Page 27 of Gamble (Black Light #38)
The angry, “What the fuck are you doing touching my girlfriend, you dirty old man,” hit her ears just as Reagan felt herself being forcibly yanked out of her chair and directly into Tristan’s arms. The scent of his heavy cologne was instantly overwhelming, barely covering the lingering stench of cigarette smoke still clinging to him from his hours in the casino.
Before she could even say a word, all the men she’d been having breakfast with were on their feet, circling around her and Tristan while she felt Elijah’s hands on her waist, physically yanking her back against his chest and out of Tristan’s embrace.
“What the fuck?” Tristan complained, his voice an octave higher than normal. He struggled to retain his grip on her arms right up until she could see the tendril of fear in his eyes. That’s when he relinquished his hold on her, allowing her to fall fully into Elijah’s arms.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her ex-boyfriend’s annoying friends taking several steps back, unwilling to come to Tristan’s aid.
“This will just take a moment, baby.” Elijah’s strong voice in her ear calmed her.
Obviously hearing, Tristan’s eyes widened, his gaze flittering between her own and Elijah’s. “What’s going on here? Who are these old geezers and why the hell is one of them groping you as if he had the right to touch my woman?”
A short bark of laughter was the only warning Tristan had before Elijah released her and lunged forward with the deadly stealth of a predator.
Within seconds, Elijah had Tristan by the scruff of his shirt, easily lifting him up onto his toes while leaning in until only a few inches separated the men’s faces.
“Listen here, you piece of shit, you can call me any lame names that might make you feel better about your pathetic existence, but don’t you ever touch so much as a hair on Reagan’s head ever again. You got that?”
Apparently, Tristan wasn’t smart enough to realize how serious Elijah’s warning was since he spouted back, “I’ll touch any part of her body I want to since I’m her boyfriend.”
“Ex… her ex-boyfriend. You lost the honor of her being yours the second you put your dick into another woman and then were stupid enough to show up a day late smelling like you’d just left a whorehouse.
God, I hate little pricks like you who pretend to be a big man when you don’t know the first thing about taking care of a real woman. ”
“Oh, and you think you do, old man? I bet you can’t even get it up without popping a fistful of blue pills. You’re delusional if you think a chick like Reagan is going to give you the time of day.”
She could feel every eye in the expansive Vegas restaurant pointed in their direction. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a man who looked like a manager rushing in their direction.
Trying to defuse the embarrassing situation, Reagan reached out to pull on one of Elijah’s arms. She could feel his taut muscles as he effortlessly held a man half his age up in the air.
“That shows what a piss-ant you are. First, she is not a chick… she’s a woman. And not only did I get the pleasure of Reagan’s company all day yesterday, but all night as well. And believe me, with inspiration like her, I didn’t need the help of any blue pills to keep a smile on her face.”
If she wasn’t ready to crawl under the table due to the embarrassment of the spectacle, she might have burst out laughing at the shocked disbelief on Tristan’s face.
“I don’t believe you. She’s too much of a prude to have sex with an old man she barely knows.”
Elijah finally let the younger man’s feet hit the ground but only so he could pull his right arm back and plant a fist directly into Tristan’s gut, doubling him over in a groan of pain.
Leaning over Tristan’s bent body, Elijah continued to school him.
“I see you have a learning disability. Let me make this easy for you. Not only are you not to touch her, but you won’t speak to her, and you certainly won’t be calling her any names, at least not within earshot of her, me, or any of her friends or family.
You’re done. History. And take those two cowardly jerks you call friends with you. ”
Elijah finally released Tristan, taking a step back into Reagan’s embrace.
As embarrassing as the scene was, she recognized that not all the blush she felt on her cheeks was embarrassment.
No, it was pleasure. No one had ever stood up for her the way Elijah just had, and damn did it feel good knowing he was her protector against an asshole who hadn’t been man enough to deserve her.
She almost felt sorry for Tristan standing there looking like a deer in headlights. Almost.
Then he spoke.
“Good riddance. I was ready to be done with you, anyway. You’re way too clingy and insecure to be with a man like me.”
It wasn’t Elijah who responded this time. She couldn’t have stopped the bark of laughter from erupting from her if she’d wanted to.
“You keep telling yourself that, Tristan, if it makes you feel better, but we both know you have the emotional maturity of a teenage boy. You did me a favor this weekend by showing me just how much better my life could be without you in it.”
“I really need to ask you folks to take this disagreement outside. You’re disturbing our other diners,” the frazzled manager said, wedging himself between them and her red-faced ex.
“No need,” Tristan spat. “I’m out of here. Good luck getting to the airport for our flight home on time,” he said with a sly smile, reminding her they had seats right next to each other.
Reagan made the snap decision, hoping Elijah had been serious when he’d offered to drive her back to L.A.
“You don’t need to worry about me. Elijah will be driving me home.”
Tristan flinched, unable to hide his surprise. Maybe he’d been planning on trying to woo her back on the flight home, but with relief she realized it didn’t matter. She was sure that Tristan was in her past.
If only she could see her future as clearly.