Page 36 of Throw Down

His gaze zeroed in on Briar’s flustered face, and the air seemed to change.Calmly, he turned to the server and said, “Could you run on back and tell Frank thanks for getting my order ready so quick, Cherilyn?”

“You aren’t eating here?” Briar blurted, so relieved at the interruption that he temporarily forgot how angry he was at him.

But then Derek met his eyes and he remembered again.His stomach flipped. The faint scent of motor oil and pine clung to him, so quintessentially Derek that it made Briar’s stomach flutter.

“Not eating at all.” Derek said. The electricity between them was turning Briar’s limbs to jelly, but Derek didn’t seem to notice. He shook the white paper bag in his hand.“Frank’s garlic-marinated tartare is the best catfish bait around.”

Peter frowned in evident distaste.“How…rustic.”

Derek’s eyes slid briefly to the man across from Briar, as if he were barely worth noticing.It seemed to strike a chord in Peter, who sat up straight in his chair, trying to assert a dominance he definitely didn’t feel.

“And who might you be?” Peter asked, his voice dripping with disdain.

“Nobody.” Derek shrugged. “Just a friend passing through.”

“Are you a local?” He said it in the same tone one might ask: ‘are you a leper?’

Derek’s brows lifted. Briar might have called the gleam in his eyes playful, but only in the way a cat plays with a mouse. He leaned one hip against the backrest of Briar’s chair and crossed his arms, takeout bag dangling casually from his fingers.“Been here all my life,” he said easily.

“That explains the whole rugged woodsman look you have going on.”

“Thanks.” One corner of Derek’s mouth lifted in the barest of smirks.“It’s not a look; it’s a lifestyle.”

His posture was one of unbothered ease, as if he didn’t even notice the unspoken challenge wafting off Peter like an obnoxious cologne.Somehow, that made it easier for Briar to bear.The stress that had been tightening his neck and shoulders all evening began to dissipate as he basked in Derek’s reassuring presence.Whatever grievances he’d had seemed trivial now.In that moment, surrounded by the curious whispers of the other diners, he craved Derek’s comforting stability more than the air he was breathing.

Even someone as dense as Peter Petrovich apparently knew when he was being mocked.He leaned back in his chair, trying to mask his irritation with a studied smile.

“Charming,” he murmured, ice cubes clinking as he swirled his water glass like it was a fine brandy.

On the third swirl, he fumbled the glass.It crashed to the table, splintering into pieces and sending a mini-tidal wave toward Briar. Briar yelped, scrambling to save hismeal.Derek grabbed a pile of napkins and sopped up the water before it reached Briar’slap.

Peter wasn’t as fortunate. He leaped to his feet, wiping at his wet slacks and inadvertently drawing attention to the massive tent behind hiszipper.

“Oh, uh—” Briar coughed, scratching his cheek and trying to discreetly gesture toward the man’scrotch.“Looks like that pill already kickedin.You mightwanna…”

He didn’t even get a chance to finish hissentence.Peter was already racing toward the restroom, clutching a damp napkin to the front of histrousers.

It seemed like the whole restaurant watched himgo.

Chapter Fourteen

DEREK

A dozen conversations instantly filled the vacuum left by the hipster's great escape. The weight of stares on the back of his neck didn't bother Derek much.He was used to it. He'd been drawing disapproving looks ever since he was fifteen and ran the truant officer off their property with a shotgun.Small town gossip was vicious, but it died quick enough once he'd learned not to pay attention.

Briar hadn’t learned that lesson yet.He looked like he'd been rescued from a nightmare only to realize he'd fallen into another.His wide eyes darted frantically between the whispering tables, and his cheeks flamed apple-red.

“Shit,” Briar murmured, burying his face in his hands.

The incandescent rage that had flared in Derek the moment he spotted Briar with another man began to slowly ebb.It infuriated him that Briar could go from climbing him like a tree to sharing a meal with someone like that in a matter of days.The guy had the stamp of the city all over him, oozing arrogance and pretentiousness like a stink from his pores.

In the space of a few precarious heartbeats, Derek had imagined wringing both their necks.But it passed quickly. Because of his size, he'd learned to control his temper at a young age.One second of accidental roughness meant a trip to county lockup for someone like him.

He should have just ignored them, but Briar looked so unhappy that Derek couldn't resist trying to help.

Someone as bright and kind as Briar Phillips should always be smiling.

“You alright?” Derek kept his voice low, just for Briar’s ears.He felt a little lurch in his chest when Briar lifted his head to meet his eyes.

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