Page 59 of Roses Are Dead
There was no magic in it. And as we parted, his eyes met mine. They were slightly unfocused. “I didn’t mean that,” he said. Then he ran his nose along the side of my cheek, inhaling. The heat of his body pressed against me. I felt him wobble, planting a foot wider so he wouldn’t topple. “I wish I could kiss you like I want to.” His words slurred slightly.
“Are you okay?”
He blinked. “I don’t know.” Confusion scrunched his forehead into a peak of concern.
I dug under his beard to feel for his pulse. It beat sluggishly as it thumped in the hollow of his neck. “Do you feel dizzy?”
Another blink. “I’m drunk… on you.” His smile was lopsided.
This was highly unusual. “You had one drink.”
“Everything okay, Bear?” Wolf laid a hand on his shoulder.
“I think someone spiked the drink.” I indicated the glass where he’d thumped it down after ignoring me.
Wolf raised the glass and scanned the liquid at the bottom. I went on tiptoe to peek at it.
While I didn’t have the best view, what I could see looked cloudy. “Do you have a way to test it?”
Wolf’s sharp glance accused me. “Why?”
“Because not only were those two assholes bothering me, but a woman approached me earlier and took my drink for a moment or two. I didn’t have it in hand the entire time.”
“Are you saying someone would dare to dose you in our bar?” Wolf’s tone warned me to deny what I suspected.
But I couldn’t lie. Not if Bear had been drugged. Anger I hadn’t felt in years rose up inside and I braced for battle. “Listen, back in college, I was active with the campus security authority program. I lectured on the effects of date rape drugs. He’s showing signs of a central nervous system depressant, my guess? Rohypnol. We need to get that glass tested, him to a safe place, and find a bitch with blonde hair and big Botox lips who I think dropped something in my drink. Move!”
I shoved Wolf with my free hand and coaxed Bear into following. “Come on, big guy we’re going to find you a place to lie down.”
Wolf’s hand splayed across my chest. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Hands off her boobs! That’s my turf.” Bear’s words were barely distinguishable. But the way his hands fisted was clear enough.
Wolf held his hand up, then poked three fingers in the air. “How many fingers do I have up?”
“Three, ash-hooole.” While he got the number right, his slur was getting worse.
“I give it fifteen minutes before he’s immobile.” I might have guessed a bit higher than usual. But Bear was larger than most college coeds. I turned to him, “Do you feel hot?” His brow was damp.
“Hot. Like you.” His hands swept down my sides, lingering at my hips and pulling me in. “I wanna fuck you so bad.”
Like that would happen in under fifteen minutes… “Follow me.” I maintained eye contact with him as I shuffled backwards toward the door.
KC and Wolf directed me to a side door instead. A steep staircase loomed behind it. I shook my head. Getting him up it was going to be a nightmare if he went under too quickly. “We need to get him outside.”
“No can do. We haven’t cleared the place.” Wolf slipped an arm under his friend. “One step at a time. Up!”
Bear wobbled, almost taking them both down.
I noticed Wolf’s prosthetic and shoved him off, then wrapped both arms around Bear and took a step higher than him to use my thigh strength to drag him with me. All the while, I urged him on. “We’re going upstairs, you and me, Bear.”
“Hell, yeah. I can’t wait until you ride me like a fucking sex jockey.”
Unfortunately, that came out much clearer than his babbling earlier.
KC snickered. “I got his back. Let’s do this.” He wrapped around Bear’s waist and I tugged from above as we led him up the steps. I almost fell on my ass when I cleared the top and stumbled into the open space. Bear slapped a hand on the wall to hold us both up. He pinned me against it and sagged a bit.
“We need a bed, Rose.”
