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“Manny.” He pats his chest. Giving me a quick glare over her shoulder, he says, “I take it Rock didn’t give you the courtesy of explaining who all the important people are?”
“I guess not.” She shrugs.
He holds his arms out toward her, and I groan internally.
“I’m a hugger,” he says. “Could we just…” He invades her space, and I feel a low rumble in my chest.
Manny eyes me as they embrace, giving me a smirk. Asshole.
My jealous streak raises its ugly head.
“Uh, nice to meet you,” Aspyn says, politely.
Again, I’m dumbfounded by her.
She’s spicy. She’s shy. She’s nervous. She’s verbose. She’s flirty. I can’t seem to get a handle on her. Yet, she opened up to me pretty quickly. Offering herself like a lamb to the slaughter before we’d even had breakfast.
I feel a tightness in my chest, wondering if she’ll be offering herself to anyone else so easily. Manny, included. He may swing both ways, but Aspyn is an attractive girl from out of town. ‘Fresh meat’ for want of a better description. And if he doesn’t get his hands off her in the next five seconds, I might rip his arms out of his sockets.
I don’t think she’s easy. In fact, I’m fairly certain she’s not.She did say she’d never had a one night stand.
But she’s young, and she’s just gotten out of a relationship where the dude cheated. That can’t be good for your self-esteem. Though I don’t know her, the idea that she would jump into another man's bed, other than mine, makes me want to commit blue murder.
After one squeeze too long, Manny untangles himself.
A soft flush of color pops on Aspyn’s cheeks and I stare at her. Is she embarrassed? Or turned on? I don’t like the fact that Manny put that color there.
I glare at him.
“I’m the cook,” Manny sing-songs, ignoring me. “I specialize in NOLA cuisine local to the area. Rock will tell you I make the best Gumbo this side of the Mississippi.”
“I’ve never had Gumbo before. What is it?” Aspyn says as Manny gasps.
He holds a hand to his chest. “Never had Gumbo? Oh. My. God. That's sacrilege. I have to educate you.” As he shifts his eyes to mine again, I know what he’s doing.
Why he thinks I’d give a fuck, I don’t know. But then again, one look at Aspyn and it’s enough to drive any red-blooded man wild. I need to get this over with so I can get her out of here before any of the boys arrive.
Oh, they’d have a field day with her.
“While we’d love to be educated…” I drawl the last word with heavy sarcasm. “We’re here to see Cash.”
Manny snorts. “You can see Cash. I think Aspyn needs to try my Gumbo.”
I open my mouth to protest, and Aspyn says, “See ya,” then flounces off toward Manny, who’s heading to the kitchen.
She just ditched me the second she could. Nice.
I watch on after them, annoyance riding a wave through my body that feels nuclear.
I’m not a jealous man when it comes to chicks. Heck, I’ve shared women before, plenty of times. But not Aspyn.
And it’s not gonna be with pretty boy Manny. Over my dead body.
She might act like she wants a walk on the wild side, but I don’t really think she understands what that entails.
If she did, she’d be back on that plane to LA as fast as her legs could carry her.
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