She was pretty, but way older than him. Long dark hair. Glossy. Tight jeans and a hoodie that dipped just enough to draw the eye. But something didn’t sit right.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her energy buzzed too sharp. Like she was hunting. Predator, he thought suddenly. Soft shell. Sharp teeth.
Then she smiled again, and he wondered if he imagined it. Back home, girls flirted with jokes and narrowed eyes. Nothing was rushed. Nothing came without context. It was teasing wrapped in tradition. Shared glances over shared stories. Sometimes it burned hot, but it never burned this strange. He told himself it was the lighting. Or the nerves. Or being out of place. But the unease stayed with him.
She frowned slightly, then stepped closer. Than shifted to move around her, but she mirrored the movement, smooth and deliberate. “Actually,” she said, brushing her fingers through her hair, “I was wondering...since you’re so tall, could you help me grab something from the back?”
Than nodded. Seemed harmless enough.
She led him toward the rear of the store, past the freezers and closer to the stockroom area. He followed cautiously, his senses flaring a little. She moved too fluidly, her steps too precise.
When she slipped through a half-open door beside the storeroom and waved him inside, he hesitated.
But he stepped in.
The space was dim, quiet, filled with boxes and unstocked inventory.
“You’re gorgeous,” she whispered, voice low in the dark. Before he could respond, her hands were on his chest. He froze. Then they slid lower, unzipping his hoodie, fingers dragging across his abs, up into his hair.
He stiffened. “Hey,” he said sharply, anger rising fast. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”
She ignored him. Pressed up. Pulled his head down. Tried to kiss him. Her hand palmed him through his shorts. Every part of him locked up. This wasn’t flattering. This wasn’t exciting.
This was wrong.
“Hey!” he said louder, wrenching his face away. “Don’t…this isn’t okay.”
No woman had ever treated him like an object before, and it wasn’t cool.
His voice echoed just as another voice, low and lethal, cut through the dark. “Get your hands off him, lady.” She spun just as Fly stepped in, body coiled, eyes dead calm in that way that meant real danger.
Than’s face burned with heat.
Shamrock appeared behind Fly, his voice cool but hard. “Yeah. That’s assault. Get the fuck out of here, and we won’t involve the authorities.”
She backed off quickly, eyes darting, then slipped out the door and vanished into the crowd like she’d never been there.
Silence hung in the air a second longer. Than’s hands were fists. His jaw tight. Not from shame but from fury.
Fly turned to him. “You good?”
Than swallowed, nodded.
“She didn’t get to touch anything that matters.”
Shamrock exhaled slowly. “Good answer, brother.”
He followed the two guys who’d stepped in for him.
Than would like to think he could’ve handled it. His mom wouldn’t have wanted him to be rude or violent with a woman, and he wouldn’t have been, but honestly? He wasn’t sure how it would’ve played out if Fly and Shamrock hadn’t shown up when they did.
He glanced at the redheaded force of nature beside him.
This.
This was what he’d been looking for.
A connection. Camaraderie. People who didn’t just have his back but understood why that mattered. These guys were as much his people as anyone back home. Maybe that’s all brotherhood really was.
