Baxter’s head swiveled, and he stared at Dru carefully. “You sure? ’Cuz I can pop his neck like a pretzel.”
Dru patted his biceps. “I’m sure. Let him go, please.”
Baxter released Michael, who hit the ground like a bag of potatoes, gasping like a fish out of water. “If it ain’t worth it for me to break him, then it ain’t worth it for you to spend another second talking to his ass, yeah?”
Dru only smiled up at Baxter softly. “I spent four years with him, Bax. I deserve an explanation from him. I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, well, we won’t be going far.” Baxter pivoted in place and whirled his hand in a circle by his head. “Let’s go upstairs, boys. Hundred bucks says I can kick all of y’all’s asses in HALO.”
Canaan and Corin took the bet volubly, as did Xavier, but Brock and Zane were slower to respond. Eventually, Brock joined the younger three guys upstairs, leaving only Zane in the bar with me and Dru and her piece of shit ex-fiancé.
Zane, I noticed, had a nine millimeter in his fist held low next to his thigh, and an icy expression on his face. Dru hadn’t missed that, either.
“Zane, it’s fine. Really,” she said.
Zane tucked the gun into the small of his back and went upstairs without a word.
Then it was just me, Dru, and Michael.
Dru pressed up against me, her hands on my chest. “Let me talk to him, okay?”
I noticed she was wearing my Badd’s T-shirt…and probably nothing else. Fact was, I could see her nipples outlined by the T-shirt, and I was reasonably sure she wasn’t wearing any panties either.
“So talk,” I growled.
She backed away from me, her expression shuttering. “Alone, please?”
“Not fuckin’ happening.”
She shook her head. “Sebastian, it’s fine, I promise. He’s a cheating asshole, sure, but he’s never hurt me. I’ll be fine, I swear.”
Not that he could, I realized. But even knowing she could handle herself if he got physical didn’t make this any easier.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you wanna talk to this douchebag.”
She stared up at me. “I need to know why, Sebastian. So I can be done with him forever. It’s just…closure, okay?”
My chest ached. This guy spelled money and he’d had four years with her. In that instant, seeing his dweeb ass gasping on the floor in his thousand-dollar outfit, I felt all the hope I’d just started to nurture begin to fade. What did I have to offer a woman like Dru Connolly? I was a better man, sure, but did she see that? She wanted to talk to him? She wanted closure? She wanted to take him back, that’s what she wanted.
I stepped back from her, feeling coldness wash through me. “Fine. Whatever you want.” I pivoted and stalked toward the stairs.
But I only made it three steps when I felt her hands on my arms, felt her spin me around, and then she was pressed flush against me so I could feel every sweet perfect curve of her body against mine.
“Bast, wait.”
Bast? Why would she call me that if she wanted this dickhead?
“What?” I snarled.
She smiled up at me. “You think I’m walking out of here with him, don’t you?”
“Well? Aren’t you?”
A flash of irritation shot through her features. “Really? Do I seem that wishy-washy to you?”
I let out a breath. “Guess not.”
“No, I’m not. Not even a little. I’m going to give him a chance to explain himself, because I need that for myself, and because even though it ended the way it did, I still spent four years with him and that’s not a small amount of time to invest in someone. I did care for him at the very least, and I’m going to give him a few minutes of my time. I’m not taking him back, I’m just hearing him out. Then I’m going upstairs.” She rubbed my chest with her palms, and her eyes took on a hint of lust. “And after you feed me and get me drunk, you’re taking me to bed and I’m going to show you a few more tricks I know.”
“I like your tricks,” I grumbled, feeling a bit reassured. “Sorry for my reaction. I just—”
She put her fingers over my lips. “Shush, you big macho fuckstick. I get it. We can talk about it later. Now go upstairs and play HALO with your brothers. I’ll be up soon.”
I nodded. “All right, but if he—”
She clapped her hand over my mouth, this time. “You forget who you’re dealing with, Sebastian?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I sighed. “Have your conversation. But I know a few tricks too, don’t forget.”
She grinned at me. “Oh really?” She drawled the last word, making it a lewd insinuation.