Page 34 of Falling for Her Protector

“I thought you were going to put that stuff in X.’s room?” her eyebrows pinch in question.

“Slight change of plans. He was...busy,” I manage to get the words out, feeling the acid rise in my throat.

“Busy?” she questions, obviously wanting more, but I can’t even bring myself to look her in the eye.

“I...uh...I saw Jess leaving his room,” my voice is a whisper that only she can hear. She gets quiet and I finally lift my eyes. I watch the color drain from her face before quickly turning a deep red.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she fumes.

“Lace, don’t. I know you mean well, but this isn’t the time. Not on my birthday and not in front of his club,” I beg her not to make a scene.

I watch as she grips the edge of the bar and pushes out a deep breath. It’s easy to see that she’s had practice calming her anger when it comes to her brother. I know they have the bond of blood, but she’s also my friend and a woman, and she understands the hurt I’m feeling.

“Do you want to leave? We can go celebrate your birthday somewhere else,” she offers. I’m thankful, but right now I don’t feel like celebrating anything.

“Can I just have a drink?” I ask. I know it’s probably not the best solution, but I just need something to take the edge off.

“I can definitely help you with that,” she says as she slides a glass in front of me. “Just go slow with it. These margaritas are sweet going down, but that tequila will most definitely kick your ass if you aren’t careful,” she gives me a wink as I take a long pull from the straw letting the cool liquid burn its way down my throat.

“Slow down there, birthday girl,” Griz sidles up beside me. “You won’t make it an hour if you keep up that pace,” a deep chuckle vibrates from his chest.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine,” I smile before sucking down another large gulp.

* * *

“Boys, it looks like Vanessa’s glass is getting low,” Lacey grins. They all knew, but when we sat down, she reminded the guys that today is my twenty-first birthday. I’ve had a bottomless glass since I joined the table. Anytime it even gets close to being empty, it gets refilled.

“Jesus Christ. Twenty-one feels so fucking long ago,” Stone says before tipping back a shot of some type of clear liquid.

“Shut the fuck up, you’re like twenty-four. It’s not like it was a million fucking years ago,” Mikey points out and the group roars. Lacey turns in her spot on his lap, planting a kiss on his cheek and his eyes flash as mine begin to feel fuzzy.

I’ve drank before, but never like this. It was always just a couple cheap beers at high school parties. My face is hot and the room seems to be slowly moving even though I’m sitting completely still at the table.

“Come dance with me,” Lacey leans in before standing and pulling me up from my seat. My legs wobble slightly, but I steady myself and start to move with the music.

“I think I need some water,” I yell over the music, after dancing through two and a half songs. I spin around to head over to the bar, but before I can take a step, I hit a wall. A solid wall that turns into Xavier.

I can’t help but laugh at myself, but when I look up, I find a stone face and dark eyes glaring down at me. This is the first time he’s surfaced all night and he has the audacity to look at me like this. The alcohol running through my system has turned my initial hurt to anger and I don’t even want to look at him.

“Well, look who finally decided to make an appearance. Did you come out to celebrate my birthday?” I question as I push back off his chest. He squares off and somehow lifts up taller, which I didn’t think was possible.

“No. I came out to see what all the fucking noise was. I didn’t realize we had a party going on out here tonight,” he growls. “I think maybe you need to come lay down,” he reaches for my arm but I pull back.

“No. I’m having fun,” I start to whine.

“Excuse me? What did you say?” his questions are rough and I feel a fresh wave of heat rise to the surface of my skin.

“I said no. It’s my birthday and I’m having a good time. You’ve been hiding out in your room all night fucking around withJessicaanyway, so why do you even care?” my voice comes out louder than I intended. His eyes go wide and he takes a small step closer.

“Don’t you even fucking dare to assume what I’m doing or who I’m doing it with. You’re embarrassing yourself,” he roars and the room goes silent around us.

Lacey steps up beside me and touches my shoulder, but I shrug away. Earlier I definitely would have been embarrassed, but I no longer care. If he wants to do this now, then we’ll do this now.

“You don’t get to have it both ways,X.,” I spit my words out angrily and I can tell he’s confused by the way he cocks an eyebrow. “You don’t get to kiss me and touch me and tell me you have all these big feelings, then say that who you bring into your bedroom is none of my business. I won’t stand by while you make me look like a fool,” I clarify.

“You need to stop this shit right now. Stop talking, stop drinking and go the fuck to bed,” his eyes narrow.

“No,” I breathe out my simple response.

---