“You’re Rule.” It wasn’t a question so I just nodded.

“I’m Ayden Cross. I live with Shaw.”

I wasn’t sure why that was supposed to matter to me so I kept silent while my best friend whipped his head around to glare at me. I was being kind of rude, but I was buzzed and still pissed at Shaw so I didn’t really care.

“I don’t know what your deal is but leave her alone. She doesn’t need you screwing with her head anymore so just back off.”

I blinked because I honestly had no clue what this babe was going on about. “I don’t mess with Shaw.”

She narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at me. “I know exactly what you do and don’t do Tattoo Boy. I adore Shaw. She’s sweet, nice and the best roommate ever so you need to just go do your troubled, bad boy act somewhere else, she doesn’t need it…”It looked like she was gearing up to lay into me even more but something caught her eye and suddenly her eyes were glowing with gold fire. “Oh my God! I cannot believe that asshole had the nerve to show up here. I need to go get Lou.” She spun on her heel and marched through the crowd leaving me reeling. I had no clue what she was talking about but clearly something had crawled up her butt so I looked over my shoulder and felt every protective cell I had suddenly come alive.

Shaw was standing by the bar . It was crowded but her white blond hair was unmistakable. So was the fact that she looked stressed and freaked out while a guy in a white polo shirt crowed her into the edge of the bar. He had a hand on her shoulder and was leaning down into her face, and whatever he was saying made her look like she wanted to punch him in the nuts or puke on his shoes. I’d never seen the look of panic on her face like that before; she was normally so cool and unflappable that against my better judgment I was climbing to my feet. I wasn’t the type to give two shits about a damsel in distress, but this damsel I knew for a fact could take care of herself and if she looked like she was struggling, despite how I felt about her I was going to intervene. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Since I was tall and had a good portion of visible skin covered in designs that cried ‘don’t mess with me’ I didn’t have to worry about people in the crowded bar moving out of my way. When I got close enough her eyes snapped to me and I was pretty sure I saw relief flood into the sparkly green depths. Polo shirt leaned in even closer to her and I thought I heard him say something about how things were going to look when he went home alone over winter break. I saw her stiffen and try to pull away but polo shirt just moved in to more fully keep her pinned against the bar.

“I don’t care what my mother told you, Gabe. We’re over; I have no interest in going to Aspen with you or your family. Stop calling me and stop showing up where I’m at.”

“Baby, we’re meant for each other and once you stop being stubborn you’ll see how great we could be together.” I hated guys that called girls baby. Baby was what you used when you didn’t remember the girls name or you were just too lazy to come up with your own nickname for her.

She wiggled a little more and I noticed the way the guy’s followed the deep vee of her revealing outfit.

“Let go of me Gabe. I didn’t want to be with you like that when we were dating, I sure as hell don’t want to be with you like that now. Leave me alone.”

Polo shirt got red in the face at her blatant rejection. He was about to lean even farther into her, about to put his other hand on her when I reached out and grabbed her wrist and tugged her free. Polo shirt was a good four inches shorter than me so I tucked Shaw’s small frame under my arm and glared at him over the top of her head.

“Sorry I’m late Casper.” Without missing a beat she put an arm around my waist and practically collapsed into my side. I had used the nickname to tease her when we were younger because her hair was almost white and knew she hated it, now it sounded intimate and personal like we had some kind of secret polo shirt wasn’t in on.

“No problem. I’ve got an hour or so left of my shift can you hangout until I’m off?” Her eyes were pleading with me to play along but I was too busy wondering why my side felt like it was on fire where we touched.

“No problem, who’s your friend?”

Polo shirt was glaring at me and turning an alarming shade of red. He didn’t even give Shaw a chance to respond.

“I’m her boyfriend, Gabe Davenport. Who are you?”

Shaw went stiff next to me and I felt her fingers clutch the back of my shirt.

“Gabe this is Rule Archer, Rule that’s Gabe my EX boyfriend, only he’s having a hard time getting the ex-part down.”

“Shaw, get away from him. What are you thinking? You can’t possibly think anyone is going to believe you would go from me to someone like him, can you? Just look at him, he’s a mess.”

I was immune to the someone like him tactic, I heard it all the time but apparently Shaw wasn’t. She bristled like a wet cat and made a move like she was going to poke the guy in the chest but I wrapped her back up against my side and subtly tried to calm her down by rubbing a hand up and down her bare arm.

“I’ve known Rule most of my life, Gabe. I could care less what he looks like because he isn’t anybody’s puppet and the same thing cannot be said about you. Don’t think you can stand there and judge him or judge me, not when you’re practically stalking me and trying to bully me into a relationship by manipulating my parents because you know they like you. Ayden is here and you can bet your ass if she saw you she’s going to go get Lou. Lou doesn’t like to see his girls upset so unless you want a scene that I’m sure you’ll never live down go away and don’t come back. You can call my mom, talk to my dad all you want, I don’t want to be with you and nothing is going to change that.”

He looked like he was gearing up to keep fighting but there was a sudden surge towards the bar knocking Shaw even further into my embrace and I took full advantage by pulling her small frame completely in line with mine. The girl was rocking some serious curves and I wondered what in the hell I had been smoking to miss it right up until then.

“We got a problem bro?” She pulled away from me slightly with a scowl and put her hands in the center of my chest to get a little space.

“Yeah, bro we do, but now isn’t the time or the place and I don’t have time to mess around with a peon like you. Shaw I’ll see you later, this isn’t done.”

He shoulder checked me and sent us a double glare as he pushed around us. I gave Shaw a squeeze and let her take a step back but kept my hands loosely at her waist. I was watching polo shirt walk away and trying to catch Nash’s eye over her head. She let out a breath that fluttered against my throat and sent a chill running across my skin.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. That guy needs to get a clue.” Nash finally looked up and I jerked my head toward the door where polo shirt had just exited. He gave me a slight nod and said something to Rowdy and Jet which had the two of them climbing to their feet as well. I saw Shaw’s dark haired roommate hanging by the door with a mountain of a man. She gave my friends an odd look as they filed out the door but didn’t say anything. I dug my AMX out of my wallet and put it in Shaw’s hand. Her luminous eyes were watching me curiously.

“Close our tab out on that, will ya? I’ll be back in just a second.”

She took the card and fell back a step. I tried not to notice what it did to her chest when she crossed her arms over her breasts.

“Where are you going?”

“To run an errand.”

“Leave Gabe alone, Rule. He isn’t like you and Rome. He was born to be a politician. Threats and intimidation don’t mean anything to a guy like that, just forget about him. The idea that I would leave him for a guy with tattoos and purple hair is enough of a blow to his ego to get him to leave me alone for a while, trust me. Besides I’ll talk to Lou the bouncer, if I tell him that Gabe is harassing me they’ll 86 him for good.”

“Look Rome would kick my ass to Nebraska if he found out some douche bag was giving you trouble and I didn’t say something, plus I hate guys that think they can just do whatever they want to a girl because he has an in with the parents. I’ll be back in a second, just close our tab and hold on to the card in case you have to bail one or all of us out of jail.”

I thought it was funny but she didn’t even crack a smile. She was just looking at me like I had suddenly grown another head and I needed to get a move on it before the asshat left.

“It’ll be fine, Shaw. Seriously, I got this.”

I set her fully away from me and moved around her to follow the guys out the front door. The pretty roommate caught my eye and lifted a brow. “Maybe you have redeeming qualities after all, Archer.”

I flipped her off, because well that’s what I do and made my way to the edge of the block where Nash and the boys were leaning against a white Lexus. A very nervous looking polo shirt was pacing back and forth in front of them threatening to call the cops waving his I-Phone around and asking repeatedly if they had any idea who his dad was. I tucked my hands in my front pockets and cocked my head to the side. I could see why Shaw’s parents were all about this guy, he was alright looking if you went for a dude that looked like Banana Republic threw up all over him. He actually had coloring similar to mine, dark hair minus the purple and spikes, and light blue eyes, but he oozed entitlement and vanity in a way only the idle rich could. He was custom made to be the husband that had a piece on the side while the pretty wife smiled for the cameras during election time, and while my relationship with Shaw tended to be tumultuous at best, I knew on a soul deep level that she deserved better than whatever this slime ball was selling.

“Hey polo shirt slow down a minute I just wanna talk to you for a second.” He was in the middle of telling Nash that he was going to sue him for this or that and that his dad was judge so they would throw the book at him when he finally noticed I joined the party. He lowered his wildly flailing arms and glared at me.

“I know who you are, you know. Shaw might think she’s clever but she has a picture of all three of you boys in her room on her nightstand and her parents have told me multiple times about her unhealthy attachment to you and your family. Her father has even threatened to stop paying for school for her if she keeps showing such questionable judgment in who she spends time with, this little encounter might just seal the deal.” I had to give the creep credit. On my own I was a fairly intimidating guy, surrounded by guys that were just as big and a hell of a lot more used to physical violence than he obviously was, the little puke held his ground. “I don’t know what her fascination with a freak like you is, but it’s time for her to outgrow it. She belongs with someone like me, not someone that can’t go through a metal detector without clearing out their face.”

Nash snickered and Rowdy laughed outright. I just shook my head a little and lifted up my mouth in a twisted grin. “I think she belongs with someone more interested in getting into her pants than into her daddy’s wallet. Shaw’s a good girl and she has a good head on her shoulders. The fact she wouldn’t let you even round first base in six months is pretty telling bro. From the sounds of it you would have better luck taking her folks on a date than her. Look she’s like family and I don’t like it when people mess with my family. This is a friendly little chat because we’re on a public street and I’m feeling generous, next time it won’t be public and my generosity has a time limit. Leave her alone, end of story.”