
“Forget him, who arethey?” She was gawking at his brothers again.
“His brothers,” Eva growled.
“His brothers?” Skye’s mouth dropped open. “Girl, why the hell are you dating him when his brothers look like that?”
Eva’s mouth dropped open too. “Are you freaking kidding me? You did not just say that!”
“The tall one is what I fantasize about at night with my vibrator! I have never seen a man that size before. I didn’t know guys could actually look like that!”
“They’re all players,” Eva snapped, pissed at Skye for reasons she couldn’t properly identify. “They’re all the kind of assholes who will sleep with you and never call again. The reason you swore off guys, remember?”
