Page 2 of Blood and Thorns

But Lennon didn’t care, continuing as if I hadn’t even spoken. “What’s wrong? Reality not exciting enough for you?” he taunted as he flipped through the pages.

Where Gabriel was tall and handsome, Lennon was the opposite. His height was only an inch or so taller than my five foot five, and his nose had been broken one too many times. Not to mention his dark eyes always made me feel on edge, his lingering gaze like hornets prickling my skin.

“She won’t be reading much once we’re married,” Gabriel laughed like I was still his girlfriend and we hadn’t been separated for the past twelve weeks. “No wife of mine will have her nose buried in a book.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not your baby. Not your wife.”

Gabriel’s smile slipped, and I recoiled when he dipped his head close enough that his lips brushed against my ear. “You’ll always be my baby,” he hissed, his breath hot against my skin. “And youwillbe my wife. You’ll regret turning down my proposal, but you’ll still end up mine. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Not in this lifetime.” Gabriel was a walking red flag, and I couldn’t believe I had been blind to it for so long. I’d once loved him, but luckily my rose-tinted glasses shattered when I walked in on him fucking not one, buttwowomen at once. “You cheated on me, remember?”

He dared to roll his eyes. “If I can forgive you for stealing my watch, then you can get over those women. They meant nothing.”

“I never took your stupid watch.” Apparently, the stressof being a detective constable was reason enough to stick his dick in other women, not to mention his need to party hard.

The drugs I could handle, because I understood addiction and the need to escape. Although my escape was dragon riders, long lost cities, and fairytale endings. I’d even forgiven him for trying to share me with his friends, but clearly cheating was a hard no, because after almost a year together I’d walked away.

Gabriel was a toxic narcissist, and it sucked that it took me so long to see it. He was supposed to be the one who saved me from this life, a man of the law, but instead he’d made it even shittier.

“Once we’re married, you’ll be enough.”

“I didn’t take your stupid watch,” I insisted again. “Maybe it was one of the girls you were screwing behind my back.” I dropped my tone, hoping it came out threatening. “Seriously, Gabe. Get off me.”

“Is there a problem here?”

Gabriel’s head jerked up to glare at my boss, Chase, who despite being the calmest guy I’d ever met didn’t look the least bit friendly. Probably due to the fact he was built like a pro sumo wrestler. He was genuinely a decent guy, and while he liked to ogle the girls, he didn’t dare touch any of us. Plus, he let us all keep our tips, which was a bonus.

“No problem.” Gabriel finally released me, and I immediately stepped back, my wrist throbbing. “Arabella and I were just discussing something personal.”

“Arabella should be behind the bar,” Chase snapped, gaze piercing.

“Please, just leave,” I urged. “Go get yourself clean. Straighten out your life, and stay out of mine.”

Gabriel finally returned his attention to me, his smile unfriendly as his voice dropped to a whisper. “This isn’tover,baby.” He turned, stalking toward the exit with Lennon sneering at me over his shoulder.

With athwackLennon dropped my book to the floor, making sure to step on it on his way out. With a curse I dropped to my knees, ignoring how the floor was sticky. The cover was ruined, his shoe print marking the picture as well as ripping the paper. Luckily the inside seemed mostly unharmed, even if my bookmark was missing.

“You’re not bringing any trouble in here, are you doll?” Chase asked, folding his arms across his chest. His shirt stretched obscenely, the buttons threatening to explode and ping in all directions.

A shiver ran down my spine as I stood. “No.”

“You sure?” Chase narrowed his eyes, and I forced a smile.

“Everything’s fine.”

It wasn’t, but Chase didn’t actually care. As long as I turned up to my shifts and smiled at his customers, he was happy. His favourite motto being, ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys.’

“Sorry about that. It won’t happen again,” I mumbled, dusting off my clothes.

“Make sure it doesn’t,” he grunted. “And what did I say about reading behind the bar?” His eyes dipped to my breasts, and I held back a grimace.

I wasn’t actively looking for attention, but considering the majority of Chase’s customers were older men, the less clothes I wore, the more they tipped.

Was I proud of myself? Not really.

Was I desperate enough to wear low-cut tops, short skirts, and tight jeans? Yes, even if it made me feel uncomfortable.

Hiding the paperback, I returned to serving drinks. On a brighter note, Michael had gotten over my rejection,having swiftly moved on to another patron who had the misfortune of sitting on the stool next to him. So I got lost in serving the regulars, glad that embarrassing encounter was over.