With a savage roar, I dove at him, shoving him against the wall. “You’re dead, asshole. I can’t believe you touched her. She fucking hates you.”
I popped him in one eye and would’ve gone for the other, but Holden yanked me backward off him.
That only pissed me off more. I tried to hit him too, but he used my own tactic against me and pinned me to the wall and pressed his forearm to my throat to subdue me.
I struggled, shoving and pushing at him to get off me, but the bastard was bigger, which made me growl in frustrated rage. If I could just have the size of Knox or Quinn, or even Noel, I so would’ve taken him down right then.
Calling forth some inner-adrenaline booster, I heaved at him again, making him stumble backward, away from me. About to leap after him, I jarred to a halt when I heard a voice—Remy’s voice—cry, “What the hell?”
But it wasn’t coming from the direction of her apartment. Whipping my head up, I gaped at her where she stood poised and frozen at the top of the stairwell, still wearing the dress she’d been in last night and clutching a steaming Styrofoam cup to her chest. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but her hair was pleasantly mussed—from me having my hands in it the night before—and she was so fucking beautiful, I took a second just to catch my breath.
Behind us, the door to her apartment opened. When I glanced over and saw Jodi peek curiously into the hall, wearing nothing but a short, silky wrap that was tied loosely enough to reveal she wasn’t wearing much underneath, I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath.
“What the fuck is going on out here?” the girls demanded, nearly simultaneously.
“Ask that fucker,” Gally answered, and I could tell he was pointing at me, but I was still too busy bowing my head in shame and berating myself for my stupidity to actually see it. “He’s the douche who attacked us for no reason as soon as we stepped into the hall.”
A second’s worth of silence followed, letting me know everyone was now looking at me, waiting for my explanation.
Then Remy had to go and murmur, “Asher?” as if she were actually concerned about me.
“Damn it,” I hissed and lifted my face, meeting her gaze, and wincing as soon as I did. “I...” Fuck, I couldn’t confess it. But her big brown eyes were so wide and worried. I blew out a breath and admitted, “I...misread the situation.”
She blinked, crinkled her brow, then glanced between Gally, Holden, and Jodi before her eyes flared with surprise. Then she whirled back to me, scowling. “Are you fucking serious?”
I winced and pressed my hand to my aching head. Shit, I’d forgotten to take painkillers for my hangover. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I immediately started, pushing all the guilt and apology into my expression that I could manage. “I wasn’t thinking. Shit. They came out of there still dragging their clothes on.”
Eyebrows arching, she set her hands on her hips. “So you just assumed they were in there visiting me? Really? Wow, that must’ve been a two-minute threesome since I just saw you, what, twenty minutes ago.”
I opened my mouth to deny my kneejerk assumption, but damn...she was right.
Not knowing when to keep his mouth shut, Gally swaggered forward, licking his lips as he eyed Remy’s dress. “That’s actually not a bad idea. You’re looking a lot better than you did a few days ago...Remy. Why don’t you show Holden and me the inside of your bedroom now?”
When he took one more step toward her, I growled and shoved him back. “Back the fuck off.”
His eyes narrowed, and I knew he would’ve charged, so I turned to him fully to take him on. But Remy popped between us, pushing a hand against my chest, and holding up one in Gally’s direction to ward him off.
“Okay, enough,” she commanded. When Gally and I both stopped, she blew out a breath, cursed something in Spanish, and muttered, “Why are guys so freaking punchy?”
I kind of liked that she’d yet to take the flat of her hand off my chest. So I said, “Because it’s a hell of a lot faster stress reliever than eating ice cream or talking smack about another chick like you girls do.”
She glanced at me, her brown eyes wide with so many emotions. I detected humor in there before she scowled and then shuttered it all up with grief. “So not the time to be sexist and cute,” she finally muttered.
When I whispered, “Sorry,” her gaze fell to her fingers spread over my heartbeat.
I watched her lashes flutter as she pressed just a touch harder against me as if trying to imprint herself inside me before pulling her hand away. What I could’ve told her was that she’d already imprinted herself quite solidly to my heart.