Dannika Dark - Six Months

This isn’t happening , my inner voice whined as I heard him lock the stall door. Didn’t the women in this bar ever have to pee? Oh God, I was starting to have a panic attack. The idea of him touching me—I just couldn’t deal with it. I could only breathe out of one nostril because his hand was covering my mouth and pinching half my nose. My body began to shake and I suddenly felt like that helpless little girl in the dark bathroom.

Damn him.

I wasn’t that helpless little girl anymore. I thrashed and struck him, scraping my nails down his face. It became a mad struggle. When his hand loosened, I bit his wrist.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and he yanked me by my hair to pry me off. Feral sounds escaped my throat, and I began to have an out-of-body experience.

He shoved me to the floor and I landed on my knees. “Man, you sure got some fight in you. I wouldn’t have expected a human to be so goddamn feisty. Look, just give in to the Devil’s Eye, and let’s have a little fun before someone walks in on us.”

Before I could punch him in the groin, the stall door shook violently and I heard Denver shout, “Open the goddamn door!”

His fingers gripped the top of the door and the lock broke. When the door swung open, Denver’s indigo eyes were volcanic.

I no longer noticed his sexy blond hair in a messy tangle, nor his toned arms and mischievous smile. The scar on his forehead seemed pronounced, but I barely had time to blink before he grabbed a fistful of Stu’s shirt and pulled him out.

“You’ve got a set of brass balls coming into my bar and pulling this shit.” Denver hauled him by the collar to the center of the room. Stu swung his arm and clocked Denver in the jaw.

That’s when the fight began. The two men began to pound the hell out of each other—Denver was thrown against the sink before he kicked his leg back and hit the guy in the balls. When Stu bent over, Denver shoved him against a stall divider and it was back and forth. The paper-towel dispenser broke off the wall, and Denver almost lost his balance when he threw another punch.

I leaned over and spit, repulsed by the man’s blood in my mouth. My hands were shaking, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead from the drink.

I thought the demons were unleashed, but I hadn’t seen anything until Reno walked in the room. His eyes looked turbulent as they scanned down to my jeans where the button was loose.

“Don’t fuckin’ do it, bro!” Denver yelled out.

Reno’s eyes rolled back in his head for a split second, his fists clenched, and his biceps twitched.

“Brother, if you shift in here and… Jesus effing…”

Denver punched the man in the eye, still engaged in the fight. He’d already acquired a shiner and a busted lip—his hair was all messed up, and he still looked better than the other guy.

I crawled toward the wall and curled up my legs, staring at Reno. He stood absolutely still. If his wolf attacked someone, it could lead to serious trouble with the local Packmasters. If he killed someone, well… I didn’t even want to think about it.

Reno’s brown eyes settled on me once more. I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand and spit on the floor.

He stalked toward me with a lack of mercy in his expression.

Denver slid across the floor on his butt and groaned. Without breaking stride, Reno approached the man in the torn flannel shirt.

The Shifter threw a hard right hook and hit him in the jaw. Reno didn’t flinch. He grabbed a tuft of Stu’s hair and gripped the back of his neck. Reno jerked him over to the sink and I looked away before he smashed the guy’s forehead against it.

“How ’bout that? You like hitting women?”

“He didn’t hit me,” I murmured.

“Don’t fucking defend him,” Denver accused, holding his side.

The Shifter collapsed to the floor with a nasty lump on his head and lost consciousness.

“I’m not defending him, but this is his blood on me, not mine. He just felt me up.”

Reno’s eyes sliced through the room like a sword. The skin on his neck and face turned red, and I suddenly remembered telling him about that incident I’d gone through as a kid. Instead of coming over and seeing if I was okay, he kicked the Shifter.

Over and over.

“He’s down,” Denver shouted, pulling Reno back by the arms. “Let me clean up this shit before the manager finds out and I get my ass fired.”

Reno didn’t hear him. He shoved Denver across the room and delivered another punishing kick, this time to the man’s groin.

This was too much violence for me to take and I got up and staggered toward the door, still intoxicated and dizzy.

“You okay?” Denver asked, taking my arm and swiping back my hair. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyeliner was streaked and I had lipstick smeared across my face where I’d wiped the blood.

I rushed to the sink and wet a paper towel. “He’s going to flip out if he sees me like this,” I said, frantically wiping my face clean.

“See you like what?” I heard Maddox say from the doorway.

Denver held Reno in a viselike grip, struggling to pull him away from the unconscious Shifter.

“Let’s go home, Maddox.” I rushed toward the door with my head down.

Maddox stuck his arm out and blocked my exit. “Look at me.”

“I want to leave.”

“Look. At. Me.”

I lifted my head and his face relaxed. Maddox had a different look when he got pissed that was opposite from most men. He did this thing where he sucked on his front tooth, or sometimes he’d squint and rub his eye.

“Is this how you take care of your women?” Reno shouted.

Accused.

Provoked.

Holy smokes, this was going to get ugly .

“Please, Maddox. I want you to take me home. I’m not hurt—this isn’t my blood.” I glanced down at the spatters on my shirt.

Maddox scratched his chin and looked at the pulp of a man lying on the floor. Then he flicked his eyes back to Reno and then to me.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two know each other.” He hooked his finger beneath my collar and tugged me forward just a little bit. “You know him?”

I shook my head. Smart thing to do. Maddox was possessive and I’d rather he remain in the dark about my history with Reno.

“The bartender heard a ruckus and they both came in to help me out.”

His nostrils flared. “Just remember who you belong to,” he said in low words. “I treat you good.”

“You treat me so good that you left me drunk in a bar full of horny men. I feel special.”

He sighed hard and let go of the collar. “That’s just the alcohol talking, so I’ll let your sassy talk slide.”

Reno had started to say something when Denver interrupted, “You’re an asshole for the way you treat your pet. You didn’t even bother keeping an eye on where she went? This is a Shifter bar; you know assholes in here are fascinated with them. Word gets out on that kind of thing and men lose respect for a Shifter who can’t keep his own safe. I think it’s time for you to get out before I call the manager and explain what happened. Jake doesn’t like drama.”

Maddox pointed his finger. “Boy, you—”

“Don’t,” I pleaded, gripping his wrist. “Please,” I whispered. “Take me home.”

Maddox’s eyes softened and he tapped my nose with his finger before wrapping his arm around me.

I wanted to glance over my shoulder and get one last look at Reno. I’d never thought I would run into him again, and this was the worst way it could have possibly happened.

Seeing his explosive reaction made me realize he still cared about me. Or did . Reno would never respect me after this incident, not that I expected we’d get back together. But this solidified it.