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“There will be no trouble or fighting in my classroom or you’ll both be expelled from my class. No second chances, no arguments. Now, Ford, sit down, and, Ashwood, I told you to go.”
Ashwood pushed out an ugly snort and with an angry swipe of his arm, gathered his books and strutted out. The door slammed behind him, leaving a deafening silence.
Angelina drew in a deep breath, referred to her whiteboard to remember her place in this lesson, and continued as if there hadn’t been an interruption and Ford’s big, angry stance wasn’t imprinted in her mind as he’d come to her defense.
Chapter Two
Ford settled at the bar and gave Liberty, the pretty little owner, a chin nod of greeting. She sashayed over with a smile, all hips and sexy legs in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt sporting her bar’s logo—Walker’s.
“The place isn’t busy for it being a Saturday night,” Ford said with a glance around. Hell, his crew wasn’t even here. The group of guys he hung with must be scattered tonight, doing their own things.
Jace and Valor were already spending most of their free time away from the hangout, but Ford couldn’t blame them. If he had a soft little woman to go home to—
He almost knocked over the beer Liberty handed him. What the hell was he thinking? He was in no position to have someone permanent in his life. He could be sent back to Afghanistan at a moment’s notice and he refused to leave some wife sitting here to cheat on him while he was away.
Fuck, now his baggage was surfacing. He picked up his beer and downed half of it.
Liberty leaned against the counter and smiled. “Hard day, soldier?”
She was always flirty, but not with him.
“What’s up with you? You and Ren off again?” She’d been fucking his buddy for almost a year. When they got along, it was an all-consuming thing on both of their parts. None of them could even look at the couple without feeling their beer rise up their throats.
But when they were off...
Her lips compressed for a moment, and then she nodded. “You could tell?”
“Yeah.” He sipped his beer more slowly.
“How?” She brushed her long blondish hair over her shoulder.
“For one, you’re flirting with me. For two, you’re walking straight instead of bowlegged.”
She threw her head back and laughed. The sweet sound gained attention from nearly every guy in the bar. In this world, a pretty, willing woman was worth her weight in ammo.
She ran a hand over the clean bar top, her pink-tipped fingers grazing the backs of his. “You’re always good for a laugh, Ford.”
He straightened at that. “What did you just say?” Nobody thought he was a comedian. He was known as a hard-ass, rarely smiling. He got what he wanted when he wanted it, and that didn’t happen because he oozed happiness and glitter.
“You look surprised.” Liberty laughed again.
Bringing his beer back to his lips, he said, “Yeah. You could say that.”
She leaned her delicate elbows on the polished bar top, her face inches from his. As she smiled into his eyes, he realized why Ren couldn’t stay away from her for long. She had a spark most men couldn’t ignore.
“You’re surprised to find out I see through your steely exterior?”
“There’s nothing to see. I’m steel through and through.”
Her smile was crooked and a little sad. “All you soldiers like to believe that. But someday a woman will turn you to sweet pudding and you won’t even care. Not a bit.”
It was his turn to throw his head back and laugh. The notion was ludicrous and Liberty was wrong, but she could go on believing that of soldiers. Most of them actually were strict, rigid assholes like himself. Maybe that was why she and Ren couldn’t work it out—she wanted to believe there was more in him than there really was.
He pulled out some cash and paid for his beer before standing. “I won’t disillusion you further, Liberty. I’m heading out.”
“Already?” She seemed a little let down, probably because none of his crew was here for her to talk to. It was no secret she favored them.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve got a five a.m.” He gave her a mock salute that had her laughing again, and then she sashayed down the bar to talk to some other guys.
