er at her out of the corner of his eye. It was entertaining riling her up. For his own amusement, he decided to keep it going, exaggerating his comments way past what his actual views were. He studied the horizon and sipped his beer considering several smart remarks when she started back in, giving him an opening.
She huffed out a little breath. “It’s men like you that drive women crazy.”
“No, you got that backwards, darlin’. Women drive men crazy.” He kept his eyes on the horizon.
She gave a little smirk. “It’s what we’re put on this earth to do.”
“What you were put on this earth to do is sit there and look pretty,” he taunted, knowing it would get to her. “Which you do very well.” He noticed her go a little soft at his roundabout compliment. That’s when he grinned as he raised the bottle to his lips and added the final zinger. “You just need to get the shuttin’ up part down.”
She glared at him. “Is it all women you hate or just me?”
He turned to look at her then. “I don’t hate women. I love women. Fucking greatest gift God ever put on this planet.”
“You sure don’t sound like it.”
He grinned. “Maybe it’s just you.”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
They sat quietly for a while, Crash enjoying his smoke and her enjoying the view.
Several bottles of beer later, Shannon looked out at the horizon, watching the glittering lights coming on as the fading light brought on the darkness of night. A moon reflected off the distant bay, creating a single shimmering trail of light across the dark water. Suspended across the bay, she could see the gloomy hulking shadow of the bridge outlined with tiny lights.
Unobtrusively, she tried to study the man next to her out of the corner of her eye. He wasn’t like any man in her life. Sure, she’d known her share of attractive men, confident men, even powerful men. But not in the same way that this man was. There was just something about him that was hard to define, hard for her to put her finger on. He had a commanding presence, sure, but then, she’d been around men like that before. He seemed uncompromising, but then so did her father.
She bit her lip, considering. Sure, men like her father could be intimidating and forceful in the right setting, such as a business meeting or office setting. But a man like Crash would be intimidating and dominant in any setting. She was sure he just had to walk in a room, and he would command attention. It was that alpha dog mentality she supposed. At the same time, she sensed a quiet calm about him as if nothing would rile him or shake him from his confidence. She got the feeling there wouldn’t be too many circumstances that he couldn’t calmly handle.
It gave her a sense of peace and security knowing a man like that was at her side and would be until this whole thing was over, protecting her, looking out for her.
Shannon took a deep breath and lay her head back, letting the worry flow out of her and feeling herself relax for the first time in a long time. It wasn’t long before the tenseness of her body unwound.
She stifled a yawn.
“Tired, Princess?”
She exhaled a breath. “Stop calling me that.”
“Nope. You’re stuck with it.”
“I have a name.”
“Yeah. What you don’t have is a choice. So, Princess, you tired?”
She rolled her head toward him, and a smile tugged at her mouth. “Yeah, a little,” she admitted.
“Ready for bed?” he asked. Grabbing up the pail and all their empties, he stood.
Swinging her legs to the ground, she grabbed up her shoes, and his hand was immediately extended in front of her. Glancing up at him, she put her hand in his, and he pulled her up. “Such a gentleman,” she admired.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She frowned wondering if she’d caught the barest hint of a southern accent. “Where are you from, Crash?”
“Alabama. Birmingham to be exact.”
“Ah, a southern boy, huh?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. A lifetime ago. Still got a sister and a grandmother back home.”