Page 20 of Big Bad Wolf

Ruby didn’t smile. She didn’t think.

She scraped her boot along his shin and stomped so hard on his foot that he yelped like the man-child that he was.

“Shit! That hurt,” he growled. “I thought we could do this the easy way, but now you’ve made things hard.” He was standing, hissing in her face, but Ruby didn’t back up. She already knew what she would run into if she did. She could feel him like a solid wall behind her, unmoving and radiating pure rage.

Blaine’s friend saw Rafe first and his eyes went wide. He cleared his throat, but Blaine didn’t pay any attention. He was too busy staring at Ruby to notice the man behind her.

“I was trying to be nice,” Blaine was saying. “I thought we could help each other out. And then you assault me?”

Ruby almost laughed. Help each other with what? She didn’t want anything from this guy.

He finally paused his tirade long enough to raise his gaze to the shadow looming behind Ruby. Whatever he saw there caused the color to drain from his face. Ruby was vaguely aware of the fact that the entire bar had gone eerily quiet.

“You have sixty seconds.” Rafe’s voice had never sounded less human. It was an animal growl. It sent shivers up Ruby’s arms.

“Sixty seconds for what?” Blaine asked, puffing up his chest, because some boys never learned.

Rafe leaned forward, his solid body pressing into Ruby’s back. “A sixty-second head start before I chase you down and tear you limb from fucking limb.”

Blaine’s eyes widened; a bead of sweat ran down his temple. “That’s how it’s going to be?”

“Clock’s ticking,” Rafe growled, his breath brushing against Ruby’s neck.

Blaine’s friend tossed some bills on the table. “Let’s go, man,” he said. “It’s not worth it right now. We’ll try another way.”

Try another way to get a woman in bed besides assaulting her? Good for them. What progress!

“Better be a good tip,” Rafe added, and the friend smirked and tossed on a couple more. Ruby bit down on her bottom lip. She would not laugh until they were gone.

The other men left their dart game and followed, giving Ruby a wide berth as they passed. The way they were eyeing Rafe, though, almost made Ruby think they all knew each other somehow.

But how would Rafe know these random tourists?

“And don’t bother coming back!” Macy yelled from behind the bar.

“Yeah!” Sal called.

“Oh, like you were doing so much to help,” Macy said.

“I was about to until the big fella showed up. He seems to be handling it just fine.”

Ruby let her laugh tumble out as she leaned back against Rafe’s solid chest. His breathing was ragged against her ear, and the rest of Macy and Sal’s conversation faded into the background. She turned to face Rafe, and his eyes were dark and dangerous.

He looked like he actually wanted to chase that man and follow through on his threats.

“You can’t really go after them.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked.

“I’m serious, Rafe. You can’t actually hurt them.” She grabbed his arms and squeezed, trying to bring him back to himself. “It’s not a big deal. Just let it go.”

He let out a long, unsteady breath. “He put his hands on you.”

“It’s not a big deal. That’s what the boots are for.” She gave him a smile, hoping to break the tension but it didn’t work. He still looked very murder-y. “Here, have a seat. I’ll grab you a drink.”

He looked like he might protest, or rip the bar down around them, but he slid into the booth.

“Don’t go anywhere,” she said before hurrying off to pour him a beer and ask the cook to throw one last burger on the grill.