Chapter One
Jade
“Hey!” I called, my eyes trained on the jerk who was getting a little too handsy with a woman at the bar. I’d served her and her friends a few minutes ago, and tonight was her twenty-first birthday.
The woman in question, Megan something or other, tried to laugh it off, politely taking a few steps away. It was crowded in the bar tonight, though, so there wasn’t far for her to go. The man immediately closed the space between them.
“Hey!” I called, quickly lifting a section of the counter at the back of the bar, slipping out, and aiming right for the group where they were standing.
Megan wasn’t alone, but her friends were tied up flirting. Striding up to the man, I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned back, a leer affixed to his face. “Oh, hey, hot bartender, what can I do for you?” he slurred.
I silently cursed the other bartender on duty tonight, Joe, who tended not to pay too much attention to just how drunk people were getting and continued to serve them anyway. That was a problem for another evening, though. Narrowing my eyes as I looked up at the lumbering jerk standing before me, I rested a hand on my hip. “Back the fuck off. It doesn’t look like she appreciates your attention.”
Megan’s eyes met mine—I only knew her name because I’d carded her—relief passing across her face. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
“Since when do you speak for all women?” The man punctuated this sentence with a long burp, which got a few guffaws from his friends surrounding him.
I cast a sharp gaze amongst the group. I had no problem throwing every single one of these guys out. “Like I said, back off. Consider this my last warning.”
The asshole still didn’t get it. He leaned down, getting a little too close to my face, and slurred. “Fuck off. Get back behind the bar and serve my friends some drinks.”
Perhaps I should’ve been afraid, but I wasn’t. For starters, the bar-back and Joe were around and nearby. I also had friends here tonight, even if they didn’t happen to be in this precise corner of the sprawling Lost Deer Bar where I was only covering a shift as a favor tonight.
“That does it. You’re out of here,” I said, gesturing over my shoulder toward the door as I reached for the guy’s arm.
“Hell no! I’m not fucking leaving,” he grumbled, reaching for poor Megan, who was pinned against the wall at this point, doing her best to look invisible. He snatched her hand. Well, fuck it.
Ignoring the rumble of voices around me, I lifted my boot and kicked him right in the knee. I decided to go for that instead of his balls as a starting point. In the back of my mind, I was legitimately wondering where the hell my help was.
The guy cried out in pain. His broad face turned a mottled red as he dropped Megan’s hand—that was my goal, so I took that as a win—and stepped toward me. Next thing I knew, he’d grabbed me by the waist with both hands and heaved me in the air.
I didn’t scare easy, but now a little bit of fear bolted through me. I was known for getting myself in a pickle here and there, and I just might’ve gone and done that now.
Before I could make a peep, a voice came over my shoulder. “Put her down. Now.”
Whoever spoke wasn’t waiting. Next thing I knew, a hand shot out, slamming into the guy’s elbow. Something happened to the guy’s knees too. He stumbled and cried out sharply. Just as I began to tumble loose from his hold, my savior caught me with one arm and pulled me against his side.
I glanced up into the face of Walker Hudson. My body felt as if a live wire had grazed me and left me humming with electricity. With Walker holding me fast to his side with one arm, I wasn’t going anywhere. I might not’ve liked it in my mind, but my body thought it was freaking awesome. Walker was nothing but pure muscle and lean power as he held me close.
The jerk who’d grabbed me was still groaning about his knee, but gathered himself together enough to glare at Walker. “You fucking dick.”
He made a move toward Walker, who simply lifted one arm and grabbed him by the wrist. Whatever he did brought the man to his knees with a yelp.
“Now, you’re gonna fucking leave before I kick your ass,” Walker said.
His low, fierce words sent a sizzling thrill through me. I was not the kind of girl who got all hot and bothered over men being tough. And yet, here I was, my body nearly vibrating at the force of Walker’s presence and my panties getting wet from the sound of his voice.
I stole another glance at him. I knew him because he worked with my older brother, and they were friends. To put it plainly, Walker was hot. His face looked as if it had been carved from marble. He had strong cheekbones and a straight nose paired with a square jaw. He even had a dimple in his chin. To make matters worse, his lips were bold and sensual.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen the guy crack a smile. His eyes were an icy silver. Ever since the first time I’d met Walker, we’d rubbed each other the wrong way. For God’s sake, the man was all about being tall, dark, and mysterious. It grated on me, and I didn’t know why.
Not that I minded that issue just about now. He leveled his cool gaze at the guy’s friends, adding, “Why don’t y’all get the hell out of here? Sound like a plan?”
Whether it was the tone of his voice, or the look in his eyes, or the fact that whatever he’d done to the guy with a flick of his wrist had brought the guy to his knees, they took notice. After a loaded moment, the man’s friends appeared to think Walker’s suggestion was a good plan and started to shuffle out.
“Are we clear?” Walker asked, staring down at my drunken assailant on his knees.
“If you’ll fucking let me go, I’ll get the hell out of here.”
Walker released the guy’s wrist. “Fair enough. If I ever see you getting pushy with any woman who doesn’t want it, I might not be so nice next time.”
At that, the man stood, stumbling on his way toward the door, which was blessedly close. Only then did Walker glance down at me. He eased his hold on me, releasing me from that convenient little spot tucked up against his hard body.
I jumped back and eyed him carefully. I wanted to tell him I didn’t need his help, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew the second I was lifted off the floor, I had no chance against the drunk man. I took a breath, willing my pulse to slow the hell down and every cell in my body to stop it with the happy dance.
“Thank you. I should’ve kicked him in the balls first,” I finally said.
Walker’s lips quirked in a smile, immediately sending my belly into a series of flips. “That might’ve done the trick.”
Megan jumped in. “Thank you so much. He was so drunk, and he just wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“I don’t know if you should be thanking me,” I said wryly.
“Well, thank you both. I’m going to take that as my cue to call it a night.” At that, she waved at us both and hurried through the crowd to sidle up to one of her friends.
That left me alone with Walker. I was acutely aware of my pulse, its thrumming beat careening through my body at a breakneck pace. “What did you do to his wrist?” I couldn’t help my curiosity.
He shrugged. “Just applied some well-placed pressure to a pressure point.”