Page 38 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
“You were willing to pay for thisdisgusting whorejust a moment ago. What does that say about your sense of taste?” She pulled her arm back, but that just made him tighten his grip. “Let go of me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” He pulled her closer, the jerking movement sudden enough to sting. “You need to learn some manners. I was going to treat you nicely, which is far more than a bitch like you fucking deserves.”
His grip tightened, and given that Colton had yet to come over, he probably wouldn’t at all. She would have to handle this on her own. Which, being honest, she didn’t really mind.
Glaring at Chad, she grabbed the flat beer left behind on the table and threw the lukewarm contents right in his dumb-looking face.
He let go of her, reeling away with a wet cough. His shirt was soaked through, and golden liquid pearled on his gel-slicked hair.
He stared down at himself. Then, eyes filled with rage, he raised his hand and swung towards her face. She leaned back instinctively, but the lack of space made it impossible to avoid the incoming strike. Rather than hitting her cheek, as intended, his knuckles smacked against her mouth. Dull pain throbbed through her bottom lip, a coppery taste flowing onto her tongue.
Bastard had split her fucking lip.
She was about to let go of the brakes and verbally tear into the bristling man next to her, but his face wasn’t where she’d expected it to be. Instead, it was pressed against the sticky surface of the booth table, Maya holding onto the back of his head.
“Is there a problem here?” Maya’s voice was ice. Chad struggled against her grip.
“What the hell are you—” He groaned as Maya pressed him harder against the table.
“Wasn’t talking to you.”
She turned towards Harper. And stiffened. Her whole body froze, eyes widening as they locked on Harper’s mouth.
Harper wiped at her lips. A thin coat of blood came off on her fingers.
Maya swallowed and turned her eyes away, though it seemed like it took significant effort to do so. Her fingers curled, digging into Chad’s skull like claws.
“I see two options here,” Maya said tightly. “You either leave on your own, or in a manner that involves your face making contact with the pavement. Which one do you prefer?”
“You can’t tell me to—”
“Unless you’re about to say that you’re getting the hell out of here, you’re done talking.”
Maya leaned more of her weight onto Chad’s skull, making him yell out and kick against the floor.
“Alright! Alright, fuck. I’ll leave, okay? Just… please let me go.”
Maya didn’tquitedo that. She grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward hard enough that it was almost a throw. He crashed into a nearby table, summoning a choir of frightened gasps.
Everyone was staring at them. The patrons, the other girls, even Colton, who had yet to move from the wall he was leaning against.
Chad cursed under his breath and scrambled back to his feet. For a second, it looked like he was about to rush back towards the booth, but one look at Maya stopped him in his tracks.
He scoffed and spat on the floor. “Fuck this place. It sucks anyway.”
Wiping the remnants of beer off his face, he rushed out the door. But the chaos he started had a ripple effect. The moment he was gone, about half the patrons untangled themselves from whatever company they’d paid for and followed him out.
The attention shifted, every person in the room turning their eyes onto Harper. Some of them seemed startled. A few curious. But most of them were staring at her with nothing but loathing. The only person not in any of those categories was Maya, who was keeping her eyes glued to the floor.
“You alright?”
That was a more complicated question than Maya had probably intended. The lip injury didn’t feel serious, but going by Maya’s refusal to make eye contact, it might be more gruesome than it felt. Which would mean a lack of work while it healed.
But even if it was just a scratch, it would just mean more ofthis. More stares, more whispering. Half a decade of doing this job, and Harper had never dreaded it before coming to this fucking place.
“I’m great.” She snatched up her money, leaving the hundred-dollar bill Chad hadn’t bothered picking up, and slipped out of the booth. “In fact, I feel fucking fantastic.”
She pushed past Maya, not looking at anyone as she headed for the staff hallway. Venom gathered on the tip of her tongue, and if she stayed out here for even a second longer, she would spew it at the entire fucking room.
