A violent shiver tore through her body.
Cold crept up her spine, slicing clean through the haze of alcohol. She shook her head hard, sucked in a breath, and drank again, as if she could drown the images before they swallowed her whole.
Her vision blurred slightly, her thoughts slipping in and out, when a shadow fell across the table.
A man dropped into the seat opposite her without asking.
“Hey,” he said, flashing a lazy grin as his eyes dragged over her in a slow, sleazy scan. “Drinking alone?”
He lifted his beer and clinked it against her glass without permission, then leaned back like he owned the space. “I’ve got some friends over there.” He jerked his chin toward a group of equally drunk men openly watching her. “You should join us.”
Mia frowned, irritation flashing across her face as she waved her glass dismissively. “I’m not interested. I want to be alone. Please leave my table.”
The man snorted. “Come on, sweetheart. No one wants to be alone in a bar.”
He stood abruptly and slid into the seat beside her, invading her space. One arm dropped behind her against the back of the couch, boxing her in. The other hand reached straight for her drink.
Before Mia could react, he snatched the glass from her fingers and took a long swig.
Then he leaned closer, his breath reeking of cheap beer as his gaze locked onto hers.
“Relax,” he murmured. “I’m just trying to have a good time.”
Mia visibly cringed, her face twisting with unmistakable disgust as she turned her head away from him, her shoulders tightening.
The man either didn’t notice—or didn’t care.
He set the drink down lazily, picked it up again, and leaned even closer, his balance unsteady.
“This is nice,” he slurred with a crooked smirk. “I’ll get one too. But I don’t think it’ll taste as sweet as this one does.”
He pointed clumsily at the lipstick stain smeared along the straw, chuckling to himself.
“Leave me alone,” Mia said sharply. She shoved the cocktail away, her fingers recoiling as if it had burned her. “And pay for that drink. I didn’t buy it for you,” she snapped as she pushed herself up from the seat.
She stood, ready to walk away—
But the man suddenly lunged.
His hand clamped around her arm—hard—and yanked her backward. Mia gasped as she lost her balance and crashed back onto the couch. Before she could recover, he wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to drag her closer to him.
“Hey, hey—don’t walk away like that,” he slurred, laughing under his breath. “You get upset so easily. Wait—hold on. I’ll get you more drinks.”
He raised one hand clumsily, waving toward the bar, barely paying attention as Mia struggled against him.
Mia shoved him with all her strength.
“Get the fuck away from me!” she shouted, her voice shaking with fury. “I told you, I don’t want to be anywhere near you!”
He ignored her words completely, leaning in again. His face hovered inches from hers, breath hot and sour when suddenly a powerful hand clamped down on the back of his neck.
In the next second, the man was ripped away from Mia and hurled sideways off the couch. His body slammed into the wall with a sharp crack before collapsing to the floor in a heap.
“What the fuck!” he yelled, clutching his head as he struggled to sit up.
He looked up and froze.
Gavin stood over him, his expression carved from ice. His eyes were sharp, warning clear and unmistakable.
