That prick actually had the balls to move closer to her. “The second question is, can I buy you a drink?”
“That’s not gonna happen.”
Hayden whipped around, her jaw hanging open in shocked anger, but I was too busy trying to melt the skin from Greg Cormack’s face with my eyes to acknowledge her wrath. He’d invaded her space. He’d smiled at her. He’d touched her. His hands were covered in Darrin Callo’s blood, and God only knew who else’s, and this fuck actually had the nerve to touch Red.
His head tilted to the side, his chin jerking back into his neck. “’Scuse me?”
“You need to move on, Cormack.”
“Do you two know each other?” Hayden asked, but I ignored her question, too busy trying to keep myself in check so I didn’t choke the life out of this murderous son of a bitch in the middle of a crowded bar.
“She yours or somethin’?” he asked, an arrogant gleam in his eye, like he was in the mood for a pissing contest.
“Absolutely not!” Hayden proclaimed at the same time I answered, “Sure the hell is.”
Her long hair slapped my arm and chest when she jerked around again to face me. “I am not yours, you arrogant dick!”
For the first time since the standoff started, I looked down at the little fireball standing in front of me, a smirk pulling at my mouth. “Know how hot your pussy gets when it’s wrapped around my cock, and what your nails feel like, diggin’ into my back when you come. Pretty sure that makes you mine.”
She sucked in a gasp so big it was a wonder her lungs didn’t burst. “I can’t—you didn’t just—that was—Oh my God! You’re unbelievable!”
“You’ve said that before. That time when you were riding me while your hands were—”
“Enough!” she cried, slapping a hand over my mouth to silence me and looking back over her shoulder. “Greg, I’m so sorry, but maybe we can finish this conversation at a later date? You could swing by the shop one day next week.”
His eyes actually gleamed with triumph as he stared me down before slowly turning back to Hayden with a goddamn toothpaste commercial smile. “That’s a great idea. I’ll just leave you to handle this, and we’ll see each other next week.”
“Sounds good. Have a good night, Greg.”
“You too, beautiful.”
Motherfucker!
He walked away just seconds before I gave in to my urge to reach across Hayden and rip his throat out.
Shifting my glare down to her, I bit out, “What the fuck was that?”
“I should be asking you the same question!” she shouted, her sapphire eyes glazed with either rage or alcohol, I wasn’t sure which. “I can’t believe you just did that!”
“Well, you better start believing, Red. And just an FYI, there’s no way in hell you’re seein’ that guy again.”
“Oh my God,” she said, reaching up and raking her fingers through her hair on a bewildered laugh. “You’re insane. Completely certifiable.”
“This isn’t a joke,” I grated, moving in closer and grabbing her arm as I lowered my voice. “I’m very serious, Hayden. You need to stay away from that guy.”
She must have seen something in my eyes that gave her pause, because instead of throwing attitude back, she lifted her chin and said, “Tell me why. You can’t issue a demand like that without an explanation, Micah.”
“Because I said so.” It took less than a second for me to realize that was the wrong thing to say.
The fight returned to her features in a venomous glare as she ripped her arm from my grasp. “God, I hate you.”
I felt my defenses start to rise. It was ridiculous how this goddamn woman could turn me on and set me off at the same damn time. It was completely irrational how she was able to piss me off with just a look, but the way my body reacted to just the thought of her left me so muddled, my kneejerk reaction was anger.
“Don’t recall sayin’ I was the biggest fan of yours either, Red.”
Her face twisted and scrunched with rage, but, goddamn it, that look made me want to kiss her. “You know what? Go fuck yourself, Micah. I’m done with you.”
Spinning around on the heels of her insanely sexy boots, she started to stomp off. It just so happened, she was heading in the same direction I was, toward Leo, Dani, and her whole crew.
Every few feet, she checked back over her shoulder, frowning when she saw I was still trailing behind her. I had to bite the inside of my cheek each time to keep from laughing. Finally, we reached the cluster of tables, and I noticed everyone was staring at us in slack-jawed shock.
Hayden whipped around, planting her hands on her rounded hips, and hit me with that attitude I kind of got off on. “Who’s the stalker now, asshole? Stop following me.”
“Uh . . . do you two know each other?”
At Eden’s question, Hayden caught on to the attention we’d garnered and looked back to the table in confusion. “Wait. Do you guys know him?”
“They do,” I answered for the group. “Seein’ as I’ve lived here for years.”
Roxanne spoke up then, her shrewd eyes gleaming, a knowing smile on her lips. “What I want to know is how you two know each other.”
“An unfortunate run-in that I wish had never happened,” Hayden spit, skewering me with a murderous glare.
“This is the best night ever.” That little gem came from Leo, who was having way too much fun with this disastrous situation.
Hayden pretended not to hear him and kept me in her sights, flames shooting from her bright blue eyes. “Wow, all you have to do to ruin a person’s night is show up, huh?”
“Oh damn,” Sage said on a giggle. “This is great. You guys, I think we just found the first woman on the planet who doesn’t go stupid at the sight of Micah Langford. She’s like our very own unicorn!”
“I don’t know about that, Red,” I said in a murmur, leaning in so only she could hear. “Think if I got you back underneath me, I could get you to go stupid?”
“You know, I was having a really great night before you showed up. Why don’t you do me a favor and go jump off a bridge or something.”
“If you consider being hit on by a limp dick like Cormack a really great night, we need to reevaluate your standards, babe.”
An adorable little growl worked its way from her throat. “I hate you.”
“So you’ve said. Might want to come up with some new material. Your insults are getting a little stale.”
All the women gathered at the tables started laughing hysterically. “Oh, man.” Dani giggled several seconds later, wiping at the wet under her eyes. “This is the best thing ever.”
“Forget all those other suggestions, ladies,” Roxanne announced to the group. “Pretty sure we found the guy.”
I wasn’t sure what the hell that meant, but my gut was telling me shit was about to get really, really messy.
Chapter Nine
Micah
My plan to find a woman to help take my mind off all the stress in my life had been blown to hell the instant I’d laid eyes on a certain redheaded devil the night before. No other woman at The Tap Room held a candle to Red. None of them stirred something inside me that made me desperate to touch and taste. Only her. Goddamn woman.