A growl rips from my chest, a wave of possessive anger I’ve not felt before firing through my veins. I shoot out of the booth, stalking across the diner, consequences be damned. Thomas sees me coming, and the fucker has the gall to smirk at me. Egging me on.
“Well, look who it is, the baby daddy.”
Selene whirls around, her eyes going wide when she sees me. My anger reaches new heights when I realize her face isn’t red with embarrassment anymore. No, instead, her face is drained of all color. She’s afraid. They’ve fucking scared her.
“C’mon, Black, share the love. You’ve already fucked her—”
My hand shoots out, and I slam him against the booth. I curl my fist into his shirt, getting into his face. “Come near her again, and you’re done. Understand me?”
“Well, I’ll be. Never thought I’d see the day End Black cared about anyone other than himself.” He’s pushing my fucking buttons, and it’s working. “Tell me one thing, man. Does she taste as good as she looks?” I raise my fist back, ready to clock him, but sweet honey and bergamot infiltrate my senses, and when soft warmth closes around my bicep, I pause and turn.
Selene is trying to hold me back, her eyes pleading with me to stop. She pointedly looks toward our table, and I spot my little girl, mostly being blocked by Rita, but still watching with curiosity.
Slowly, I release Thomas, tamping down the anger that’s nearly bubbling over the surface. “Get the fuck out. Don’t ever come near Selene again. I mean it.”
A burly voice pipes in behind me, and when I crane my neck to look, surprise raises my brows. Bobby, Rita’s husband, is the cook here. He’s a tall, burly man who has a no-nonsense aura about him. He’s definitely someone you do not want to fuck with. “All of you, out.”
The guys at the table share a look before they shove away, spilling their drinks and making a mess for no other reason than to be dicks to Selene and the rest of Rita’s staff. Once they’re gone, the tightness in my chest ebbs away, but my anger is still there, flowing like the force of the falls. I open and close my fists at my sides, dying to plow my knuckles into the son of a bitch’s face.
“End, can I talk to you for a second?”
There’s an edge to Selene’s tone that I know can’t be good. I nod rigidly, and she glances over her shoulder at Bobby. “Can you ask Rita to stay with Luna for a sec?”
“Of course.” He shoots me a sympathetic look, likely knowing where this is going.
Fucking hell.
As soon as we’re out back, Selene lays into me. Jabbing her strong little finger into my chest, she has anger written all over gorgeous fucking face.
“What the hell was that back there? Are you insane?”
“Probably.” I shrug, slipping my hands into my pockets.
Selene begins to pace, rubbing at the back of her neck in frustration. Every time she walks, that little damn dress rides up her thighs, fueling the little embers left from my anger.
Rita couldn’t choose an uglier goddamn uniform? Christ.
“You can’t do that,” she suddenly blurts, stopping a few feet away from me. “You can’t go around fighting people trying to…trying to defend my honor, or whatever that was. You’ll scare her!”
Guilt bears down on my shoulders. Heaving a deep sigh filled with remorse, I rake a hand through my hair and nod. She’s right. I’m a father now. I can’t just start fights whenever something upsets me. Luna will see everything, and that’s the very last thing I want.
But was I supposed to let him grope her in public? It was obvious no one else noticed, and she wasn’t going to get any help elsewhere. I had to step in.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But if you think for one second I’m going to let a man touch you, you’re out of your damn mind, Selene.”
Her brows raise, damn near disappearing into her hairline, and her mouth drops open in shock. “What man touches me is no concern of yours, Endymion. We share a daughter together, and that’s it.”
That beautiful pink flush is now staining her neck and cheeks again, and I can’t help but wonder how far it extends. I don’t remember much about the night we slept together, and Jesus Christ, I hate my younger self for allowing this woman to slip through my fingers.
I step closer to her, and she