Rough and Tumble by Crystal Green

Author:Crystal Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

13

Panic—and something else Molly didn’t want to face—clawed through her as Cash connected with the businessman’s jaw.

“Say you’re sorry!” he yelled.

The man spit at Cash.

Pure rage stiffened his body, making him hunch like an animal about to spring. Molly knew that she should do something, but the businessman had pulled a trigger in Cash. And it’d been about her.

Another man’s voice rose over the music. “Cash!”

Molly glanced over to see Jesse Navarro standing like a scowling rock statue while, behind him, the dancers paused on the stage to watch the action.

Cash had his fist primed again, but when he looked up at Jesse, a crumbling moment seemed to pass between them. Cash’s gaze wasn’t focused—it was muddled with something that Molly now sensed went way beyond the insults the drunk had aimed at her.

But what?

“Jesus, Cash,” Jesse said, almost as if he’d never seen his friend like this before.

And it was as if Cash didn’t recognize himself, either, because he let go of the man’s shirt, taking an unsteady step away, pushing his hair out of his face, still a little wild-eyed.

“You didn’t hear what he said to her.” Cash shook his head. “He touched her when he had no business doing it. No one disrespects a woman like that, even if he does wear suits and drink martinis for lunch.”

The drunk wasn’t done. “How much does she charge?” he asked, pushing off the table and going for Molly again. “I can pay it. . . .”

Oh. My. God. Had he just mistaken her for a prostitute?

Jesse blocked him. “You’re gonna get your ass out of my place, call a cab, and never come back—not unless you want to face harassment charges. Understand?”

“But—”

“Get out.”

The man flipped off Jesse, muttering about a lawsuit, then spared one last, jittery glance at Molly before he grimaced and wove toward the door.

Cash tracked him with a glare, his chest rising and falling, his arms curved at his sides. The dancers went back to their poles as if nothing had happened, and the music played on.

Jesse turned to Molly. “How’re you doing?”

“Fine.” For a woman who’d come off as Cash’s lady of the evening, she was a-okay.

Was that true, though? Because a normal woman should’ve been horrified beyond belief at what that guy had thought she was and, even worse yet, Cash’s temper. She should’ve been terrified that she was in the company of such a brutal hothead, because men like that didn’t appeal to women like Molly. Those men were destructive and trashy and belonged to an entirely different world. But damn if she wasn’t burning with a fiery thrust of flame through every part of her. No one had ever defended her like that. No one had ever cared enough.

She tried to think the whole situation through, but Cash was digging in his back pocket, tossing more money on their table, grabbing his stuff, and stalking past Jesse.

“That should cover any damage,” he said levelly.

“Cash!”

Jesse had the voice of a drill sergeant, but it wasn’t enough to stop his friend from moving toward a back door exit.

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