Page 53 of Enemies with Benefits (Finding the Right Brother #1)

I glanced over my shoulder to see Jace's expression as he took in everything, a crease forming in his brow.

I couldn't really blame him, the place was set up so much like a standard club that it would have been a cliché.

On the other hand, the music made it stand out, but the decor really added to the feel I was going for.

It was splatter, punk, metal, country, and club all thrown together in one place.

Fake skulls that looked believable in the low light along with bones and blood, black and brown leather seating, fake weapons on the walls in mockery of old coats of arms, hell even the chairs had weapons and skulls carved into the tops, and there were paintings and posters in frames for just about every group I'd ever taken a liking to.

"Let's go," I said, leading him toward the bar directly across from us.

I waited until the woman behind the bar, a short woman wearing makeup that wouldn't have looked out of place at a goth rave, and a leather outfit that would have been just fine in a cheesy honky tonk bar, looked up and caught sight of me.

She perked up immediately, slapped the beer she hadn't yet opened onto the counter, giving the finger to the guy who protested when he went ignored, and immediately hopped up onto the counter with a skill and grace that came from her gymnastics years.

"Oh shit," I called out before opening my arms as she flew at me. She barely weighed a thing, so it wasn't hard to swing her around and drop her at my feet. "Jesus, Lydia, it hasn't been that long."

"You showed up once in three months," she said with a roll of her eyes and peered around me. "And with one hell of a hunk of prime meat following you."

The horror on Jace's face was worth everything, and I had to laugh, gesturing toward her. "This is the woman I leave in charge of this place. Jace, this is Lydia, and Lydia, this is Jace."

"Hi there," she said, shoving her hand toward him. "Please tell me you have an equally large, and manly brother I can hit up...or can I hit you up after Mason's done with you?"

"Since when the fuck did I say he was even like that with me?" I asked with a roll of my eyes. "I can have people around me without sleeping with them."

"You got someone this fine following you around and they're straight?

I'm going to start wondering if you're into torturing yourself," Lydia said and glanced back at Jace, who still didn't know how to take her, which was.

..completely normal. Lydia could be a lot to take in, but in all fairness, she wasn't much different than me.

She was direct, quick to joke, and even faster not to take someone's crap if they decided to sling it her way.

And just like me, she never hesitated to flirt with someone if she was interested, even if it was just to get a reaction out of them.

"How about you make us a drink and leave the poor guy alone for a few minutes?" I asked with a laugh, gesturing back toward the bar.

"Virgin Special?" she asked, raising a brow that had nothing to do with the question she'd actually asked but the one she meant to ask and wouldn't while Jace was close enough to hear.

"That's the one, the normal for me," I answered with a shrug, knowing full well I wasn't going to answer her question any time soon.

Yes, it was strange that I was avoiding her probing questions, and even odder that I wasn't letting her tease Jace, but no, I was not going to explain that I didn't want Jace teased too much while he was absorbing everything going on around him.

Which again, was odd for me, but I didn't want to explain it to Lydia.

..and wasn't sure how either. There was just something different about Jace, but she wasn't going to understand that.

"Jesus Christ," Jace growled as he came to stand beside me. "You hired someone who's basically you...but with boobs."

I laughed at that, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "You're not wrong. But she's also amazing at her job, so I can take a copy of me running around."

"I guess," he said, and I noticed the confused dent in his brow.

"What do you look so befuddled about?" I asked.

"She just...I'm not used to people...talking about me like that," he said, and I glanced to see our drinks sitting on the end of the bar, Lydia at the other end, aggressively talking to someone.

From the looks of it, the woman she was talking to was pissed about something, and Lydia wasn't moved by her complaint.

I hoped the woman didn't get it in her head to try going toe-to-toe with Lydia.

I had seen one too many times how that ended, and Lydia would not be on the losing end of that tussle. "It's weird."

I looked at him in surprise. “What? What do you mean?"

"Just...like that."

"What? Dirty? C'mon, with the stuff I know you've done and been willing to do, you're going to get puritanical on me?"

"No," he protested, his face coloring for a moment before he took the drink I offered, along with the double shot the Virgin Special came with, and downed it with a wince. "Just...people don't do that...with me."

My brow shot up. “I...yes, yes, they do."

"No, they don't."

"You seriously think that?"

"They just don't."

"There's people looking at you right now, men and women."

"At you, maybe. People look at me like I’m going to rip their head off if they look at me funny."

"Quit looking so cranky all the time, then."

"Can't," he said with a shrug that was supposed to show he didn't care but just looked resigned.

"Oh, Lord, okay," I turned, spotting a couple of women standing nearby, who I'd seen glancing our way, and I gestured toward them. They exchanged a look, then approached with curious but pleased expressions. I gestured to Jace. “Fuckable or nah?"

"Definitely fuckable," one of them all but purred, which was impressive since she had to shout over the music picking up in intensity. "Don't make us choose."

"Seriously," the short-haired girl said, looking over. "I might be willing to go all in...if you two are."

"Sweetheart, I normally take whatever tickles me," I said with a laugh. "But I'm trying to make a point, consider me spoken for at the moment."

"Me too," Jace spat out, managing not to sound as panicked as I thought he might be.

"Damn," one groaned. "Two of the best-looking guys here and we're already losing out."

"You happen to have any gay or bi friends with you?" I wondered.

"My brother and his boyfriend," the short-haired girl said, gesturing to two guys leaning on a tall table, watching us as they talked and sipped their drinks.

I got their attention and gestured toward Jace to draw their attention.

When they looked at me, I gestured with both hands at Jace's body and face before offering them a thumbs up and a thumbs down as options, raising a brow.

Neither of them hesitated before raising a thumb, both of them smirking, the paler one, who resembled the short-haired girl, looked puzzled, but went along with it.

"Well, that's four for four," I said, glancing at Jace.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. “Quit."

"Mason! Get your ass over here," Lydia bellowed, and I sighed.

"Tell you what," I said, downing my drink in two gulps before setting the glass on a barren table. "You four show my friend here a good time without dragging him out of here, and I'll make sure you all get your drinks covered for the night."

The first girl's eyes widened. “Can you do that?"

"I fucking hope so, I own the damn place," I said, ignoring the hard stare Jace gave me.

The two looked at one another and nodded. “Deal."

"Good, see that bartender with the mohawk that looks like it came out of the nineties punk scene?"

"Yeah."

"He'll make sure you guys are covered, so long as Jace here is with you, that's drinks without cost. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Mason," Jace growled, inching closer so he could be heard without shouting over the music. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"My job," I snorted, pushing his drink closer to him. "Drink up, loosen up a little. Shouldn't take me long to deal with whatever the hell is going on over there. I'm not abandoning you, alright?"

"Seriously?” he asked.

"Trust me," I told him, hoping he understood that I meant it.

The anger fizzled out of his face, and he let out another heavy sigh. “Fine. But I'm going to kick your ass if this is a shit idea."

"I love a bit of foreplay," I told him, leaning in close so he could hear me clearly but also feel the warmth of my breath on his ear and cheek.

I pulled away, and the intensity of his stare told me he very much was hearing me, and while he was trying to trust me, I had also held his attention resolutely for a moment.

I might love the power I had over him sometimes, but that didn't mean I didn't occasionally find it unnerving. This time it was both.

The issue in question was going to take more than just a little bit.

The woman, who had tried to fight Lydia, had apparently also decided she was going to cause some destruction on the way out.

Taking a loss on liquor bottles that were broken was one thing, but she'd injured herself in the process.

By the time I had gotten there, they were dragging her away from the bar as she shrieked, which barely drew any attention, save for those who were looking for a bit of drama.

"There is blood all over my bar," I growled as I got behind the counter.

"I noticed," Lydia snapped back, wiping herself down, having been spattered with blood as well. "Bar's closed, go to another one!"

"You heard the lady," I barked, waving them off. "Biohazard area, you aren't getting drinks here."

"Aww, c'mon, can't we at least get a drink comped?" someone called from the crowd.

I turned toward the hopeful man and rolled my eyes. “I can appreciate the spirit...but no. Go on, there's plenty of alcohol in this place, go and find it. Antonio, clear them out and get some tape out here."