“Ah, there she is now. I was just telling your new boyfriend all about you.”

I can feel the blood drain from my face and turn my eyes toward Stone, sitting there with his back to me, looking into his half-empty glass. “What are you doing here, Troy?” I ask, looking back at my ex as he sits there with a self-satisfied smirk on his handsome face. I wish I could slap that smirk right off him.

“I heard you were back in town,” Troy answers, lifting his beer to his lips and taking a large mouthful.

“Only for tonight,” I say, swallowing down my revulsion as he lets out a loud belch.

“You sure?” he asks, putting his beer down on the bar and leaning toward me. I shiver and my breathing grows shallow as his fingers lightly caress the smooth skin of my upper arm.

Still, Stone doesn’t move, or even acknowledge I’m here.

“I thought maybe we could relive the good old days,” Troy is saying, his voice low as he presses closer to me. His voice is slurring, he’s clearly drunk. My pulse quickens in fear; drunk Troy was always the violent Troy. “You know,” he continues, “before you fucking left me like the little cunt you are.”

Oh, God, I can feel his cock stabbing at my thigh through his pants. “I-I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” I stammer, leaning away from him. He's still so intimidating, a reminder of the Hell I walked away from.

“Come on,” Troy urges, his fingers now digging into my flesh. “I bet your friend here would like a turn. Why don’t you show him what you’ve got? I’m sure he’d love to know what a great little pussy you have. You might be a cunt, but at least yours is a pretty one.” Troy spins me around so my back is pressed against his chest. I feel his fingers close around the undersides of my breasts and I whimper helplessly. I’ve made a huge mistake, confronting him. I should’ve just left it alone. It’s too much. Tears roll silently down my cheeks. “Stone, please,” I beg quietly.

Troy laughs, but something brushes by me and his laughter is cut off. He releases me and I spin around, my eyes opening wide as I see Stone holding him up by the throat, a murderous look in his eyes. “You like to hit women?” he snarls. His eyes are full of rage as he holds Troy’s throat. Troy’s eyes are wide with fright, his fingers clambering desperately at Stone’s large hand.

“Stone, please,” I beg, my hand touching his arm lightly. “Let him go.”

Stone glances down at me. “You want me to let him go?” he asks incredulously. “After everything he did to you?”

I falter at that. He knows? How could he know? I don’t have time to think about that right now, though. Troy’s face is turning a strange reddish-purple color, his eyes bulging out of his head like a frog. I want nothing more than for Stone to squeeze the life out of this no-good, sniveling prick, but not at his own expense. “He’s not worth it,” I insist.

Stone hesitates then releases Troy with a sound of disgust.

Troy stumbles backwards, gasping for breath as he clutches at his throat. He looks so small next to Stone. Pathetic, really. “You’ll pay for this, you stupid bitch,” he gasps, staggering off back into the crowd. I release a loud sigh of relief as he leaves, feeling my heart rate slowly return to normal. I swing my gaze back and forth between the two of them before finally coming to rest on Stone. He looks furious. His scowl deepens as he sees me looking at him. “What?” he snaps.

“What?” I repeat, my mouth hanging open as I stare at him. “Have you completely lost your mind?” I follow him out of the club, pushing past the bouncers and line of people waiting to get in.

The parking lot is deathly quiet compared to inside. “Stone, stop!”

I recoil as he rounds on me, eyes blazing. “What the hell did you expect me to do, Shannon?” he shouts, causing several passers-by to stare at us curiously. “This guy comes up to me in a bar and starts telling me all about his sex life with you, painting you as nothing more than a slut, and you want me to just back off?”

I stare at him. I’d wondered what Troy said to Stone, but to actually hear it fucking hurt. I knew my ex was a scumbag, but this was a new low. Even for him.

“Why did you stand up for me?” I ask in a quiet voice.

“Why?” Stone repeats, confusion etched on his handsome face.

I nod. “You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t,” Stone agrees. “But I know enough about you to know how strong you are. You kicked my ass the day I met you.”

I smile at the memory. “That’s true,” I say.

“I know how important friendship is to you,” Stone continues, his voice soft and gentle. “You didn’t want to come here tonight, but you forced yourself because Ruth wanted you here.”

I stare at him. “How could you possibly know that?” I demand. “I haven’t told anyone but—” Keets and Ruth. Shit.

Stone nods knowingly. “Ruth told me,” he admits. “Don’t be mad at her; I half-guessed. The point is,” he continues, taking a couple of steps forward until he is standing directly in front of me. “You’re amazing.” He cups my face in his large hand, his thumb softly stroking my cheek.

“But you’re clearly not attracted to me, you proved that today in the bar.”

Stone releases a short breath as he stares at me. “Is that what you think? That I’m not attracted to you?”

“You pushed me away this afternoon, and—”

“I pushed you away,” he interrupts, his eyes darkening. “Because I wanted you too much, Shannon.”

“You-you did?”

He nods. “I wanted you then, and I want you now. You have no idea how hard my cock is for you; it’s like I have a constant hard on when you’re around. Seeing you, like this.” He gestures to my outfit. “It makes me want to bend you over the back of my car right now, flip up that skirt and push my tongue inside you.”

My breathing increases as the blood pounds in my ears. I clench my thighs together to try to release some of the pressure.

“Is that what you want to hear, Shannon?” he asks, his fingertips lightly caressing my back as he winds his arms around me and draws me close, his breath hot against my ear. “Maybe you’d like to hear about the way I stroked my cock to you in the shower last night, imagining my hand was your mouth,” he kisses my neck as his hand slides down my front and beneath my skirt. “And then your sweet little pussy.”

“Stone,” I moan helplessly, closing my eyes and tilting my head back as his fingers press against me intimately.

“There you guys are,” Keets says behind me. I jerk away from Stone guiltily, my face flaming. I turn to face my friend and notice he’s holding Ruth’s hand in a rather firm grip. I suppress a small smile as my eyes lock with Ruth, and the younger girl ducks her head in embarrassment.

“We’re just getting ready to go,” Stone states, jangling the car keys in his hand as he pulls them out of the pocket of his jeans, seemingly unaffected by what just happened.

My head snaps back to him. “No,” I tell him, shaking my head. “Absolutely not.”

“Huh?” he asks, a dazed look on his face.

“You’re drunk,” I explain. “You’re not driving anywhere. Give me the keys.”

“No fucking way,” Stone says, holding them protectively. “No one drives my car but me.”

“She’s right,” Keets states, draping his arm across Ruth’s shoulders. “I’d rather sleep in my bed tonight, not the morgue.”

“Who said anything about sleeping?” Ruth giggles.

I roll my eyes and turn back to Stone, holding my hand out expectantly.

“No one drives my car,” he repeats, looking a little lost.

I step closer and gently pry the keys from his hand. “I know,” I say gently, giving him a small smile. I unlock the car and slide behind the wheel, adjusting the seat to my height as I wait until everyone else piles in before pulling out of the parking lot. As I drive, I find it increasingly difficult to keep my eyes on the road. They are repeatedly drawn to the rear view mirror, where I can clearly see Keets with his hand inside Ruth’s jeans. I press my thighs together and force my eyes forward. It lasts a few moments until I become aware of Stone’s eyes on me.