Page 27 of Cold Foot King
He picked up the phone to call her, but there was a text.I am playing pool with these guys and they are really nice and I want you to meet them. Are you any good at pool? I need a partner.
He didn’t know why, but his heart rate steadied. He felt relief. She was inviting him, not working one of those guys. Probably.
Be there in five.Send.
He stood, and swayed, wincing at how bad the pain in his head was. He pulled his pants and thermal on, forgetting his flannel in his haste, but he did grab his beanie and key card from the table on his way out.
The lights in the hallway were blinding, but he made it out the door. The wind that blasted frigid air across his face actually felt good. It was dark out here. Even the lights of the convenience store were turned off, and when the halo of light from the hotel lights faded, the only light was on the tree line of this small Alaskan town that lit up the Moody Lantern bar.
There were a few of the shifters from the prison hanging outside together around a firepit, and the tall guy from earlier with the weird-shaped pupils nodded a greeting. King returned it.
“Here for the girl?” he asked before King could pull open the door.
He looked at them one by one, suspicious. “Yeah.”
“We made sure she was good. No one’s messing with her in there. The guys are all right. Plus she’s been yapping their ears off about you all night. Any of the men who aren’t happily married or too ancient to get their dick hard are probably pretty turned off by her stories about you.”
“She’s kind of funny,” another one said.
“Thanks for keeping an eye out. Don’t need updates on her, but thanks.”
“You’re a silverback, aren’t you?” the tall guy asked, and sipped on a beer.
King shrugged. “So?”
“So, Silverbacks need to know what their women are doing. You don’t gotta bullshit us.”
King was annoyed that they thought they knew everything about a freaking complicated situation, but these shifters seemed to mean well, so he nodded his thanks and let himself into the bar instead of fighting them.
There was loud music blaring on a jukebox, and there was a man with a banjo sitting at the bar, talking to the bartender. The bar was winding down in this room, but in the pool room, there was a party going.
King steeled himself to see her hanging all over one of the men or something, but she wasn’t. She was sipping on an ice water in the corner, eyes closed as she danced to the song, and oh goodness, she was fuckin’ cute when she danced. She was just bouncing around and shaking her shoulders to the beat of the music.
“Kiiiiing,” a couple of the guys crowed. “Girl. Hey girl! Your man is here.”
Kat’s eyes flew open, and her smile turned megawatt. King just stood there frozen, his heartbeat drumming against his sternum.
“You’re not allowed to call him that,” she told the guys as she sauntered past them. “We are friends.”
“Pshhh,” one of them said as he leaned down to take a shot on the six ball. “Sure you are.”
“Hi, hi, hi,” she chattered, sliding her hands around his arm. God, it felt so good to be touched in a familiar way like this, and something in his middle stirred.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Three drinks, but I’ve been drinking water for a couple hours now.”
“She has,” the guy who was making the shots called out. “We can vouch for her.”
Okay, now he had an idea of how well she had her mind. “Want to stay? We can stay until close. Go have fun with your friends. Want me to refill this?” he asked, taking her empty glass from her hand.
“I want to go up with you. Why is your face all scrunched up like that?”
“Headache,” he admitted softly.
“Ooooh, I forgot. I know what you’re feeling. The Wreck-headaches are the worst thing ever. Here, come with me. I’ll get us both waters. Boys!” she called over her shoulder. “Save my dancing spot. That’s my corner. No one steal it.”
The guys chuckled, and one said, “It’s safe. Maybe pick another song or two on the way back, though.”