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he saw it but by then she d turned away. Turned to Jim. The fucker. He took a deep breath and
reminded himself that Sarah wouldn t appreciate Jim s blood on her pretty dress.
 Anyone else? Sarah s voice dragged him away from his thoughts.
 Sorry, I couldn t carry a tune if you put it in a bucket and painted the handle with crazy glue. Everyone
stared at Sheri.  What?
Sarah shrugged.  Okay, anyone else?
Surprisingly, Rick stood. He stared down at his openmouthed mate.  What are we waiting for? He
took her arm and led her over to the sign-in sheet.
Gabe shook his head and followed, Sarah s hand clasped in his. He didn t miss the wink Jim sent her,
either. The little minx. That s eight. He began cataloging ways to hide the vet s body. It was all he
could do not to snarl at the other man.  Do you know what song you want to sing?
She flipped through the selection, studying each one carefully. Belle had already made her selection, as
had Rick.  That one.
Her selection shouldn t have surprised him but it did. He grinned as she wrote her name and selection
down and handed them to the DJ.  Sunshine Superman?
 Mm-hmm.
He led her back to the booth to wait for her turn to sing, hoping he d be able to get her to relax and let
him in, even a little bit. His first step was pulling her into his arms as soon as they were seated, refusing to
allow her to move. The flush that stole over her cheeks was worth the amused, knowing looks his
Pridemates sent their way. Now to set the record straight.  Chloe and I were talking about her mate.
He felt her muscles jump under his hands.  Her mate?
He nodded, his lips set against her neck.  Mm-hmm. She knows who he is but he doesn t seem
interested. The music started back up. Unless he wanted to scream in her ear, he d have to wait to give
her any more information.
Having Sarah in his arms made everything worth it. He nuzzled her hair, ignoring the screeching of the
half-drunk man on stage. He allowed the quiet peace of having his mate s scent and warmth beside him
to lull him, feeling serene for the first time in months.
I m going to throw up.Sarah rubbed at her stomach and swallowed hard. She stared out into the
audience as the first strains of her song started up, the knowledge that Gabe was there making everything
ten times worse. Why, oh why, did I decide to do this? And how did I wind up singing before both
Belle and Rick? They signed up before me! She took a deep breath, almost ready to bolt.
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A pair of midnight blue eyes stared up at her from the edge of the stage. Gabe smiled, laughter lighting
up his face. She could feel the rueful amusement coming off him and knew he expected her to suck
almost as bad as the last person who had been up on the stage. The woman had missed every single note
of her song, but she d had so much fun that Sarah had clapped almost as loud as the girl s boyfriend.
Sarah glared at Gabe, determined to prove him wrong. Her stomach settled down and the music began.
She saw her cue, the joy of the song pushing everything else from her mind. Sarah belted out the lyrics,
staring into Gabe s incredibly handsome face, seeing the astonishment and, yes, pride growing there.
What made it even better was the envy she could see on Chloe s face as the woman stopped next to
him.
Hah! Take that, man-stealing bitch!Now that she d started, Sarah was having a blast. The lyrics
matched her mood perfectly. Sheer possessiveness put an extra swing into her hips as she sang.   Cause
I ve made my mind up, you re going to be mine. She made sure she was leaning over for that part,
challenging Gabe before turning away from him to sing to the rest of the audience. When the instrumental
part started she danced before picking up with the lyrics once more.  When you ve made your mind up
forever to be mine, I ll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind. She turned, shimmying her
ass right in Gabe s face, ignoring the hands he held up. Nine fingers. Oh, shit. My ass is going to be
sore. She threw her head back and laughed, finishing the song with a flourish before accepting his hand
off the stage.
The soft tap to her ass made her jump, a reminder of what lay ahead.  Little mind?
The affectionate teasing threading through his voice reassured her enough to have her tease him back.
 All things considered, I d dare to call it tiny.
 Ouch. He patted her rear.  Fine, score one for you.
 Yes! She marked a point on an imaginary scoreboard with her finger. Gabe s love tap on her ass was
a little sharper, but he rubbed the sting away almost immediately. Sarah was left blinking, fighting her
sudden arousal when they reached the table.
Emma was clapping.  Way to go, Sarah!
 Not bad, Sare-bear! Sheri gave her two thumbs-up. Adrian merely smiled and nodded, his attention
almost immediately returning to Sheri.
Simon and Becky both looked like they d taken a drink of water and gotten a mouthful of good wine
instead, but both high-fived her. Max, for some obscure reason, looked and felt smug, like he d known
all along that she could do it.
Gabe helped her into her seat and settled her between his legs, the bench allowing him to cradle her
between his thighs. She allowed it, the feel of his arms wrapping around her waist and the praise of her
friends drugging her senses with sweet warmth. Almost as wonderful was the feeling of contentment she
could feel pouring off Gabe, like everything he d ever needed was right there in front of him. Hell, he was
even purring. She looked over at Chloe to find the other woman watching them with a wistful expression
and a sad smile. Sarah turned away, unwilling to analyze why she felt guilty about Gabe cuddling her in
front of the other woman.
She almost missed Belle limping onto the stage, smiling sweetly as the opening strains of Jewel s
 Hands started up, startling them. Belle looked like an angel sitting in the light of the stage, her hair a
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golden halo around her head. She lifted the mic and Sarah sat back, prepared to watch the others get
impressed.
Gasps sounded around the table as Belle s strong, gentle voice floated over them.  Holy shit. She s
good. Gabe shook his head.  Why didn t we know that?
Sarah tilted her head back, the top of her head brushing Gabe s cheek.  Bimbo persona, remember?
Besides, Livia would have had a fit if she d known Belle was good at something she wasn t, so Belle hid
it. Stupid, but there it was. Belle had given Livia a loyalty the rogue hadn t been worthy of and had
wound up paying a price she hadn t deserved.
 Well she s certainly not hiding it now. She would have bristled over the admiration in Gabe s voice if it
wasn t for the fact that she could feel it. It had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with
friendship.
The pride he d felt when Sarah had sung had been mixed with a healthy dose of lust and& love? Sarah
shook her head, not certain she d felt what she thought she had. How could it be love? She just couldn t
trust her senses where Gabe was concerned. It was entirely possible she was reading something into his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]