Ashley didn’t hang out with us much either. The more Katie changed, the less Ashley came around. Our weekly Thursday happy hours became once a month adventures in awkwardness.
I kept organizing them because I needed my girls. It had been a year and a half since Justin died, but I still felt completely lost and utterly lonely. It was strange that I’d gotten so attached to him in the seven months we were together, but I had.
So I clung to my friends, hoping they would fill the gaps in my life. Looking back later, I would realize it was a stupid mistake, but I was so lonely I couldn’t see it at the time.
Even eighteen months later, I couldn’t let the ghost of my man go.
Justin had expected my undivided attention. He wanted to be the most important person in my life. He worked at it. I knew this because he told me, telling me at the same time that I was the most important person in his life. He used to bring me flowers just for the hell of it, take me to nice restaurants regularly, and tell me he loved me at least once a day.
He’d also been amazing in bed. Well, more amazing than any other man I’d ever been with. While it wasn’t as earth shattering as the sex I read about in romance novels, he made sure I came every single time. He made it his mission, even if it took a little more effort to get me there.
Our sex life may not have been exactly what I fantasized about but it was active and I enjoyed it.
When Justin died, I thought that my libido died with him, but Nature seemed to have other ideas. My thirtieth birthday was fast approaching and apparently the rumors about what turning thirty did to a woman’s sex drive were true. There were nights I physically ached for someone to touch me.
I didn’t act on these feelings because it still felt like a betrayal to Justin. He’d only been gone eighteen months. While the pain wasn’t as sharp as it had once been, he was never far from my mind.
Tonight, that restless, hot feeling was flooding my veins and I knew I’d made a mistake in coming out with Katie and Ashley. Neither of them were speaking much. In fact, Ashley was practically glowering at Katie as though she wanted to smack the shit out of her.
It barely penetrated my dazed brain that they were clearly at odds. I was usually so consumed by a fog of regret that I barely noticed my surroundings, but not tonight. Instead I found myself surveying the bar, my eyes catching on more than one attractive man.
I was tempted.
Though I knew it would be an even bigger mistake to go home with one of those men, I didn’t think I’d have the will to resist. Beyond the intense longing I had for human contact, I needed to forget. The last year and a half had been hell and I wanted to escape it, even if it was just for an hour or two.
One of the men I glanced at lifted his gaze and met my eyes. He grinned at me, obviously cocky and just as obviously on the prowl. I didn’t return his smile, but I didn’t break eye contact either. I couldn’t.
His eyebrow cocked and he straightened from his lean against the bar. I watched as he made his way through the smoky air toward me and vaguely noticed that he moved well. Almost as well as Justin.
Slowly, I closed my eyes and shook my head. I couldn’t do this. It didn’t matter how horny I got or how lonely I became, I couldn’t let some stranger put his hands and mouth all over me. I knew I’d be sick.
Moving quickly, I shot out of my chair, the legs scraping against the wood floor and drawing Ashley and Katie’s attention to me.
“I’ll be right back,” I muttered, snatching up my purse.
My eyes met the man’s again. He looked as though he wanted to follow me, but I shook my head, frowning at him. When his eyes narrowed and the cocky smile on his face was replaced by anger, I turned my back on him and strode away.
I couldn’t deal with him right now. I needed to get myself under control.
I practically ran down the hall, assaulted by the memory of the night I met Justin here. Just as I reached the hallway that led to the restrooms, a hand shot out from the right, grabbing my arm in a strong grip.
I gasped, stumbling into a hard body. Before I could react or regain my balance, an equally strong arm wrapped around my waist, practically lifting me off my feet.
My shock immediately turned into fear and anger.
“Let me go!” I shrieked, kicking and fighting against the arms holding me.
A callused palm clapped down over my mouth, muffling my curses and shouts. The fear spiked, overwhelming the anger and my stomach roiled. Oh God, what was happening?
I realized I’d gone limp in the grip of my captor and his arms had loosened slightly, holding me close but not controlling me. Terrified, I sank my teeth deep into the meaty muscle below his thumb and bit down hard.
“Goddammit, Jena! What the fuck?” he roared.
I went limp again, this time with relief rather than fear. It was King, not some serial rapist or murderer. Tossing my hair out of my face, I looked up at King’s furious face and watched as he shook his hand.
All at once, I was pissed off beyond belief. I started struggling again, the pointy toe of my boot connecting with his shin and the fingers of my right hand digging into the pressure point by his armpit.
He dropped me abruptly and I skidded on my heels before righting myself. Glaring at me, he rubbed his left arm.
“Goddammit, Jena, if you do something like that again, I won’t be responsible for what I do.”
My hair had fallen into my face again. Since Justin died, I hadn’t done more than trim it and it was longer than it had ever been, almost to my waist. Blowing out an angry breath, I yanked the messy strands away from my face.
“Fuck you, Alaric. You scared the shit outta me! What did you think I would do when you grabbed me in the dark with no warning? Hold your hand and skip down the hall with you?”
Suddenly the black fire in his eyes faded and was replaced with humor. He smirked at me. “Now, I think I’d pay to see that,” he muttered.
I rolled my eyes before focusing my glare on him again. “What are you doing here anyway?” I hissed. “And why were you lurking in the hall?”
Before he could answer, the cocky douche bag from the bar rounded the corner. “There you are, babe. I’ve been waitin’ for ya for five minutes now.”
My lip curled up and I glanced at King, wondering if he would help me get rid of this guy or if I was on my own after taking a bite out of him.
I shouldn’t have worried. King wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the guy like he wanted to rip his head off and use it as a bowling ball.
“Who the fuck are you?” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
I blinked when I realized he was even bulkier than he had been before and his biceps were massive.
The arrogant dipshit didn’t even have the intelligence to be intimidated. Instead he stared King down and asked, “Who the fuck are you?”
“Jesus Christ,” King spat before turning to me. “Do you know this guy?”
I shook my head, having no qualms at all about throwing the creepy guy under the bus. He followed me down the hall, which said to me he had intended to corner me and I didn’t like that.
“The lady says she doesn’t know you,” King stated firmly, moving in front of me when the guy’s eyes narrowed on my face in anger. “I think it’s time for you to get outta here.”
“Fuck you, man. Do you know who I am?” Cocky Dipshit blustered.
Abruptly, this entire situation seemed comical. I snorted, stepping into King’s back and using his shirt to muffle the guffaw that wanted to escape. His muscles turned to stone beneath my touch, but I didn’t notice because I was too busy trying to swallow the insane giggles that bubbled up in my throat.
“No, and I don’t give a shit.” King leaned over the guy, looming and menacing. “Now, do you know who I am, motherfucker?” he growled. “I’m the king here, and you just bought yourself a world of hurt.”