Pistol (7 page)

His heavy breaths tickled the side of her face
as she brought her mouth to his ear. “Perhaps I wanted to remember what you tasted like.”

The vibration of his chuckle rumbled through her hand. He pulled back, and beamed a luscious smile, before
he darted forward to lick her lips. Steph dropped the hold she had on his shirt, but he kept her close with a quick hand to the back of her neck. “I bet I could make yer eyes water, too,” he purred in her ear.

Her heart shuddered with the rush of adrenalin through her system at such a promise. Here’s hoping he meant
that in a
good
way. Steph slid back to her feet as he withdrew his hand to turn and serve the rest of the bar. A few patrons watched her with a keen interest, and she recognised the fire in her cheeks as she returned their stares. Yet again, the asshole had blindsided her into being so damn carefree that she forgot where she was.

Cass wa
ved from the far end of the bar as the short barmaid sorted a martini for her. Steph nodded, and moved to find a path down the length of the room to her friend. She cursed under her breath each time some ass-wipe stepped on her foot, or yet another dickhead talked with his hands, or elbowed her side.
Personal bubbles can be collected from the cloak room on your way out. Thank you for your patronage.

“We have to stay here until at least midnight,” Cass hollered in her ear.

“Why?” she mouthed.

“Gary promised me a dance.”

“Can he do that when he’s at work?” Steph glanced over at Pete, who ran his tongue over his lips. Her skin prickled with a sensation she couldn’t place. Desire?

“He said it’ll be quiet enough by then
, and Trent can handle it on his own.”

She nodded and looked back to Pete once more, but he was gone.

“What the hell were you up to?” Cass drew an eyebrow up.

“When?”

“Oh, I don’t know. About the same time the whole bar watched you?”

Steph blushed. “Spur of the moment,” she said to her shoes.

“Huh. I need what you’re drinking.”

They both laughed.

If only that was all it took.

**
**

Pete fisted his hands in his hair and ground his teeth together. What the fuck was
that
all about? He was at work, for fucking crying out loud. The staffroom only fuelled his anger since he found the tiny space too small to get a good pace going. How the fuck was he meant to work the Steph-induced frustrations out of his system now?

He stopped before a small mirror on the outside of Janie’s locker, and growled.
Look at ya, ya fuckwit. Ya look like yer father, and ya have yer mother’s cold eyes. Ya aren’t a fuckin’ romantic.

Pete lashed out a closed fist, and shattered the mirror into jagged pieces which rained down on the stained linoleum. He regarded the few cuts on his knuckles, and scoffed.
Even his skin was too tough to be cut properly by a broken mirror.

Janie popped her head through the door, and looked between him and the
shards. He grinned menacingly at her, and she stuttered out her words. “I need you back out front.”

“In a minute.”
He waved her off.

She pulled the door shut, and immediately the inc
essant noise of drunken patrons and loud music subsided. He looked down at the glass, and resisted the insatiable urge to pick up a piece and slice himself to see if he still bled red. Instead, he kicked the shards aside, and headed for the bar.

Pete pulled
the door open, and blinked to adjust his eyes to the dimmer light. He scoured the line-up of people at the bar. For some stupid reason he felt cheated not to find Steph there, waiting for more. Why he thought she’d continue to come back if all he did was toy with her, he didn’t know. But the strange look in her eyes each time he held the power told him she liked to lose control.

H
e would be sure as fuck be the only one to take it from her.

Steph threw back another shot from the tea-pot, and scolded herself for mixing her drinks.
Live a little, huh?
Even the devil on her shoulder had forgotten the mammoth hang-over of only two days ago.

Cass danced about near the table, lost to the music, as Steph lost herself to the numb bliss of alcohol in her blood. All night she’d stew
ed over the fact Pete could take advantage of her so easily. Yet she knew her misplaced anger toward him was just that—misplaced. It was a no-brainer to figure out who she was mad at most; herself for the way she craved the dominant man behind the bar.

Was she
mentally unstable? Why the hell—after the end of a two year relationship with a jack-ass—did she want to chase after a man who took what he wanted, when he wanted? Was that why? Did she feel the need to rebel against what Dave had done to her, by doing the same?

Tell you what you want to feel …

Steph slammed a door in the face of her conscience, and poured another drink. She wasn’t that stupid that she couldn’t see how her body succumbed to him every time he touched her skin,
shit
, looked at her. But it didn’t mean she had to act on those impulses. Her mother raised her better than that.

Her mother.

Steph laughed out loud at the thought of what her mother would do, should she know what her daughter was up to.

“What’s the joke, sweetheart?”

Steph looked up, and into the green eyes of a handsome dark-haired man about her age. She glanced around behind him, but couldn’t find Cass. “Sorry, do I know you?”

“You’ve got a great laugh there.”

“Uh, I’m here with a friend tonight.”
Not. Looking. Mate.

He slid into the booth seat next to her.

“And you would be?”

“Interested,
” he said to her chest.

Clearly this moron couldn’t read between the lines. “Nice to meet you interested,” she held out her hand. “I’m Fuck-the-hell-off.”

She expected the guy to swear at her, throw a drink at her, storm off. Anything but laugh and put his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, and tried to duck out of his grasp, but he trapped her to him by wrapping his free hand around her side—to cup her breast.
Oh, hell no.

Steph turned her head to his hand which rested on her shoulder, and laid her lips on the fleshy side of his palm. He hummed,
and obviously thought she was keen until she sunk her teeth into him. He howled out, and pulled his arm away from her. The hand which cupped her chest rose up and slapped her hard—unnecessarily hard, given his proximity to her. Her knee-jerk reaction was to punch him in the groin. She sidled around to the far side of the booth to escape as he growled in pain. Steph stood to leave, when a strong grip tugged hard on her pony-tail, and made her topple back. She fell on her ass into the booth once more. Her ribs collided with the table as she went.

“Let me go, you creep!”

He laughed behind her. “You’re a feisty one. Love to get you in the sack.”

“Keep dreaming, ass-wipe.” Steph relaxed against his pull so that she fell back into his lap.
She reached up and stuck her fingers in his nostrils, and pushed hard.

He screamed out
, and released her pony-tail. She slid off the side of the seat, unceremoniously onto the sticky floor, and away from his reach. As she scrambled to her feet from under the table, Cass pushed through the small group of on-lookers.

“You okay, babe? Shit! I only left to go to the loo.”

“Fine,” Steph growled in the guy’s direction.

“Good luck finding anyone else you ugly bitch,” he spat at her.

She flicked him her middle finger, and turned to leave the place. Could the night possibly get any better after it hit such a low? As she passed the bar on her way to the exit, she recognised the familiar sound of laughter.
His
laughter.

“That was gold.” Pete clapped.

Steph rushed the bar, and people parted to let her through in her dishevelled state. “Fuck you! How dare you stand there and watch. Didn’t it occur to you to do anything?”

His face drew steely. “I think
ya handled yerself fine.”

“Oh yeah,” she scoffed. “I forgot. The only thing
you’d
do—” she said as she jabbed a finger at him. “—is join in. After all, that’s all you’ve done so far, isn’t it? Assault me to get what you want?”

His face turned to pure rage, and he strode toward the end of the bar. She matched his pace,
and met him at the far end as he flung the divider back so hard it bounced off the wall. The wood narrowly missed him as he passed through.

“You—
” he growled, and shoved her in the shoulder. “—were gaggin’ for it, Love. Last I looked, ya fuckin’ enjoyed what ya gave me.”

“Steph, what’s he talking about?” Cass
asked as the two of them argued.

She
held a hand up to her friend, and continued with Pete. “Well it’s more than you gave me, you selfish asshole.” She knew the drink spurred her verbal diarrhoea, but what did she have left to lose with this clown?

“Is that it?” He nodded,
and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re pissed off I didn’t fuck ya?”

Steph drew her lips into a firm line, and slapped him.

He reeled, but stood his ground. “Do it again, ya little hussy. I love the pain.” His glare scared the daylights out of her, but like hell she would back down first. Plus, her legs were such jelly, she didn’t know if she’d make it far.

“
You, are a sick fuck,” she hissed. “No wonder I was told to stay away from you.”

Hurt flashed in his eyes, before rage again took over. He moved to
speak, when Trent stepped in between and placed his hands on Pete’s chest. Whatever the big guy said, it worked to calm him, as Pete quickly disappeared behind the bar.

Cass tugged on her arm. “Come on. You can explain what the hell that all was on the way home.”

She turned to find hurt and confusion on Cass’s face, and felt ill. “I’m sorry. I ruined your night, didn’t I?”

Cass shook her head. “
No. It’s fine.” Her words betrayed the look of disappointment she held.

Steph followed down the hallway, and out into the night, eager to escape the scrutiny of the other patrons. Her spectacle drew quite a crowd, and she didn’t know if she could rightly ever show her face in there again without somebody recognis
ing her.

Cass haile
d a cab after she said a quick goodbye to Gary, and shoved Steph inside. She scooted across the seat to allow room for Cass. The driver pulled away on her instruction, and headed for home. Cass turned to look at Steph, and raised an eyebrow. “Well? What the fuck was that, Stephanie?”

Shit, she was
definitely in trouble. “Nothing. He said something earlier that made me mad. Plus, he didn’t do a damn thing to help me.”

“I think there’s more to it than that. What did he mean by what you ‘gave’ him?”

Steph stared out the window at the blur of streets, and frowned. “Nothing.”

“Don’t
lie to me, babe. Why did you want to come here tonight? Really?”

She sighed, and counted the lamp posts as they fleeted by. What would she tell her? How exactly did
she explain what she’d done with Pete? Normal people didn’t do shit like that. Normal people had a better sense of self-preservation than to let a stranger into their home, and do what she did.

“Fine,” Cass snapped. “Don’t tell me. But if this comes back to bite you on the ass, I can’t do much if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Damn her. She was right. What if things went sour? What if Pete kidnapped her, or murdered her? Who would know then?
As if he’ll murder you.
Yeah, right. Did her conscience not see the look in his eye as Trent pushed him away?

“He knows where I live, Cass.” Her words barely made a whisper.

“Shit.”

****

“It’s the end of me shift, Gary. Do ya honestly expect me to stay?” Pete levelled the big guy with a stare that challenged his authority.

He wilted a little at the cool look he received in re
sponse. “I can’t trust your psycho little head not to go after that girl. So you can stay until we close.”

“Come on,” he pleaded. “Let me out. Phil’s here anyway.
Ya don’t need me.”

Gary continued to block the exit
as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Fine.
Have it yer way. I’ll fuckin’ exit out the alley.”

Gary sighed, and stepped aside. “You bloody go anywhere near her, and I’ll have your nuts strung out to dry.”

Pete laughed. Like the big guy had it in him to do such a barbaric thing. Himself on the other hand … well, best leave that subject untouched. “Ya have me word.” He held a hand over his heart.

“Asshole,” Gary mumbled.

He jogged down the steps, and shook a cigarette out of the pack as he went. Phil, the owner of the bar, had turned up to take over the final hours. Why he couldn’t trust Pete to do it, who knew? What did Phil think he’d do? Rob the place?
Maybe in another time.

Pete shielded the end of the smoke as he lit it,
and ran through the plan one last time. Ever since that mad-hatter of a woman had left the place, he’d plotted his comeback on her. How dare she fucking accuse him of blatant assault? He wouldn’t have done a single thing if she didn’t want him to. Talk about confused. The woman didn’t know what her body craved.

Pete stopped at the first bus stop, and checked over the map plastered on the inside of the shelter. He
plotted out which services he would need to take, and how long it would take him to get home. If only he’d brought the fuckin’ car tonight. But then again, he hadn’t planned on going home alone.