“You keep this place at like sixty-five degrees. This is the price you pay for insisting that it’s better to be cold with blankets than a little warm,” he argues. I stand by my decision. Who would rather be too warm when trying to sleep than be all snuggled with a blanket? Insanity.
I open my mouth to once again state the facts of the case against me when his hand moves from my waist to trail along my outer thigh, playing with the waistband of my underwear.
“I thought we got rid of these last night. You know the rules, Sunshine,” he purrs against my neck. I do know the rules: no clothes in bed. I also like when his hand cracks against my backside, reminding me when I forget to follow them.
“Oops,” I say, feigning innocence as I shift my ass back to removethe space I created trying to avoid his icy touch. “Guess you’ll have to remind me.”
I stare at the drip of condensation, snaking its way down the glass in front of me to pool on the sticky bar top. He was so convincing. So damn convincing.
I drop my forehead next to the glass. Maybe Gus will let me just sleep here.He can clean around me, and I’ll wipe my drool from the bar top before I leave.
I feel a body sit next to me, the scratch of the stool irritating my already fragile temperament.
“Harper,” the mystery voice says, deep and commanding, obviously expecting me to look up and greet them.Fat fucking chance.
“Shoo,” I mumble back, not even pretending to lift my head to see who is bothering me.
“Harper, you can’t ignore me,” he says, this time putting a hand on my shoulder.This does make me react, shifting up quickly throwing off the arm with one hand and swinging the other around to bring the tip of a small blade to the newcomer's throat.
Wade’s gaze connects with my own, hands up on either side like he’s reassuring a feral cat that he isn’t a threat.
Everyoneis a threat right now.
I don’t drop the blade from under his chin until he lifts a brow, silently asking if I will entertain whatever he came here to say.
I bring the blade back to my side, not snapping it back into the handle just yet. He might say something nice abouthe who shall not be named. That would deserve a little stabbing.
“Do you want my opinion”—he gives me a side glance before signaling to Gus for another round—“or do you want to just drink in silence?” He’s cautious, but not patronizing as he gives me the option.
“That depends,” I say, turning back to stare at the rows ofbottles lining the back of the bar, “do you have anything nice to say about the snake?”
“Nice might be a strong word. I feel bad for him,” he says, eliciting a derisive scoff from me.Fuck tact. How can he feel bad for him? He lied. He manipulated. He made mefall.
“Fine, drinking in silence it is,” I growl, downing the last of my glass as Gus drops off the fresh order.
“What he did, how he handled things between you and him…” Wade starts, shifting in his seat so his elbows rest on a dry patch of bar. “He messed up. There is no doubt in that.He should have told you the minute the relationship crossed that line, when he knew he was in love with?—”
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” I cut him off, jaw clenching to the point of pain.
“Harper—” he starts, pleading me to look at him.But I’m busy trying to count how many types of vodka Gus serves now.I only get to four before he tries again, switching tactics. “If you want to be mad, that’s fine, but don’t be stupid.”
A poorly executed tactic, but at least he’s trying.
“What did I do? I had no way of knowing?—”
“You do not leave without your bodyguard.I let it slide before becausehewas with you, and I’m happy my instincts knew he would be able to protect you, but you do not leave again by yourself. If you want to go get drunk? Fine, I’ll sit at the bar with you.You want to bungee jump? Fine, we jump together. You want a girls’ night? Fine, but I get to pick the snacks,” he cuts me off.A lecture I wasn’t expecting, but for some reason this is what will carry me over the edge.
He looks at me imploringly, not as an employee, but as a friend.He was worried at not knowing where I was, evident in the finger he levels at me, “I should not have to blackmail Sadie into telling me where she thinks you would go. You do not get to be stupid just because he was. Do you understand?”
It might be the alcohol, but I let out a choked sob, the damnbreaking as I stare at my bodyguard,my friend, who isn’t mad at me for letting a wolf among the herd, but because I was reckless in the wake of that discovery.
I feel my body let go, the effort to hold onto this anger wilting away. Tomorrow I can be angry, tomorrow I will rage and channel that anger into finding answers. But right now, right now I need to simplybe sad. A sensation I never thought I would want, to wallow for a time and mourn what I thought I had.
I lean forward and just rest my forehead against his sternum, arms hanging limply at my sides, shoulders sagged. I look defeated, and that’s exactly how I feel.
His whole body tenses, clearly unprepared for this kind of a reaction. Neither was I. I focus my energy on breathing, borrowing his strength in an effort to keep it together while my chin wobbles in defiance.
After a beat I feel the stool under me shift and in the next second Wade’s arms are wrapped around me.