T H R E E

The weekend had fast approached and Kate was thankful, although she wasn’t as exhausted as usual. Colton had been keeping his bedfellows quiet and she had been managing to get a solid eight hours most nights. She’d seen Austin around here and there, but their conversations were short. Kate didn’t want to get involved with anyone even remotely related to Colton, and while he was gorgeous, she couldn’t help but question why a nice guy would be friends with an asshole like Colton James. There had to be something wrong with him, and she didn’t want to get too wrapped up in him before she found out.

“Come on, Kate. Have another one,” Paloma cried, setting down the shot glass in front of her. “You’ve been working so hard. Time to live a little.”

Kate laughed, downing the shot and wincing as the liquid burned her throat. “I’ve had more than enough. Let’s go and play pool. Those guys just left.”

She slid from the booth, grabbing Paloma’s hand and leading her over to the vacant table. Grabbing a pool cue, she prepped the table while Paloma went to get them some more drinks. Kate assumed that Paloma’s insistence had nothing to do with getting Kate drunk, rather taking her mind off her own troubles, so she didn’t resist.

“I found us some playing partners!” Paloma squealed as she returned to the table.

Kate rolled her eyes, unable to stifle the laugh that escaped her, as she looked up. Light brown eyes scanned two men before her. The one with his arm wrapped around Paloma’s olive shoulders was shorter with gelled brown hair and caramel skin, covered by tight jeans and a white shirt. Kate groaned as she took in the second man. She would recognize his face anywhere.

Colton.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, he looked so good, dressed in black jeans, a black band t-shirt, and black boots. His hair was messy, spiked by the rough hands that rushed through it and he smirked with smug satisfaction at her reaction.

She desperately wanted to tell Paloma that she would rather shove pins beneath her nails than play pool with Colton, but she could see how dreamy-eyed her friend was, gazing up at her handsome stranger. After her recent break-up, Kate just couldn’t deny her friend.

“This is Heath, and his friend, Colton. I told them they could play with us.”

Colton’s eyes glinted at Paloma’s choice of words. That was his forte, playing with women and then discarding them like they were garbage.

Kate reluctantly nodded. “I’m guessing you’re not on my team?”

Paloma shook her head sheepishly, allowing her slender frame to curve into the muscular physique of her companion. “Colton suggested us against you guys.”

Of course he had. It was exactly the kind of thing Colton would do. Kate downed the drink Paloma had set aside for her, wincing at the burn. Shoving the pool cue at Colton, she narrowed her eyes. “You break.”

He did so with ease, putting two balls away before straightening himself up. Black eyes stared at her, a smug smirk plastered on his handsome face. “Looks like we’re solids.”

Unable to tear her eyes off his, Kate was brought back to the game at hand by Paloma’s frustrated squeak. She had completely missed the white ball, instead driving the chalked cue tip into the green felt. Heath wrapped his arms around her and nodded towards Kate.

Snatching the cue back from Colton, Kate leaned against the table. She lined up her shot and tapped the tip of the cue against the white ball. Hands brushed against her hips, her breath hitching in her throat as she glanced up at the black pools that watched her with interest. She had missed her target completely, distracted by the way his fingers danced on the edge of her jeans.

Heath’s laugh brought her from her daze. "How much have you ladies had to drink?”

Kate stiffened, stepping away from the table, away from Colton. She shook her head, adjusting her focus to the man Paloma had nuzzled into. There was no point defending herself. What would she say? Your friend brushed his fingers along my jeans and I got distracted? The thought alone was pathetic. Instead, she let out a little laugh. “Maybe you guys should play alone.”

Leaning the cue against the table, Kate turned, her eyes scanning for the nearest exit before dashing to the door. She needed fresh air. Stepping out into the dimly lit alleyway, Kate allowed her body to rest against the grimy bricks. She closed her eyes, trying to suck up some courage to go back in there. She knew he was an asshole, and yet her body betrayed her every time he came close.

The side door opened. Kate glanced towards it, groaning at the sight of Colton’s tall figure stepping into the chilly night air. His head swiveled, glancing up and down the alleyway before finally resting on the small frame of Kate.

He smirked.

“What are you doing out here? The game just started.”

“I didn’t want to play with you.”

He stepped closer. The tattoos of his arms on full display as the lone light shone down on him. Kate had never really noticed them before, paid too much attention to the details. A black and grey leopard peeking out of some trees took up the entirety of his forearm. Blackened eyes took in her face, and Kate couldn’t help the shuddered breath that escaped her.

“But I think you do,” he grinned.

His body was in front of her now, his breath warm on her face. Kate tried to keep her eyes down, but his finger hooked beneath her chin, lifting her up to face him. His free hand lifted, hovering over the edge of her jeans, the same spot he had touched, the same spot she had fantasized about him touching over and over again.

“I think you’re just stubborn.”

His voice was huskier than Kate remembered, and it sent shivers cascading down the skin of her bare arms. She desperately wanted to say something, to tell him to fuck off but she was powerless. Her hips slipped forward only slightly, but enough for his fingers to brush against the denim.

Glancing up at him beneath dark lashes, she watched as his lip cinched between his teeth. His chest rose and fell faster than before and Kate wondered if she had the same effect on him that he had on her.

His mouth covered hers before she had a chance to think of it any longer. The fingers that had cupped her chin, now tangled in her hair, tilting her head to give him better access to her mouth. His tongue rolled against her lower lip, the steel of his tongue ring cooling the heat that brewed there. She could feel the jolts of electricity shooting from her hip, where his rough fingers brushed against the softness of her skin. Before she could stop them, one of Kate’s hands wrapped around the back of his neck, the other one fisting the soft material of his t-shirt.

Colton pressed closer to her, the hard lump in his jeans pressing against the junction of her thighs, and he groaned as Kate softly bit at his bottom lip.