“Youcan’tmean that. We were having a good time before you went crazy on me.”
Her ‘going crazy on him’ didn’t have prolonged side effects. He’d had scratches on his face when she saw him last. Now there weren’t even scars.
“Youwere having a good time. Then you went too far, I got pissed, and somehow,Iwalked away with a bruise instead of you. Lost a week of shifts because of it, and because of yourworriedlate-night visits.”
She unlocked her car, but when she opened the door, Kieran slammed it closed before she could get in.
“Youkickedme! Clawed at me like a feral fucking cat. How was I supposed to react?” He gestured back at the Lucky Penny. “I’ve had Booker come here every night looking for you, even though I hoped it would be a waste of time. I thought you might have listened to me and quit this shitty job, but clearly not. You know I don’t like you working in places like that.”
“If you don’t like it, thenleave me alone.” Harper enunciated the last few words as though saying them to a toddler. “We’re done. Broken up. No longer dating. I don’t stick with men who hit me when they get angry. It shows how small their dicks are.”
She shouldn’t be provoking him, and she knew it. Keiran could blow up over nothing, but her tongue had always been quicker than her reason. During the best of times, there was barely a delay between what she was thinking and what she was saying.
Keiran glared down at her. “Don’t take that tone with me, bitch.”
“Don’t call me a bitch. I didn’t like it when we were fucking. I like it even less now.”
She grabbed the handle, pulling at it only to have Kieran slam the car door shut again.
This fucking guy. “Go away, Kieran.”
“No. Not before you listen to what I have to say.”
“There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. But I suppose it makes sense that you can’t get that idea through your thick skull. I tend to like them strongandstupid.”
She shoved him in the chest, the move about as effective as if she’d pushed a truck-sized boulder. How she’d been able to kick him off the last time they were together, she had no idea. A mix of luck and surprise was probably to blame. He hadn’t expected her to put up a fight.
Kieran let out a growling breath. Then he grabbed her by the jaw and shoved her against the car, making her keys slip from her fingers.
“Let go of me!” She punched his arm, but he didn’t even seem to feel it.
“That act doesn’t work on me. Youlikewhen I’m rough with you. I remember how it makes you beg. Loudly, too. You justneed to be put in your place, and all this attention-seeking attitude is inviting me to do just that.”
He squeezed her harder. Ithurtnow, and no matter how much she clawed at his hand, she couldn’t get free.
She cursed and kicked at him. Harder andharder. He just stared at her, letting out those low, rumbling exhales that tended to accompany him feeling either horny or furious.
Then, he was gone. One second, he was pressing her against the sedan, and the next, he was sprawled on the ground several feet away.
Harper put a hand on the car, steadying herself. Everything had happened so fast it was like time had skipped forward, the sudden change of scene slowly falling into place.
Snarling breaths. Torn fabric on the asphalt. A dark figure standing between her and Kieran, eyes fixed on him as though a stern gaze could keep him grounded.
“What the hell…” Her speaking made the mystery person look over their shoulder, and only then could Harper make out anything about them other than a vague body shape.
It was a woman. A head taller than Harper—though that wasn’t exactly unusual—with light tan skin, dark brown hair in a messy ponytail, and delicate features contrasted by how tense she looked. By how hard her eyes were.
Those eyes… They wereunreal. Her irises were pure black, a golden ring outlining them and extending towards the pupil. Like black opals, where all the colorful shimmers had been replaced with flakes of gold, shining with such a dangerous intensity that they would better fit a predator than a human being.
Kieran sprang to his feet. His t-shirt had ripped, and it bared the large wolf-and-skull tattoo on the left side of his chest. His friends had ones just like it.
“This doesn’t concern you,” he snarled, stepping close enough to the stranger that they were breathing the same air. “Leave. You interrupted aprivateconversation.”
The woman’s gaze flicked to his chest. A stiff smile slipped onto her face, though the dangerous glint in her eyes remained.
“Looked to be more thanconversationfrom where I was standing.” She blocked his way when he tried to push past her. “The young lady was being pretty vocal about wanting to be left alone. Didn’t sound like a suggestion, either.”
“Back. The fuck.Off.” Kieran shoved the woman’s shoulder. She didn’t move an inch.
