Free Red Red Rose by Stephanie Hoffman McManus Page B

mean you’re not alone anymore?” His hand came down hard on my shoulder
and he jerked me back around.
    I
shoved his hand away. “It’s none of your damn business.”
    “It
is if you’ve got some fucking guy staying with you.” His jaw clenched and his
eyes narrowed. Nathan rarely lost control, but I could see he was losing it
now. Maybe it wasn’t smart of me to push him further, but I couldn’t help it
when I was so pissed off.
    “I
can have whoever the hell I want stay with me. I can have a fucking orgy if I
want and it would still be none of your business!” I shouted.
    “You’re
wrong. You’re still mine, Nora, which makes it very much my business,” he said
tightly, regaining a small measure of his control.
    “That’s
what you don’t seem to get, I’m not a fucking possession. I don’t belong to
anyone, least of all you.”
    “I
didn’t mean it like that. If you would stop overreacting to everything–” he
didn’t get to finish that statement, and it was probably a good thing, because
his tone had turned patronizing and I was about two seconds away from whipping
out that pepper spray, but another voice sounded from the street.
    “Is
there a problem, Nora?” I knew that deep voice, and its rough-and-tumble owner.
    Shaw
stood near the rear of my car, his stance aggressive, his expression fierce and
his eyes regarding the two of us carefully.
    “Who
are you?” Nathan demanded, but Shaw dismissed him with a glance and fixed his
eyes on me.
    “What
do you want me to do here?”
    “Nothing,
because Nathan was just on his way out of town. Weren’t you?” I turned to him.
    His
glare bounced back and forth between me and Shaw before he leaned in close.
“When you get over your petty games, call me.” He turned on his heel and
stalked toward the Porsche I could see parked across the street. I knew it was
hardly the last I’d hear from him, but I was relieved to be done with him for
tonight.
    “Thank
you. I’m not so sure I could have gotten him to leave without more of a fight.”
    “That
the asshole ex?”
    “I
never called him an asshole.”
    “I
deduced that part all on my own.”
    “Yeah,
well it took me a little longer to figure out and I’m having trouble shaking
him off.” I leaned against the side of my car and Shaw took a few long strides
closer.
    “Remember
what I said about having the right man in your bed? It’d take care of that
problem real quick.” He jerked his head toward Nathan’s retreating Porsche, and
once again I wanted to ask him if that was an offer, but I wasn’t that bold.
    “For
tonight, you did the job just fine.”
    He
took another step toward me and then our personal space bubbles were getting
all up close and intimate. I had to tilt my chin up slightly to keep my eyes locked
on his. “It’s a good thing I’m not in your bed. I was, I’d break his damn arm
for putting his hands on you like that.”
    I
swallowed. “I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me.”
    “Doesn’t
change that I want to break his arm to teach him a lesson.” He brushed his knuckles
along my cheek, sweeping back the strand of hair that had come loose from my
bun.
    I
ducked my eyes briefly, before lifting them back to his. “You wouldn’t want to
do that. He’s a big-shot lawyer. He’d sue you.”
    Shaw
let out a short laugh. “I don’t give a shit who he is.” And that’s what made
him so different from Nathan. Shaw preferred to solve problems with action. His
hands, and possibly his fists, while Nathan used words and maneuvering and
manipulation to get what he wanted.
    “Well,
I should probably get home. Thank you again for stepping in, but sorry that you
had to.”
    “Don’t
ever apologize for that asshole.”
    I
gave a short nod.
    “Drive
safe, Nora.” I loved the way my name rolled off his tongue.
    “You
too.”
    I
climbed into my car and Shaw disappeared into the night as suddenly as he’d
appeared, like freakin’ Batman. Then I heard a loud engine rumble to