Page 63 of Burn With Me

The desire to break his hand pulses like a living thing inside of me. It takes all of my control to maintain my calm facade as the man says something else and she scowls, standing up to push him back. Only then do I step in.

“I said no,” Aurora growls. “Now back off, asshole.”

Before the idiot can say anything, I step between them and give him a smile. “You heard her, dipshit,” I say. “I recommend you leave.”

He scowls at me and then takes the beer in his hand, and tips it back until it’s drained before slamming it on the surface of a nearby table. “Fine,” he slurs. “Keep your cunt. Bet she’s dried up, anyway.”

With that, he turns and stumbles back to the bar. A few of the onlookers sigh and shake their heads, but none seem particularly surprised. This man must be a regular—worse than that, he must have a reputation for being a sleaze.

Carefully, I urge Aurora back to the pool table. “Shoot,” I order. “I’ll be right back.”

“Isaac.” Her hand latches onto my arm as I move away from her. “Don’t.”

I pause and look down at where her fingers grip my flesh, her warmth against my own. “Hey.” I slide back towards her, resting my pool stick against the table as I grip her waist and bring her closer. “It’s okay. Everything’s fine. I’m just gonna step out for a sec—he pissed me off and I want to cool my head.” Aurora eyes me, her cute brow puckered with mistrust. I smirk and rub a thumb over that little v. “Don’t worry so much, Sunshine.”

“You’re lying.” Her accusation is on point, but she has no way of proving it if she stays here. Knowing what I do about Aurora Summers, though, I doubt she will now that she’s suspicious.

“Fine.” I sigh. “You want me to stay?”

She nods, her gaze flickering from me to the asshole that had his hand all over her as he stands against the bar across the room. Why she thinks a bastard like him deserves her protection, I don’t understand, but if it’ll make her feel better, I can pretend.

“Alright.” I press a kiss to her brow and then move back, releasing her as I pick my stick back up. “Play. I’ll watch.”

Her frown remains in place. I’m sure she’s wondering why the hell I’ve decided to listen to her now. That’s alright. All I need to do is distract her for now. I’ll take care of things soon enough.

Aurora moves back into place and bends over the table. This time, as I scan the onlookers, all eyes remain decidedly away from her ass.

The crack of balls reaches my ears and I look back at the table to see that Aurora has sunk yet another striped ball—the last one. Fuck. She’s gonna beat me. It’d be hot if there wasn’t so much at stake. I’ve got to stop this. Thankfully, at the next round, she scratches and misses a pocket.

My turn.

Aurora steps to the side and holds her cue stick in front of her as I sink several balls one after the other. The more points I hit, the more antsy she gets. Her fingers moving along the stick as she taps her foot and even goes back to the table to suck back more of her drink. I focus hard, pushing myself for a win harder than I ever have with one of the guys. It all comes to an end as I sink all of my own balls and then the 8-ball last.

“That’s a tie,” Aurora says as I stand up after my last shot.

I glance her way. “I think I won, Sunshine.”

Her scowl is too cute. She bites her lower lip and glares at the table as if it’s offended her. Sure, it was close.Too close, but I’d won. And even if I give in and let her have her tie—a tie doesn’t mean she gets her answers. Not concerning my father anyway.

I rest my pool stick against the wall again and lift a hand to one of the waitresses walking through the room as the rest of the onlookers go back to their own tables and games now that ours has ended. “Are you hungry?” I ask her as the waitress catches sight of my hand and starts towards us.

“No.” Aurora’s ‘no’ is biting and irritated. I chuckle, not surprised that she’s a sore loser.

“Two burgers and a basket of fries,” I say as the waitress approaches, ignoring Aurora’s answer.

“Any substitutions?” she asks, glancing behind me to Aurora.

“No, but you can grab her another Long Island and another beer for me.” I hand her a hundred. “Keep the change.”

The waitress tucks the bill into her apron and nods, quickly walking away as if she’s afraid I’ll take back the money. Only then do I turn back to my date. Aurora is sucking down the last of her first drink and chewing idly on the straw as she bores a hole into the wall. I take a seat across from her, stepping right into her line of vision. Her scowl deepens.

“You told me you didn’t know how to play pool,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. “No, I didn’t,” she replies. “I said I didn’t like it, not that I didn’t know how to play.”

My mouth opens, but she’s right. She never said she didn’t know how to play. That was my own assumption. Damn. “You knew what I’d think.”

She shrugs. “Your arrogance is not my fault,” she replies. “Besides, I still didn’t win.”

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