When I woke up again, my phone told me I’d slept four more hours, and I was still tired. So I unlocked my phone, pulled up the Kindle app, and read for a few hours, finishing one book and starting another. I read until my eyes dragged again, and then set my phone aside and let my eyes close, letting myself float back under the surface of consciousness. The next time I breached awareness, it was dark outside and the rain had stopped. My phone read just past ten at night, and I was wired. I dressed in my mostly dry clothes, remade the bed, left the boat and jogged across the street to Badd’s.
The bar was middling busy, with every seat at the bar and most of the tables full, but it wasn’t quite standing room only. Zane was behind the bar, and looked like he was holding his own, popping the top on a beer, then pouring a little too much vodka into a highball…he was no Sebastian behind the bar.
I angled up to the bar and got Zane’s attention. “Where is he?”
Zane shrugged as he added tonic to the vodka, a wedge of lime, and a straw. “Not sure. Out back, maybe? Thought I saw him head out that way. He couldn’t have gone far, because it’s so busy. If it gets any busier around here, I’ll have to fire myself.”
“Thanks,” I said, and wandered through the kitchen, to the back door, which was propped open by a big jug of frying oil.
I heard voices, one of them definitely Sebastian’s. I peered through the opening and saw Sebastian leaning against a wall, hands in his hip pockets, a frown on his face. There was a woman facing him. Scantily clad would be an overstatement. Miniskirt so short it barely covered her ass and nothing but a bralette on up top. Five-inch heels, teased-out hair. And she had her hands all over Sebastian. He wasn’t touching her back, but he wasn’t stopping her either. They were in profile to me, so I could see everything.
“It was good between us, wasn’t it, Sebastian?” Her voice was wheedling, trying to be seductive. “I made you feel good. You remember what I can do with my mouth, don’t you?”
“Allie…god, stop. We’re not doing this.” He shifted, so he wasn’t quite as close to her, pulling away subtly. “I’m not doing this. You should go.”
She just laughed. “I’m not asking you to date me, I’m just…looking for a good time. That’s what you’re best at, right? A quick and easy good time? That’s all I’m looking for.”
“Allie, you’re not hearin’ me.”
She sank to her knees, her hands going to his fly. “Oh come on, Sebastian. You know you want this. You know how good I can suck your cock, don’t you? I can suck your cock and make it last for hours, Sebastian.” She was stroking his length over his underwear, getting ready to take him out and blow him. “That feels good, doesn’t it? You’re so hard it aches. I can fix that for you, baby.”
I felt betrayed. Stupid, but I couldn’t un-feel it. He owed me nothing. He was nothing to me. But there it was, raw and real and undeniable, sitting like a ton of jagged-edge bricks on top of the already raw wound of Michael’s betrayal. I couldn’t handle this, too.
I turned to leave and my foot hit something that clattered; I heard Sebastian’s voice shouting my name, but I wasn’t about to stop and listen to him.
No point.
I ran pell-mell through the kitchen, back across the bar, ignoring Zane’s curious expression.
Outside it was raining again, not a torrential downpour but a steady rain. Enough to soak me through in the few steps I made it out of the door before I felt a hand grasp my shoulder.
Not a smart move. I couldn’t have helped my reaction even if I’d wanted to, and I didn’t want to. I grabbed his wrist, pivoted to put my shoulder in his armpit and used my momentum and shorter stature to haul him over my body in a brutal throw. He landed on his back in the street, gasping and blinking up at me.
“Do not EVER put your hands on me like that, asshole. Not ever. Thought you’d have learned that already, but I guess not.” I turned away from him and started walking down the street.
He was still gasping for breath, but managed to make it to his feet, haltingly, painfully. “Wait—” He coughed, sucked in a deep breath, and tried again. “Dru, please. Please wait.”
“Why? You’ve got your ex waiting for a redo. Why would you want me?” He stumbled around in front of me, put his hands up placatingly, but he didn’t touch me. His jeans were still open and unzipped, I noticed.
“I didn’t let that desperate slut touch me, Dru. I kicked her ass to the curb before I even knew you’d seen anything. The second she tried to put her hand on my cock I stopped her. I told her to leave, and I wasn’t nice about it. She’s not an ex, okay? She’s just some chick I boned once and she was sniffing around, hoping for seconds.”