601 Twilight Ln. by Kat Baxter

Chapter 4

Austin

I park my car outside Synsational Casino and Resort. What the hell is Selina doing here?

The resort is about an hours drive from Cherry Falls and I can think of no reason why Selina would drive there this time of night.

I know her parents still live in Syn City, but Jacob said something about their dad taking a leave of absence from his job at the casino for health reasons.

I’ve been here before and while the inside is massive and a confusing maze of busy carpet, flashing lights and bells, it’s easy for me to locate Selina.

It’s like my attraction to her has turned me into a damn homing pigeon. The second I see her, I head her way.

She’s sidled up to an older gentleman at a blackjack table. I pause long enough to stop at a cashier window and buy some chips, then drop myself on the stool on the other side of her.

She looks over at me, smile bright, but the minute she sees me, her smile drops. “Are you for real right now?”

“Too good to be true?” I wink. “I get that a lot.”

Her pretty brown eyes roll heavenward. “You are ridiculous.”

“What? I can’t come and sit next to a pretty girl and play some cards?”

“Don’t pretend like you’re not here because my annoying brother asked you to babysit me.” She jabs a finger in my chest. “And don’t pretend to flirt with me.”

The dealer clears his throat, and Selina looks back at her cards.

I get a ten of hearts and ace of spades on my first hand. The firecracker of a woman next to me scoffs, then turns to the older man on the other side of her.

I can hear little bits of their conversation, but I’m not here to completely creep on her. Why the fuck am I here?

Because you can’t stay away from her.

Stupid inner voice. Even if that’s true, that I am drawn to her and attracted to her and being around her makes me feel like I’m being lit up from the inside out. Jacob asked me to keep an eye out for her. Presumably in a brotherly capacity. Pretty sure he’d have asked someone else if he knew I was thinking about his sister’s fantastic heart-shaped ass and the tits I’d like to slide my dick between.

I shift on the stool and look at my cards. It’s another winning hand so I’m up for the night, which is good considering I didn’t come here to actually gamble.

It doesn’t take long before Selina and the man next to her—Mr. Yates, I learn—are talking about random junker car parts. Turns out he restores old Chevys, which means he has a bunch of old junkers that he’s already stripped for parts that she wants to purchase for some of her art projects. After a few more rounds of blackjack, the two of them are laughing like they’re old friends and he agrees to let her come look at an old Chevelle he’s looking to sell.

I don’t try to listen in on the conversation, but I can’t help myself either. Hearing her bargain with the old guy—who seems to appreciate her sass as much as I do--for some asinine reason pride swells inside my chest because my girl did good.

When did I start thinking about her as ‘my girl?’

But damned if it isn’t true. I want Selina Blackmore and I’m guessing I want her for more than just a night in my bed.

Mr. Yates gives Selina his card, then gets up and leaves the table.

I can tell from the gleam of satisfaction in her eyes that she’s thrilled about the deal she brokered.

But that smile fades when a couple of guys sit on the other side of her. They’re loud and likely drunk. Probably frat boys from the local college.

I feel Selina stiffen beside me, then she turns her legs towards mine, as if she’s trying to slip closer to me. She quickly flags down a cocktail waitress and orders a double Jack and Coke.

“Well, lookie what we have here,” one of them says. He’s looks at Selina, his glassy eyes roam all over her body and my fists clench on the table.

I wrap my arm around her and pull her close, lowering my mouth next to her ear. “Do you know those assholes?”

She nods, almost imperceptibly. I realize in the moment, her hands are shaking. The waitress returns with her drink and Selina wastes no time in downing the glass. She’s so damn tiny, that much alcohol, that quickly is going to go straight to her head.

I lean across the front of her body and hold my hand out to the newcomers.

“Hey, I’m Austin, Selina’s boyfriend.”

The guy right beside her shakes my hand, but his grip is weak and damp. He’s one of those pussies who acts tough by bullying those smaller and weaker than him. The other guy eyes me up and down, then looks at Selina with a smirk.

“Boyfriend? That true, BeanaLina? You finally decide you like dick? ‘Cause the last I heard you were into chicks.”

Anger surges through me, cold and quiet. I stand and walk around Selina’s chair, using my size to my advantage. “What the fuck did you just say to her?”

The spineless prick swallows visibly, then gets up from his chair. He’s tall—not as tall as me—but I bet I have more than fifty pounds on him.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business who or what she likes. In fact, if you speak to her or about her in that way again, you and I are going to have a problem. A big problem. Am I clear?”

Selina puts her hand on my arm. “Austin.”

I hear her voice and feel her touch, but I don’t look away from the drunk boys. I’d like to grab them and bang their heads together like cartoon characters. But considering I’ve been trained by the armed services, I’m technically considered a deadly weapon, so I’d rather not touch them.

“She’s not worth it, man,” the one next to her says. He gets up from his stool and steps away.

The other guy glances at Selina again, then finally walks away.

“You didn’t need to do that. I can take care of myself,” Selina says, her voice sharp and angry. “Cashing out,” she says to the dealer. And then she’s walking away.

I quickly cash out and follow her.

“Stalker much? Quit following me, Boy Scout.”

“I’m not stalking you. I’m keeping an eye on you.”

She glances over her shoulder, but keeps on walking. “Whatever. I told you, I can handle myself. And I can sure as fuck handle those Neanderthals who are so clueless they think calling someone queer is an insult.”

“I never said you couldn’t. But I was raised to not stand-by and let anyone be bullied in my presence. Especially a woman.”

“How chivalrous of you.” She holds out her hand, palm out, like she’s trying to ward off some unspoken criticism. “And before you ask, no, I’m not a lesbian. My best friend in high school, Stephen—he was gay. That and a couple of other reasons was enough for those pricks to say whatever they wanted about him and me.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” I say.

“Good,” she snaps, pausing to glare at me and cross her arms over her chest. “Because my orientation is my own busy and no one else’s.”

It’s all I can do to not tell her that I hope it is my business. Very soon.

I bite back a smile because the sass in her voice is so fucking sexy and it drives me wild. I want nothing more than to press her up against one of those slot machines and kiss the fuck out of her.

“How about we go somewhere and get something to eat to absorb some of that alcohol you’ve had,” I suggest.

“I do not need a babysitter,” she snaps, continuing her fast walk through the loud casino.

“Is it so hard to believe that I’d want to spend time with you just for the sake of spending time with you?”

“Sure. Because we have so much in common. It’s fine, Austin. I’m fine. Just go back home and leave me to it.”

“I’m not leaving you. With the alcohol you had and those guys. I don’t want to risk anything happening to you. Besides, with your current attitude, you’ve got trouble written all over you.”

She whips around to face me, effectively stopping our movement right in the middle of the casino floor. Her brows arch defiantly and she opens her arms as if holding herself out to me.

“Written all over me? You going to do a strip search to find that word, Officer?” She emphasizes that last word. “I’ve got a lot of ink, but I’m pretty sure none of them say trouble. Now fuck off.”

I’m hard instantly because the idea of stripping her and inspecting any part of her skin is all too appealing.

She turns back and starts to walk away.

I grab her belt loop and pull her back so she’s pressed to me.

She shimmies her body against me and it’s hard to imagine she can’t feel my erection. I swallow a groan.

She looks over her shoulder at me. “I’ll go somewhere with you, if you have some shots with me.”

I weigh my options for a moment. She doesn’t need any more alcohol in her system. On the other hand, she is wound tight as fuck right now.

If I don’t agree, she’ll ditch me, and who knows what kind of trouble she can get into on her own.

I nod. “Let’s do it.”

We walk to a quieter part of the casino and head into one of the bar restaurants. The hostess leads us to a four-person table, but I sit next to Selina. I just want to be close to her. Fuck, I want her in my lap.

It’s not a feeling I’ve had before. Sure I’ve wanted women, had a few girlfriends—though admittedly not since after high school when I joined the Army. But this is on a totally different level. I want her, physically, yes, but I feel fiercely protective of her. I nearly growled at those dumb fucks who sat next to her at the blackjack table.

I order us several appetizers while Selina orders us shots. Tequila shots. I want to tell her no because I can handle most types of alcohol, but tequila is a different story. I’ll need to pace myself to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

We sit in comfortable silence while we wait for the food and drinks. Then she licks her hand, salts the spot, licks it clean, slams the shot, then sucks on a lime wedge. It is single-handedly the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Which has to mean that I have it bad for this woman because inherently alcohol shots are not my thing.

“Come on, Boy Scout, don’t make me drink alone.”

“You know, I already have a nickname.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

“Oaktree.”

She opens her mouth and closes it a few times, then shakes her head. “I’m not even going to touch that.” She nods to the shot glasses in front of me. “Drink up.”

So I grab her other arm, turn it so the delicate skin of her wrist is pointing upward. There’s a small tattoo there, the word “warrior” in all caps in slim, black letters. I want to ask her about it, but now isn’t the time.

I pull her wrist to me, then bend and lick across her delicate skin.

She sucks in a breath and my dick tightens. I salt the soft skin, then lick her again, take the shot, then bite into the lime wedge. When I look back at her face, her eyes are so dark, I can’t distinguish pupil from iris.

I nearly lean in and kiss her, but somehow the spell is broken and she shakes her head and looks away, grabbing a few French fries from one of the plates.

I reach under the table and tug on my jeans to shift things around because I’m so damn hard at the moment, I could hammer nailed with my dick.

“I’m so pissed,” she says quietly.

“Not at me, I hope.”

Her brown eyes meet mine. “Myself, mostly. I shouldn’t let that asswipe affect me. With everything else going on in my life, I shouldn’t even care about those guys anymore. But I just sat there. I should have said something. Anything. I should have said that you can be an ally without being gay. That you can have friends who are gay that doesn’t make you less. I should have defended myself and defended my friend, like I should have done when I was in high school, but never had the courage to do.”

That’s a lot to take in, but I can tell she’s still got some steam in her, so I don’t say anything, just let her talk.

“Ever since we graduated, I told myself that if I ever had the chance, I wouldn’t just stand there and let them harass Stephen again. That I would actually stand up for him and tell them what I thought of their ignorance. But then I actually had the chance and instead I let you handle everything like I was some helpless idiot.”

Listening to her talk, my admiration for her grows—because I know how much courage it takes to stand up to bullies, even if the only way you have to stand up to them is just quietly ignoring them.

I frown. “You’re not a helpless idiot. You didn’t ask me to help, I just did it.”

“Because of how you were raised. Yeah, you mentioned that.”

I shake my head. “That’s not the only reason.”

One of her brows arches in question.

“You, Selina. I don’t always stick myself in the middle of other people’s business. But hearing the way he talked about you made me crazy. I wanted to beat his face in.”

“You’re taking this assignment from my brother a little too seriously.”

“He saved my life. Did you know that?”

“Jacob?”

I take a swig of water. “Yeah. Our convoy was hit and he pulled me out of the truck right before it blew. He got second degree burns on his hands opening the door because the fire had already started. But he pulled my ass out and into a ditch.”

She takes another shot and I’m fucking mesmerized by the sight of her pink tongue sliding across her skin. Fuck me, but I want that on my body. Anywhere, but I can think of a few key spots that would be preferable.

“So is that what this,” one of her hands motions between us, “is about? You feel indebted to my brother so now you’re my bodyguard or whatever?”

I laugh. “No. He just wanted me to introduce myself, let you know you had a friend in Cherry Falls. Everything else is me. All me.”

“It’s unnecessary. Just like tonight. I didn’t need your help.”

But somehow I know she’s lying. She froze and she might not want to admit it, even to herself, but she’s glad I was there and that I had her back.

“Everyone needs help sometimes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And based on what you’ve said, and how you reacted to them just being there, I think dealing with those assholes in high school must have been pretty traumatic. I think your friend Stephen was pretty lucky to have you.”

She rolls her eyes at my praise. “Maybe.”

“Either way, I’m glad I was here tonight and that you didn’t have to face them alone.”

“Yeah,” she gives a wry chuckle, tossing back the last of her drink. “But it’s not like you’re always going to be there to protect me. I mean, I’m not your wife.”