As if Jaime sensed his heated gaze, her eyes landed on Dante. For a second they widened, and then she gave him a smile. It wasn’t a flirtatious smile or one filled with sexual promise, though. It was one of recognition, the kind you would give to someone you knew but didn’t bother your ass with; it was polite and warm, but quick to disappear. Motherfucker.
Trick blew out a rough breath. “Looks like you lost your chance there, D.”
“Nah,” Tao disagreed. “I’d say if he went over there and broke them up before things got too heated between them, he might have a shot. Of course we know he’ll never do that.” Dante didn’t even spare the guys a glance. He knew they were playing with him, knew they were trying to make him act on what he wanted. He also knew that if that prick’s hand crept any nearer to her breast, he’d snap the damn thing off.
What the hell was Popeye doing here? Jaime knew he didn’t like this bar, so she had to conclude that the others had urged him to go along. She didn’t dare look over at him, not wanting to see some female slinking all over him. And that was exactly what she would see. It was what always happened.
It made her sick to her stomach every time.
Ignoring his eyes on her—and she knew without even looking that they were still on her, she could feel the weight of his gaze—she continued to dance with the jaguar shifter behind her. He was easily a foot taller than she was, which was evident by the fact that his erection was level with her back rather than her ass. From her peripheral vision, she could tell he was a good-looking guy.
Rugged. She liked that. She threaded her fingers through his ruffled dark hair, and yes, it was as incredibly soft as it looked.
He trailed his free hand up her outer thigh, skimming ever so slightly underneath her silky turquoise strapless dress. “You ever been with a jaguar before, wolf girl?” She shook her head. Jaguar shifters came highly recommended by Riley, she suddenly recalled.
“Good. You up for having some fun tonight?”
Was she ever. True, she’d rather it was with Dante, but the cocky ass didn’t want her, and if he wasn’t going to scratch her itch, somebody else would have to do it. Pining over him was just pathetic. If she carried on that way, she’d have nine cats before long. She was already on her way to spinsterhood if she counted Hunk.
“Jaime?” called Shaya.
The jag hissed loudly, warning away the female.
Moving out of his hold, Jaime snapped, “No, bad kitty cat.” Turning to Shaya, she asked, “What is it?”
“I need to pee.”
It was an unspoken rule that none of the girls ever walked off alone. “I’ll be right back,” Jaime told the jag, who gave her a very carnal smile that promised all kinds of things.
It was as she washing her hands in the sink after using the toilet that she heard an irritating voice behind her.
“You must be Jaime.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“You must be lost,” said Jaime.
Glory came to stand beside her in front of the mirror where Jaime was drying her hands with paper towels. “I’ll get straight to the point.” She dug out her lip gloss from her small, studded pink handbag that matched her pink skirt—which, considering its length, was more like a belt.
“That would be nice.”
Glory touched up her lip gloss, returned it to her bag, and turned to fully face her. “I saw you with Dante the other day. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were looking at him or the way he was looking at you. And don’t think I haven’t been watching the way he’s been staring at you tonight either.” She curled her lip. “Let me be very clear. Dante’s mine. He’s my mate.” Jaime’s wolf growled, enraged by not only the female’s confrontational behavior, but her claim on Dante. “Your mate? Really? Wow. See, I’d like to believe you…I say I’d like to.”
“He is mine. I knew it the second I saw him. The only reason I haven’t ripped out your throat is that you’re one of his wolves and it would hurt him. But I’m warning you, just like I warned every other tramp that looked his way… he is mine. I don’t doubt that he’s denying it to anyone who asks.
He might not be ready to accept the mating, but it doesn’t change the facts.”
“ Are they facts?”
The skin around Glory’s cheekbones tightened, but her expression quickly relaxed. “Why would I claim he’s mine if he isn’t?”
Jaime smiled and shrugged. “Well it’s your lie, sweetie, so go ahead and tell it however you like.”
“He’ll make it official when he’s ready. But just because I’m giving him time doesn’t mean I’m okay with him fucking little submissive sluts like you. ” Again Jaime’s wolf growled. Pacing and clawing, she urged Jaime to lunge at the female in front of her, but Jaime maintained a deadpan expression. “Thanks. That really means a lot coming from a backstabbing, rumor-spreading, attention-seeking, black hole of need. But then, I suppose it’s a good thing that you’re spreading something besides your legs.” Glory snarled. “I’d be very careful if I were you, honey.”
“Is that right?”
“I’m no submissive. I could easily take you, and we both know it.” The threat delighted her wolf, who at this point wanted nothing more than to rip out this bitch’s throat. Her wolf, as always, believed the solution was “attack.” She charged at her confines, body-slammed them, clawed at them. It was becoming painful to keep her buried, but Jaime somehow managed it. Unfortunately, Glory seemed determined to test her endurance.
“Do you know what’s so sad about this? That you think he would be truly interested in you even if he and I weren’t mates. Face reality, honey. He doesn’t want you. If he did, he wouldn’t have let that jaguar anywhere near you. Come on, look at you…Your wolf’s so submissive, she doesn’t even deserve to live. Let me show you what I like to do to submissive wolves like you.” One of the bars on her wolf’s cage gave way, and Jaime’s wolf leaped for the surface.
Dante was staring at the door of the restrooms, impatient for Jaime to come back out, when he noticed Shaya dashing out and quickly squeezing through the crowds until she reached Gabe. Whatever she said to him had the guy’s eyes bulging, and then he was swiftly heading to the restrooms.
Without thought, Dante stalked through the crowds, intent on finding out what was wrong.
Reaching Shaya, he gripped her shoulder and twirled her around. “What is it? What’s happened?” Suddenly Nick was beside him, but Dante paid him no attention.
It all came out of her in a rush. “I was in the restroom in one of the cubicles when I heard them arguing and I figured they’d stop and one of them would walk out but then there was growling and I looked out and she had her hand wrapped around Glory’s throat and was pounding her head against the wall and I tried to pull Jaime away but she won’t listen and—”
“Jaime?” He still didn’t have a clue what was going on, but if it had something to do with Jaime, it had something to do with him.
Whatever he’d been expecting to see when he barged into the women’s restrooms, it hadn’t been Jaime sitting on and pinning down a bleeding female. Glory was lying on her stomach while Gabe looked on, appealing to Jaime for her to stop. Then Gabe had his arms around her and was tugging her backward, away from Glory.
“You have to fight it, Jaime. Please, fight it,” said Gabe.
Fight it? It was then that Dante noticed her eyes. They were wolf. There was no sign of Jaime there. If she had been in her wolf form, he’d have thought she might have gone feral. But this wasn’t feral. This wasn’t a loss of control. Not on the wolf’s part.