Page 122 of Cruel Knots

His words lift my spirits and I find myself smiling at him.

“Want a drink?” he asks. “I was going to get a beer for myself.” He gestures at his empty bottle.

“Sure. I’ll have a beer too.”

I get the whole pool table to myself while Casey is gone. Taking the cue stick, I practice several shots, thoroughly enjoying myself.

“Here, you go,” Casey’s voice sounds near me.

“Thanks,” I say, straightening up and accepting the beer from him. Putting the cue stick down, I’m about to take a sip when hard fingers curl around my wrist, stopping me.

I stare up into Leon’s amber eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks in a grim tone.

“Can’t I drink?” I ask confusedly.

He pries the bottle from my fingers and sets it down. “You should know better than to accept drinks from a stranger.”

“Beat it,” Mikhail growls, staring Casey down.

Casey glares at him but after a quick glance at him and Leon, he decides it’s best for him to scram than fight the two lethal alphas at my side. A deep-seated anger flares inside me. I push past Leon to get away from him but he grabs my arm, pulling me against him.

“Let go of me!” I shout.

“You’re getting mad at me for trying to protect you?”

I sneer at him. “You know who else claims to protect me? Callum! He drove away all my friends in the name of protecting me. I don’t need anyone’s fucking protection!”

“Hey, don’t get mad at him,” Mikhail says in a warm tone. Moving closer, he wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Want me to punch Leo in the guts for you, Princess?”

“The fuck, dude,” Leon mutters.

“You could’ve been a little more sensitive,” Mikhail says, frowning. “She’s upset you drove her new friend away.”

“You’re shameless,” Leon grates through clenched teeth. Glancing at me, he adds, “He was the one who thought that guy was a creep.”

“Hey, how about we get you a drink?” Mikhail says, smoothly changing track.

“You’ll get me anything I want?” I ask, pinning him with a hesitant look.

“Whatever makes our girl happy.”

Our girl...I like the sound of that.

“I want the green stuff that lady’s drinking,” I whisper, gesturing at a table in the distance.

“A Grasshopper?” Mikhail asks.

“Huh?”

“That green stuff?” says Leon with a chuckle. “It’s called a Grasshopper.”

“Please tell me they don’t actually add ground-up grasshoppers into that?” I groan. “But wait!” I say, putting up a hand. “I’ll drink it even if it does have grasshoppers in it. Who knows when I’ll get a chance to come to a club again?”

“Do you have to sound so sad, Lucia?” Leon says, pulling me into a hug.

I bury my face in his chest, inhaling a hint of his addictive cinnamon and clove scent that cuts through his artificial de-scenter. Wasn’t I mad at him just a second ago?

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