“All right man, take it easy.”
Dax nodded at Vince, who was following the last of their coworkers out of the bar. They all wanted to get an early start that weekend. Apparently, they had a company baseball game to get ready for. Dax, of course, couldn’t make it to any event like that. He preferred to spend his weekends with Marnie who was quite the daddy’s little girl. They would go shopping and get ice cream, sometimes bringing home a new stuffed toy or a book that had captivated her imagination. He loved taking her to the library and there were so many great things for kids to do on the weekends. None of his co-workers would understand so he usually just stuck with the excuse that he didn’t like baseball, which was true. Nothing about it appealed to him, from the tight little uniforms to the wimpy little stick smacking the ball. It was all far too human.
He’d ordered a new glass of whisky before the others finished their third pitcher of beer and called it a night and he had to admit, he was liking the solitude. The bar was deserted; it was a nice little place, recently opened by a bear-shifter who’d come into a lot of money and wanted to liven up the west side of the mountain. He really liked the atmosphere now that he wasn’t surrounded by cackling dimwits. It was nice to have somewhere else to knock a few back without remembering the horrible year after his wife had left him. The walls in the other bar in town were etched with memories of despair. There was something about this place that was different; almost hopeful, in a way.
“Don’t fucking ignore me when I’m talking, ya ugly bitch!”
Dax shot up immediately at the sound of the old man’s voice and the shattering of glass on the floor. Across the room, the asshole had gripped the barmaid’s arm and knocked her tray to the floor. He had been pestering the poor girl all night and Dax had been half-ready to throw him through the window. Now he had gone too far, and the bear within him was ready to fight.
“Get your hands off her!” Dax roared. The old man was startled, too drunk to shapeshift and too stupid to listen. He pulled the barmaid closer to his body and she tried to wriggle away but he was too strong. She was just a human.
“I don’t see your name on her anywhere! This girl’s been ripe for the plucking all night and treating me like shit!”
“I got you your drinks and answered most of your stupid fucking questions,” the girl said, her voice low and her eyes alive with fire. “That’s all I’m obligated to do.”
“I think you’re misunderstanding the severity of the situation here,” Dax said, gripping the old man’s arm and prying it away from the barmaid. Her beautiful grey eyes flashed as she pulled away from the man and separated herself from him behind the bar. “You don’t put your hands in places they don’t belong. Understand?”
Before the old man had a chance to reply Dax threw him across the room. He stumbled out the door where Dax crossed the room and kicked him out on his ass to the sidewalk.
“Are you okay?” Dax asked, grabbing a broom from the corner and sweeping the glass up into the dustpan that was sitting on the floor next to the broom. It was a habit he’d gotten into at home with his daughter who was like a tornado in the kitchen. He’d begun using plastic dishes even for himself because of how much money he was wasting on breakable kitchen supplies.
“Oh… yeah,” the girl said, looking away quickly. She looked shaky and overwhelmed, and Dax frowned.
“Come on over here and sit down a minute. Let’s have a look at you.”
She didn’t fight as Dax led her over to one of the booths and had her sit down, taking her arm gently in his hand to examine where the old shithead had grabbed her. He frowned deeply at the dark bruises that were beginning to form around her arm.
“I’m gonna go after him,” Dax said decidedly, turning toward the door.
“No!”
Something in the girl’s voice, something desperate, kept him in place and he turned to her, taking a hard look at the barmaid. She was a pretty little thing, as far as humans go. Her hair was long and dark, and those eyes of hers seemed quick and intelligent, as if she were constantly taking in and assessing information. Yet there was something sad about her…lonely…
“And why not?” Dax demanded. “He nearly took off your fucking arm. I know you know that isn’t okay.”
She looked down at her hands almost as if embarrassed and sighed, turning those lethal eyes onto him. A hot longing flooded him as he detected the longing that the girl had been holding back all night, the arousal that the old man had been commenting on. It happened sometimes, he knew, especially in human women who were getting close to that time of the month. It was a raw, desperate need, as if decreed by nature she be taken care of to ensure the survival of her species. It was something that the bear within him had detected and withheld from him all night long.
“It’s just not his fault, is all,” she said quietly. “He’s just a lonely old drunk. I probably should’ve been paying more attention to him or something, maybe then he would’ve left me alone.”
Dax frowned. “You don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t want to talk to.” He didn’t want to live in a world where his daughter would grow up blaming herself when some piece of shit got out of line with her, and he wasn’t going to let this girl feel that way either. “You were doing the best you could.”
She sighed, then stuck her hand out to him. “My name is Jennifer. I’ll find a way to make it up for helping me tonight. How about drinks on the house? Any time you come here, I’ll pick up the tab.”
Dax gripped her hand, holding her gaze as the heat of their bodies sent a jolt of electricity through them both. The longing within her intensified and the bear could smell it, awaking an urge within him he hadn’t felt since his wife had left—the urge to claim her.
“That won’t be necessary,” he said, unable to take his pensive gaze from Jennifer’s delicate beauty. “All you need to do for me is promise you won’t let any piece of shit like that bother you again. If they do, you let me know.”
Jennifer nodded, still holding onto his hand, though they were no longer pumping their hands formally in the air anymore.
“I will,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.
Dax was shocked by the force of his desire and the girl seemed completely aware of it. In fact, the little bit of arousal the others had sensed and been snickering about all night had turned to an undeniable inferno, one that no man in his right mind – bear-shifter or otherwise – would be able to deny. At first he had only noted the situation in passing, barely registering interest in her. He’d been immediately attracted to her but once they’d all begun talking about how ready she was for someone to make her forget her name, he had tuned all of that out. Now, he would not be so lucky.
They were alone in the bar now that the old man had left and Dax felt the strong urge to take her right then and there. He nearly made his move, but she stood up and cleared her throat.
“I think that it should be about time to close the place up. I don’t know if I can work anymore tonight. The manager said if any clients gave me a hard time I should get out of here and make sure I’m safe. Things can get a little crazy at night.”
“That’s true,” Dax said, fighting every urge in his body to keep from making an advance on the girl right on top of the bar. “Oak Mountain can be a dangerous place.”
She nodded, the heat high in her cheeks and he turned away from her. He had to walk away now. The bear was going to make him do something he might regret. But when he glanced back over his shoulder at her, she was watching him, disappointment and longing etched in every line of her face. She wanted him.
And he was going to have her.