Page 40 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
A crashing noise sounded out in the bar, followed by several screams and shouts, and everything in me turned into ice when I turned to face the source of it. Noah.
Chapter 12
Noah
I was watching Emma and was barely hanging on. My reason was telling me to knock it off and move the hell out of here, but the beast in me remained in my spot, feeding me with anger as I observed her talking with a guy I would rather beat to a pulp.
I had no goddamn right. I knew that. I had no right to interfere into her life and impede her happiness, but it was getting harder to control my selfishness and possessiveness. She was beautiful, too beautiful, and she reminded me all too easily of those times when I felt like she was my whole world. She reminded me of how much I needed her and wanted her for myself.
I had thought I moved on. Maybe I hadn’t been ready for meeting someone new, but I sure as hell didn’t plan on being with Emma again. Yet, here I was.
After everything I went through, after becoming the kind of man that should be kept at distance at all costs, I was too damn close to indulging into this unreasonable urge to make her a part of my life once again.
I was glad that the blonde sitting next to me had given up on me, deep in conversation with Jake, because with the storm that was brewing in me, she would get caught up in it badly, and it would be so ugly.
I downed another glass of beer and closed my eyes, the images of me pounding that guy flashing in front of me. I couldn’t make a mess here.
“Bro, you’re scaring me,” Dominic told me.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
The first few months after my first outburst of anger, I was scared of myself as well. Luckily, we had weekly sessions with the therapist they assigned to my unit, who had tried to help me to accept the change and control my emotions. I should have found a new therapist as soon as I came back home, because the ticking bomb in me could explode any moment.
I tried to breathe slowly, but the longer Emma talked to the guy, the more I thought about the different ways to take the guy out.
But then I opened my eyes and looked at Emma at the same time as she placed her hand on the guy’s shoulder, and all hell broke lose. Not able to take it any longer, I shoved the table violently, causing all glasses to crash down in a loud series of noises that grated on my ears.
The entire bar went silent, every single person in the bar turning to look at me. My friends observed me like I was a wild animal on the loose, their faces pale and stern. But I couldn’t care less about them. I couldn’t care less about the whole bar as I lunged toward Emma and that guy.
“You son of a—” I growled, ready to pounce on the guy, but Jake stopped me, pulling me by the shoulder backward.
“Hey, hey, man! What do you think you’re doing?” I tried to push him away, but he didn’t even budge. “Take it easy. Do you really want to cause trouble here?”
The beast in me was too strong. Something else took over me, and it didn’t matter anymore that he was my friend. He was in my way, and I had to get rid of him, even by force if necessary.
“Step aside,” I hissed at him.
He frowned. “The fuck, man? What has gotten into you?”
I sneered at him, shaking furiously. “You will step aside, if you don’t want me to hurt you too.”
Aiden joined him, halting right in front of me and placing his hands against my shoulders to prevent me from moving forward. Big mistake.
“Step fucking aside!” I shoved Aiden away, somehow managing to stop myself from landing my fist right into his face. Before they tried to stop me again, I marched over to Emma.
Everything else faded in the background as Emma and I looked at each other, a mixture of fear and something else visible on her face, and a strong hand of pain tugged at my heart. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me. Just the thought that I could hurt her gave me an acid feeling that was worse than anything.
And it was this that finally made me see how bad I looked. This was not the way to act if I wanted her ever to forgive me. I had to calm down as much as I could if I didn’t want to scare her away.
That meant that I couldn’t even touch the guy. Something told me that if I beat him now, there would be absolutely no chance for Emma to even speak to me, so I had to rein in this aggression that fought to come out to the surface.
Curling my hands into fists, I walked up to Emma. The guy next to her turned to face me and raised his hands in an attempt to calm me down.
“Please, calm down.”
I ignored him and stopped right in front of her, only inches separating us. My pulse raced, my body turning hot at this close proximity to her, and for a couple of seconds, I was stunned and all I could do was look at her. Up close, I studied her bright blue eyes that were up to this day the most beautiful and enchanting eyes I had ever seen.
How could I ever think I could live without her? It was foolish of me to think that the distance and time would erase all lingering feelings. They weren’t erased, and now, standing this close to her again, they were only growing stronger.
Okay. Here goes nothing.
“Emma, can I talk to you alone? Please?”
Chapter 13
Emma
It felt like everything was happening in slow motion. In one moment, Noah was standing above the flipped over table, surrounded by the glass shards and spilled alcohol, and the next he was heading toward me. Oh my God. This was turning into a complete catastrophe. What was he doing?
My heart climbed up to my throat, the flutters in my stomach making an appearance. I was afraid of the aggression that was coming out of him in powerful waves, taken aback by the fury on his face, but there was something else beside fear. As I watched Noah stalk his way toward me, I felt awe.
Despite my better judgment, my body warmed at the sight of sheer strength and determination as he moved closer to me. His friends tried to stop him but unsuccessfully.
“Oh gosh!” Melanie said next to me. “What the heck is going on?”
Josh moved in front of me to shield me, and alarms activated in my head. Oh no. I didn’t want this to escalate into something ugly. I didn’t want Josh hurt because of me.
But Josh spoke before I could stop him, “Please, calm down.”
For a moment, I was sure Noah would hit him, but to my immense relief, he ignored him and stopped so close to me, that tingles appeared all over my skin.
After so many years, we were finally this close to each other, and the lines were blurred. My heart and body were prevailing over my reason, and I hated it.
“Emma, can I talk to you alone? Please?” Noah asked me, and his pleading voice created an ache in my chest that grew stronger the more we looked at each other in what seemed like a never-ending moment.
“Man, I don’t know what your problem is, but there is no way for me to let you get away with this,” Josh tried to but in again, but then Noah sliced him with his eyes, and Josh actually hunched and recoiled from him.
“Stay out of it,” he sneered at him, getting into his face. “I’ll break your jaw if you say one more word.”
Oh God. He was crazy!
“No fighting in the bar,” the bartender chimed in. “You will leave, or I’ll call the security,” he said to Noah, but Noah looked like he didn’t care about this warning at all.
I pressed my hand against my chest to calm down my racing heart. “Noah, don’t you dare make a scene here! And Josh didn’t do anything wrong, so stop acting like this.”
I turned toward Josh, ashamed and saddened that he had to witness this. “I’m so sorry because of him.”
Josh looked between Noah and me, his face worried. “I’m just worried about you. Do you know this guy?”
I met Noah’s steely gaze, noticing the muscle in his jaw ticking. He crossed his arms across his chest, glowering at me. “Yes, I know him,” I answered Josh, my eyes still on Noah, before I turned toward the bartender. “And I’ll leave.”
; I looked at my friends and sent them a smile to assuage them. “I’ll be fine, girls. I’ll call a taxi and go home.”
“Do you want me to accompany you?” Josh asked me, and Noah raised his eyebrow at him.
“You sure are desperate,” he told him, looking at him like he was the dirt beneath his shoe, and it made me so angry. “Go away.”
He didn’t have the right to do this to me. Sure, I didn’t want anything with Josh, anyway, but I didn’t deserve to be put through this after how he left me. He was making a scene right in the middle of this bar, acting like a brute. And the worst part was that I wasn’t totally repulsed by it. If I was completely honest with myself, I enjoyed seeing him like this—this flustered.
Shit. I must be drunk because only that could explain my illogical and horrid thoughts.
