Page 92 of Loving a Warrior

“Hell yeah.”

The easy admission made Shane’s eyes widen, then darken with promise. “I guess I’ll, uh, just have to reassure you later, won’t I?”

“Just so you know, I’m gonna need lots of reassurance.” Matt shrugged as if they were discussing the weather. “Over and over and over.”

Shane’s nostrils flared. “All night long, baby.”

He pushed away from the bar, leaving Matt tingling with arousal, grateful for the shirt covering his lap.

The woman smiled at Shane as he approached. As they headed toward the stairs, her high heel caught in a rough patch on the carpet. She stumbled, grabbing Shane’s arm to keep from falling, and when she righted herself he slid his arm around her waist until she’d regained her footing.

Suddenly one of the cops surged to his feet and stormed over to them, his face red with alcohol and anger.

Oh, shit.

The guy was good-looking in a florid, beefy sort of way. Tattoos snaked out from under the sleeves of a too-tight shirt, which he’d obviously worn to show off muscles carefully honed in the gym.

Matt wasn’t going to interfere, but he got to his own feet and moved closer in case Shane needed him.

“That’s my girl,” the cop was yelling. “I met her first!”

Shane’s face hardened into granite. “I believe this woman is perfectly capable of deciding who she’s going to spend her evening with. That decision doesn’t appear to include you, asshole, so fuck off.”

Even though Shane was leaner than the cop, coiled power radiated from every inch of him. Matt could see the cop take that in before he darted his gaze over to the group of SEALs, all of whom were now watching them.

The guy’s face screwed up into a contemptuous sneer. “Eh, you can have the fuckin’ slut. I just bought her drinks to try and get in her pants. Fuck you, bitch.”

He turned away, and before Matt could blink, Shane was on the guy, his arm around his neck in a choke hold. “Is that how you always talk to women? Fuck you.”

The asshole’s eyes rolled back in his head as his carotid artery was compressed to within an inch of his losing consciousness. Just before he did, Shane released the pressure and pushed him away. The guy stumbled and went down to all fours, gasping for air and clutching his throat.

With loud exclamations, two of his companions rushed over to help him stand. “C’mon, Andy. Let it go. We don’t want any trouble.” The guy who spoke pointed at Shane. “We could take you in for assault, though, buddy, so watch it.”

Matt got the feeling his companions had dealt with Andy a lot in these types of situations. Their calming techniques were practiced, the things they were saying to him said with the weary air of someone who’d said them a million times before.

Andy swayed on his feet, his hair mussed, shirt askew. Matt knew the type of guy well. Used to being the best-looking dude in his crew, he’d pick up on women, buy them drinks and then try to make them feel as if they owed him something at the end of the night. Prick.

Matt glanced at Shane just in time to see him shake his head in disgust and brush his hands together as if slinging off dirt. The action instantly inflamed Andy, who broke free of his companions and lunged at Shane, fist swinging. Shane dodged the blow easily, but in doing so his boot caught in the same patch of rough carpet the woman’s had and he stumbled. Andy took advantage of him being off-balance and swung again, this time making contact with a sickening crunch.

Blood exploded from Shane’s eyebrow. White-hot rage flooded Matt’s body, and he bellowed as he launched himself at Andy, dimly aware that the extra security Lani had alerted was already surging up the stairs. One of the bouncers wrapped his arms around Matt to restrain him. Cursing, Matt wrenched away.

“He started it,” Andy screamed, pointing at Shane, who had blood pouring down his face. “He choked me out!”

It was pandemonium as SEALs and off-duty cops came together in a clash. No further punches were thrown but there were shouted accusations along with pushes and shoves. The tense situation was just about to burst into flame when several uniformed policemen rushed up the stairs and ordered each group to fall back.

“I’ll arrest everyone here,” the guy in charge warned. “Every single one of you fuckers will be going in.” He glared at Andy, including him in the statement, listening impassively as Andy excitedly informed him what Shane had done. “I had to hit him in self-defense!”

“What the fuck? Bullshit!” Howls of rage erupted from everyone on Shane’s side as he was handcuffed, then led down the stairs, a gloating Andy behind him.

By the time Matt fought his way outside, Shane had been pushed to sitting on a curb, hands still cuffed behind him. His face was a mess of blood, although his lips were twisted in a sneer.

Andy stood in front of him, taunting him. “Not so pretty now, are you, motherfucker? Ain’t no bitches gonna suck your cock tonight.” He smirked, obviously feeling safe since Shane was restrained. “You probably couldn’t get it up for that slut anyway, you fa—”

With a roar Shane leapt to his feet and lunged. Immediately two SEALs were on him to wrestle him back. “Easy, bud. This piece of shit ain’t worth it.”

The SEALs held Shane down as he blistered the air with curses, the epithets so creative that Matt had to fight a sudden urge to laugh. All the while Shane struggled against the SEALs’ grip, blood dripping from his chin.

At last he ran out of steam and sagged, the men holding him letting him go with comforting pats to his shoulder. Matt could hear the cop in charge calling for a paddy wagon to take Shane to jail, and a burst of renewed fury surged through him, making him shake.