Page 76 of Slumming It

And Reese Murdock was no idiot. Surely, he knew that Morgan had been lying her ass off.

He had a reputation for taking no crap, and I waited with pathetic eagerness as he looked at Morgan and Nikki who were still eying him like he was the last T-bone in Texas.

I could see why. He looked like a total bad-ass, hard and dangerous, as he stared both of them down. Judging from his cold expression, he was about to give them the kind of tongue-lashing they would never enjoy – meaning a good verbal one that would leave them trembling for all of the wrong reasons.

Of course, if he offered them anyotherkind of tongue action – or heck, even a quickie in the car – I knew exactly how they would react. They would drop their panties so fast it would make his head spin, assuming they were wearing panties at all.

As the bouncers melted away into the crowd, Morgan gave Reese a sunny smile. "So, how can I make things right?"

He was still holding my hand, and I was loving the feel of it, nice and strong, wrapped around mine. Absently, I wondered if I should be letting go, but since he wasn't letting go of mine, I decided to go with the flow as he considered Morgan's question.

He waited a good, long moment, too, giving Morgan plenty of time to squirm until her smile faded, and a slow blush crept up her cheeks. Finally, she said, "You, um, heard me, right?"

His voice, clipped and cold, cut through the pulsing music. "I heard you fine."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "So, why didn't you answer?"

"Because you asked the wrong person."

Morgan blinked. "Excuse me?"

He flicked his chin in my direction. "You should've asked my girl."

My girl.I felt myself swallow.Why did that sound so good on his lips?

Judging from Morgan's expression, it didn't sound good toher.Her gaze bounced from Reese Murdock to me and back again.

Her mouth thinned, but her gaze remained hungry as she eyed him up and down, obviously liking what she saw. In his faded jeans and black T-shirt, he didn't look like a billionaire, but he remained hot as sin with his muscular pecs, bulging biceps, and ruggedly handsome face.

Plus, hewasa billionaire – and a fairly famous one, too. He owned properties all over the world – properties that made the Diamond Resort look like a basic roadside inn.

Morgan's tongue darted out to brush her upper lip as her eyes devoured my so-called date. He was rich, good-looking, and within pouncing distance. This made him exactly the kind of guy she went for. And she definitely wanted to pounce. No doubt aboutthat.

But IknewMorgan Fairfax. It didn't matter who was asking. She would never grovel tome.

Sure enough, she replied, "Well, Iwouldask her, especially because we're old friends and all, but…well, she's not a VIP."

Next to her, Nikki nodded as she gave Reese a hungry look of her own. "Yeah, butyouare, totally."

Sounding more confident now, Morgan added, "And her clothes – I'm sorry to say this, they're not quite up to code."

Well, she was right aboutthat.

If Reese Murdock was underdressed, I was underdressed and then some. My jeans had many more holes, and my pink T-shirt looked faded and worn, like it had been washed a thousand times.

But Reese Murdock wasn't backing down. With a condescending scoff, he asked Morgan, "You sure about that?"

Morgan's gaze drifted to me. Soon, she was eyingmeup and down, looking distinctly unimpressed until her gaze zoomed in on my ratty pink T-shirt with its faded silvery letters.

Her eyes widened, and she gave a little gasp. "Oh, my God. Is that arealLareena?"

At her side, Nikki asked, "What's a Lareena?"

Good question.

With a scoff of her own, Morgan turned to her sidekick and said, "She's only the hottest new designer in the world."

She was?