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He felt Dan resist, then he gave Duke a final shake for good measure and dropped him.
“Piece of shit,” he muttered, dusting off his palms.
In his moment of reprieve, Duke made a beeline for the door.Carts immediately stepped across the doorway, staring him down.
“Duke,” he said with icy calmness, “you need to apologise to my sister.”
As if his name pulled him up short, Duke’s gaze skittered to Carts’ face, then away.“I didn’t do anything she didn’t want,” he muttered.
The icy control inside Carts threatened to turn into blistering rage.“You know that, eh?You know that for a fact, do you Duke?”
Duke was worrying at his lower lip with his teeth and swaying slightly, still pissed, but sobering up by the minute.Carts’ eyes never left his face.“Did you ask, ‘Is this what you want, Avery?Do you like the way I’m touching you, or would you rather I took my hands off your body?’”He bit back the bile rising in his throat.“Do you understand the word no, Duke?”
“She never said no—”
Now it was his turn to want to pin the guy up against the wall, but before he could do anything he might regret, Avery stepped forward.“I did say no,” she said hotly.“I said I wasn’t happy being in here with you alone.I said could we go back to the party…”
“What bit of that didn’t you get?”Dan growled, rolling up his sleeve, ready to go back in for another round of pin the arsehole to the wall.
Carts stuck his arm out again, this time to stop Dan, and drew himself up to his full six foot six and a half.
“Apologise to my sister.”
Silence.
“I said, apologise.Because you sure as hell aren’t leaving this room until you do.And you’d better fucking mean it.”
Now there was only the rasp of their adrenaline-fuelled breath.“Sorry,” Duke finally muttered to the floor.
“Look her in the eyes when you speak.”
“Aw fuck, will you let up?Okay, sorry.”Duke glanced at Avery then away.“I thought you were into it too.”
Carts’ feet had never felt so firmly planted.Power flowed into his chest and shoulders.Next to him, he felt Avery’s indignation flare as she too drew back her shoulders.“And I thought you were a nice person.”She kicked off her shoes and stood proud in her natural glorious height.“I thought you liked me, for me.But you aren’t nice.You’re horrible and this is a horrible party and you’re all—” she bent down, picked up one shoe and hurled it at his shin, “—horrible.”Ignoring Duke’s yelp of pain, she curled her hand into Carts’ and with her head held high said, “Please take me home.”
For the most part they drove in silence.Avery snuffled and Carts kept a hand over hers whenever he didn’t need it for steering.
They dropped Dan off on the way, since his apartment was en route.Dan reached over the back seat and rubbed Avery’s shoulder.“You alright, Aves?”She nodded.“Despite tonight, not all guys are complete arseholes.”
“I know.”She dimpled under her hair and Carts’ shoulders relaxed a tad to see her cheeky spirit returning.“Just most of them.”
“You got your own back with your stiletto,” Dan said.
“Yeah, I reckon.”
“I could go back and get them for you.”
“They were ten dollars at Best and Less.And I couldn’t walk in them anyway.”
“Made good missiles, though.Nice shot.”Next, Dan pushed a gentle fist into Carts’ shoulder.“You did good tonight.I’d probably have been arrested for assault, but you gave it to him just with the verbals.Man, I admire that.”
He gave Carts a headlock hug over the back of the seat then shifted his butt out and slammed the door.“Talk soon,” he said with a wave, and Carts watched his friend’s powerful frame pound up the path and take the stairs to his apartment.
When they got home, he pulled the plastic bag out from under the seat where Avery had lodged it.Had that really been a mere three hours ago?He felt suddenly weary, like the lifeblood had been drained out of him.“Do you want to put your coat on?”
Avery shrugged.“Nah.Doesn’t matter if Mum sees me like this.It’s going in the bin anyway.Stupid dress.”
Carts smiled into the darkness as he cut the ignition.
