11. Woody
WOODY
“Look who it is.” Declan grins, tilting the neck of his beer bottle toward the other end of the bar.
He persuaded me to come and have a couple of beers with him. It’s not my thing—all the people, the noise. The only upside is sometimes those things muffle the voices in my head that haunt me.
My grip tightens around my bottle as I spot the source of Declan’s interest.
New York City’s perched on a bar stool beside her friend, wearing a tight little white dress, and laughing.
I bring my beer to my lips and take a long, cool gulp before placing the condensation-covered bottle back on the bar.
“Time I headed back. See you in the morning.” I stand and clap Declan on the shoulder.
“What? Come on, man. It’s still early.”
My gaze slides back to the other end of the bar where two guys have appeared beside the girls, both wearing matching leery smirks like their luck is in.
Maybe I should go and tell them that she only fucks guys if it’s due to a case of mistaken identity.
“Shame management say guests are off-limits, hey?” Declan chuckles, following my gaze. “She’s a cool girl.”
“She’s a nightmare,” I grit, narrowing my eyes at one of the guys who’s moved so close to Jude it’s obvious that he’s done it to get a direct eyeline down at her cleavage. But she’s laughing at something he says like she either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care.
“Nah, Mel’s great. You should have seen her getting to grips with her board earlier. Never done it before, but she didn’t stop until she got the hang of it. We stayed out another forty minutes after the others had enough.”
Declan’s smile grows and he throws a hand up in a wave, which Mel returns, nudging Jude and pointing in our direction. Jude waves back, her face lighting up.
Then she sees me.
“Go on. Have another,” Declan says.
I hold Jude’s glare, watching the way hers deepens as I slide back onto my stool, indicating I’m not going anywhere.
“Sure. One more.”
Declan knocks his palm on the bar. “That’s more like it. Another round?” he calls to the bartender.
I stare at Jude and she does her best to ignore me and chat to the chump who’s still got his eyes on her breasts.
I wouldn’t mind getting those juicy tits in my mouth again if it weren’t for the hellcat they belong to.
What the fuck was I thinking last night? I should have stopped her. I should have known she thought I was Declan. I just assumed she must have known I was doing him a favor and was sleeping on-site.
“I knocked three times.”
I didn’t understand the significance of those words until Declan told me about his interaction with her and Mel yesterday. He thought the girls were messing with him.
But my late-night panty-less visitor proved they were deadly serious.
I pick up my new beer and take a giant gulp as the guy runs a finger over her necklace, faking interest in it so he can get his filthy hands near the low neckline of her dress.
I know guys like him. Seen plenty of them on nights out like this. Chat the girls up. Buy them more drinks. Slowly move closer, then start putting their hands on them like they have the right to.
I saw it all the time with my younger sister. My brother and I would act as bodyguards for her on nights out, scaring any guy shitless before he could so much as look at her. She claimed she hated us being overprotective. But it’s what family does.
They stick together.
Bitterness runs down my throat with my next mouthful of beer. Maybe Jude wants the attention. Perhaps she’s planning on fucking a different guy every night of her trip until she’s bleached her ex from her system.
If that’s her plan, good luck to her. Declan’s always smiling, and the guy sleeps with a different woman every week. Maybe it’ll thaw her out. Uptight little thief.
But there was nothing uptight about how she rode my dick like a wild thing last night, clawing the skin at my shoulders as she came.
Fuck, that was some sex.
“What do you think?”
“Huh?” I focus back on Declan.
“That guy I know, he said it’s the best price he can do.” He lifts both brows. “For the passport.”
“Right, yeah. Tell him I’ll get him the money. I’m almost there.”
“Really?” He looks skeptical.
Choosing not to answer his question, I take another swig of my beer, following Jude and Mel with my eyes as they head to the restrooms together.
“You seriously got that much already? Well done, man.” Declan blows out a breath. “I knew you’d do it, but still… It’ll be quiet without you.”
I smirk. “No, it won’t.”
“Nah, it won’t, you anti-social fucker. But it’ll be less fun. Who will I do cliff diving and all that other crazy shit with now?”
“You’ll be fine,” I tell him, looking him in the eye. He nods back. It’s the closest thing to sentimental he’ll get from me, and he understands why. We will have another crazy day out doing some sports before I leave without a fuss.
Declan knows I don’t do goodbyes.
The two guys fist bump one another with matching shit-eating grins as they wait for Jude and Mel to return. The urge to smack their heads together crashes through me. But it’s got nothing to do with me who little Miss Uptight chooses to fuck.
“Couldn’t make it more obvious they’ve not got their dicks wet in a while.” Declan snorts at them.
“The girls are on vacation. What they do is their business,” I mutter.
Jude and Mel return, and I force my attention away from them, talking with Declan instead about his plans for expanding the range of activities the retreat offers, assuming he can get backing from hotel management.
A squeal, followed by smashing glass, steals my attention back to the other end of the bar. Chump number one looks like he’s apologizing to Jude about the huge wet patch that’s covering the front of her dress, seeping through the white fabric.
He bends to pick up a broken glass, handing it back to the bartender and grabbing the towel they’re holding out before Jude can take it from them. His eyes practically spring out of their sockets at her nipples, which are now fully visible through her see-through dress.
She reaches for the towel, but the jerk moves it out of her reach so he can continue copping an eyeful.
I’m on my feet so fast my stool crashes to the floor.
Striding over, I grab the towel from him and press it into Jude’s hands.
“Here!” I snap.
“Thanks.” She holds it against her dress, covering herself and trying to soak up the spilled drink.
“Now you…” I glare at the guy who’s trying to look around me where I’ve positioned myself between him and her. “Fuck off while you still have your eyes. Same goes for your friend.” I tip my chin toward the guy beside Mel who’s staring at me like I’m a cock-blocking asshole.
“Who the hell are you?” the guy in front of me snaps. “Why don’t you fuck off? We’re all having a good time here.”
I take a step closer to him and he squares his shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Jude seethes.
“Giving you an escape route from a night spent with an asshole,” I grit, keeping my eyes on the guy who is looking me up and down with growing uncertainty as I take another step closer.
Jude retorts, “You’re about twenty hours too late, don’t you think?”
I turn to glare at her, and the guy takes his opportunity to shove me backward.
“You heard her. Now why don’t you fuck off?”
I clench my teeth, fisting my hands. Declan appears beside me, patting me on the chest and trying to ease me away.
“All right, man. Just a misunderstanding,” he says to the smug chump, before widening his eyes at me.
I know what he’s thinking. I can’t afford to get into a brawl that could result in the cops being called.
I whip my eyes to Jude. She’s staring daggers at me.
I huff out a breath.
“So, it’s like that, huh? Well, I hope you have more fun tonight than you did last night,” I tell her, before shrugging out of Declan’s grip and storming out of the bar.