Page 8 of His Rules

She smiled one of those practiced expressions, but the curl of her lips lit up the room.

Oh, fuck. The asshole was pushing every boundary and I was already hot under the collar.

I was on edge, wrapping my hand around my glass with white-knuckled force as soon as the bartender placed it on the cocktail napkin. While I could be a pushy bastard, I refused to do so with women who clearly wanted nothing to do with me.

“I prefer being all alone rather than sitting with a slimy bunch of guys.” She’d reached the end of her patience.

Her response was so pleasantly unexpected that I couldn’t contain a snort.

The jerk snapped his head in my direction, sniffing as if he was coked up. “Mind your own fucking business. This is between me and the lady.”

It was barely six in the evening and he was three sheets to the wind. His buddies laughed and I gave him a look that should indicate they were playing with the wrong man. I had no issues wiping the floor with them if it became necessary.

“Come on, darling. Let’s go party. We have all night to do so.” The bastard made the mistake of placing his hand on her leg. “We can have some fun. I can tell that’s exactly what you need.”

What she needed? The jerk had no clue and wasn’t the kind of guy to spend any time figuring that out. I felt my muscles clench, but this wasn’t my party. The last thing I needed was to get involved.

While she didn’t flinch, she did offer him a dirty look. Meanwhile, I was on my feet, closing the distance seconds later.I towered over him, enough he was forced to lift his head when being stupid enough to look me in the eyes.

“The lady wants you to leave,” I told him, ensuring my tone was gruff, a clear indication I was an unforgiving man.

“When I want to. Buzz off.” He squeezed her leg and that was all I could take.

I jerked him away, slamming his back against the bar. Now I was crowding his space, using the five plus inches I had on the man to my benefit. “You heard what I said.”

He had the good graces to tremble enough from realizing I could hurt him.

And I would if he was stupid enough to make a wrong move, such as attempting to express his anger.

He threw up his hands, but I gathered a sense he was waiting to throw a punch. As soon as I let him go, he proved me right. I snapped my hand around his fist, crushing down on his fingers.

I was stronger than I was often given credit for, spending my free time in my home gym at least six nights a week.

The lovely lady clapped, although I wasn’t entirely certain whether the gesture was out of gratitude or fury because I stepped in.

“Get off me, man, or I’ll break your neck.”

“I would love to see you try. Now, if you want to walk out of here with your bones intact, then you and your buddies will leave without creating an incident. If not, I guess you’ll be spending your night in the emergency room.”

He half laughed as if I wasn’t being serious. I kept my eyes pinned on him, even cocking my head for emphasis.

“Fine. Whatever.” He pushed me hard with his free hand and I let him go. The asshole purposely bumped into me as he walked around me, heading back to his buddies. Exhaling, I waited and watched every move they made as they gathered their things. One even knocked a chair to the floor and didn’t bother righting it.

The jerk flicked me the bird as they were walking out and I allowed myself to chuckle. I moved toward the table, easing the chair back into position. By all rights, I should do nothing more than go back and enjoy my drink without exacerbating the moment. However, I sensed an air of excitement in the woman that few offered. I also sensed she wasn’t the type to be snowed by small talk or a pushy asshole.

I returned to my seat, immediately taking a hit of my drink.

She’d remained quiet, but I could feel the weight and the heat of her gaze. Instead of using that as an invitation, I returned to my stool.

“Good job, buddy,” the bartender said. “The drink’s on the house.”

I immediately grabbed my whiskey, longing to look the beautiful woman in the eyes. When I did, I noticed they were filled with fire.

My cock immediately twitched.

She was a woman after my own heart.

CHAPTER 3

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