Read Online Darken (Siege #1) by Angela Fristoe - Free Book Online

his ass jarred him from his thoughts. Hailey cackled loudly as she rested her chin on his shoulder. He barely kept himself from coughing at the overpowering odor of her floral perfume.
    “You’re up, sugar,” she said and slid her hands around to his chest, letting them sink low.
    Not one for public displays, he grabbed them before they could reach their goal. He stepped to the side and placed his beer on the ledge running the length of the wall before grabbing his pool cue from where it rested against his stool.
    Lining up his shot, he called it then sunk the ball. He repeated the process, one after another, until only the eight ball remained. Playing pool always relaxed him. It was a game that came naturally to him. Well, not naturally so much as it was skill courtesy of the side effects from Sinclair’s experiments. When Gavin studied the table, he could almost see the angle lines floating there like a grid spread across the table.
    After he made the final shot, he scooped the balls from the pockets and rolled them to the end of the table. He was racking them again when he noticed Hailey standing with her arms crossed over her chest. The stance pushed her breasts up enough they threatened to burst free.
    “You hoping to distract me?” he asked.
    “Just wondering if you’re here to play, or if you’re here to play pool?”
    He almost asked what she meant, but while he could be oblivious sometimes, he wasn’t stupid. He flashed a cocky half-smile and gestured to the perfect triangle of balls.
    “Your break.”
    He watched Hailey bend over, pushing her ass in the air and giving a little wiggle. The glance she gave over her shoulder told him it was a less than subtle attempt at seduction. Like all her other attempts to grab his interest lately, it failed, yet he winked to reassure her, and she turned back to the game.
    Hailey didn’t have the same level of skill as he did on the table, but she was damn good, so he wasn’t surprised when she cleared nearly all her balls before he had a shot. He hit the three ball in first and the cue ball glanced off the eight, sinking it and ending the game.
    Not used to losing, Hailey gave a little pout. She took her time racking the balls, and as she lined up her next shot, his attention wandered.
    Cora sat with a woman he vaguely recognized. He tried to place her, but nothing clicked. They must have been deep in conversation, because when Josh appeared at their table, neither of them looked up. At least not until Josh placed his hands on Cora’s shoulders and slid them down her arms.
    Gavin’s grip on the cue stick tightened as Cora tossed her head back and laughed up at Josh. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was walking over there.
    “What are you doing?” he asked Josh, who now sat with the two women.
    His brother stared up at him confusion, wrinkling his brow. “I’m having a drink. What are you doing?”
    “Aren’t you working?”
    “Finished my shift ten minutes ago, so I thought I’d hang with my favorite girl.”
    Gavin’s eyes narrowed and he glared at his brother, his fists itching. Josh might look a little on the scrawny side, but he possessed the same iron-fisted strength Gavin did. It wasn’t often Gavin had an opportunity to fight, and Josh was always game to exchange blows, but Gavin knew his anger would give him an edge that could cost him his control. That knowledge was enough to convince him to step back.
    Josh peered around Gavin. “There a reason you’re playing boss?”
    “Nah, just making sure you’re not making an ass of yourself,” he said with a smirk.
    “I think you covered that for him,” Cora’s friend said, and Gavin turned his gaze to study her.
    Up close, he got the sense again that he should recognize her, but still couldn’t figure it out. She was on the plain side with her mousy brown hair, although her big hazel eyes were pretty.
    “You remember Eve?” Cora motioned to her friend. “She went to high school