Shadow: Cerberus MC Book 3 (32 page)
“Another round?”
“Sure,” I say just as Wrench reaches for and clasps her hand.
Her eyes sweep from their connection to me and then to the side where I assume her husband is sitting. No doubt that asshole is the one hurting her. I have to remind myself to mind my own business. I can’t save every woman. Hell, I couldn’t save the one I loved from birth, and certainly I can’t save someone who has no will to save themselves.
“Wrench,” I chide. “Leave her the fuck alone.” I keep eye contact with her when I speak, but I can tell Wrench has let her hand go.
“Thank you,” she mouths. I nod at her as she walks away.
I take a chug from my beer and glare at Wrench. “If you can’t learn how to behave in public, I’ll make sure you never join us on the road again.”
He huffs but is smart enough not to say a damn word; rather he stands and makes his way to the opposite end of the bar to the line in front of the jukebox.
“Remind me again why that fucker is still around,” I mutter to Kid and Shadow.
“You promised Socket you’d look after him,” Shadow responds.
Fucking Socket. His ass should be here right now, rather than his dumb ass brother.
I finish my second beer and stand giving the redhead near the bar the look I know she gets often. I rap my knuckles on the table top and head toward the restroom. Shadow laughs; Kid grumbles something about blue balls. I would laugh, but I find nothing funny about being thirty years old and walking to the bathroom of a shifty bar to get my dick sucked. As ridiculous as it is, I’m certainly not going to leave here without it happening.
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I miss the girls back at the club. I haven’t touched a woman the entire time we’ve been in Denver; I’ve spent every waking moment looking for Josie. Now that she’s been found, I can’t wait to blow down someone’s throat, and since the waitress is married to an asshole, the redhead will have to do.
I meet the redhead at the center of the bar and drape my arm over her shoulder, turning her in the direction of the restroom sign hanging over an entryway at the back of the bar. Her hand is on my cock before we even make it five steps.
I sigh inwardly at the double standard. She’s a bar slut which makes her unappealing to me outside of this situation, but on the other hand, I’m grateful she is because it’s exactly what I need at the moment. We won’t exchange numbers; I won’t even tell her my name, and the fucked up part? She probably won’t even ask. I’d be surprised if my dick is the only one she touches tonight.
We round the corner, turning down the dark hallway, and my ears register the sound of the slap before my eyes manage to tell my brain what is going on. I see the waitress’ head swing to the side from the impact and look at the sneer on the face of the asshole that was sitting in the bar earlier; the exact one I’d assumed was her abusive asshole husband.
Fury boils over in my veins; the redhead on my side becomes inconsequential as I stride forward and punch the prick directly in his nose. The blood spray from his face isn’t satisfying enough, so I hit him again, and again. I don’t stop until he’s a whimpering puddle, crouched on the filthy floor.
I hear screaming and turn to comfort the waitress, pissed that she’s upset that I hit him, but when I turn around, it’s the redhead I was with a minute before that’s hysterical. I watch her back as she runs from the hallway. I turn my attention to the waitress who is leaning against the wall with a hand clamped over her injured cheek.
“You okay?” I ask taking slow, measured steps in her direction.
She pulls her eyes from the man on the floor to mine and then back down to him. I see the fear the second it hits her face, and I hold my hands up and take a step back. I’m pissed that she’d be afraid of me too but understanding of the situation.
“I’m not going to hurt you, darlin’.” I drop my hands to my side and attempt a casual, non-threatening pose, which is a chore because of my size and build.
Without taking her eyes from him, she says, “He’ll kill me for sure now.”
She raises her eyes to mine at the growl that came unbidden from deep in my throat. “He won’t have the chance.”
I reach for her and guide her by her elbow to the rear exit off of the dark hallway we’re standing in. She seems dazed, and I look over at her wondering how much damage he caused when he struck her. The cool night air that hits us seems to pull her from her trance.
“Wh… what are you doing?” She asks as the door to the bar and the noise of the jukebox closes behind us.
“Getting you out of here,” I tell her and point to my bike parked near the street. “Get on.” I swing my leg over the seat, hit the kickstand with the back of my boot, and wait impatiently as she stands there looking at me like she’s never seen a man on a bike before.
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Chapter 1
BT
The stinging slap across my face echoes off of the walls in the silent room. Aviana gasps and pulls her hands to her mouth as her eyes widen in shock. I can’t help but smirk when I feel the heat of her handprint spread across my face.
“Out of all of the things you could’ve done, you think hitting me is your best course of action?” I attempt animosity and the deepest growly voice I can manage in this situation.
I take a step toward her, and she takes a step back.
“BT!” The teacher says from across the room. “I know she’s adorable, but you have to wipe that shit-eating grin off of your face if you’re going to convince the audience that you’re pissed that you’ve been smacked.” She sighs and shakes her head.
I turn my head to the teacher and shrug my shoulders. “I’ll work on it.”
The teacher winks at me as if she knows something I don’t.
“Sorry,” I hear Aviana mutter from beside me. I tilt my head at her in confusion. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
I huff playfully. “I’ve been hit harder before.”
“That’s all for today class,” the teacher announces as she makes her way across the room to Aviana and me. “I’d tell you guys to pick different partners, but we start work on kissing scenes tomorrow.” She cuts her eyes between us. “I have a gut feeling you guys will get
that
right.”
I follow the teacher with my eyes as she exits the class with the other students. When I cut my gaze back to the petite blonde that has had my attention for weeks, I notice the look of shock on her face. She cuts her eyes away from mine and crosses the room to gather her things.
Is she still shocked at hitting me or at what the teacher just said?
Like a lost puppy, I follow. My jacket is in the chair right beside her purse and a few books.
“Hey,” I say grabbing her attention again. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this evening.”
She remains silent as she busies herself by stacking and restacking her books. Just as I’m beginning to wonder if she’s ignoring me or didn’t hear me at all, she responds.
“What did you have in mind?” She clutches her stack of books to her chest. My pulse gains speed. She’s blown me off time and time again, but she’s never once seemed to entertain the idea of hanging out.
“Figured you could come over. I can make dinner,” I shrug trying to remain as nonchalant as possible. “Watch a movie?”
She grins at me but then narrows her eyes. “Did you just ask me over for Netflix and Chill?”
I throw my head back and laugh. By the time I’m able to calm myself enough to look back at her, I see a small smile playing on her lips. “I have Blu-ray also.”
The composure she’s trying to maintain fails and her smile widens. “Is that so?”
I nod my head. “I make a mean spaghetti,” I entice her.
She shifts her weight and reaches to move her purse strap back on her shoulder, just for it to fall down to the crook of her elbow again.
I reach up and rub my face, certain that the handprint she left is gone by now. “You owe me for the assault,” I say, trying to gain sympathy.
“That’s not how it works,” she says, not buying into my bullshit.
“That’s how it should be,” I tell her, dropping my hand from my cheek.
I widen my smile, certain that pouting at this point wouldn’t work.
“You’re quite the charmer; you know that?”
I’m captivated by the way the light reflects off of the brown flecks in her hazel eyes. If I didn’t mistakenly leave my man card on the dresser at home, no doubt I’d have to pull it from my wallet and hand it over to her.
“We can watch
The Office
,” I finally say when her blink breaks the spell she’s wielding over me. “Consider it homework for acting class.”
She raises an eyebrow at me suspiciously. “You realize you’ve asked me out over a dozen times? What makes you think today is going to be any different?”
“I figure my luck has to change eventually.”
The way her eyes dart to my mouth as I speak, causing her to lick her own lips makes me hopeful.
“Dinner and a movie, huh?”
I nod.
“I do love spaghetti.” She taps her finger against her lips, contemplating my offer playfully.
“Salad and garlic toast also,” I say to sweeten the deal.
“Well in that case, how can I resist?”
I’m like a giddy puppy as the desire to bounce around and fist pump the air barely stays hidden. Rather than embarrass myself by doing a quick celebration dance, I hold out my hand to her.
“What?” she asks looking down at my empty hand.
“I need your phone so I can add my name.”
She hands it over, and I text myself from her phone and add my contact info into her favorites.
I hand it back and pull out my phone that just buzzed in my pocket. I shoot my address to her phone.
“Seven o'clock sound good?” I ask.
“Sounds perfect,” she answers.
We just stand looking at each other. I want to reach out and hug her for some strange reason, but I can’t determine if that would be stepping over a line she hasn’t approved yet.
“Okay,” she says breaking the awkwardness. “See you at seven.”
She side steps me and exits the room just as another class begins to file through the door. A quick look at my watch informs me I have six hours to get groceries, hit the gym, and make sure the house is presentable.
I nod a hello at several of the guys coming into the classroom. I’ve been taking classes here for several months now and have made a few acquaintances. Everyone is friendly… on the outside. If anything, I’ve discovered that we’re all technically in competition with each other. We all want the same roles. We all show up for the same castings. Most are cordial in the halls of the acting academy, but very few are interested in actual friendship.
I have tons of friends and fans for that matter. I don’t have much time to add anything extra to my plate. Between acting class, work at the gym, writing, and
Warrior Inc.
I have hardly a free minute to myself. That being said, I’ll rearrange whatever I need to if it means I can spend time with Aviana Maguire outside the walls of this school.
I’ve been flirting with her for weeks, since this block of classes began. She’s absolutely beautiful, but it’s her shyness in class that drew me to her. The contradiction of wanting to be an actress in any capacity and being as shy as she seems, made me want to get to know her more.
Her shyness has helped me wiggle my way into her good graces. We partner up a lot in class to work on various skills the teacher deems mandatory of a good actor. I approached her the first day, and it seems I’ve made at least enough of an impression that she hasn’t turned me down each time I’ve asked. That right there gives me hope.
I can’t even think about class tomorrow. I’m excited about kissing techniques for actors and terrified all at the same time. Maybe I can persuade her into practicing some of those techniques tonight, if anything so we won’t be awkward and nervous tomorrow in class.
I climb up in my truck and pull out my cell phone. After adding Aviana’s name into the contacts, I shoot her a quick text, hoping she won’t think I’m psycho for contacting her so soon.
