Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)(44)

It didn’t matter Bowen had a non-relationship with his mother—the insult made him livid. Worse, it had been an implied insult toward Sera. His hands curled into fists and his vision dulled with red haze. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew Wayne was provoking him on purpose, though. Why? The wild card was the only thing holding him back. No chances. He couldn’t take any chances when he had Sera with him.

Instead, he concentrated on the feeling of her fingers twining with his, the way she squeezed him as if she knew what an effort it cost him not to go for Wayne’s throat.

“Did you call me down here to relive your glory days? I’m not feeling all that nostalgic.”

Wayne

looked

surprised

over

Bowen’s restraint. “No, actually. We got something to discuss. Privately.”

“Not happening tonight.”

“S’gotta be tonight.” His lips curled into a smile as he glanced at Sera. “You don’t mind. Do you, sweet thing?”

Calm down. He wants you to snap.

Wants to remind you who you are, that you’ll never be normal. That you’ll never be anything but a violent temper on legs. With Sera beside him, though, he felt like more than that. He was her protector. Still, if he blew Wayne off now, it would come back to bite him in the ass. With everyone watching their every move, he couldn’t blow off business for a girl. Word would spread he’d gone soft and it would only be a matter of time before someone tried to create a new job opportunity for himself by eliminating the competition. Him.

Bowen leaned down to talk in Sera’s ear. “Can you sit at the bar for a few minutes? I won’t be long.”

She nodded, reassurance in her brown eyes. “I’ll be fine. Go ahead.”

“Great.” Wayne snorted. “Now we’ve got permission.”

Ignoring the comment, Bowen led Sera to the bar and boosted her onto a seat.

The bartender came over immediately. A dirty martini. It had to be the last drink he would expect her to order, but that contradiction somehow made complete sense. An angel sitting at a bar full of scum, trying to blend in. God, he wanted to take her home.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay? No one will bother you if you stay put.”

She traced a circle on the bar. “Why won’t they bother me?”

Why was she asking when she already knew? Did she need to be reassured or was she asking because she wasn’t supposed to know? “They’ve seen you with me. They know what will happen if I come back and someone has made the mistake of talking to you.”

“Just someone talking to me would bother you?”

“Sera, I’m wishing they were all f*cking blind right now.” Underneath the bar, he laid a hand on her bare knee. “If I didn’t think seeing the sexy way you kiss would interest them more, I would take your mouth right now. I’d f*ck it with mine, to remind them who you’re with.”

He grazed her ear with his stubbled cheek. “But once they see the way that mouth moves, I’ll have to fight them off, won’t I, baby?”

He watched the pulse flutter at her neck. “No fighting, please. Not for me.”

Bowen pulled back to study her adamant expression. She didn’t like the idea of him fighting, looked distinctly upset about the possibility. “If I did fight for you, it would be the first time I’d ever used my fists for something worthwhile.”

Guilt shone briefly in her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” He gave a warning look to every male within spitting distance. “Be good.”





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


Sera took a sip of her martini and tried not to gag. It tasted exactly as the name implied. Dirty, like it had gone past its expiration date or been left in the sun too long. Aware of the attention being paid to her, she didn’t so much as flinch as the liquid burned down her throat. God, she’d kill for a Snapple to rid herself of the taste.

She noticed a group of men sending her covert glances. They looked drunk and bored, a dangerous combination. In fact, she had a suspicion they were nominating someone to come talk to her.

She didn’t want to see how that would go over when Bowen came back.

It would be foolish of her not to believe he’d meant every word. His jealousy,

his

possessive

attitude

concerning her, only grew by the hour.

And in turn, so did her desire for it to keep growing, which didn’t make any sense when the thought of him fighting bothered her immensely. When Bowen kissed her, when he talked to her as if it were them versus the world, she wanted it to be true. The more time she spent with him only made her confidence grow that he was the man she’d never known enough to hope for. He didn’t belong in this world. He was a victim of his circumstances.

Could she save him as she’d resolved to do, or was she a victim of her circumstances, same as him? Were they doomed to part ways as enemies once this ended?

Today had been incredible. Possibly even the best day of her life. When they’d just been two people without deadlines or agendas coloring the air around them, she’d been Sera with him, not a nurse, or a cop, or a grieving sister. Just herself. After the strictness of





boarding school and not knowing how to connect with her uncle on the odd occasion she saw him, being herself had been impossible. She didn’t know who she was. How ironic that while pretending to be someone else, she finally felt comfortable in her own skin.