Those are big hands. I wonder what it’d feel like with one on each of my ass cheeks.
He’s a big man. I bet IT is big.
He is obviously attracted to you. Who says you can’t just get it out of your system and move on?
Letting him put his penis in you wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I mean, how different is that really from a handshake? It’s just two people touching!
But I knew exactly where those thoughts were coming from, and I’d been doing a pretty good job of shutting them down until now.
Jar made me go stiff when he put a hand on my shoulder and leaned close, even though the bar wasn’t so loud he needed to. “Hey, I’m sorry things kinda went nowhere on our date. I was going through some shit at the time but I’ve still been thinking about you. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”
I gave a tight smile and tried to lean away, but he just grinned and leaned in closer.
Farhad, Pollie, and Elizabeth were too engrossed in some conversation about whether it was pointless to put those little plastic swords in sandwiches and burgers or not to notice my situation. I really wished one of them would just jump in and save me from this guy so I didn’t have to be the asshole, but I was nearing my tipping point.
And then Jar simply wasn’t there. I stared in confusion at the empty stool beside me for a split second before I heard the thump of him hitting the ground.
And there was Dominic standing over Jar looking like an angry God.
Oh, shit.
8
DOMINIC
Maybe I overreacted.
The guy was squirming on the ground like a worm, confusion plain in his eyes.
My fucking chest still felt like it was on fire. I’d only been able to watch about a minute of him interacting with Darcy before I’d bolted from the booth and came over here. “Get lost,” I gritted.
“Who the hell are you?” asked the guy on the ground.
His friend got out of the stool beside him and puffed his chest out at me. Darcy still looked like she didn’t know what was going on, and her friends had all turned in their stools to stare with wide eyes.
“What the fuck, man?” the guy’s friend asked.
The one I’d pulled from his stool was back on his feet and the two of them looked like they were considering a fight, but I felt Marcus move to my side. Maybe they thought they could take me together, but they clearly saw they had no chance against both of us.
“Hey, it happens,” Marcus said. He walked up to the guy I’d roughed up and patted his shoulders, dusting him off. “Hell, I’ve fallen out of these damn stools before even getting a single drink in me. I think that one is rigged, actually. It wobbles just so they can laugh when people fall out of them. Bullshit, if you ask me.”
The guy gave me one last angry look, then moved his eyes to Darcy. “Come on, baby. Let’s get out of here.”
I stepped forward, inching Marcus out of the way as I took a handful of his shirt. “She’s not interested.”
He looked back at me, eyes searching mine.
“What my friend means,” Marcus said smoothly, easing my hands from him. “Is we work with these people. We’ve all got an insane deadline coming up. We’re just blowing off a little steam before we need to get back to the office.” He checked his watch. “Soon, actually. So,” he shrugged, giving a little wink and a shoulder slap to the guy.
I was ready for them to start swinging, but as usual, Marcus had used his supernatural ability to soothe conflict. The two of them shook their heads and stormed out of the bar.
“Um, thank you,” Darcy said in an uncharacteristically meek voice.
“I’m not going to watch my employees get harassed,” I said. I felt a little silly by this point. I’d caused a scene and everyone in the bar was still keeping an eye on me. This wasn’t me. I didn’t play knight in shining armor. I didn’t make excuses for myself. Maybe I was just hoping for a fight. God knew I had enough pent up frustration on Darcy’s account to take a swing at half the guys in this place.
Christine and Allie came to join us. Both women were Marcus’ sisters. He had six in total, which I am fairly sure was why he had to learn to resolve conflicts so effectively. Otherwise, he would’ve died in the crossfire of a catfight by now. I was closest to Christine and Allie, but I saw the rest of his sisters a few times each year.
“Cleaning up Dom’s messes again?” Christine asked. She had wide set eyes and curly black hair. Christine worked for a winery in the New York countryside calledJulianne Rows.She split her time between being on location and coming to the city to work on pitching their product to various restaurants in hopes of finding regular customers.