In typical Riley fashion, she shut down my world-class attempt to seduce her with an exaggerated eye roll that looked incredible on her. I laughed at her inability to hide her irritation with me. I enjoyed it when she was slightly feisty and pushed back a little. It made the reward that much more worth it when she finally gave in.

Riley took my hand and led me towards the tables I had seen her circling all night. Her skin was warm and just as soft as I remembered. I tightened my grip around her delicate fingers, letting her guide me wherever she wanted, which I hoped was some secluded corner of the bar we could hide away in.

Riley pointed to a moderately lit table in the corner with two stools surrounding it and dropped my hand, motioning for me to take a seat. I pulled one of the stools out and sat down on it as Riley reached into the little apron she had on and pulled out a folded rag.

"What will it be?" Her eyes stayed down as she wiped the damp, splattered table in front of me.

Riley refused to look anywhere near my direction as she bent over, swiping the table a little too vigorously. Her breasts bounced with every motion as she leaned into a water ring on the table and applied a little more pressure. I held onto the edge of the table to keep them from reaching up to see if they still fit perfectly in my palms.

I was going to tell her what I wanted tonight—and every night after for the rest of my life.

"A hot blond waitress with a tight..." Riley cupped her hand over my mouth and glared at me wide-eyed, doing her best to get me to shut up.

"Well, you better go find one." Riley glared at me, daring me to open my mouth again, frowning at my playful banter like she disapproved of it.

In reality, I knew she fucking loved it.

The cranky girl pulled her hand away after a few seconds and huffed. Her tongue popped out between her lips and she slid what looked like a small silver ball between them. My eyes burst from my skull and my cock twitched, screaming in approval. I didn't even notice her new accessory last night.

Holy shit, it was hot.

"When did you get that?" My dick perked up immediately, using my mouth to communicate for him. I pushed the asshat back down in my pants and scolded him, warning him to keep quiet.

"Brynn's fault." She shrugged self-consciously and looked down at her feet.

I didn't like that Riley let Brynn manipulate and coerce her into getting the piercing done. It should have been a decision my girl made on her own and not because someone else wanted her to.

But I did approve of the new hardware—so I was going to let it go for the moment.

"I can't wait to feel it wrapped around me tonight." My dick blurted out, bypassing my brain and losing his composure over our newest fantasy.

Riley's eyes never left mine and I was left absolutely speechless. The electricity in the atmosphere between us was intense. My girl leaned down a little bit to get just a tiny fraction closer to me. The furnace inside me was turned all the way on like she had walked over and flipped the switch to high. My dirty girl slipped her tongue ring out to play with it a little more to show me what she could do.

Riley felt the warmth too. She still wanted this—wanted us.

I was terrified of screwing tonight up like I had so many times before, but the fear inside was worth it. It made me heavier and lighter at the same time.

I loved this girl so fucking much.

I leaned closer to Riley to press my lips to hers and she stayed in place, letting me make my move. Her cheeks flushed like we were about to do something we shouldn't.

"Hey baby," A slurred voice called out.

I was so entranced with Riley's lips that I didn't even realize the guy was talking to her until she turned away from me just long enough to hold her finger up to him to tell him to give her a second.

Baby?

Did he just call her fucking baby?

Who was that asshole? Has she slept with him? Did she want to?

Riley purposefully stood directly in my line of sight of the guy calling out to her. I leaned around her to stare the idiot down. I needed to decide what I was going to do about him. The guy was frothing at the mouth and salivating over Riley like she was a Sirloin at a Michelin Star Restaurant. His sharp teeth were gnashing, ready to bend her over the table and take a bite out of her juicy ass.

It was mine to ravish, not his.

Riley cleared her throat nervously, drawing my attention back to her. She gave me a quizzical look, like she knew what I was already thinking. My pulse thrummed in my ears as I thought about the guy harassing Riley and the light around us dimmed.

She didn't look very pleased with me right now, which made two of us because I wasn't very pleased with her at the moment either.

"I don't like how those assholes are looking at you." I defended myself. I tried to refocus on Riley's shape instead of the joker behind her, trying to steal her from me. The rage began to build and I could feel myself on the verge of going dark again.

"This is my job. Please remember what you promised. I've got tables to wait on. Decide what you want by the time I get back." Riley ordered me to comply.

I reluctantly agreed even though I didn't like it one bit and didn't have any confidence in myself that I could maintain my control.

I watched the girl's swinging hips as she walked away and immediately wanted to rip my shirt from my body to force her to put it on. If she was in my shirt, they wouldn't get to see how her body moved under the too-tight clothing. Riley looked like sex on legs—dirty, hot filthy sex that left you hungry for more—and fuck me, I was ravenous for the girl.

Riley stood in front of the booth, which was lower to the ground than the table she had placed me at. The guy who called her 'baby' was sitting eye-level with her breasts, brazenly gawking at her cleavage in the low-cut white top.

I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled and drummed on the table with my fingers to keep myself distracted from what was happening a few feet away. The tapping grew louder and in rapid succession until I was leaving grooves behind in the old wood.

My girl smiled and spoke to the guy like he was the only person in the room, which pissed me off even more. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, clearly teasing and flirting with him right in front of me. Riley just kept on smiling and making the cutest god-damned faces.

She had to be doing it on purpose to get under my skin.

The guy's eyes shifted to one of his buddies, silently communicating across the table that he was about to make his move.

I tried to give Riley the space to handle it like she asked me to, but it was maddening. Why did she always take the hard way out when I could put an end to this in less than a second?

Another smile and hair tuck.

"Walk away now, Riley." I let out a low command like she would hear me from across the room.

As if I was watching a horror movie, Riley did the complete opposite of what I wanted. She opened her mouth and started saying something else to the guy. She flipped the silver piece of jewelry around in her mouth and it was over.

One second she was standing next to the booth and the next, she was fighting him off while he held her down on his lap.

I jumped up from the stool, knocking it and the table over as I ran to her. The guy had his paws all over my girl, touching her in places where no other hands besides mine belonged.

I latched on to Riley's arm and yanked her away from him before he could hurt her even further.

"Keep your fucking hands off her." I roared at the guy and leaned down over him.

Riley fought her way back between us and placed her hands on my chest to calm me down. Her new position put her ass on display right in the guy's face and he was staring at it with wicked intentions.

"Ezra, please go sit down. I have this under control." Riley's voice tried to stay level but held a hint of panic. She gave me another little push back and I let her move me since it meant it got her further away from the criminal in the booth.

The guy's hand began to move straight out, cupping Riley's ass and giving it a hard squeeze.

When I blinked again, my hand was throbbing and the guy was snoring, out cold in a pile of his own drool on the table. Riley was behind me, holding on to me tightly, trying to stop me from hitting him again.

The three other guys at the table were up on their feet, coming after me. I wasn't scared of them. I had been in a lot of fights with a lot worse people than these privileged frat boys.

"Jules!" Riley screamed out.

I dared all three of them to come at me. There were going to be four unconscious people sleeping on this table in the next thirty seconds and I was going to walk out of here unharmed with the hottest girl in the bar on my arm.

"Hey, whoa, guys, I don't want any trouble here." The bartender stepped between the angry table and me. I assumed this was the person Riley called for to help break up the fight. He held his hands up like he was a lion tamer. The whole table froze but continued barking threats out like big men behind bulletproof glass.

Jules, at least I think that was his name, turned his head to Riley and me next. Riley was still trying to walk me back away from the fight, but she wasn't near strong enough to get me to move.

"Riley, get your boyfriend out of here before someone calls the cops," Jules yelled at her over the shouting table.

Riley placed her small hand in mine and squeezed it. I felt her tug on my hand and my feet followed her, not because I was backing down from the fight but because I didn't want to let her hand go. Her touch was the only thing keeping me from blacking out from my anger.

Riley dragged me through the crowd, bumping into all the onlookers gaping at us until we reached the side door that led to the alleyway. I wanted to go back inside and finish the fight, but the blond was holding onto me with every bit of strength she had. My adrenaline was pumping and I was so mad that I felt like I couldn't make my body do anything other than keep up with her.

"What is wrong with you?" Riley shrieked at me. She swung me around and ripped her hand from mine. Her palms went straight to my chest, angrily shoving me back away from the door.

How the fuck was she mad at me right now when I was the one who saved her from being assaulted by the prick inside the bar?

"This is my job. I deal with hundreds of guys who do this every night." Riley continued scolding me like a child. Then, just when I thought she was finished delivering her lecture, she unleashed her final blow to knock me out cold.

"I do not need you to protect me. You lost that right when you left me."