Page 6 of Silver Fox
She’s been sat alone at the bar all evening, but I feel like I have to ask.
The drunk prick tries to speak, but I press him harder into the wall, smiling at his pained groan.
“There’s no one, but thanks. What are you going to do with him?”
He makes another noise—before I quickly silence him. “What do youwantme to do with him?” I was thinking castration, but what can I say? I aim to please.
“Can you just get him thrown out?” she whispers, as if he can’t hear her. “And not let back in.”
My eyelids lower as I look at her, keeping my eyes on her face and trying to pretend she’s not the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. Trying to pretend that barely-there black dress isn’t going to live in my memory for the rest of my life. And thosecurves.
I’d give anything to have those pillowy thighs around my head.
“Anything you want.” I heave the drunk bastard off the wall. “I’ll be just out in the bar if you need me, all right?”
I wait until she’s entered the restroom before turning my attention back to the asshole in my grip. He groans as I frog march him down the hallway, leading him further away from the bar.
“Are you fucking kidding me with this white knight bullshit, man?” he mumbles, spitting breath stinking of cheap booze back in my face. “Where are you taking me?”
When I reach the security office, I bang my fist on the door.
Ellis answers, his dark hair as messy as ever. Surprise flares in his eyes when he sees me—quickly followed by confusion when he sees the drunk asshole with me. “Silas,” he frowns, one dark brow hitching up towards his hair. There’s movement behind him, and I see another security guard I don’t recognize, a younger one. “What are you doing all the way down here?”
“I found this little bastard cornering a young woman near the toilets,” I grimace, twisting the drunk’s arm alittlefurther than necessary. “Get him barred and put in the drunk tank for the evening, will you?”
Ellis’s lips twist into a grimace of disgust, taking his handcuffs off his belt. I brandish the drunk, allowing Ellis to snap the cuffs around his wrists. “We still on for an MMA bout this week?”
Ellis nods his approval, leading the drunk over to his desk and securing the cuffs to the ring bolted to the desk. “Sure thing. Time to break your winning streak, old man.”
I snort. Ellis hasn’t beaten me for months, but he was welcome to try. “Not a chance.” I give the handcuffed drunk one last look. “Don’t be too gentle with him. He wasn’t being gentle with her.”
“Scumbag,” Ellis grumbles.
Saying goodbye to Ellis, I quickly make my way back up the hallway, the bar’s soundtrack pumping in my ears. I slide onto one of the barstools, giving a friendly smile to Charlie behind the bar. She sends my usual my way—a 1975 Dalmore that they keep on hand especially for me.
It’s not every day I stop by for a drink after work, but when I do I know what I want.
I savor its full-bodied, smoky taste, surveying the bar around me. There’s no sign of the woman from the corridor, and it eats at my chest. Perhaps I should have asked Charlie to check if she was okay. She might still be in there, sobbing her heart out.
The thought almost cripples me, and I try to catch Charlie’s eye—
“Hey you.”
And there my mystery woman is, standing next to me. There’s a shy smile touching her face, and I’m relieved to see her eyes are neither reddened nor wet. Did she just put perfume on, or does she always smell this good? There’s something exotic and floral in her scent, and I can’t help but want to breathe it in.
My lips curve softly. “Hey. I was worried about you.”
“That’s sweet of you, but I’m okay—thanks to you. I was wondering if I could buy you a drink as a thank you, but uh…”
I pause, my whiskey halfway to my lips.
“…it seems like you already have one.” She looks around, her gaze jumping from person to person. “Is he still here?”
“He’s gone. You’re safe.”
The sigh of relief she lets out sinks her shoulders. Her whole body seems to relax, and I hate how on edge she must have been. “Thank you for that. Can I ask… before you found us, how much did you hear?”
My throat jumps in a quick swallow. “Nothing you didn’t want me to.”
