I grinned, but still, she didn’t grin back.
Tough crowd.
“Whatever,” she screeched, and screeching was so not a good sound for her. “You wanted to trick him into marriage and—”
“Marriage?” I laughed. “Yeah, right. With Cameron? Give me a frigging break.”
“I’m going to scratch your fucking eyes out, whore!”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Asher appeared at one side of me, lifting his hands to restore order, and I realized Ten was there too, suddenly at my other side. “I think you need to calm down, ma’am.”
When she sniffed at him, I blinked up his way and shook my head. “I don’t understand why she’s calling me the whore. She’s the one who couldn’t keep her legs together.”
But that only enraged her more. “I’m going to kill you, bitch.”
“Not tonight, you’re not.” Ten stepped in, hooked an arm around her waist to keep her from diving at me, which she actually tried to do, and he pulled her a safe distance away.
I just gaped at her, honestly confused.
“Seriously?” I threw my hands into the air. “The test was neg-a-tive! Why are you so butt hurt over this? I don’t want your disgusting boyfriend. You’re welcome to his cheating ass. If I never see him again for as long as I live, it’ll be too soon. Good riddance to both of you!”
Leaping out of Ten’s arms, she whipped back her arm and slapped me. Hard. I think she whacked me sober. I’m not lying. The moment before her hand went flying, I felt all loopy and happy, still treating this entire conversation like some kind of joke...because it was freaking ridiculous. But now that my cheek was on fire...yeah. Dead sober.
Scowling at her, I covered my jaw with my hand. “That wasn’t very nice. What is your problem?”
“Don’t you dare talk about Cameron that way. He’s wonderful and—”
She gasped in pain as her head jerked backward. When she tripped away from me, I realized it was because someone had grabbed her hair and was using it as a leash to drag her.
My mouth fell open when I realized my defender was the new bartender. And he looked pissed. Like scary pissed. Like pissed enough to make you piss your pants if he ever looked that pissed at you.
“Touch her again and I’ll break your fucking hand,” he growled in her ear.
I gulped. Crap. I think I just pissed myself anyway...and he wasn’t even pissed at me.
And why did the word piss keep floating through my head?
Cam’s whore—sorry, I hadn’t been able to concentrate on her name when Cam had said it because at the time, her boobs had been flopping everywhere, distracting me—squeaked out her fear and slapped at his arm, trying to break free. “What the hell? You can’t talk to me like that. Get your hands off me.”
When she whacked him again and tried to pull away, he let go of her so fast, she lost her balance and fell, landing hard on her ass.
It would’ve been funny if I weren’t so shocked that he looked so mad, and I had no idea why he even cared.
Ten and Asher seemed similarly struck.
“Whoa. Dude.” Ten lifted his hands as if disclaiming any part of the confrontation.
“Uh...” Asher glanced between the new guy and the woman. But the woman seemed basically okay as she sputtered and scrambled to her feet.
“Get out,” the new guy said in a voice that made a damn decent Terminator impersonation. It definitely sent a shiver up my spine and had Cam’s woman racing for the door without a backward glance.
“I can’t...” Ten shook his head and backed up a step. “You just manhandled a woman. Dude.”
“What?” my savior growled, seemingly confused. “I did not.”
“Well, you...you loomed,” Ten stuttered. “And threatened to break her hand.”
“It’s called intimidation. Got her to leave, didn’t it?”
“You pulled her hair,” Asher added.
The stranger seared Asher with a glare. “Because she fucked with the wrong person.”
I sucked in a startled breath. “What?”
The cloth on the back of the new guy’s shirt bunched as his muscles tensed. With no idea why he would feel so protective of me of all people, I froze when he turned his head, just his head, and looked my way.
I felt electrocuted from such a penetrating stare. It was like my heart seized and all my organs turned to liquid, and yeah...brain zapped dead.
“Uh...” I mumbled.
I couldn’t read a single thing from his hard stare. Worry? Anger? Disappointment? He didn’t appear to be soft and sympathetic, but there was nothing malicious in his expression either. It was just...intense. It made me instantly wet. My nipples went hard, and a hot, tingling shiver raced over my skin.