“Chad?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s drop the small talk. You don’t care about my major and I don’t care about yours.”

His eyes widened. “Wow. You’re to the point.”

I nodded and lifted my glass in a sloppy little salute. “Yes. I am.”

“I can get to the point, too.” He leaned forward so that his mouth brushed my cheek. “I’d like to f**k you.”

I stifled a wince and pulled back to look at him. “That’s supposed to shock me, I guess?”

His eyes glittered. “How about it?”

Suddenly everything felt bleak inside me . . . as if this was the most I could expect out of life. That there would never be anything more than this. A father who loved me as long as I led my own life, independent from him, never demanding anything other than money. Not his time. Not his affection. A mother who could never love me more than herself. And guys eager to use me and toss me aside afterward.

I downed the rest of my drink and signaled the bartender for another. The bartender returned and lined up two shot glasses in front of me and Chad. I gripped the cold glass, ready to shoot the liquid, let it burn out every other feeling until I was comfortably numb inside.

“You’ve had enough.” The deep voice cut through my fog of bitterness.

Turning, I narrowed my gaze on Shaw, standing there. Up close and personal. I’d been thinking about him all week—hell, I’d been painting those eyes that were staring at me right now. Still, the reality of him was so much more than what I’d re-created on canvas. Those melting dark eyes blazed down at me, and I read the judgment there so clearly. The tiny hairs on my arms prickled, ready for a fight.

“You’re not the boss of me.” God. I sounded like I was ten years old. I could do better than that.

He actually had the gall to pluck the shot glass from my hand and plunk it down on the bar. Not only that. He slid it away. I’d have to stretch across the counter to even reach it. “About this I am.”

I glared from the glass back to him. “Give it back.”

“Why? Just so you can get shit-faced and let some guy you don’t give a crap about paw all over you?” He held my gaze as he growled this, not even glancing at Chad.

“Hey,” Chad objected, but I didn’t even glance at him. I was too busy glaring at Shaw and letting the hot emotions swirling through me gain momentum. I hugged those feelings close and stirred them to a boil. It was better than how I was feeling before. His sudden presence had erased those cold, bitter feelings. Now there was just fury at him for daring to tell me what to do. He wasn’t even my friend. He didn’t even like me.

“Jealous?” I sneered. “Why? You seemed to be having a good time with Suzanne.”

God, now I sounded jealous. Of my own friend, no less. It must be the alcohol. I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying.

His nostrils flared. “You’re not getting drunk.”

“Newsbreak. I’m already there.” Well. Close anyway. Although he was definitely killing my buzz. “Look. I get that you’re Reece’s friend and you probably think I need looking after, but really. I’m fine. I don’t need babysitting.”

As if I hadn’t said a word, his deep voice rumbled across the air. “You definitely don’t need another drink.”

I inhaled sharply. Who the hell was this guy? It was none of his business how much I drank. Or who I let paw me. “Go to hell,” I flung out.

A muscle popped in his jaw and I knew he didn’t like that. Gratification swept through me.

He jerked his head in the direction of the doors. “C’mon. I’m taking you home.”

I scanned the crowd, searching for my friends. Suzanne, Pepper, and Reece were watching us with great interest from the table. “Thanks, but I already have a designated driver.”

“Hey, man,” the guy beside me inserted, reaching across the bar to grab the shot glass and bring it back in front of me. “She can make up her own mind.” He lifted the glass up for me to take.

I smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you, Chad.”

Shaw leaned slightly forward, bringing himself eye level with Chad. “Get your hand out of her face before I break it.”

Chad slammed the glass back down on the bar and surged to his feet, squaring off in front of Shaw. “C’mon, motherfucker,” he challenged, which really sounded kind of ridiculous coming from him in his powder blue polo. “You want to mess with me?”

Shaw sighed heavily and closed a hand around my arm like Chad had not called him an ugly name. Any other guy would have lost his cool.

“Let’s go, Emerson,” he stated, clearly unthreatened.

Even though I resisted the idea of him deciding when it was time for me to go home, I really didn’t relish the idea of starting a fight in the middle of a bar. Thanks to Chad, people were already watching us. From the corner of my eye, I could see Reece pushing his way through the crowd toward us, Pepper and Suzanne fast behind. I didn’t want to get my friends involved in a fight either. What if one of them got hurt?

Besides. I nodded and slid off my stool. I wasn’t one of those girls who got her rocks off on two guys fighting over her.

Though Shaw wasn’t really fighting over me. He was just doing what he thought he had to because I was Reece’s friend. Because he was Reece’s friend. He was a Marine. He probably thought it was his mission to save the world. One drunk girl at a time.

I let him pull me from the bar. We had only walked away two steps when Chad clamped a hand on my arm and yanked me back.

“She doesn’t want to go—”

Shaw moved so fast then I didn’t even process it until it was over. Until Chad was on the ground. In one smooth, ninja-fast motion, Shaw popped him in the mouth.

Chad went down, his hands cupping his face. I gaped and started to crouch down to help him when Shaw grabbed my hand and hauled me after him. “C’mon.” We passed my friends. Shaw nodded once at Reece. “I’m taking her home.”

Reece nodded in silent understanding. Pepper gaped and looked ready to say something, maybe protest on my behalf, but Reece turned and led her and an equally shocked Suzanne away.

I tugged on his hand. “Are you crazy? You just hit that guy—”

“He had it coming.” His fingers tightened around mine as he pulled me out the back exit and into the parking lot. The music died to a heavy throb on the frigid air. My ears rang from hours inside the decibel-shattering din.