ChapterTwelve
Beth suddenly saw red. It wasn’t in her nature to throw the same kind of disrespect back at people, regardless of the provocation. Usually, she tried to be the better person. But sometimes - times like this - there was only one language these insolent little shits understood.
Unfortunately, she’d probably get into trouble herself if she punched him.
Instead, she slid off the stool, dislodging him as she did so and almost sending him tumbling.
“Hey, watch what you’re doing with that fat ass,” he cried. “That thing’s a lethal weapon.”
Beth stood to her full five-foot eight height, which was about the same as him, but she was taller in her shoes, and for the first time he seemed to realize that he’d taken things too far and he stumbled backwards in surprise.
“Your scrawny ass wouldn’t be able to handle me, buster. I am way too much woman for a jumped-up kid like you. I need a man, honey. Not a little boy whose mouth is bigger than his balls.”
Beth sashayed towards him, as he backed up, with a deliberate swivel in her hips, but it seemed that suddenly being confronted with the twin mounds of her fabulous breasts, and the killer cleavage the corset gave her, was enough to short circuit his brain. Instead of listening to her words his entire focus was centered on her bosom, and it was comical enough that she almost expected his tongue to hang out and need winding back in like a cartoon character.
Seemed like her boobs were impressive enough for him, even if they were attached to a ‘fat old bitch.’
Beth shook her head in unconcealed contempt and made a show of looking him up and down. “And honestly, looking at the size of your shoes, I’m pretty sure you don’t have the equipment to satisfy me.”
“My shoes?” he parroted, looking from Beth’s cleavage to his toes in confusion.
“You know what they say about the size of a man’s feet reflecting the size of his…”
Sadly, she didn’t get any further, because two burly security guards suddenly appeared on either side of him, and Beth took a graceful step backwards to give them room.
“If you’d come with us, please, Sir,” one of the two men said, tonelessly, grasping him by the arm and gesturing towards the exit.
“What? What’s going on? Let me go!” The sleaze-ball’s outrage could be heard all the way to the door. Looked like he’d finally regained his faculties.
Pity. Beth had nowhere near been done with him, but she returned to her barstool, away from the scene the kid was making.
And now that the nastiness was over, the adrenaline seeped out of her, and her shoulders drooped.
“Are you okay?” Sawyer’s deep, sexy voice pierced a cloud of shame and despondency that had started to descend. Ansley had been right when she’d commented on how blue Beth always got on Valentine’s Day. Now she had the mother of all memories to ensure she hated it forever.
“Sure,” Beth replied, trying for a levity she wasn’t feeling and failing miserably. “But it looks like I might as well have a gin and tonic after all.”
He paused, raking her with dark eyes that appeared almost black in his fury. Beth couldn’t hold his intense gaze and looked away and after a moment he turned to make it.
After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, the decadent sounds of screams and groans, slaps and thwacks penetrated her consciousness and she wondered what the hell she was still doing here.
This had all been one huge mistake. “On second thought, don’t bother with the drink,” Beth called to Sawyer, climbing tiredly off her stool. Suddenly she felt exhausted and heartsick and all she wanted to do was get out of here.
“Wait!”
She looked up to find Sawyer right in front of her with only the narrow bar between them.
“Please don’t go,” he said earnestly, placing his strong hand over hers. It was… nice. But she didn’t want to be anyone’s pity project.
She started to shake her head, but Sawyer held firm. “At least drink your drink. I’ve made it already,” he cajoled, sliding a tall glass across the gleaming dark wood, and offering her a smile. A real one.
“I love that you gave him a mouthful,” he whispered, squeezing her fingers.
Beth closed her eyes and groaned. “God don’t remind me! That was not my finest hour. I don’t usually stoop to that kind of level.”
“I thought it was totally fucking hot,” Sawyer murmured, dipping his dark head closer to hers. “And that little turd deserved a taste of his own medicine.”
Beth laughed. Intentional on Sawyer’s part, or not, the cloud that had been threatening her felt lighter and that was something Beth could only appreciate. “I’m not sure he heard a word I said,” she admitted ruefully. “He was too busy drooling over my boobs.”