Fighting Ever After (Ever After #3) (18 page)

She needed
to get away from me, now. I scooted her off of my lap and stood. I couldn’t
even bear to look at her face, knowing what I’d wanted to do to her. From almost
the first glance, I’d decided that I would have her. How was my selfishness any
different from Connor’s? I would never have hurt her in that way, but I still
would have taken everything from her. I walked to the edge of the gazebo and
gripped the railing tightly, leaning into it, looking out over the yard, but
not being able to see anything beyond my own anger.

 “Ky?”
her soft voice carrying with it hurt and desperation that only made me feel
worse. “Would you please just say something, anything? The silence is killing
me.” She was looking to me for something; something I was sure I couldn’t give
her. I’d told her to trust me. I’d asked her to lean on me. I never should have
done that. I turned to face her and saw that same hurt there in her eyes. It only
hardened me further.

“What the
hell do you want me to say?” My words stung her. I could see that they did, but
I didn’t care, couldn’t.

“I don’t
know. Tell me what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling.”

“You’ve got
be fucking kidding me. You want to know what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling
right
now?
”

She nodded.
“I just told you my father is a dangerous criminal, and Connor is a sociopath. I
just opened up about the most terrifying night of my life, so
yeah,
I’d kind of like to know what’s going through your
head.” Her brusque tone and clipped words belied the insecurity that her
expression and body language couldn’t hide.

“I don’t
think you do.”

 “Are
you mad?”

I scoffed,
“Mad doesn’t even come close to what I am right now. I’m feeling so many things
right now that it’s making me sick. I want to track that son of a bitch down
right now and kill him, but even that wouldn’t be enough. I don’t just want to
kill him, I want to torture him. I want your father to pay more than any other
person on this fucking planet for ever letting him near you, and making you
doubt that you would be worth saving. I wish like hell that I could bring your
mom back so that you never had to experience any of that, so that you wouldn’t
feel like you’re some broken trinket that can’t be fixed.” I had to look away,
unable to take that tortured look in her eyes.

 I knew
that what I said next was only going to hurt her worse. I didn’t feel good
about hurting her, especially not when she was so vulnerable and exposed like a
raw nerve, but I couldn’t let this go on one more second. My rage had been
inside of me so long, always simmering just below the surface, that it was a
part of
who
I was, but I couldn’t let it poison her
too. I lowered my voice and swallowed thickly. “Most of all, I wish that I
wasn’t feeling all this shit, that I could just go back to a month ago when everything
was simpler and you weren’t fucking with my head. I can’t do this.” 

She visibly
flinched and I had to turn and walk away. I couldn’t stand to see that look on
her face any longer. For the second time, I tore out of the drive on my bike
with no idea of where I was really
going,
only knowing
I had to get away.

It was
barely three in the afternoon. I hadn’t eaten anything since early this morning
and I hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours. None of that mattered, because
somewhere on this fucking cape there was an open bar. I’d driven the almost
twenty miles into Falmouth and the ride had done little to clear my head.
Images of Princess bruised and bloodied, crying and begging for her life and
that bastard’s hands and body on her were all I could see. I needed to erase
them. I needed to make it all go away and I only knew one way to do that. It
was going to require alcohol.
A lot of it.

I turned
down a street that looked like it led into the downtown district. I passed a
few restaurants and trendy looking bars, but they weren’t what I wanted. I kept
going until I saw a sign for
Grumpy’s
Pub.
Huh.
 That
sounded fitting, although grumpy wasn’t quite the right word. It didn’t even
begin to cover it, but I pulled into the almost empty parking lot of the little
dive bar.

I pulled
open the door and stepped inside to the dimly lit pub. I was greeted by an old
rock song playing on the jukebox, and the sounds of pool balls connecting in
the corner. An older guy was wiping down the bar and a few patrons were
scattered in booths and at the bar. It wasn’t an especially large place, but
had all the signs of a popular local hangout. The guy behind the bar nodded at
me as I made my way over. I slid my wallet out of my pocket and pulled out a
stool. I dropped onto the stool and placed my card down on the bar.

“What can I
get ya son?” The bartender asked, picking up my card, not bothering to check
for ID. I ordered one of the beers they had on tap, and while he was getting
it, took a moment to finish looking around. There was a small stage off to one
side, currently empty, but this seemed like the place to draw a pretty good
crowd with live music. There didn’t appear to be much of a kitchen, so it
didn’t look like getting food with my beer was going to be an option, but that
didn’t matter. There were two pool tables in the
back,
both currently occupied by a group of guys, looking to be in their late
forties, probably locals.

I didn’t
much care as long as I got to sit here and drink. I was thankful that the
bartender didn’t try to make small talk and nobody really bothered me. The beer
was cold and the bartender kept bringing them. As it got later, the place grew
more crowded, filling a mix of locals and obvious tourists. The ages were
pretty diverse, from college kids on vacation to older men and women well past
their prime.

Watching
everyone else did little to distract from the shit in my head, but the alcohol
was helping with that. The drunker I got, the more I was able to push it all
back, drowning out all other noise except for the sounds of life in the bar. I
was turned, my back against the bar, beer in hand, watching a group throwing
darts, not well I might add, when the sound of something thudding on the bar
behind me grabbed my attention. I turned to see the bartender staring back at
me and a plate sitting in front of me with what appeared to be a sandwich.

“Not
hungry,” I grumbled.

“If you want
me to keep serving you son, then you’ll eat that sandwich. Now I don’t know
what’s brought you in here today, and I ain’t going to ask. You look like hell
and if you want to drink yourself into oblivion, that’s your choice, but you’re
going to put some food in that stomach so that I don’t have to carry you out of
here later.” He grabbed my mostly empty bottle from my hands. “When you’ve
eaten that, I’ll bring you another.”

Two hours
later, I was still trying to find oblivion. True to his word, the bartender had
kept the beers coming once I finished the sandwich, but he made sure to take
his sweet time doing it, deliberately pacing me, no doubt. Glancing at my phone
I saw that it was after nine and I had several missed calls and texts. I
ignored them all and took another pull from my bottle. I didn’t even know how
many I’d had, but not quite enough. I could still think, and that was no good.
The beer wasn’t doing it. I needed something harder.

This time
when the bartender came to collect my empty bottle, I told him to start pouring
the Jack. He just shook his head, but did it and set the glass in front of me.
He moved to the far end of the bar to wait on another customer, and as I
brought the glass to my lips, I realized I was no longer alone. I glanced to my
left to see a tall, lithe body leaning over the bar, arm raised to flag down
the bartender. He nodded in acknowledgment at the girl to say that he’d be with
her after he was done mixing drinks for the group at the other end. I took the
opportunity to run my eyes over her body. Long blonde hair was pulled back in a
knot at the base of her neck. Her tight ass was sticking out for every eye in
the bar. She had on a pair of tiny cut off shorts full of rips that exposed
more skin than they covered and tight black tee that exposed the tan strip of
skin just above her ass. Long legs ended in a pair of flip flops and pink
painted toes.

When my eyes
traveled back up her body, her gaze was on me, a knowing smile playing on her
lips. She’d caught me checking her out, but I didn’t give a shit. One side of
my mouth curled up as I took a swallow from my glass. She was definitely
attractive. A little too tan and her makeup
was
on the
heavy side, but still she was hot, and the girl obviously knew it.

“I’m Andy,”
she said confidently, turning to face me, sticking her ample tits out. I didn’t
much give a shit about her name either, but I played along.

“Ky,” I
said.

“You from Boston?”
She asked.

I nodded and
took another swig of the dark liquid in my cup, turning my head back to face
forward.

“I’m from
here,” she continued when she realized she wasn’t going to get more from me.
“What brings you all the way out here all by your lonesome?”

“What makes
you think I came out here by myself?” I met her eyes again. They were a cool
blue.

“Well,
seeing as you’ve been sitting here by yourself for at least the last two hours,
that’s when I came in, and you’ve done nothing but down beer after beer, until
now,” she indicated my almost empty glass, “looking like someone stole your
girl and ran over your dog, I don’t reckon you came with anyone.”

So she’d
been watching me. Well I couldn’t say I hadn’t noticed her earlier as well. She
strutted into the bar like she owned the place, greeting the bartender
familiarly and flirting with a lot of the patrons. Until she’d planted herself
next to me, I’d been under the impression she was with the guys who were
currently sucking ass at pool, seeing as one of them had his hands all over her
every time I looked back there.

I didn’t
acknowledge her observation as the bartender came over, refilling my glass and
taking her order. When he was gone again, she pulled out the stool beside me
and settled herself onto it. It seemed she wasn’t leaving.

“So, you
aren’t much of a talker, that’s alright. You don’t have to tell me about your
broken heart, but I’m sure I could cheer you up and make you forget all about
her if you let me.” Now she had my attention.

“What’d you
have in mind?” I asked her.

“Well for
starters, you could stay here, and probably get another one or two of those,
she pointed at my glass, before boss man cuts you off, or we could head on back
to my place. It’s only a few blocks from here, and I’ve got enough alcohol that
neither one of us will remember this night in the morning.”

“You should
have started with that,” I told her. She grinned and let out a husky laugh.

“You’re
lucky you’re hot and I’m a sucker for a hot, brooding guy, because I get the
feeling that you’re an asshole,
Ky.
”

“You’re not
wrong.”

“Then I
guess it’s a good thing I’m not looking for Prince Charming.” Her words stung
slightly as they reminded me of exactly why I was here. The need to shut her up
combined with my intoxicated state caused me to grab her around the waist and
yank her to me. My lips landed on hers and it was a hard, demanding kiss. When
she opened to me, I took everything she gave. She pulled away wide eyed and
breathless. “Yeah, you’ll do just fine.” She grabbed my hand and started to
pull me away, but I reached back for my glass, tossing back the contents before
following her out the door.

We’d just
stepped into the parking lot when an angry voice hollered after us. “Andy!” We
both stopped and turned to see the
handsy
pool player
pushing his way out the door. She let out a deep sigh beside me.

“What do you
want Eric?”

“Where the
hell do you think you’re going with this asshole?”

Usually I
didn’t do drama. I didn’t stir up trouble or mess with other guys’ girls. I was
never one to shy away from a fight, but I didn’t go looking for them.
Usually.
Tonight was not a usual night, and I actually found
myself hoping this douchebag would start something.

“I don’t see
how that’s any of your business,” she retorted, but that did little to dissuade
Douchebag Eric.

“Do you even
know this guy Andy?” he asked angrily.

“No, which
is why I’m taking him back to my place, so we can get to know each other
better.” That set him off and he charged toward both of us, grabbing her arm.

“Knock it
off Andy, don’t be such a little slut. You’re not leaving with this guy.”

“Let go of
me you prick.” She jerked her arm, but he didn’t release it.

“I’d listen
to her if I were you, buddy,” I advised him.

“What are
you going to do about it asshole?” I’m a firm believer that actions speak
louder than words, and I was just pissed the fuck off, so instead of telling
him what I was going to do, I slammed my fist into the side of his jaw, hearing
a satisfying pop when it connected. He staggered backwards, releasing his hold
on Andy, who looked almost as stunned as Eric. That punch had felt a little too
good, and if he knew what was good for him, he would turn around and go back
inside. He didn’t. He came at me swinging, and I landed the second punch on his
face again. This time he went down, blood spurting from his nose, which was
likely broken.

Before he
could get back up or I could make a move toward him, Andy grabbed my arm. “Come
on before someone calls the cops.” I let her drag me away, leaving Eric moaning
on the ground.

I knew I
shouldn’t get on my bike. I wasn’t wasted, but I was definitely borderline
drunk, but I also knew that if I left it at the bar, it was almost guaranteed
to get messed with now. Andy said her place was only a few blocks from here. I
was pretty sure I could make it, so I led her over to where I’d parked it. She
eyed it and me hesitantly, but finally hopped on behind me.

She had to
yell directions to her place so that I could hear her over the noise of the
bike and wind, but I managed to get us to her apartment without incident. She
had me pull the bike all the way up the drive so it would be out of sight, and
then she led me up to her second floor apartment.

As promised,
she had enough alcohol that within the hour, I was well on my way to forgetting
everything, including my name. We were both drinking as fast as we could pour,
not worried about regretting it later. That kind of regret was nothing compared
to all my other regrets, and I had so many where Princess was concerned.

Princess.

Wonder
what she’s doing right now. Is she okay? Is she still hurting? Has she tried to
call me?

No. Stop.

Those were
exactly the thoughts that had driven me here in the first place. Clearly the
alcohol wasn’t doing the trick, so I pulled Amy, or whatever her name was, on
to my lap so that she was straddling me. I could smell the alcohol heavy on her
breath when she leaned into me, and I could sure as hell taste it on her when
she connected her mouth to mine.

I ran my
hands up her thighs and around to her ass, pulling her in tighter. She rolled
her hips and groaned into my mouth. I brought one hand up and coiled it in her
hair, yanking her head back and exposing her neck. The bite I placed at the
point where her neck met her shoulder wasn’t gentle, but her gasp wasn’t one of
pain and she pressed into me harder. I kissed, sucked and bit my way down to
the swell of her breasts, my hands rough and demanding on her body, but she
took it and, with her body, begged me for more, so why wasn’t I into it?

She was hot,
willing and knew the score. By this point I should be ripping her clothes off
and throwing her down on the sofa, but I wasn’t and she started to realize that
I wasn’t into it. Her hand slid down my chest, over my stomach and rubbed me
over the zipper of my jeans. It was enough to stir me, but I should have been
rock hard already.

I grabbed
the bottom of her shirt and tugged it up over her head and then discarded it on
the floor. Her body really was amazing, but it still did little for me. In
fact, staring at her flawless skin and perfect breasts only made me think of
much fairer skin, marked and ruined, yet just as perfect. I tipped my head
back, resting it against the couch and groaned in frustration, but Annie took
it as a sign of pleasure and continued her exploration of my body. I reached
for the bottle on the coffee table while her hands undid my belt. I took a swig
and tried to focus on nothing but her touch, using the alcohol to dull
everything else.