Chapter 8
Ensley
The moment he grabbed my wrist, I was thrust back into my old life. Fear gripped my heart, and instead of Murray blocking my way it was Ryan. And my whole body was threatening to shut down.
“C’mon, Ensley, don’t be like that,” he had a silly grin on his face as he blocked my path again, when I tried to duck past him.
Ice was coursing through my veins, as my heart began to race with fear. I tugged my arm slightly making his grip tighten and my adrenaline finally kicked in. I tried to push past him again, and this time, he reached for my waist. The strength with which he grabbed on to me, made my blood curdle and my heart stop.
This was the way Ryan treated me. If he didn’t get his way with me, he forced his will on me. He was physically much stronger than I was, and he made sure that I was always aware of that.
This time, when Murray grabbed me by my waist; I couldn’t move. It was like I had frozen to the spot. Every bad memory I had of Ryan came crashing down on me, and I felt like I had no way of escaping it.
“Tell me you’ll stay for one more drink with me,” Murray hissed, close to my face. Close enough for me to smell his beer-laden breath. I looked up into his eyes and noticed that they were bloodshot. I hadn’t noticed until that moment, but it seemed Murray was a lot drunker than he had let on earlier. My heart was leaping out of my chest. I had wave after wave of flashbacks of the fear that Ryan had instilled in me. I thought I had gotten over those fears, that I had managed to pick up the broken pieces of me and move on, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. At the slightest trigger, I was right back where he had left a me-a naive twenty-year-old girl who had no strength to defend herself against a brute of a man.
I had no idea how long it had been that Murray was standing there, holding me by my waist. It was only when I heard the voice behind me that I was snapped out of my crippling thoughts.
“Is there a problem here?” the voice was firm and a growl. It was coming from behind me, and I didn’t have to look around to know who it was.
It was like I had always known his voice. I recognized it in an instant.
“Yes,” I murmured, without turning to him and I could feel Murray’s grip on my waist weakening. The expression on his face had changed as well. He was beginning to lose color.
The man in the leather cut, who I thought hadn’t even noticed me before, now stepped up to my side.
“I’d suggest you let her go,” he said, and every word that came out of his mouth was a threatening command. Murray’s hand dropped from my waist immediately, and he was stepping away. He raised his hands up in the air, palms forward.
“Hey, I was just making conversation,” he said, but I could sense that he was nervous.
“Get the fuck out of this place before I bash your head in,” the man growled, and I felt my mouth go dry. I was still staring at Murray, I couldn’t believe that he had this effect on me. I was left feeling vulnerable and cold now. Murray was backing away, almost dissolving in the crowd of the busy bar.
“And the next time you touch a woman without permission, remember that I’ll find you and I’ll kill you,” the man continued in a hiss. Murray nodded his head like he believed every word and then whipping around from us, he seemed to disappear into thin air.
I finally felt like I could breathe again.
The man in the leather cut turned to me now, my eyes adjusted to his face. This was the first time I was noticing how green his eyes were, they were focused on me. There was a hint of concern in those eyes, and I tried to gather myself quickly.
“Ttthank you, for that,” I stammered with my words and I watched as he stuffed his large masculine hands into the pockets of his old ripped jeans.
“Anytime,” he replied, and I could feel a smile forming on my face, and all the panic in my body disappear. I couldn’t help it. Despite how miserably frightened I had been feeling just a few moments ago, now I felt like it was all forgotten. The only thing on my mind was how hot this man was, and the fact that he was finally acknowledging my existence.
“Do you want to sit down and catch a breath?” he asked, and without waiting for a response, he turned from me and pulled out the stool again.
He was right, I did need to sit down. I hadn’t realized how weak and unstable I had been feeling. I sat down on the stool, with him standing in front of me and we stared at each other in silence for a couple of moments.
“You seem like you’re an ace at this. You rescue women often?” I asked him, and there was a smile forming on his face finally. He had one of those faces that weren’t made for smiling.
“Once a day and twice on weekends,” he replied, and I couldn’t help but burst into a nervous laugh. He grinned as he watched me laugh, his green eyes glowed as I tucked some stray strands of golden hair behind my ears.
The drink that Murray had bought me was still lying on the bar counter. I pushed it to the side not trusting what could be in it.
“I’m Ensley,” I told him, and unlike Murray, this man didn’t seem to have a problem with my name.
“Thorn,” he said.
***
Thorn was a hard man to read. There was only one expression his handsome face was capable of portraying-that of not giving a fuck. However, the very fact that he was sitting beside me at the bar now made me feel jittery. It made me feel like he probably actually wanted to be there. I could feel another bout of nervousness kicking in, and this time it had nothing to do with fear.
“I feel like I should thank you again for showing up when you did,” I managed to say in a squeaky voice. My attraction towards him was taking over my senses. Thorn took a quick sip of his whiskey and turned his green eyes to me.
“I’ll never say no to praise. What else do you feel like you should say to me?” he replied, and I tried to stifle a smile. Every time he looked at me, I felt like I was naked. Like he could see right through me, and for some reason; I enjoyed feeling that way. He still had not mentioned anything about recognizing me from somewhere, which was extremely refreshing.
“Let me think…that you’re a hero, that poets should write legends about your bravery, that without you here I don’t know what would have happened to me,” I joked, and Thorn grinned, in that handsome boyish way of his. Was it just me flattering myself when I thought that he didn’t grin often?
“You’re welcome,” he said and took another sip of his drink. He watched me from the corner of his eye as he did that, and I felt a blush creep over my skin, and I quickly recognized that I liked being watched by him. I realized that I had been sitting with my breasts sticking firmly out, my back straight and my legs neatly crossed. I still had no idea if he was attracted to me too, or if he was just being a nice guy.
“But seriously, I don’t know how many guys would do what you just did. Chivalry is dead,” I said, and Thorn seemed to clench his jaw before he put his glass down on the counter. His green eyes roamed over my body, drinking in the shape of my breasts, the flash of flesh revealed by my crop top.
“It’s not dead where I come from,” he said, and he said this in all seriousness. I was staring at his leather cut, and he knew I was curious. He moved in his seat, and I watched his lithe, muscular body move too. There were so many things I wanted him to do to me, which I was too shy to admit even to myself.
“Where do you come from, Thorn?” I asked, and he stared at me for a few moments, while I looked curiously at his tattoos and his cut again. Thorn shrugged his shoulders and then took in a deep breath.
“I guess the easiest answer to that question is that I belong to a motorcycle club, do you know what that is?” he asked, and I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, Thorn, I don’t know what you think of me, but I do know what that is,” I replied. I had guessed as much before he had even said it. I could picture Thorn easily in a life of riding muscle cars and bikes, drinking like a tank, shooting guns for fun. However, I had also seen a side of him which wasn’t easy to picture at first glance. I could see that he was a man of integrity and strong moral values. Something that he probably tried to hide on a daily basis, to create his aggressive persona.
Thorn smiled at me.
“Well, in that case, you probably know that you should stay away from me,” he said.
“Why? What did you think I wanted to do instead?” I asked, and we were smiling at each other again. He was holding my gaze strongly. We both knew exactly what we wanted to do. I didn’t have a shadow of doubt in my mind anymore, that Thorn was just as attracted to me as I was to him.
“I don’t want to make assumptions,” he said, and I leaned towards him, with my elbows on the bar counter.
“Make them,” I said, in a low husky voice while our eyes were locked together. Thorn was watching me, memorizing every curve and shape on my face. There were a few moments of silence between us, but it was suddenly snapped when my cell phone went off in my purse.
Thorn moved away from me, and with my lips suddenly dry, I did the same. I pulled my phone out of my purse and noticed that there were several missed calls and text messages from my friends. I scanned through them quickly. They were all at a nearby nightclub, and they were begging me to meet them.
“Social engagements?” Thorn’s deep, authoritative voice made me drag my face up to look at him.
“Something like that,” I said, and I popped my phone back into my purse again. My martini glass was empty now, and I nervously tucked some more hair behind my ears.
For a few moments, Thorn said nothing, and then he pulled a pen out of his back pocket and started scribbling a phone number on a paper napkin.
“That’s my number. You can call me anytime if you need anything,” he said and handed it to me. He took one last gulp of his whiskey and stood up from his stool. I still hadn’t managed to get a word out. I couldn’t believe that our brief encounter was ending so quickly and so suddenly.
“Take care of yourself, Ensley,” he said, as he began to walk away. His green eyes were making one last sweeping motion over my body while I remained sitting on my stool.
“Take care, Thorn,” I replied, in a weak voice, while I clutched the paper napkin tightly in one hand. He had made the decision himself, that it was time for the night to come to an end and I had no other choice but to accept it.
I watched him turn and then with his helmet under his arm, weave around the crowds to the door. It took every ounce of my willpower to not follow him out.