Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) (28 page)

Steve placed a hand on Jade’s lower back. “If you bank the ball off the side here, it will bounce back and hit the three.”

Bryce wanted to break all of Steve’s fingers right then and there.

“Okay, three in the corner pocket.” Jade lined up her stick, closed one eye, and sighted it down the middle. She was so damn cute, especially when she jumped up as she made the shot.

Bryce tucked away another shot before missing the second. They were behind by two balls.

“Five in the corner pocket.” Jade walked to the far end of the table and had to bend way over to reach the cue ball in the center of the table. Steve stood behind her and seriously checked out her ass.

Looking over his shoulder, Bryce sent Jim a pointed look, and Jim nodded. He’d seen it too.

“All right!” Steve hooted when Jade made the shot. He used the opportunity to touch Jade again by squeezing her shoulders as she walked toward the cue ball.

If you touch her one more time…

“Ready to lose this one, Radisson?” Jade shot Bryce a shit-eating grin.

“You’re going to scratch it. You know that, right?”

“Uh-huh.” Jade bent down to take the shot. With a quick flick of her wrist, the eight ball went down without a scratch. “Yes!” Jade threw up her hands.

The minute Steve grabbed her and twirled her around, Bryce was by her side. “That’s my girl you’re pawing there, mister.” He said it jovially for Jade’s sake, but his eyes bore into Steve’s hard. Bryce slid his arm around Jade’s shoulder and gently pulled her away from Steve.

“Good game.” Steve backed off, seeming to take the hint. “Let me buy a round of drinks.”

Jade eagerly went into Bryce’s arms and she grinned. Pride lit her eyes.

“I didn’t realize you had such a competitive streak.” He held her close. “You’re a hell of a player.”

“I hate to lose.”

“Me too.” And in more ways than one. He claimed her lips with his. He wanted to leave no doubt in Steve’s mind who Jade was with tonight.

“Who wants tequila shooters?” Steve asked.

“None for me,” Kenzie said.

Jade broke the kiss. “I’ll have one.”

Bryce looked at her. “Since when do you drink shooters?”

“Since college.”

It had been eight years since Bryce and his buddies were in college, and Kenzie had never been a big drinker to begin with. He wanted to say no to the shot. But he couldn’t let Steve out-drink him, not in front of Jade. Hanging around the two of them was starting to make thirty feel old. “I’ll have one too.”

“Three tequila shooters,” Steve ordered. After the bartender filled the shot glasses, Steve passed them out. “On two.” They swallowed the tequila at the same time and followed it with beer.

“Aleks!” Jade turned around to hug her friend. “I’m so glad you came.”

“You’ve been drinking without me.” Aleks stepped up to the bar. “Who’s the hunk with the curly blond hair?”

Bryce chuckled. He tapped Jim on the shoulder. “Aleks, this is my friend Jim.”

“Can I get you a drink?” Jim asked as he took in her purple hair.

“Absolutely.” Aleks leaned in close to him.

Steve placed a hand on Bryce’s shoulder. “We gotta give you two a chance to even the score. How about a game of darts?”

“Sure.” Bryce was eager to wipe the smile off Steve’s preppy face. He’d seen the way other women in the pub looked at the man, especially when he smiled. He didn’t care for the way Kenzie was taking in Steve’s faded blue jeans and green polo shirt either. Fortunately, Jade wasn’t looking at her childhood friend that way.

It’s the way Steve looks at her that says everything.

Bryce kept close to Jade. She was pretty good at darts, but not good enough. And it was apparent Steve didn’t like losing either. Bryce’s spirits lifted when he and Kenzie won the game.

“I have to go to the restroom,” Jade announced in a adorable half giggle.

“Me too.” Kenzie followed her.

“Another round of tequila shooters.” Steve ordered for Jim, Aleks, and Bryce.

“Did you see us kill them at darts?” Bryce asked Jim.

“No, sorry, I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

Bryce glanced at Aleks. She was definitely not the type Jim normally went for, which was blonde and blue eyed. He wouldn’t judge. Jade wasn’t exactly his type either, and somehow that seemed to be working out.

“We’re even now.” Steve grabbed his shoulder. “Best two out of three?”

“You’re on.” Bryce was going to kick Steve’s ass.

JADE SAT AT THE BAR
next to Aleks. “So, you and Jim, huh?”

“I don’t know, maybe.” Aleks glanced at Jim, who was still talking to Richard.

“Well… if that doesn’t work out, I know this really cute detective.” Jade wiggled her eyebrows. “If you’re interested, I could introduce you.”

“A cop, seriously?”

Jade lifted her shoulders. “He’s a really good guy, and he would never hurt anyone… ever.”

Those words seemed to have an effect on Aleks. Jade saw hope in Aleks’s eyes she’d never seen there before. Not that Aleks didn’t one day want to have sex again, but this was a hope related to being with a man who would never hurt her, a man she could trust with all her heart.

“We’ll see.” The spark in Aleks’s eyes fizzled out, and Jade’s heart sank. Somehow, she had to find a way help Aleks.

Jade scanned the bar. “Do you know where Bryce is?” She knew when Aleks needed a change of subject. It wasn’t something her best friend could talk about. It had taken years for Jade to get enough bits and pieces of the story to put it together. Rape never went away, even after five years.

Aleks nodded toward the pool table. “He’s over there playing darts with Steve.”

It was easy to read the “Shit!” that came from Steve’s lips when Bryce’s dart hit the inner circle.

Aleks laughed. “They’re a little competitive.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Jade sipped her beer. This was the first time she’d seen Bryce in jeans, and they were practically molded to his ass and thighs. His black T-shirt, the one he’d worn before, accentuated the muscles in his arms and chest. If he’d been wearing that outfit her first day on the job, she would have reverted to the flustered schoolgirl she was before. “He’s a hottie.”

“Who, Bryce or Steve?”

“Bryce, of course!”

“Steve’s a hottie too,” Aleks whispered, so Jim couldn’t hear.

“Maybe to you, but he’s like a brother to me. We grew up next door to each other. We used to do everything together.”

It was Bryce’s turn to curse when Steve hit the bull’s eye and won the game.

Steve patted Bryce on the shoulder and pointed to the bar. “Five more shooters,” Steve said to the bartender when they walked up.

Jade shook her head. “None for me, thanks.”

“Come on Jade, it’s a party.” Steve put his arm around her.

“Yeah, well I’ve got work I need to do in the morning.”

“Going soft on me?”

“Maybe, a little.” It had been months since she’d partied hard in college. After her grandmother’s death and taking over the company, partying was the last thing on her mind.

“Bryce can keep up, can’t you, old boy?”

Jade could tell Bryce was about to decline, until that last comment.

“I’m up for it.”

“See, Bryce isn’t going soft.”

“Have fun, you two.” Jade walked over to watch Amber and Kenzie in a foosball match. Kenzie scored. “Nice one.”

Steve came up to Jade.

“Where’s Bryce?” She browsed the room.

“He’s playing darts with Jim.” Steve wrapped his arm around her again. “How come nothing ever happened between us?”

Jade looked into Steve’s drunken eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t we ever hook up?”

“Probably because the last time I had a crush on you I was eight. Besides, you never looked at me that way.”

“I am now.” Steve smiled and not so subtly looked down at her breasts. “We’re not little kids anymore. You know, you’ve got a really nice ass.”

“Steve, you’re drunk. You don’t really feel that way about me.”

“Yes, I do.” He gripped her shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Whoa!” Jade pushed against his chest, but she wasn’t strong enough. Panic bubbled deep in her stomach. “Steve, don’t,” she said with his lips pressed firmly against hers.

“Get your hands off her!” Bryce pulled Steve away and punched him squarely in the mouth.

Steve fell back into a chair and started to get up.

“Stop!” Jade tugged Bryce’s arm as he lunged for Steve.

Bryce gripped Steve’s shirt and punched him two more times in the face before Jim and Richard grabbed his arms to haul him away.

“What are you doing?” Jade rounded on Bryce. Steve’s nose and lip were bleeding.

Bryce was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with menace. “He forced himself on you.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to hit him like that. I was taking care of it myself.”

“Some job you were doing.”

Her throat tightened. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Bryce pulled away from Jim and Richard. “He’s been coming on to you all night.”

“He has not. We’re just friends.”

“Friends don’t kiss each other.”

“
I
didn’t kiss him.”

“That doesn’t change the fact he kissed you.”

Her eyes stung. “Is that so? Fine… just fine. If you don’t trust me, this relationship is over.”

“Jade?” He grabbed her arm.

She jerked it free. “Don’t touch me.”

Bryce stepped back, and a haunted look swept over his face.

Jade grabbed her purse and ran out to the parking lot with Aleks on her heels. “Jade, wait up. Are you okay?”

“I can’t believe he did that. He had no right going after Steve like that.”

“Maybe he overreacted, but he’s your boyfriend, and Steve kissed you even when you told him to stop.”

Jade understood why Aleks would go to Bryce’s defense. She’d been forced to have sex, she’d begged her attacker to stop. But this was different. Jade calmed herself before she spoke again. She didn’t want to upset Aleks. “I know Steve was being pushy because he was drunk, and it wasn’t right. But Bryce didn’t trust me to handle it on my own.”

Jim walked up to both of them.

Jade glared at him. “What do you want?”

“I come in peace.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I know Bryce screwed up in there. Please trust me when I say he doesn’t normally drink like that.”

“Then why did he?”

“Because Steve was egging him on. Look, Jade, it was obvious to all of us that Steve wants to be more than friends with you. That was hard for Bryce. I’ve known him for ages, and this is the first time he’s fallen so hard for anyone. I’ve never seen him look as hurt as he did when you told him your relationship was over. This is new to him. Give him another chance.”

Jade put her keys in Aleks’s hand. “Can you give me a ride home? I’ve had too much to drink.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t drink that shot yet. We’ll pick up your car tomorrow.”

“So what do you say?” Jim asked Jade. “Will you give Bryce a second chance?”

She’d trusted Bryce, especially after the whole Kenzie fiasco, and he had to trust her too. He wasn’t getting off the hook that easy.

Jade scowled at Jim. “I’ll think about it.”

THE ALARM THUNDERED
in his skull like a freight train. Bryce rolled to his side and pulled the pillow over his aching head to drown out the piercing sound. He groaned… as if that would help. When the pillow proved insufficient to block the noise, he tossed it in the direction of the alarm clock, knocking the damn thing to the floor. Ah, blessed quiet. He’d fix the alarm clock later. Right now, he just wanted the pain to go away.

The shrill ring of the phone made him lunge forward. He had to make it stop. Another loud noise would likely kill him. “What do you want?” Bryce growled.

“That bad?” Jim asked.

“Hmmph,” was all Bryce could get out.

“You need anything?”

“Uh-uh,” he moaned.

“I should have stopped you last night. Sorry, bud.”

“My fault, not yours.”

“I know, still—” Jim went quiet.

“How bad was I?”

“Bad. I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never been like that before.”

“If it helps, I put in a good word for you with Jade.”

Oh shit.

The memory of what had happened last night was making his head throb worse. “Maybe it’s better this way. I shouldn’t have let things go this far.”

“What are you talking about? You’re crazy about her.”

“That’s the point. I can’t control my emotions when I’m around her. This isn’t the first time I’ve messed up.” When Jim didn’t respond, he continued. “I, well…” He tried to find the right words for it. None came to mind, so he just said it. “I forced her to kiss me.” He waited for a response. “At work.” Still no response. “In my office.”

“Do that often?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Do that often?”

“No, I don’t do that often.” Bryce sat up. “She threatened to fire me, I got pissed, she tried to leave, I kissed her.”