With a roar, Vaughan suddenly launched himself at the man. Fists flew, sickening thuds. "You don't talk about her that way!"

Feet kicking, voices shouting, wood splintering as the coffee table exploded beneath the brawling men. Things moved impossibly fast. Someone was screaming. Nell, I think. It was all too much for my drunk dazed mind to comprehend.

Rosie grabbed my arm, hauling me as best she could over the back of the couch. I scrambled to keep up. To get to safety. The two men were like a hurricane, destroying everything in their path. Warm blood splattered my face, then I was up and over, falling onto the floor, crawling away to stand by Nell.

Both Joe and Pat entered the fray. I think Joe tried to tear the men apart, but Pat seemed to have lost his senses. While trying to land a punch on Eric, he clipped Joe's arm. Joe defended his brother. Of course he did. The couch was shoved back, sliding toward us. I put out my hands, pushing back before it made impact. Rosie grabbed Nell's arm, dragging her into the hallway.

Fuck. I'd never seen a fight before. Not like this.

I wanted to heave. And Vaughan was in there, caught up in that mess. The thought of him getting hurt made me want to do something extreme. God knows, he'd stood up for me more than once.

"Don't," said Andre, pulling me farther back before I could do something stupid. Probably unnecessary, my feet were stuck, frozen. The rest of my body was pretty much stuck too, deep in shock.

On the floor, the four men fought it out. I could only see blood and violence, Vaughan and Eric still struggling on the floor. In the hallway, Nell gave into the impulse to puke. The sound and smell made me swallow hard. I took deep breaths.

Time seemed to be messed up. Because it didn't feel like that long until I heard sirens fill the air.

"Thank god," I said, sagging against Andre.

His arm tightened around my waist, his head leaning against mine. It wasn't sexual in the least. We both needed the comfort.

"It'll be okay," he said. "They've all been friends for a long time. They'll work it out."

"You really believe that?"

He puffed out a breath. "No."

CHAPTER TWELVE

I stood at the foot of Vaughan's bed, slowly looking the half-naked man over. Moonlight shone through the open window, a summer breeze toying with the curtain. The things he did to me. All the emotions and effects of just being near him. Crazy. It was crazy.

"What?" he asked, voice husky.

"Just thinking." I smiled.

"About?"

"How hot you look lying on your bed with a bag of frozen beans stuffed down your jeans to ice your bruised balls."

One side of his cracked, puffy lips started moving upward. Then stopped. "Ow. Thanks."

"Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No." He patted the mattress beside him. "Sit with me awhile?"

"Sure." I sat by his side, trying not to move the mattress too much and aggravate his sore bits. Kind of hard considering the beating he'd taken.

"Can't believe Eric kneed me in the groin," he said, sounding wounded. "Even for him, that's low."

"You did attack him first."

"Mm." He sighed. "He had no business talking about Nell like that. I don't care what's gone down between them or how long I've been away. I'm still her brother. No way could I just stand by and let him say those sorts of things."

"I get that you needed to defend your sister."

He made a noise. God only knew what it meant.

"I thought it was nice of Officer Andy not to throw you all in jail."

Vaughan snorted. "He would have if Nell hadn't been here. Schmuck. Couldn't believe the way he was crawling up her ass."

"It's just as well she could talk him into walking away."

He watched me from his one good eye; the other was hidden beneath an ice pack. Shadows and lumps marred his beautiful face and one side of his ribs.

"I better let you get some sleep."

"You okay?" he asked.

I halted, searching for the right words. Thing was, there were none. "The fight scared me, Vaughan. Hell, it terrified me. You could have been seriously injured."

"Lydia," he said, then stopped. With various pained noises he moved himself over, making more room. "Lie down."

With nil grace, I did as asked, kicking off my shoes and lying down on the bed beside him. Head on the pillow, I immediately started to yawn. It had to be three, four in the morning at least. Any alcohol-induced happy buzz had worn off hours ago. Soon enough the sun would be rising. What a night.

"Hey." He hooked my pinkie with his, holding on tight. "Thanks for worrying about me."

"I was worried about all of you."

A pause. "That's not what you said."

"Yes, it was."

"No. You said, you could have been seriously injured. 'You' meaning me," he said, carefully turning his head to face me.

I just sniffed tiredly.

"You were worried about me."

"Whatever."

Shadows shifted across the ceiling, dark and mysterious. Outside, with the exception of the occasional horny bug sending out its booty call, silence reigned. Everyone was asleep. Or at least everyone in our little corner of the world.

"Is that why Andre had his arm around you," he asked out of nowhere. "Cause you were scared?"

I rose up on one elbow. "You and Eric were trying to kill each other and you still somehow managed to notice this?"

No answer.

Amazing. The man was simply amazing. I lay back down, resumed staring at the ceiling. My ribs felt a size too small; all the important organs in there were overexcited. I tried not to smile, but failed.

"You going to say something?" he asked eventually.

"You like me." The knowledge sank deep, soaking into my bones and settling. With it came a strange sort of calmness, a rightness, even though I should have been freaking right out about how transient we were. Sensibility dictated I keep him at arm's length. Sense wanted to stick its hand down his pants, bury its nose in his neck, and get something going. Now.

"Didn't we cover this already?" He gave my pinkie a squeeze.

"I don't know. Somehow it feels more real now. Or maybe I wasn't listening properly before." I grinned. "Or maybe I'm just having a moment."

"You're always having moments."

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True. "Deal with it. If you hadn't gotten involved in the fight we could be getting biblical."

A long and loaded moan. "Do not talk to me about sex right now."

"I'm just saying..."

"Well, don't."

"Fine. I won't." I shut my eyes tight, took a great big breath then slowly let it out. Disappointment. It sucked. Things low in my belly leading to my loins were aware they'd been very badly treated.

Completely denied.

Christmas lay right beside me, but I couldn't touch my present for fear of hurting him further. I might just beat up Eric myself. Slap him around the head a few times with a handbag, something like that. It would be fitting.

Vaughan's hand slid over mine. Care of the calluses on his fingers from playing guitar, they weren't soft. The skin there was harder, jagged, even. But I didn't mind. He could touch me as much as he liked. Hell, mood I was in, I'd tape myself permanently to his side if I could get away with such a thing.

"Did you hear from the real estate agent?" I turned my hand over, palm side up. All the better to catch his fingers with mine and hold on.

"He's bringing through some people tomorrow. Guess the trashed sitting room isn't going to look so great." He swore softly.

"It's fine," I said. "Nell and Rosie and I cleaned up the worst of the mess. If they ask, he'll say you're a minimalist who doesn't believe in having much furniture or something. It'll be fine."

A sigh. "Yeah. Well, it'll have to be. Thanks for helping out."

"No problem." I gently lifted his hand to my lips and kissed it, careful to avoid the two cracked knuckles. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Shoot." He didn't even hesitate.

"What's the deal with Eric and you? Why did he react so badly to you working at the bar in the first place?"

The groaning was back, but it soon turned into laughter. The sound was not a happy one. "Thought you'd have asked about that before now, actually. After that damn scene at the bar last night."

"I didn't want to pry."

Without a word he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. Oh, god. I was melting. All they'd find of me come morning was soppy goo on the bed and it was all his fault.

"I like you, Lydia."

"I like you too, Vaughan. Now give me the gossip."

His laughter turned to an altogether more acceptable sound. "Eric was in the band all during high school. Helped me put it together, actually. We were tight back then. His parents only live a street over, so we pretty much grew up together..."

Tags: Kylie Scott Dive Bar Erotic
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