Chapter 4

Mia stormed right into her tiny bathroom. She slammed the door and leaned against it. A cocktail of emotions hit her like a blow to her gut. On one hand, she was glad Asher was out of her apartment and she never had to lay her eyes on him again. But on the other hand, she wanted him back in her tiny apartment, passing judgement over her living conditions as though he had a right. The man had the nerve, and she was losing her mind to even find it remotely sexy. 

With angry jerky movements, she removed her clothes and stepped into her shower. She let the hot water beat against her skin till it turned red and steamed. It felt good. Her apartment left much to be desired, but at least the place had hot water. It felt like she was cleansing her body of the events of the last two hours. But more importantly, it felt like she was washing away her own reaction to Asher Deavan.

After a moment, against her better judgment, Mia allowed her mind to wander back to the man who had stumbled into a shitty bar so confidently and decided to give her senses a run for their money.  

He was a human. There was nothing about him that should have been so fascinating. Not his muscled build, or his brown curly hair. Not even his warm chocolate eyes should have had her noticing him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t grown up surrounded by muscled, handsome guys. 

Wolf shifters by nature were muscled and strong. And they walked around displaying all that firm build shamelessly. So, she had seen her fair share of muscles, was immune to them, or at least she had thought she was until she saw Asher’s muscles.

Mia groaned. “Oh, come on… it’s not like I even saw the guy naked,” she muttered under her breath. This was ridiculous.

She shook her head as though to shake the thoughts away. Then she reached for her body wash. A generous amount poured into her palm and she worked it over her body slowly, enjoying the smell of lilies that filled the air.

Her hands moved over her ribs, and she paused. Unconsciously, she felt for the words tattooed into her skin over her left ribs. ‘A strong Will can redirect Fate.’ She had believed those words when she got them inked permanently into her flesh.

She could still hear her father’s voice shouting at her. “You can’t fight fate!” He had said it with such conviction and anger. That very night, Mia had left the pack and never looked back. A week later, she had the words tattooed on her skin. Whether it was another act of rebellion against her father and everything he stood for, or she just wanted a firm reminder of her decision, she still wasn’t sure.

All she knew was she had been determined to make sure that the ‘fate’ her father and the entire pack had been determined to force down her throat never happened. She was going to forge her own fate. The moon goddess that watched over werewolves would just have to accept it. And even though right now Mia lived in a shitty town and worked in a dump. And was scared shitless that any day her pack would find her; it was still worth it.

The water turned lukewarm, warning her before the cold water hit her skin. Mia realized she had been in the shower too long. She closed the water and dried off. Then she threw herself in bed and closed her eyes. Sleep was a welcome companion.

***  

A bottle fell off a table and broke as it landed on the floor. Mia heard it. She could even tell which table it was and who had dropped it, judging by the curses that colored the air. And she had a pretty good idea what was likely to happen next, but she didn’t lift her head to look.

It was just another shift with the usual bullshit that always took place. Nothing special that needed her attention or intervention. 

Thankfully, there had been no sign of the noisy bunch from last night. The same guys who had waited for her in the alley. There also had been no mention of two guys having their asses handed to them. It was like the whole thing never took place. That was strange for a small town where every detail of everything was news. But she was glad there was no mention about any of it.

Jim called for another glass of his poison. Mia placed the last glass for the order Rick had given her for a couple seated in the back and moved towards Jim.

“Aren’t you going to slow down a little there, Jim? It’s only eight… you still got five hours before we close up.”

“If I stay sober, will you give me a kiss?” old Jim asked with a smirk, and waggled his eyebrows.

Mia fought the urge to shudder in distaste. Even her wolf growled, like it would rather rip Jim’s head off than give him a kiss. She forced a tight smile on her face. “Sorry, Jim, not that kind of bar. Try the one in the next town… I hear the bartender even shows some tits.”

Jim chuckled and shook his head. “Nah. I love seeing your pretty face too much to go anywhere else. But since you are not handing out kisses… maybe you can hand me a refill?”

Who was she to stop the man from killing himself? She grabbed the bottle off the shelf and refilled his glass without saying another word.

She then crouched behind the counter to check on her extra stock of hard liquor when she heard Jim chuckle again and say, “See, Mia… I am not the only one who comes here for you… see who just got in.”

Somehow, she already knew who that would be. Her wolf was instantly alert even without bothering to take a whiff to confirm. Her skin prickled. Very slowly, she rose and looked straight into Asher’s chocolate eyes.

“Good evening, Mia.”

Mia cleared her throat and acknowledged his greeting with a sharp nod, then asked, “What will it be? Another coke?”

She didn’t miss the smile that formed on his lips, like he was amused by her refusal to greet him properly. It irritated her. “Look, we are kind of busy… I have to attend to other customers. What are you having?”

Asher the ass made a show to actually look down along the counter where no other customer was waiting to be served. When he returned his eyes to her, the look in them was just too smug for his own good. 

“Very busy indeed,” he murmured.

Jim snickered into his already half empty glass. Mia narrowed her eyes at both of them. She then turned on her heel and walked away from their side of the counter, leaving a full-blown laughter in her wake.

For the next one hour she did her best to avoid Asher, and she did not serve him anything either. She wished she could have avoided returning to that side of the counter all together, but that wasn’t happening with Jim constantly needing a refill.

She had just done one of those refills; her eyes stubbornly refusing to look at Asher even though she felt his gaze on her. 

“I don’t think your boss would be happy to know you are keeping a customer thirsty,” Asher drawled.

“Thank fates the boss is never around,” Mia retorted.

“Fates?”

Shit. She had forgotten. “I meant thank god.”

Asher frowned momentarily, then shrugged, thinking nothing of it. “Are you upset with me?”   

Her eyes finally met his steady gaze, and her brows rose with boredom. “Is there a reason I should be?”

“You know.” Asher leaned over the counter, bringing his head closer to her, and whispered as though he were sharing a secret. “It is considered terrible manners to answer a question with another question.”

Mia leaned in close as well. “In case you haven’t noticed… I am not big on manners.”

“Are you two kissing?” Jim suddenly asked in a loud whisper before he snickered again.

Mia moved away as though Asher had suddenly turned into a snake. “I told you, Jim… I don’t give kisses.” Her voice came out cold but hoarse. She cleared her throat and added, “Not even for a man who seems to have lost his way out of town.”

Asher leaned back and tapped Jim on his shoulder and shook his head like he was really hurt. “Jim, this woman doesn’t pull her punches.”

She left them talking and complaining about difficult women. Maybe she was difficult, but there was no way she was going to allow Asher Deavan to get any ideas where she was concerned. Nothing could happen. Not even a quick roll in the hay to scratch an itch.

The hours passed and finally Mia sighed, as it was time to close. Not without shock. She looked up and saw Asher still seated at the counter. She hadn’t served him anything all night, but the man had stubbornly stuck around.

She grabbed a bottle of coke from the fridge and placed it on the counter in front of him. “It’s on the house. We are closed. You can leave.” Her eyes glared at him.

Asher took the bottle, opened it and drank from it. The cooled drink was a welcome relief to his dry throat. He sighed and smiled at her as though she hadn’t just ordered him out of the bar the same way she had ordered him out of her apartment.

He cocked his head to the side. “Are you going to throw me out like you did at your apartment?”

“If you don’t move your ass… you bet I will.”

“I now understand,” he said softly.

Her eyes narrowed. She knew she probably shouldn’t ask and prolong the conversation, but she couldn’t help it. “What do you now understand?”

“Why you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Excuse me?”

Asher wasn’t fazed by the warning in her tone, and he went on to explain. “See, I was seated here wondering all night why a gorgeous woman like you wouldn’t have a boyfriend…”

“And who said I don’t?” she interrupted.

His brows arched as he gave her an incredulous look. “No boyfriend would allow his woman to walk home in the middle of the night alone and no sane man would even tolerate his lover to live in that dump you call an apartment. If you have a boyfriend… take my advice… dump him, he’s an ass.”

Mia didn’t know why she was getting so upset. It wasn’t like there was actually a boyfriend she was defending. But her jaw still tightened with anger. “Maybe he just knows that I can take care of myself and I don’t need a babysitter or somebody paying my bills,” she seethed.

“I stand corrected. He is stupid and an ass,” Asher said in response.

Mia could see her coworkers watching from a distance, wondering what was happening and why the guy hadn’t left like the other customers. She folded her arms over her chest. “It’s none of your business,” she told Asher. 

“See.” Asher leaned forward and placed his elbows on the counter. “I kind of decided to make it my business after I took a knife for you.”

“It was a scratch.”

“It still hurts.”

Mia snorted. “I didn’t peg you for a wuss. And you brought it upon yourself... I would have handled it just fine by myself.” 

Asher raised his hands like he was announcing to the world his point. “That! That right there is the reason you don’t have a boyfriend. No man wants a woman rubbing it in their face about how she can kick ass.”

Her teeth ground against each other as she stopped herself from sounding like a broken record and telling the man it was none of his business whether or not she had a boyfriend.

Someone cleared their throat on her left. She turned and found her coworkers giving her a strange look. “Everything ok, Mia?” Rick asked. They all looked ready to leave.

Mia nodded. “Everything is fine. You guys can leave. I’m almost done. I will be out of here in a bit.”

Rick gave Asher an uncertain look. “You sure?”

“Yes. Mr. Deavan was just leaving.” She gave him a glare and dared him to contradict.

Asher wasn’t interested in causing a scene in front of the coworkers. He stood up and grabbed the bottle of coke she had given her. The silence stretched as he said anything to Mia or her watchful friends. He just left. Or at least he wanted them to think he did.