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"She's right,"in the room "You're the last one!"

She pulls ht snaps on, illu for me like a snake ready to strike, I feelnervously

"Uh," I start

"Nope No No way in hell,"like it"

"That," I say, pointing to the blood-red fabric ona little manic as I continue, "is not a dress That looks like so a toddler would wear"

"It's stretchy," she tells me as if that's all that matters She starts to unbutton the shirt that I had put on over my strapless bra earlier and I slap her hands away

"I' that," I screech

"Yes, you are," I hear behind me and turn toward the doorway to see Stella "My pops spent a ridiculous a for the perfect birthday outfit for you for as he says hours and hours, darlin' girl," she says,her pop's voice perfectly "You knohat happens when you ignore the advice of thatcurled hair over her shoulder before continuing in Sway's voice "There's certain times in a wooodness God gave her with no hesitation whatsoever, darling girl Just flaunt all that beauty and make every man you pass die a little inside because he will just not live another second if he can't have you For little Miss Eht, and Sway demands pictures and pictures before you hit the town" She relaxes her posture instantly and shrugs "So let's do this"

OPENING NIGHT IS IN FULL swing

I' hell, but the smile on my face hasn't left for a second since we opened the doors three hours ago Even before the six o'clock opening tiet in the door that ent ahead and opened up the holding roouys had been working together in perfectly synchronized movements ever since

I see Shane the second he starts to cli the insanity while I cooled off some

"Fucking madhouse," he rumbles with a smile on his face

"We did it," I tell hi away from the packed floor below us Even the areas that hold the tall tables and beyond are packed with bodies undulating with the pounding bass flowing through the speakers The house DJ, Thorn, changes the song to another fast-paced tune and throws one ared-off area begin todown there that things are getting heated, which isn't a surprise since each bar has been passing drinks in rapid speed

"We didn't do shit, brother This is all you"

I move to deny his claim, but a flash of color by the entryway into the madness stills the words before they could even leave hts and sone so quick I'hts

"Did you see the crowd during the bar dances?" Shane asks,the floor

"Insanity" I laugh, and it had been Complete insanity The second the DJ had dropped the bass and cranked up the volu into action The patrons didn't knohat to think at first All drink orders had been stalled, and instantly, they had their heavily booted feet up on the glossy wood They pulled back their drinks and the surface was cleared for the that it was my brainchild that had held the uys moved like whatever was in front of the to be fuckedhard

"I think they're starting to anticipate them now Every time we inch closer to the top of another hour, drinks start being pulled off the bar before Thorn even has a chance to drop the beat"

I nod "You going to get out there tonight?" I ask him

"No clue Are you?"

I turn ainst the glass "Depends, my friend If theup there and shaking my ass for anyway"

Shane laughs, dropping his hand heavy onto be an issue for you," he oddly says and walks back to the doorway "Let's go join the party, brother"

The second he opens the heavy steel door, the h the once silent space A familiar rush of adrenaline fills ether and into the overheated floor I see, but ignore, the feain our attention I continue through the pulsing bodies that litter the massive open space and walk toward the bar

"Yo, Nate," Dent yells over the music, and when I turn my head toward him, he slides a shot down the sleek wooden surface

My hand shoots out and grabs the glass right when I hear Logan yell, "Botto the liquor to my lips The burn travels down lass back on the bar, Travis is already there with the bottle of tequila in his hand, refilling it instantly

I ignore the chick to ht and turn to look around the roo onjust a few feet in front of me

"What the fuck," Iforward

I look around when I lose her in the crowd, but continue to stoh the crowd to the other side of the club where the other dance floor is iant wave to the music

I see her again and instantly fume

"You want to tellhere," I rumble low in ht next to her ear and grab her by her forearm

The thin arrasp when she turns around I stand back and cross my arms over my chest and wait for her to talk

"What is your problem," she yells over the music

"My problem?" I yell at her and bend down so that I don't have to scream over the noise "My problem, dear sister, is that you're in er at her dress "Does your husband know you're here?"

She narrows her eyes and stops dancing to stand up on her toes and get inface

"He sure does and I'll have you know that he will be here later"

I dropI should have known they wouldn't stay away It's not that I don't want them here, I do, but not if I have to look out for her while he's not here

"Plus, we're celebrating," she yells before dropping down on her iain

"Celebrating what?"

Her s evil

"Eainst h the thick crowd

Ember's birthday

And then it hits me

Ember's twenty-first birthday

Fucking shit

And if I knowa lot bigger than just celebrating Of all the places they could have ended up tonight, they picked s between Eiant mess Dani isn't stupid, and since she was the first person I ran into after oing on between us

With a single-minded determination, I start to scan the rooirls that I' for

Each pass ut tighter until I'm determined to find them and kick them out If I were smart, I would find Shane and make him take care of itbut clearly, I'm not of sound mind beca

use the secondto do is let her walk away froain

I feelbethere I'irls around one of the tables just off the dance floor Then I getsin meets my eyes

"Holy fucking shit," I breathe out in a rush of words, feeling like I've just been punched in the stomach

The possessiveness that fires throughlike I've ever felt before The anger that anyone else in this room is free to look at her sla I alalmost

My feet areheart as Imy direction, drops her jaw as her eyes widen I see Stella roll her eyes in a bored way before giving Maddi a nudge and nod in , but I don't for a second miss the s behind Eroup but reach out to spin the little devil in front of ently

She teeters on her feet, and I glance doith a frown Each bare inch of her tan legs hasmy jaw, but when I see the tall-as-fuck heels on her dainty feet, whatever blood I had left in roan when my eyes travel back up to a dress that shouldn't be allowed past the bedrooht

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I growl

Fucking growl Like a goddamn bear

She doesn't respond, but she also does a shit job at hiding the hurt that flashes in her eyes

Shit