“You’ve got about two seconds to let go of my arm before I start screaming bloody murder,” I warned in a calm voice.
He turned me loose and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Answer the goddamn question.”
“I was thirsty. I went to the bar to get a drink. And that kind gentleman struck up a conversation,” I said nonchalantly. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Yeah, well that kind gentleman …,” he growled, and then stopped.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. He looked down at the floor and then back at me. “Look, just … I don’t want you to talk to him anymore. In fact, I don’t want you to talk to any man here. Do you hear me? You’re mine.”
Well, well, well. And the little green monster comes out to play.
My turn.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You sure don’t act like I’m yours,” I snapped, and then stepped around him to walk back toward Polly and Lexi, whose rapt attention was on our little display.
He growled again, and then I heard his hurried footsteps as he attempted to keep up with me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I huffed. “Oh, don’t play me, Noah. You know exactly what it means. Who is she? Huh?”
“Who?”
I spun on him, nearly sloshing the liquid out of one of the low-balls I was holding. “Really, Noah? You think I can’t see? And don’t try to tell me she’s another one of your relatives or some sort of business associate, because relatives and business associates don’t feel you up like that unless you’re from some messed-up colony of incest freaks.”
He ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “She’s … no one. Look, we’ll talk about it later.” He made a move to step around me, but I blocked his way.
“I want to talk about it now.”
“Don’t make a fucking scene, Delaine. I work with these people,” he warned.
“Oh, well, since you put it that way, no worries. No scene from me,” I said, making a show of clamping my mouth shut while I continued on my merry, obedient way.
“It’s about time,” Lexi said when I handed her one of the glasses.
Polly looked at me with her brow furrowed in question, then back in the direction where David was now standing with Julie—who had apparently scurried away when Polly and Lexi made an appearance—and then back to me once more. I shook my head almost imperceptibly to let her know it wasn’t a big deal.
“Here she is,” Noah said, putting his hand on the small of my back. The scowl was gone, replaced by a beaming smile of pride as he introduced me to the beautiful couple who stood across from us. “Delaine, this is my uncle, Daniel, and his wife, Vanessa.”
God, his family had to be directly descended from angels themselves. That’s how gorgeous they were. Daniel’s hazel eyes smiled just like Noah’s, only they had a more pronounced version of the crinkles of time that had already begun to grace the corners of Noah’s eyes. Their lips were the same shade of pink in the shape of a bow, and their hair was the same shade of chocolate, only Daniel’s was peppered with gray at the temples. Distinguished and magnificent, not that I had expected anything less.
I put on a happy face, smiling as brightly as my cheeks would allow. “Hi. I’m so glad to meet you,” I greeted Vanessa. I said nothing to Daniel. Noah had instructed me not to talk to any men, and he was most certainly a man. I was just following orders like a good little subordinate, after all.
Daniel cleared his throat, attempting to ignore the fact that I hadn’t said anything to him in greeting. “So is Patrick being a gracious host?”
Oh, yeah. He took my virginity, threw out all my clothes and then purchased a whole new wardrobe for me—sans panties, of course—and allowed me to suck his cock on more than one occasion. But I have received multiple orgasms out of our little arrangement, and if that isn’t the very definition of a gracious host, then I don’t know what is.
That was what I could’ve said, but lucky for Noah, I wasn’t allowed to talk to men, so I didn’t. Instead I just nodded with a smile. Noah gave me a disapproving scowl. Polly stared at me bug-eyed. And Lexi covered her giggle with an inconspicuous cough.
“How do you like Chicago, dear?” Vanessa asked.
I perked up and answered. “Oh, I simply love it! What I’ve seen of it, that is. Noah keeps me preoccupied most of the time.”
“Oh really?” Daniel asked. “And what exactly does he have you doing?”
Uh-oh. How was I going to answer that with a nod or shake of my head?
Aha! I shrugged my shoulders.
Daniel and Vanessa looked confused. Brad, Mason, Lexi, and Polly turned their backs like they were suddenly interested in the crowd. But I saw their shoulders shaking, a very clear indicator that they were laughing.
Noah cleared his throat. “Will you excuse us? I’d like to trip the light fantastic with my date.”
“Yes, of course, sweetheart,” Vanessa said with an uncomfortable smile.
Noah took the glass out of my hand and sat it on the table next to us. “Dance with me?” I caught the underlying tone. It was an order, not a request.
“Why, Mr. Crawford, it would be my honor,” I said with my best southern belle impersonation.
Noah said nothing more as he took my hand and led me out onto the dance floor. We faded into the crowd and he spun me around, pressing me tightly to his body before leaning down so that his warm breath was at my ear. Then we began to sway back and forth.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“What?” I asked, his scent invading my senses and making me forget what he was talking about.
“You were being very rude to my uncle. If it weren’t for the fact that you were actually talking to his wife, I’m sure he’d think you were a mute.”
He lightly pressed his lips to the spot below my ear. It was a good thing he was holding me so tightly, because my knees suddenly turned to Jell-O, and I was sure I would have fallen.
“You told me not to talk to any men, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe your uncle is a man,” I answered breathlessly. “Either that or he’s a very convincing cross-dresser. Or—gasp!—is he a hermaphrodite?”
“Very funny,” he said in a dry tone, and then he playfully bit my earlobe. “Do me a favor, and knock off the sarcastic shit.”