His dark blues came back to me and for a split second the fury melted away and he smiled at me. “Nah. Had that chick a few weeks ago, and believe me, gorgeous, she’s a raging bitch.”
Oh. Well in that case . . .
Just like that, the standoff between the two men continued like I hadn’t said a word.
“Willow is my business, asshole,” Stone clipped, those words making my back shoot straight. Since when had I become any of his concern, because for the past few weeks, he hadn’t acted like he even knew I existed. “You got five seconds to walk away, or I’m gonna make you.”
That was not good. From his hard, granite expression, I had no doubt he meant it. Roe wasn’t exactly a lightweight; he had more than his fair share of muscle and stood a couple inches over six feet, but Stone was a mountain of a man, and I wasn’t sure I liked Roe’s odds. I also didn’t like the fact that these men had drawn the attention of most everyone in the bar. I’d been all about stepping out of my comfort zone tonight, but that didn’t mean I was ready to be the center of attention, standing right in the middle of the freaking spotlight.
A group of men all wearing the same patch as Roe came sauntering up to join the fray. The big man at the front of the group spoke up, and when he did, I got the distinct impression he was the one in charge: there was something about his vibe and the way the other men stood at his back, almost like they were waiting for his command. I looked down at the leather covering his chest, and sure enough, the patch resting over his left pec read President. “We got a problem?”
“Tell your boy to back the fuck off, Pope, or we’re gonna have a serious fuckin’ problem.”
The man, now known as Pope, gave his full attention to Stone. “She belong to you?”
Wait. What?
“As far as you and your crew’s concerned, yeah.”
Roe’s lips curled up in a sneer. “Lacey know that?”
“Don’t you worry about Lacey.”
I could only assume Lacey was the “bitch” that Roe had a few weeks back and that Stone was—from what I could tell—gearing up to have tonight.
Gross.
Pope spoke again, and what he said next surprised the hell out of me. “Back off, Roe. He claimed her so you need to stand down.”
Again. What?!
Roe’s nostrils flared, his eyes narrowed on Stone, and for a moment I thought he was going to defy his president’s orders. But after a few tense, terrifying seconds, he jerked his chin up in acknowledgement of his leader’s order.
He shifted his attention to me and that panty-melting smile returned. “Was good meeting you, sweetness. Your situation ever changes”—he tipped his chin at Stone in indication—“feel free to look me up.”
I really wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I went with, “Uh, thanks?”
He shot me a wink that would have made my knees wobble if I’d been standing, and I thanked my lucky stars just then that I wasn’t. “Any time.”
Pope did that chin jerk thing to me, then to Stone, and with that, the group of bikers turned and moved away.
I whipped my head around to Stone and started, “What in the world was—?” but my question cut off with a yelp when he grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me off the stool. I barely had the wherewithal to grab my purse and had to jog to keep up with his long-legged strides as he pulled me toward the exit.
“Wait!” I called, tugging at my hand. “I didn’t pay for my drink!”
“I’ll handle it,” he grumbled as he put a big hand to the glass and pushed the door open with a hard, angry shove.
I stumbled over my heels in an effort to keep up with him as we hit the sidewalk outside. “Stone, just wait a second. You’re going too fast.”
All of a sudden, he stopped on a dime, dropping my wrist and spinning around on me with an expression so fierce I was surprised he wasn’t breathing fire. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?” He barked so loudly I jumped a bit and took an unsteady step backward. “What the fuck were you thinking, talking to that guy? Do you even know who he is?”
“His name’s Monroe,” I answered stupidly. “But he goes by Roe for short, because he doesn’t like his name and thinks his parents are assholes for giving it to him.”
Stone took a menacing step toward me, and for the first time ever, I actually found myself feeling a little afraid of him. “I don’t give a shit what his name is. I asked do you know who he is?”
I shook my head in confusion. “I-I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“He’s a fucking Wraith, Willow!” he boomed.
I wasn’t sure why I snapped just then—no, that wasn’t true. I knew exactly why. I’d been on tenterhooks all night. Seeing Stone with that woman was the icing on the craptastic cake that had been my birthday, and him yelling at me was the final straw.
“Stop yelling at me!” I yelled back, lifting up on my tiptoes to get in his face.
“I’ll yell at you all I fucking want if it means you’ll get your head out of your ass! You don’t fuck with those guys ever, Willow, but especially not when you’re that far out of your goddamn league.”
Okay, wow. Well, that really fucking hurt.
The tears I’d been battling against all damn night finally proved to be too big an adversary for me. One broke free and slid down my cheek, followed by a second, then a third.
“Fuck you, Stone,” I whispered, my voice wobbling with emotion as I forced them past the lump in my throat. “How do you know he was out of my league, huh?”
Understanding registered in his eyes, and the whiskey-brown filled with remorse. “Mouse, that’s not what I meant—”
“At least he was nice to me,” I continued, unable to hold the words back. “At least he didn’t pretend I didn’t exist. Unlike some people.”
His eyes filled with pity that made me want to cry even harder, but I refused.
“Willow—”
I let out a bitter laugh that miraculously didn’t come out as a snort. “You know, I honestly didn’t think this night could possibly get any worse.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, but I was already on a roll and going too fast to stop.
“First I get stood up by one sister. Then the other’s whole family is sick, not that that’s her fault, but it still meant I didn’t get to have my fancy dinner. Then my dad—” I choked down a sob as sadness washed over me. “Still, somehow you managed to make an already shitty birthday that much worse.” I tipped my head back and yelled up at the sky, like I was calling to a higher power. “How is that even possible?”
“Shit. Babe, I didn’t realize it was your birthday.”
I lowered my head and shook it sadly. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” he declared. “Come on. Let’s go back inside. Let me buy you a drink to celebrate.”
I shot him a narrow-eyed look. “I was already having a drink to celebrate until you stormed up, acting like a total caveman. What the hell was that?” I jabbed my finger in his face. “You had another woman crawling all over you. Why did you have to do that? Roe was being a perfect gentleman. You had no right!”