Page 50 of Rescuing Brinley

Tonight, she was meeting him and his team at The Staggering Moose. Cypress was joining them, as well, which should be fun.

“Dude, are you nervous?”

Shadow looked over at Echo. The two of them had gone up to the bar to get a round of drinks for the table instead of waiting for the waitress, who was working her ass off because it was crowded as hell in the bar tonight.

“Nervous? No. Excited? Yes. Haven’t you ever felt that way about a woman?”

“No. Chicks are bad news. They act like they love you and then the second you make the smallest mistake, they turn on you. Accuse you of shit you didn’t do and try their damnedest to get you in trouble, then take off with as much of your stuff as they can get away with.”

Shadow stared at his friend in shock. “Wow. I had no idea you felt that way. What happened?”

Echo shook his head. “Not the time or place to go into it. But trust me when I say, I’m not looking for a relationship. Not even close. It’s definitely not for me. In fact, I’d be completely happy to stay single the rest of my days, drinking with my friends when I feel like it, not having to live in an apartment that’s full of useless throw pillows and other stupid girly shit, and going where I want, when I want.”

“You’re too young to be so jaded.”

“I feel way older than my thirty-four years, if I’m being honest.”

“I hear ya. But you’re okay with Brinley, right?” The last thing Shadow wanted was for his friend to harbor negative feelings about the woman he loved.

“Yeah, man, she’s cool. I don’t care if other people settle down, it’s just not for me. But for the record, I like her. She was amazing down in Fiji. I figure if more women were like her, the world would be a better place…and I might reconsider my stance on relationships.”

“Careful, Echo, fate has a nasty way of throwing people’s words back in their face when they least expect it.”

“Not me. I’m sticking to my guns. Unless I find a woman who’s got a spine of steel, who doesn’t have a devious bone in her body, and who’ll take me as I am—a little crass, loyal as hell to you and the others on the team, and unwilling to have kids—then I might consider a relationship. Maybe. Doubtful, but maybe.”

Shadow felt a little sad for his friend. True, he’d never really sat down and had heart-to-hearts with his team members, but finding out how Echo felt about relationships was a little disconcerting.

They went back to the table with their hands full with pitchers of beer, and Shadow had just settled into his chair when movement caught his eye near the door. Looking up, he realized it was Brinley and Cypress. They’d just entered and were already headed their way.

And for the first time since he’d met Brinley, he was utterly speechless.

She looked amazing. But it wasn’t just her outward appearance that had him shifting in his seat and trying to ignore his hard-as-nails cock. It was the self-confidence he could see in her eyes. And the way she walked. And how her head was lifted, and the fact that she wasn’t looking as if she wanted to fade into the woodwork.

“Damn, you’re one lucky man,” Kodiak muttered under his breath.

His friend’s words finally got Shadow moving. He stood and went to greet Brinley, needing to stake a claim before anyone else in the bar thought they had a shot with his woman.

“Hi,” she said with a smile as he approached.

Without thought—not that he could’ve stopped himself—Shadow leaned down and kissed her. It wasn’t one of their long, passionate kisses, but it also wasn’t a short peck. The first touch of her tongue to his had his cock twitching in his pants.

He pulled back and smiled down at her. “Hey.”

“She looks incredible, right?”

Shadow didn’t take his gaze off Brinley as he answered Cypress. “She always looks great. But yeah, I love this dress.”

“It’s one of her own creations. She’s a genius. I keep telling her that but she never believes me. Maybe with you looking at her as if you want to devour her whole on the spot, she might start taking me seriously. I’ll just go sit. You two do…whatever.”

Shadow heard the humor in her tone but ignored it as he stared at Brinley. The dress she wore was forest green, a color she favored. It was tight around her torso, then flared out with what seemed like miles of different shades of green gauzy material. It wasn’t see-through, but kind of gave the impression it should be. It had a low V-neck that cradled her breasts, proving once and for all that the freckles he loved so much did indeed continue down what he suspected was her entire body.

She was wearing a pair of simple gold hoops in her ears, and she’d left her hair down, a rare occurrence. It was also sleek and straight tonight, and Shadow assumed she’d used a flat iron or something, because she definitely didn’t usually have straight hair. He preferred her natural curls, but wasn’t turned off by the change. She was wearing a bit of makeup, but he was glad to see she once again hadn’t covered up her natural complexion with a ton of foundation.

Letting his gaze run down her body once more, he noted the short silver heels that matched some of the gauzy material in the skirt of her dress.

“Damn, woman,” he breathed, when he felt as if he could talk again. “You’re so beautiful.”

She smiled, but her eyes flicked to the side, not meeting his gaze. “It’s the dress.”