He didn’t allow her to respond. He just turned and walked away, leaving her swaying on her feet. And Brooke was in serious trouble, because she found herself wanting to call him back to her.
CHAPTER NINE
Confidence was a funny thing. It was easy to feel when everything was going your way. And for Finn Anderson, from the time he’d hit puberty, everything had certainly gone his way.
That was, until he’d met Brooke Garrison.
Something Finn had decided early in life was not to chase women. He didn’t need to. They chased him. If he asked a girl out, and she said no—that might have happened maybe once in his life—then he moved on. And he never thought about her again.
But nope. That certainly wasn’t the case with Brooke. He’d been to her office twice, sent her flowers, and even managed to walk her home, where he’d felt a great connection with her and knew she’d felt it, too. And yet she was still keeping her distance.
If he truly thought it was because she wasn’t interested, he’d have given up. Rules were created for a reason, after all. But he knew she wanted him, knew she was more than interested. He could see how she reacted to him.
Her breath hitched, her skin broke out in goose bumps, and her cheeks flushed. She didn’t want to like him, but she did. So that meant he had to get more creative. He had to find out more about her and win her over by giving her something she couldn’t say no to.
“So you still striking out?” Brandon asked with a laugh as he took a long pull of his Corona.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it striking out,” Finn grumbled.
“It’s Friday night, and we’re sitting in the bar together instead of with beautiful women on our laps. I’d call that striking out,” Brandon told him.
“I like this bar. They have a good band on Fridays,” Finn corrected.
“So you’re telling me you’d rather be here with me than one particularly sexy doctor?” Brandon pushed.
“No, I’d rather be naked with Brooke in my house, but I have patience,” Finn said, making Brandon choke on his swallow, bringing Finn slight pleasure.
“Well, she’s right over there. Why don’t you give it another try?” Brandon told him when he was done choking.
Finn’s head whipped around as he watched Brooke walk into the room with two women. His heart instantly raced at the sight of her in a pair of skintight jeans and a fitted top. She wasn’t overdressed, but she didn’t have to be. There was such natural beauty about her she could seriously cause a freeway jam just by walking along the side of the road.
“She’s with friends. I’m not going to bother her,” Finn said as he held up a hand. The pretty waitress who’d been flirting with him for the past hour was instantly at their table.
“Another round, sugar?” she asked as she batted her ridiculously long eyelashes.
“Yeah, and I’ll take a double whiskey on ice as well,” Finn said.
“Make that two,” Brandon piped up.
“Be right back,” the waitress said.
“Damn, she’s cute,” Brandon said as he looked at the woman’s ass as it swayed.
“Can you even describe her face? Your eyes have been on her ass all night.”
“When you wear shorts that short, of course eyes are gonna be on your ass,” Brandon said.
What Finn found interesting was he’d of course noticed the woman’s curves, but he hadn’t felt a single lustful thought. There was only one woman he wanted to be thinking about, only one woman he seemed to find the least bit attractive. He was so totally screwed.
The drinks arrived, and he pounded the whiskey, loving the burn down his throat. He needed to calm his nerves before he did something stupid like stand up, walk over to Brooke, and throw her over his shoulder.
Maybe she’d respond to a little caveman gesture.
Most likely not.
He’d probably find himself pinned to the ground again. But that wasn’t such an unpleasant thought, either.
“Just go talk to her. You’re going to be absolutely no fun now that she’s here and you’re obsessing,” Brandon told him.
Though he was feeling a slight buzz, his senses weren’t nearly dulled enough to handle watching as two men walked up to Brooke and her companions, standing far too close. When Brooke laughed at something one of the men said, Finn felt his blood boil.
“Calm down. You don’t own her,” Brandon said with a laugh.
“You never own a girl. Maybe thoughts like that is why you’re still single,” Finn snapped.
Brandon laughed. “I’m single because I’m too selfish to be in a relationship,” he said with a shrug. “And I like my freedom. There’s no one out there worth giving it up for.”
“I’m gonna laugh my ass off when a woman takes you down,” Finn said.
He wasn’t laughing at the moment, though. The man got a little too close to Brooke, and he felt his muscles tense with the need to jump up and push him away.
“I’m laughing right now. Damn, you look pissed.”
Just then the man’s hand shot out and wrapped around Brooke, pulling her against him as he grabbed her ass. Finn was on his feet in less than a second. He was going to kill the guy.
Brandon stood right beside him, his smile fading at the raw fury in his brother’s face.
“We’re getting in a brawl, aren’t we?” Brandon asked.
Finn took a step forward, but there really was no need. He stopped in his tracks as Brooke spun around so fast the guy groping her had no chance of retaliation. In about two seconds she flung him to the ground, her high heel poking into his chest.
“Don’t ever grab me like that,” she said, her smile still in place.
The man lost all color in his face as he looked over to his buddies, who were roaring with laughter.
“Let me go, bitch,” the guy said as he struggled beneath her.
“Gladly,” she told him.
She turned away, grabbed her drink from her friend, and completely ignored the guy. She might be tough, but she obviously had no sense of preservation. The bar was crowded, and Finn began pushing people away as he tried to reach her in time.
The man stood up, fury written all over his drunk features.
“Don’t do it,” Finn said, but his words were drowned out by the band and the crowd.
The man lifted his arm, getting ready to slug her. What kind of a pig was he? Finn reached them just in time to stop the man’s fist from connecting with the back of Brooke’s head.
She whipped back around and saw what had just about happened. She didn’t look scared; she looked absolutely livid.
“You were going to hit me from behind?” she gasped, looking at the mortified man in shock and anger. “What kind of man hits someone from behind?”
“You bitch!” he screamed, struggling against Finn. He really wanted to knock this asshole out.
“Don’t do it. He’s so not worth it,” Brandon said. “Let me walk him outside.”
Finn felt adrenaline ripping through him. The need to punch this man was so extreme it was taking all the willpower in him to stop himself.
“Come on, brother. Let it go,” Brandon said, a hand on his arm.