With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

room.
    About halfway there he caught himself and slowed. Possessive much? That was a new feeling for him. He
    tried to decide whether he liked it or not. Not that it mattered, because he’d had it regardless. It had been immediate and from the gut.
    Tara drew his gaze as soon as he stepped into the living room. The tomboy who drove like a
    NASCAR driver and shot Nerf darts true enough to make a sniper envious was gone, and in her place stood a goddess. This was the Miss Georgia persona. She wore a long strapless formfitting dress with a slit all the way up to the top of her right thigh. The curves of her breasts appeared ready to spill out of the bodice any second, and if she moved too quickly, that slit would let everyone see what she wore beneath. The dress was gold, but it was that weird gold that told Matt it was probably a color his eyes couldn’t see rather than a true gold. Her dark hair was piled on her head with that sexy almost-coming-down look that women did.
    “Wow.” His brothers would probably drop to their knees and offer her the world, but Matt had the
    urge to tease her about being a girl. Maybe they should stop by the sporting-goods store and buy a bat, so he and Aubrey could beat people off her. If she had any idea he’d even considered it, she’d probably kick his butt.
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    With Abandon
    “What? What’s wrong?” She did the exact same thing Matt had done earlier when Aubrey had looked
    at him. She lifted her arms a bit, studied herself and frowned up at him. “Do I have something on my—?”
    Her mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God. You look incredible.” She strode forward. “Matt, you’re always
    gorgeous, but day-um…” She grabbed his hands, holding them out from his body to check him out, and
    smiled. “Honey, you’re beautiful.”
    “Me? Look at you. Holy smokes. Maybe I’m not as gay as I thought.”
    Tara laughed and Matt joined her.
    “Matthew.” Aubrey was so quiet and steady it was eerie.
    Together Matt and Tara turned toward him.
    He wore an expression so blank it could have been made of stone. He stalked toward them, his gaze
    locked with Matt’s. “Can I see you for a moment.” It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t give Matt time to respond before continuing past him into their room.
    Okay, that was weird. Aubrey was never that emotionless. Something told Matt he was seeing the corporate tycoon the business world saw. The hairs on the backs of his arms stood on end. Matt glanced back at Tara, and for the first time noticed the other woman coming to stand beside her. She was pretty, with long dark hair around her shoulders and a blue dress slightly more sedate than Tara’s but still quite elegant. She resembled Tara. “Hi.” She waved at him before glancing in Aubrey’s direction and
    swallowing hard.
    Matt looked back at Tara.
    She shrugged and furrowed her brow at the open bedroom door.
    No sooner had Matt cleared the door, than Aubrey softly closed it. He gripped Matt’s shoulder and
    whirled Matt around to face him so fast Matt stumbled.
    Matt would’ve bumped right into his mate, but the look on Aubrey’s face made him fling his forward
    progress to the side to keep from colliding. He shifted his weight and clasped his hands together. His stomach plummeted to his feet. What had he done? Surely Aubrey knew he’d been playing with Tara. He
    couldn’t possibly be jealous, could he?
    Matt composed himself and gave Aubrey a weak smile.
    Aubrey didn’t smile back. If anything, his scowl deepened. “What da fuck? Ya cain’t go around tellin’
    people you’re gay,” he gritted out between clenched teeth so low Matt doubted that Tara and the other
    woman heard, even if they were standing with their ears to the door, and Matt wouldn’t put that past Tara.
    Aubrey’s eyes narrowed, piercing him to the spot. The anger coming off him was suffocating.
    All the blood drained from the upper part of Matt’s body, he was sure of it. He grew lightheaded, and
    the room started to spin. He hadn’t expected that. Aubrey might as well have punched him in the face.
    “I got Tara to bring Ashley as your date for that very purpose, and here you go spoutin’ off that you’re gay anyhow.”

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    J.L. Langley
    What? The other woman was his date? He didn’t want a date. He was tagging along with Aubrey and
    Tara. Bile climbed up Matt’s throat, and he tugged at his collar. It was too tight. He