Chapter 5 Sergei #2
She flinched at her boss’s yell. I narrowed my eyes at the loser as I rolled my sleeves up to avoid the wetness of my shirt on my forearm.
He scowled and gestured for her to move. “Mop that fucking mess up before someone slips and falls!”
She faced me, then watched as a drunk woman walked by, dancing and with her eyes closed as she sipped a drink. Even if she had her eyes open and the floor was dry, she would’ve slipped. In those heels and with that much booze in her system?
I sidestepped the woman before she could lean against me. The man who’d knocked his drink onto me helped her instead.
Natalie nodded, giving me a worried and apologetic look as she hurried to get a mop and ease into the crowd out here.
Like the night when she saw me on the sidewalk, I was reminded of how short and petite she was. Curvy, but small, she barely came up to my chin as she dragged the mop over the floor. With how packed it was, she could barely get into the wet area to clean it.
“You missed a spot,” a man teased, laughing with his friends as he got into her space.
She stepped toward me, almost like it was instinct. “Oh. Sorry.”
You didn’t miss fucking anything. I fought the urge to put my hand on the small of her back. He was messing with her.
“Yeah, you missed a spot here, too,” another guy joked, cupping his crotch and angling toward her. “Wanna rub it dry?”
She backed up toward me again, holding the mop handle like she wished it could be a shield.
“Aw, don’t be shy now,” another drunk taunted, reaching his hand toward her as if he could pull her into a side hug. “We’re just teasing.”
“Sorry. I…” Natalie shook her head and dipped her chin, as if not facing them would discourage them as she continued to mop the best she could.
“She’s playing hard to get, man,” the first one guessed, smacking her ass.
She flinched, backing up toward me again. Immediate rage lit a fire inside me as she bumped her back against me.
“Oh, you want to play?” the second guy teased, reaching out to grope her.
I lowered my arm, deflecting him from even coming close enough to touch her. Anger coursed through me and I debated how far I’d teach this wise-ass a lesson.
He narrowed his eyes at me, instantly pissed that I’d blocked him from her.
Natalie gasped, leaning back toward me as she craned her neck to look up at me.
“Hey, fuck off, man,” the third said. “We saw her first.”
I set my hand on Natalie’s side, feeling her ribs lift up with a sharp intake of air.
“No.” She shook her head. Worry crossed over her face, similar to the shocked expression she wore when I twisted that punk’s arm that first night.
Violence scared her. That alone should’ve prevented me from stepping in as her savior.
I lived and breathed nothing but violence, issuing death sentences on so many who didn’t deserve to take up space in this world.
But for her, I couldn’t shut off this need to protect her, this charging urgency to defend her and erase those worry lines from her sweet face.
“No, he did.” She cleared her throat. “This guy, um…”
The trio of men smirked and tried to make a grab for her again, doubting her ability to tell them to leave her alone.
“I’m with him,” she said shakily.
“Him?” The shortest one scoffed, giving me a mean stare. “You’re with him?”
She nodded, stepping toward me again as if she were more nervous with her lie. “Yeah.”
I could play along. Curling my arm around her, banding it over her stomach, I stared the men down.
“Bullshit,” one argued. “Someone like him isn’t going to be interested in some little mouse like you.”
“I’m with him.” Natalie furrowed her brow. “He’s… he’s my boyfriend.”
Two of them laughed and rolled their eyes. The third man shook his head. “You’re lying. Just playing hard to get and—”
Lowering my free hand, I used two of my fingers to tip her face up. With a firm but careful touch under her chin, I guided her to face me. Just in time for me to dip down and press my lips against hers.
That bolt of lust thickened and zinged through my veins again. A live wire couldn’t have electrocuted me more with the instant pulse of red-hot need that she made me feel.
From just this. One kiss. A simple brush of her soft, plump lips beneath mine.
She stole my breath. She made time stand still. And as I pulled back, staring into the depths of glittering green of her irises as she opened her eyes wide with surprise, I was tempted to steal another.
Not enough.
I lowered to kiss her again, sliding my hand along the base of her skull to hold her in place for a longer press of my mouth over hers, keeping her right where I wanted her to trace my tongue over the seam of her mouth.
Her responding gasp taunted me. The faint clutch of her fingers curling around a fistful of my shirt thrilled me.
Yeah. Hold on tight.
Because if these idiots needed another demonstration of how much I wanted to be hers, how much I was getting hooked on the idea of her being mine, I’d slant her back over the bar and devour her until I had her taste committed to memory.
Drowning under the bold desire she couldn’t mask as she stared up at me, I fought the urge to kiss her again.