I glanced down at her. “Who?”

“That River guy. He rubs me the wrong way.”

Grinning, I leaned down and kissed her lips. I wanted those lips. I also wanted her up against a wall with her short little skirt pushed up around her waist. The boots could stay on.

“I’m not a fan, either.”

Two hours later, I had forced a smile and spoken to everyone my stepdad would have wanted me to. Reese had been safely tucked at my side the whole time. I’d had to remind myself not to get furious when men’s gazes fell to her legs. She was showing them off tonight, and I had to expect that. But I didn’t have to fucking like it.

Reese had surprised me and chosen the ribs for dinner. I was positive she was the only woman eating ribs. Watching her eat a rib was sexy as hell, and I’d had a hard time focusing on my own plate of food; my eyes kept going to her mouth and the way her tongue kept flicking out to lick the sauce off her lips.

I was ready to head home and looked around for Aida. I wanted to leave her here so I wouldn’t have to deal with her wanting to come back to my place tonight to visit. I had plans for Reese and that skirt . . . and those boots.

“Dance with me,” Aida said, and her hand clasped my arm. She had snuck up behind me.

“I’m ready to go,” I replied.

She pouted. “You haven’t danced with me all night. We always dance at these parties.”

I had started to say no again when Reese stepped slightly away from me. “Go, dance. I’ll wait right here.”

“See? She doesn’t care. Let’s dance.” Aida was in a much better mood than the one I’d left her in. She was a little too happy. Her mood swings the past two days were giving me whiplash. I wasn’t used to having her around for this long; she usually only came for a few days a couple of times a year, though she did stay for a while with us last summer.

I didn’t want to dance with her. I hadn’t even danced with Reese, mostly because I was afraid she would panic at the idea of dancing with all these people here. It was obvious she didn’t feel comfortable among strangers. Dancing with Aida seemed wrong.

“Please, please, please,” Aida begged, drawing attention to herself as she pulled on my hand, trying to tug me forward. “We can leave after one dance.”

We would leave as soon as I was ready.

“Go,” Reese said, pushing me gently.

Dammit. I didn’t want to do this. Aida and I had been taught to dance by my mother when we were kids, and it had entertained Aida when she was younger. She hadn’t liked doing things I enjoyed, like fishing, hiking, and camping. Harlow had loved doing all those things with me. But Aida was always different. She enjoyed attention.

She kept pleading and pulling my arm. I wasn’t getting out of this.

“Fine. One dance,” I replied, and she beamed brightly.

I glanced back at Reese as she pulled me forward. “I’ll be right back.”

Reese nodded and smiled at me.

This was a bad idea.

Reese

“Does he always dance with his cousin like that?” a deep voice asked. Although I had only met the guy once—or twice, technically—I knew who it was without looking.

“Yes,” I replied, even though I had no idea.

They really were something. I had no idea Mase could dance like that. People had stopped talking and were watching them now. One dance had turned into two.

“He’s not real smart,” River Kipling said with a drawl.

There he went again, making me mad. I turned to glare up at him. In the light, he was much more attractive than I had realized. There was a carefree look about him, and he seemed unaffected by the party around us. “He’s brilliant,” I replied.

River grinned and shook his head. “You’re something else, Reese Ellis.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I didn’t care. He said mean things about Mase. I didn’t like him. At all. “They like to dance,” I said, feeling the need to defend Mase even more.

“Then he should have danced with you. Shame to have you on his arm and miss the chance to spin you around the dance floor.”

Mase hadn’t asked me to dance. I thought maybe he didn’t like to, but he was putting on a show with Aida. I watched as he picked her up and did some flippy thing. The crowd clapped and cheered. “She’s better at dancing than I am,” I admitted. “I couldn’t do that kind of stuff.”

I thought that would shut up River Kipling, but I was wrong. “That looks like work, not fun. Holding a woman close and feeling your body brush against hers, the tease of knowing you can’t touch anything the way you want to.” He paused. “That’s why you dance.”

I wanted him to shut up. I didn’t need him in my ear. I was trying to find a way to fit into Mase’s world. This guy wasn’t helping by putting doubts in my head. The song ended, and Mase shook his head when Aida obviously begged him to dance one more time.

When he turned toward me, I saw him tense up as his gaze shifted to River beside me.

“Bet he stops dancing now. You’re welcome,” River said in an amused tone.

I glanced back at him as he walked off. He did fill out a pair of jeans well, and he had a swagger when he walked. But he was infuriating otherwise.

“Was he bothering you?” Mase asked, as his hands slipped around me.

I forgot the aggravating man and looked up at Mase. “No, he was just talking about how good y’all danced.”