Free Nights Embrace (Others of Seattle) by Brandy L Rivers

comfort she couldn’t explain.
    “Roxy might be more than you can handle , Boyd.” Trevor spit the name out like it tasted bad.
    “Oh, come now, lass. I won’t bite… much.” Boyd ’s eyes practically molested her as he licked his lips.
    Roxy ’s stomach rolled in revulsion as Trevor pulled her even closer, his hold tightening.
    A beautiful dark haired woman with icy green eyes came up behind Boyd, trailing her fingers down his arm. “There you are, Trevor. I’ve been waiting on another round with you.” She was Scottish as well.
    Roxy had to wonder if there was some old clan feud or something. She almost laughed at the notion. It wasn’t likely clans still feuded in the modern age.
    Trevor ’s tone was harsh, “Should have known you wouldn’t be far behind your lapdog, Dina.”
    Joey shoved his way between everyone, separating Roxy and Trevor from Dina and Boyd. He growled, “Is there going to be a problem, Dina?”
    Sorcha bounced from foot to foot, a look of sheer hatred on her face.
    Whatever the hell was going on, Roxy didn’t understand, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
    Unless , Trevor has been with this two-bit trashsicle.
    Dina ’s eyes cut through Roxy. “Looks like we aren’t welcome here. We should find our own table.” There was a promised threat in her tone. Boyd took Dina’s arm and led her away.
    Trevor whispered , “After this game, we should leave. They’re up to no good.”
    “Yeah. We could leave now though,” Roxy replied. She wanted answers, but not in front of everyone.
    “No. If we leave now, they win. They play this game every time we meet, and we have to stand our ground.”
    “Have you two fucked?” The words tumbled from her tongue before she could rein in the snarl.
    His eyes rounded as he shook his head.
    “Ooh, pup’s got claws,” Joey teased.
    “No. Never. I’ll explain later,” Trevor promised.
    “You better.” Because this wasn’t something Roxy was going to let go . She had history with someone who wouldn’t let her go, but her gut told her there was something more sinister at play with those two.
     
    * * * *
     
    Trevor’s nerves were stretched tight, waiting for something to go wrong. Dina and Boyd were bad news, and could very easily scare Roxy away, if not hurt her outright.
    Fear wasn’t something he often felt, but a thousand scenarios ran through his mind . If she ran from him, it would kill him. That wasn’t his biggest concern. No, he was worried they would take her from him and hurt her, or worse.
    His heart squeezed tight as he looked into her sparkling eyes. “The stakes?”
    She shrugged this time, her edge gone. Trevor could almost see the wheels turning in her head after that encounter. He couldn’t blame her. If her writing was any indication of how her mind worked, she had to be coming up with some strange shit. Trevor knew he needed to lay it all out for her, but he couldn’t do it here.
    He proposed, “How about whoever wins picks where we eat dinner.”
    A slow smile started on her face. “That sounds good. Either way, we both win.”
    “Does that mean you want dinner with me?” he purred.
    “Oh, I do.”
    “You break.”
    She did, and sank a solid. Then proceeded to down the eight ball the very next turn. “Oops, you won,” she grinned.
    Well, that worked for him. He was nearly out of patience as it was. He waved to the rest of his clan and ushered Roxy toward the stairs.
    Dina met them halfway, her arms crossed over her chest. “Oh, you don’t want to stay and play?” she taunted.
    His glare was deadly. “No, never did if you recall.”
    He brushed past her, pulling Roxy tighter to him as he hurried down the stairs. Roxy sucked in a breath as the rest of his friends surged around them, blocking them from Dina ’s view. He knew he could count on them.
    She whispered, “I thought we were leaving alone.”
    “You are,” Joey grinned at her. “We’re all hungry, and it seemed like a good time to leave,