Giving me a nasty sneer, the brunette puke girl says, “You’re an asshole!”
“Yeah and you puked up tissues,” I growl as I feel all the arousal sliding out of my cock.
Grabbing at her friend, Sophia starts dragging her up from the chair. “We need to get you home.”
The other nameless girl nods her head and she helps from the other side.
Beth gives me an embarrassed smile and says, “I’m so sorry.”
Digging through her purse, she pulls out a one-hundred-dollar bill and tries to force it into my hands.
“What do I want that for?”
“Because of the mess. I feel horrible… but we have to take her home.”
Ah, I get it.
Fuck.
Suddenly a hot wave of possessiveness rolls through my body and I feel my muscles tightening up. I don’t want to let her go. No, I want to keep her right fucking here with me.
We still got shit to work out, god dammit.
I look her up and down, the wheels spinning inside my head. She’s so small, she wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. I could throw her over my shoulder and lock her up in the back room… but I’d never get away with it in front of her friends and a bar full of witnesses.
Shit.
Shaking my head, I point to Hambone. “Give it to him. No way am I cleaning that shit up.”
The patrons all move out of the way as three of the girls begin to make their way towards the door.
Laughing, Beth turns to go but I gently pull her back.
“Wait,” I say.
She looks startled. “Huh?”
“I want to see you again… though maybe without your friends. Come by tomorrow night.”
“I… I can’t. It’s not that easy…”
“Do you have a boyfriend?” I ask.
“No…” she starts to say.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
She shakes her head some more. “I can’t, really…”
Does she really think I’m going to let her get away that easily?
“Look, what’s your last name?”
“Norton,” she says and then frowns. “I shouldn’t have just told you that.”
“Beth Norton.”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, Beth Norton,” I smile at her. “If you don’t show up tomorrow night, I’m going to come find you and drag you out of your house.”
Blushing, she says, “I’ll try, okay?”
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
She stares at me for a long time, her hazel eyes measuring me up. I know she can tell I’m fucking serious. If she doesn’t show up, all I have to do is call Simon.
After I pay the fucker, I’ll know everything about her.
Where she lives, where she works or goes to school. Where she likes to shop.
When she’s most likely to leave her house…
“Ok—” she starts to say.
“Elizabeth!” the unnamed blonde girl who didn’t puke everywhere snaps.
“Okay,” Beth says to me and then hurries to her friend.
I watch her walk away and my stomach gives a small clench. Whether it’s from letting her leave or the smell of puke, I’m not sure.
She stops at Hambone and I can just see the big man’s huge shoulders slumping as she hands him the cash. Big guy isn’t scared of anything, but get him near puke and he’s like a little baby.
Chuckling, I head back to the bar. I’m more than willing to bet that Simon can help me find her if she doesn’t show. Fuck, maybe I should just call him later tonight.
Right now, tomorrow seems too fucking far away.
Sitting down at the bar, I start talking to Missy about how the bar’s been doing for the past couple of months I’ve been out of town, when one of the regulars comes in asking if anyone left their car running outside with all the doors open.
Walking out to see what he’s talking about, I feel something I can’t explain… I feel off in the head.
I know a car in my parking lot shouldn’t be left unattended.
When I see it’s a Lexus with a purse abandoned on the ground beside it, I feel a deep growl rumble through my chest.
4
Beth
Walking out of the bar, the cool breeze hits my face, dulling some of the buzz I had going on. Glancing up at the sky, I see that there’s a bright full moon out tonight.
A shiver travels down my spine and I cross my arms over my chest, resisting the sudden urge to turn around and walk back into the bar… where it’s safer.
Safer? I don’t even know where that thought comes from. It must be because I’ve been holed up for so long, trapped in my father’s house.
“Beth, come on,” Lindsey grunts as she helps Sophia support Amanda’s weight.
With a sigh, I rub my hands over the bumps prickling over my arms and follow after them. For safety reasons, we parked under the only light on the street, so we have to cross the entire dark parking lot to get to the car.
“Ugh, with all those tissues you eat, you’d think you’d be a little lighter…” Lindsey grumbles.