Page 35 of Big D!ck Energy

“It was a misunderstanding,” the man tried, holding up his shaking hands.

“A misunderstanding,” Dallas repeated flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. “That's interesting. Because what I heard was you calling them names. Insulting them.” His head tilted slightly, and there was something predatory in the gesture. “Want to explain to me how that's a misunderstanding?”

The crowd had grown to at least forty people now, all watching. This was better than any show on the strip.

“I didn't…I mean, she spilled…” The man was sweating profusely now, his suit jacket dark with Brooke's cosmopolitan and his own nervous perspiration.

“She apologized for the accident,” I interjected, finding my voice again. “He decided to be a jackass about it anyway.”

Dallas's expression darkened. “Is that so?”

“Look, I've had a long night,” the man tried, his voice cracking. “I didn't mean…”

“You didn't mean to act like a disrespectful piece of shit?” Dallas finished for him. He took one step forward, but it was enough to make the man and his two friends scramble backward. “Here's what's going to happen. You're going to apologize. Right now, and it's going to be sincere. Then you're going to walk away and think real hard about how you talk to women.”

“I'm sorry!” The words tumbled out in a rush. “I'm really sorry, I was drunk and stupid and…”

“Not to me,” Dallas growled, cutting him off and jerking his head toward Brooke and me. “To them.”

The man turned to us, a mixture of humiliation and fear etched into his face. “I'm so sorry. I was completely out of line. It won't happen again.”

“Damn right it won't,” Brooke muttered, though she'd sobered up considerably in the last two minutes.

Dallas stepped even closer to the man, lowering his voice so only those of us nearby could hear. “If I hear about you talking to anyone else like that tonight, hell, if I even see you again before I leave this casino, we're going to have a very different kind of conversation. The kind that ends with security scraping you off the floor. We clear?”

The man swallowed hard as he nodded so vigorously I thought his head might fall off. “Crystal clear. I'm leaving right now.” He turned to his friends, who were already backing away. “Come on, let's go.”

They scattered like cockroaches when the lights turned on, disappearing into the crowd that reluctantly began to disperse.

The tension in Dallas's shoulders didn't ease until they were completely out of sight. Then he turned to look at me, and his expression softened.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. I'm fine.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Rumple-short-skin? Creative.”

“It was either that or sad potato in a cheap suit, but I thought I'd be classy about it.”

Dallas's laugh was unexpected. “Definitely classy.”

Brooke cleared her throat loudly. “Thanks,” her eyes shifted between us. “But you two really didn’t…”

“We most definitely did,” I smiled at her before glancing up at Dallas. “Men like that need to be put in their place.”

“Come on, ladies,” Dallas said. “Let’s find Kali and get you guys back to the hotel.” His gaze shifted to Brooke. “Tomorrow is the big day. Everyone needs their beauty sleep.”

Brooke led the way through the crowd several steps ahead of us, and Dallas fell into step beside me. His hand found the small of my back, a casual gesture that shouldn't have sent electricity racing up my spine, but absolutely did.

“I had it under control, you know,” I tried to sound annoyed rather than affected by his proximity. “I was just about to make him cry.”

“Oh, I know.” His hand pressed firmly against the small of my back as we navigated through a cluster of tourists. “I have no doubt you would have eviscerated him with words.”

I glanced up at him, catching the heat in his eyes before he looked away. “Then why…”

“Because you're my wife.” He growled. “And no one talks to you like that. I don't care if this is fake, temporary, or whatever the hell we're calling this. Not on my watch.”

The possessiveness in his voice made my insides swoop, and my breath hitched.