Page 53 of Declan
“Hey, thought you might want to trade up, honey. Why don’t you come sit with me?”
Jesus. I’m so tired of dealing with assholes like this. Every night at my club, I deal with a variation of this. At least there, in my leather, with my bouncers seconds away, I can usually flirt my way out of it. But I’m not on duty tonight. I don’t have a spec of makeup on. My usual armor is put away, not needed with Declan. But it’s backfiring on me. Now, when I shoot this guy my fuck off look, he doesn’t look intimidated. Instead, he slides forward, pushing his body into the space between the wall and the table, looming over me.
I clench my teeth and pray I can send him back to his table with his tail tucked between his legs before Declan gets back.
25
DECLAN
I s this what dating is supposed to feel like? This weird mix of gut-clenching attraction and nerves? It’s foreign, but I like it. I like the anticipation. I like staring into her eyes across the table. I like the way her smile hits me right in the chest.
Turning the taps on and soaping my hands, I study my reflection in the mirror. I’m still getting used to the new me. The beard, the short hair. I look more like Colt than ever. I don’t ever think I’ll be his size, though. Fucker’s muscles have muscles. But I like what I see. I feel like a grown-up for the first time in my life.
Which is weird.
I’ve had adult responsibilities and an adult role in my family for years. But outside of that, I was the video game-playing, junk-food-eating geek. It’s mind-blowing how hitting the gym has changed everything. Though maybe it’s not the gym. Instead, I’ve just realized what actually matters to me. It’s amazing how much clarity almost losing everything brings.
Swinging open the door, I admit to myself that Cara has a big part to play in the changes, too. I wanted to be the kind of man she wanted. Turns out, I didn’t need to change anything. Life is fucking weird.
As soon as I hit the hall, my eyes dart around, searching for her. Needing my fix. Just looking at her makes me so fucking happy. But she’s blocked by a guy in a suit. My hands clench and my heart rate speeds up. I don’t like the way he’s looming over her. I recognize this guy, even from the back. He didn’t fucking get the message this morning, apparently.
My eyes scan the room, getting a lock on his buddy. The first thing I learned from my brothers was to always know where your enemies are. Buddy’s still at the table, and when he locks eyes on me, he shrinks back a bit, but only for a second. Things get tense, he thinks he’s going to run in and be the hero.
He’s wrong. He’ll just end up on the floor with his fucktard of a friend.
I weave through the crowd, shifting until I can get a look at Cara. She looks slightly pissed but not panicky yet. That’s good. That means we might avoid bloodshed. But the suit guy is leaning further into her space, despite her clear fuck-off vibes.
She sees me coming. There’s a hit of relief in her eyes, but also some wariness I don’t really understand. I press close, inches from the asshole, putting my back to the booth.
“Looks like you’re lost,” I say calmly, crossing my arms over my chest. The suit turns, startled. His eyes widen before he puts on a cocky smile.
“I’m just having a conversation. You can’t blame the lady for wanting to talk to someone that can speak in full sentences.”
Baffled, I swing my gaze to Cara. “Did he just call me stupid?”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “I think so. Must be the muscles.”
My mouth drops open. I can feel it rising like a wave. I can’t do anything about it. It just bursts out of me.
Full-on belly laughs.
I can’t stop them. It’s too fucking funny. I have an IQ in the stratosphere, but now that I’m ripped, I’m assumed to be stupid? How awesome is this? It’s like I’m wearing a disguise.
The suit guy shifts uncomfortably. This little scenario is not playing out the way he imagined.
“Jesus,” I sputter, wiping my eyes. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Sighing, I look at Cara. “Anything else you wanted to chat with him about?”
Shaking her head, she leans back into the booth. “Nope. Been asking him to leave, quite politely, I might add, for a while. I’m done.”
“Got it.” Turning to the suit, I drop the humor and let him see how fucking seriously I take his disrespecting Cara. “A man who ignores a woman when she asks him to walk away? You got entitled asshole written all over you. Turn around and go back to your friend. You are not going to get anything good standing here.”
He sneers, puffing himself up. He’s a big guy, I suppose. But when my regular sparring partner is a giant, well, I’m not impressed. I’m no slouch, either. Fact, I’ve got a couple of inches on him. And I sure as fuck am in better shape.
“Or what? You going to make me?”
“Is that really your play here?” I ask with a grin. It confuses the fuck out of him. He has no idea how much fun I’m having with all of this. He’s a fucking ant. I handled dicks bigger than him when I was a pimply-faced teenager. “You want to start shit here, in the middle of this bar? For what? What the fuck do you think you’re going to accomplish? It sure as fuck isn’t going to impress my lady. Sure as fuck isn’t going to impress me. The way I look at it, in the end, if you push this, you’re going to end up bleeding. Sounds like a fucking waste of an evening, if you ask me.”
