Page 71 of Gabriel & Skye

Anger boils my blood, and it tips me over the edge, my hand squeezing my glass so hard it may shatter.

Then he slides his arm around her as she tries to shrug him off. I see Trudy saying something to the other guy as he tries to pull his friend away.

“Back in a moment,” I say to the guys. I place my beer on the bar and walk briskly over to where the girls are sitting.

I’m right behind them when I hear the guy calling out as his friend pulls him back. He’s clearly intoxicated. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that, you’re a sweet little thing…” He slides a hand around her waist.

I tap him on the shoulder, and he barely turns his head before I have a chance to think it through. I just swing, punching him in the face.

“Fuck!” he yells, covering his nose with his hands. “You asshole!”

I hear Skye squeal as she covers her mouth with her hands. Trudy does the same. They both stare at me in shock.

“Nope, you’re the asshole. Now beat it before I get the rest of my friends over here.”

The friend steers him away as he clutches his face; his nose is bleeding.

I used to be known as the town brawler, but I lost the title years ago. Nothing sets me off like a man not getting the message when it’s spelled out loud and clear. Drunk or not, he deserved it.

“I didn’t know she was yours, man,” he whines from behind his hand.

“She said no, that should be enough for you. Now get out of here!” I bark.

They both scurry away and out of the bar. People around us are staring, but I don’t give a fuck. I glance across the bar and see Gray looking over at me, trying to work out what’s going on. He must’ve missed the punch because he’d be over here like a shot. He pushes off the bar and heads over here with the other guys. Great.

My eyes flick back to Skye’s. Beautiful deep emeralds are staring back at me, still in shock.

“Are you girls okay?” I ask both of them.

Trudy nods. “That was unpleasant, and I just got here!”

Skye looks a little shaken up and I don’t know if it’s from the guy bothering her or the punch.

“We were handling it,” she says, a little breathless.

I shake my head. “He touched you. You said no. End of story.”

Her eyes go round. “You punched him.”

“Again, he was bothering you when you said no. He deserved it.”

Trudy is staring at me with some new sense of appreciation and awe. “That was amazing, Gabe.”

“Thank you, Trudes. That goes to you too; about anyone bothering either of you.”

“You would have punched a guy for me as well?”

“Of course I would.” She’s my cousin, for heaven’s sake.

“You know, I appreciate it, but I can handle things myself, Gabriel. I’ve been doing it long enough,” Skye says, and it makes me wonder if she’s ever had a guy stand up for her. It’s not like I meant to. I just acted on instinct. My eyes flick down to her gorgeous lips, which she’s gone and painted red; bringing out the color of her hair and green eyes even more. “But thank you.”

“That’s how we do things around here. Right Trudy?”

“Yes, sir,” she laughs.

“What the fuck is going on?” Gray says as he gets closer. “Did you just punch a dude?”

“Some douchebag touched Skye when she told him no. I had to intervene.”

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