The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) by Piper Sheldon (e book reader android txt) 📕

display. Her long legs went for days in short shorts. She looked more relaxed that I’d seen her since Denver. She looked … happy to see me. Until she saw Skip. Her gaze shuttered and her smile became the fake one she used at the Lodge. I had completely misread the invitation. I wished I could go back in time and understand that this was Roxy’s attempt to connect.

No, that was a lie. I knew. I was just scared. I didn’t want to show up alone and cross a line.

I kept an eye on her as her friends chatted. Roxy kept tossing back drinks at a rate that surprised me. She had always tried to appear put together and professional around me and here she was getting hammered. Her lithe build didn’t seem equipped to handle the vodka at the rate she was drinking it. I wouldn’t be able to handle that much.

“Roxy, here.” Suzie slid her a glass of water and a basket of fried pickles.

Roxy didn’t say anything to her friend but did take a pickle and sipped the water. There was an aggression to her drinking that worried me. Like she was trying to prove a point. I wasn’t sure if it was aimed at Gretchen sitting at the other end of the table. They carefully avoided talking to each other in a nonverbal ballet that was almost impressive.

They were a good group and under normal circumstances I felt like we would have all hit it off, but there was a weird tension in the air that made my skin itch. Even Jack and Skip kept arguing over every little thing. I’d never seen Skip like that. Skip was quiet not argumentative. Jack would say the sky was blue and Skip counter with, only during the day. Ford and Suzie were too lost in each other to notice. It was up to me to keep the jokes coming if only to get a single smile from Roxy.

“I chucked a boomerang once. Not sure where it went but it’ll come back to me,” I said.

Skip groaned and shook his head. Probably not the first time he’d heard that one. Despite my best attempts, Roxy seemed to slip further into a dark mood.

To add to my mounting frustration, this biker at the bar kept looking at Roxy. He had a thick beard and a shaved head with a tattoo on his neck. He’d blatantly check out her legs, not even trying to hide it. I scooted closer to her and put my arm around the back of the chair. If he looked over here again, I would have to do something about it.

I caught Skip watching the exchange. He shook his head and mouthed, “Calm down.” I shrugged, and brushed my thumb across the exposed skin of her shoulder.

Roxy stood abruptly. “I’ll be right back.” Her words slurred.

As she walked away, I caught the guy at the bar watching her. He was eating up her body like she owed him and it pissed me off.

“I’ll just keep an eye on her,” Suzie said.

The scumbag at the bar leaned back and looked as though he was going to follow her when Suzie quickly caught up. It occurred to me in that this was one of the reasons why women go in pairs to the bathroom. I always thought it was just so they could discuss the deepest secrets of their mysterious sex. But they obviously had a more practical application for avoiding men who were waiting for drunk “easy targets” to break off from their friends.

I was going to kill him.

Skip nudged me. “You’re glaring.”

“He’s just staring at her. He needs to mind his own business.”

Skip followed my gaze to the bar. He frowned. The brute at the bar couldn’t care less or didn’t notice us.

“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Skip said.

I nodded. But I couldn’t stop the growing irritation. Who was this guy? What right did he have to look at her like that? Then a sinking realization set in. Was I any better? I stared at her like she was the most amazing thing in the world because she was. But that didn’t mean he could. Roxy mine. Fire good. Sometimes it was hard to beat back the caveman.

But no, it wasn’t the same. I wanted to see her flourish. I wanted her to be who she was. I wanted to be the person that brought her unending happiness. It wasn’t about conquering her for a night. Even that first night in Denver our interactions had never felt that small to me. It felt cosmic. Stars aligned. I would never treat her as something to be used and disposed of. She was everything.

I gulped and looked down at my beer.

“These girls can take care of themselves, trust me,” Jack said amicably. “Gretchen probably has a weapon hidden under the table even as we speak.”

“I wasn’t saying that they couldn’t,” Skip said with quiet rage in his voice.

Jack blinked at him. “I know that. I was just saying—”

Suzie came back, her eyes were wide as they shot around the table. “She slipped out while I was ”—her gaze flicked to me and Skip—“using the facilities,” she finished.

Not sure why she needed to sugarcoat it for us but then her words hit. I glanced to the bar. The guy was gone. My heart took off at an alarming rate.

“That’s sort of her thing, isn’t it?” Gretchen said with sass but her gaze moved around the bar looking for Roxy, the corners of her eyes tight with tension.

“I’m going after her,” I said as I stood. “Skippo, give me the rental, hey?” I reached for the keys.

He nodded and handed them to me. “I’ll come with. Just let me close the tab—”

“There’s no time.” I was already wasting too much time standing here as they discussed what they could do. “I got this,” I added looking at them all.

Gretchen nodded and Suzie grabbed Ford’s hand, looking pale.

“I can take him