The New Girl by Ana Vela Page B

eyes. That’s why Drei liked her. She had been remarkably unfazed by the existence of the supernatural. And she could hold her own when it came to snarky banter. His brother was a lucky man.
    “Here.” Grig shrugged out of the button down shirt he’d worn over his t-shirt. It was a deep ruby red. He tossed it to Drei, who snatched it out of the air.
    “Thanks. Let me go get out of this wet shirt.” He set down his beer and flashed a glare at Cat. “Try not to drool at the thought, huh?”
    “Oh, you wish. Hurry up and go change. There’s nothing worse than the smell of wet dog.” She snatched his beer with a smirk. “I’ll just look after this while you’re gone.”
    Drei shook his head, once again weaving his way through the crowd. He could have just changed at the table, he supposed. It was hardly like he was shy. But the reek of the alcohol actually was pretty strong to his sensitive Shifter nose. Plus, he was sticky. And unlike Em, he didn’t have a woman to lick him clean.
    His thoughts drifted to the tall, lean, redheaded bartender as he pushed into the men’s room. A couple of club guys were snorting Ritalin near the sinks but they scattered pretty quick when Drei sauntered over. It might have something to do with the way his grin was not really a grin, but just his lips slightly peeled back from his teeth.
    He tugged the damp t-shirt off over his head, dropped it into the sink, and grabbed a handful of paper towels. They were rough against his skin as he swabbed at the wetness in his chest hair. The liquid had trickled down his stomach and dampened the waistband of his jeans too. He flicked open the first couple of buttons and soaked up the mess in his pubic hair as well.
    “Don’t even think about it,” he muttered to his semi-hard cock. It was the redhead’s fault. All that smooth, sleekly muscled skin on display. And that ass. His cock throbbed. Drei gritted his teeth and did up his pants. Before Cat, Em had had issues with the idea of screwing Mundane girls. Drei didn’t have any such hang-ups. But Red had made it pretty clear she wasn’t interested in him in the least.
    He tugged Grig’s shirt on. It was a little tight in the shoulders. And the arms. And across the chest. His younger brother wasn’t nearly as broad as he was. In the end, Drei ended up only buttoning three of the buttons at the bottom, leaving a wide V of chest hair visible. Not exactly his best look. He just needed a few gaudy gold chains, he thought with a snort. He tugged the two sides of the shirt together but there wasn’t much he could do. Frustrated, he tossed the sticky t-shirt into the trash and stiff-armed the bathroom door open.
    Drei heard the soft, feminine grunt of pain and paused. Not because of the sound, so much as the smell. The light green smell. It was the redheaded bartender who’d made that guttural noise. He made it to the door to the small office in one stride and pushed through the door. It was locked, but a strong twist of his hand and the flimsy lock popped.
    She was sitting behind a metal desk with her head in her hands. A small, brown glass bottle rested beside her. The green smell that suffused her skin came from the bottle, but it wasn’t perfume. The slightly bitter smell of the tincture marked it clearly as medicinal. She raised her head, eyes widening as she took in his big frame filling the doorway. Or, at least, that’s what he thought the cause of the look was. It could be the open shirt.
    Drei scowled. “What’s wrong?” Her lips quirked.
    “And he’s a charmer too.” She raised one slender hand to her temple, rubbing in a circle. “Just a headache. Did you need something?”
    He hesitated. She was in pain. He could smell it on her. Something... He shook his head. It was most likely just whatever herbal concoction she was taking. “You sure you’re alright?” He’d meant to leave already. What was it about this woman that threw off every one of his natural instincts? Right