Glaring at his boss, Marcus wiped his face off with a single napkin that he grabbed off the counter, then stalked out of the bar without another word. No one followed him. No one seemed to so much as breathe a single word until the door slammed behind Marcus with a loud bang that echoed through the room.
She stared at her knight in shining armor, her heart racing a million miles a minute. How quickly he’d defended her, how angry he still looked. He’d appeared ready to tear Marcus apart, and that rage still rolled through him. She could see it in the tight clench of his jaw, the tension that radiated from him in palpable waves.
The low murmurs of conversation resumed once more, and one of the bartenders had turned up the volume on the set of big-screen TVs that banked the walls, as if trying to drown out the uncomfortable tension. Someone jostled into her, pushing her closer to Hunter, and he reached out, grabbing her arm to steady her.
Just like that, a bolt of sensation swept through her at his touch, heat lingering in all the important parts and making her burn. Her body’s instant reaction to him was so hard to ignore.
But then she remembered what Marcus had said. Anger suffused her, and she jerked out of Hunter’s hold, turning toward the front doors so she could escape.
“Not so fast.” Hunter reached her within seconds, his fingers curling around her upper arm and stopping her i
n her tracks. “Why in the hell are you always running away from me?”
She glared at him and tried to jerk her arm out of his grip. “You give me plenty of good reasons to want to escape from you.”
He winced, as if those words hurt, and she refused to feel sorry for him. He was the one who must’ve been spreading rumors about her. Rumors that could potentially damage her career and future at Worth. “Let me go,” she demanded, which only seemed to make him squeeze her arm harder.
“We need to talk,” he said, steering her toward one of the private rooms that were in the back of the pub.
“I have nothing to say to you.” Well, she had a few choice words, but she thought it best to remain mum for fear of making her boss angry. The last thing she wanted was her promotion revoked for insubordinate behavior.
“I have plenty to say to you, so I guess you can sit and listen.”
Like hell. The moment he let her go, she was out of there. She was so furious she could spit nails. Despite his rescuing her from the horrible Marcus, it didn’t make up for what he’d said about her.
And it hurt too much to admit just how she felt.
He shoved her into a small, dark room, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click that sent a chill down her spine. She tore out of his grip and turned on him, her arms crossed in front of her defensively.
“How dare you?” she hissed.
He reared back. “How dare I save you from Marcus making his slimy moves on you? What are you saying, that you actually like him? You wanted him to harass you?”
“Of course I don’t like him!” She paused, trying to catch her breath. Gather her thoughts. “He told me what you told him.”
Hunter frowned. “What did I supposedly tell him?”
She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. “About us—sleeping together!”
“There was hardly any sleeping going on,” he said with a light chuckle.
Gracie wanted to throttle him. He clearly wasn’t taking any of this seriously. “So you’re not going to deny you told him about us?”
His expression went serious. “I never told him anything. I haven’t told anyone what happened between us. Not even my brother.” He ran a hand through his hair, making a mess of it, and she couldn’t help but think he looked adorable.
Focus, Gracie!
“Then how did he know about us?”
“What exactly did Marcus say?”
“He was angry about my promotion. And he basically accused me of sleeping with you to get it.”
“Anyone could say that. Not a one of them would know if it was true or not. It’s pure speculation on their part.”
His rational nonchalance was infuriating. “But the way he said it…” Her voice trailed off and she chewed on her lower lip. Maybe it had been speculation on Marcus’s part. So angry and jealous he’d accuse her of anything? Of sleeping around for a big promotion? It wouldn’t be the first time a man had accused a woman of just that.
“You’re sensitive to it. Because we did—sleep together.” He stepped closer, and she hugged herself tighter, as if she could ward him off. It didn’t work. “I swear to you, Gracie. I haven’t told a soul what happened between us. Only you and I know the truth.”