Pierce

Chapter Twelve

Natalie~

Natalie was dead on her feet as she mixed drinks at the bar. Her adrenaline rush was long gone and she felt every ounce of the past forty eight hours weighing down on her muscles and eyelids. The only thing that was still fueling her with energy was Pierce and his teammates at the end of the bar. They had been laughing and busting each other's chops the entire night, including her in their conversations when they could and accepting her as one of their own instantly. It was easy to see why Pierce was so fond of these men.

The bar crowd was dying down and Natalie took advantage of the lull in service to rub her tired neck. Dropping her head, she closed her eyes and massaged the fatigued muscles that were struggling to hold her head up at the moment. The feeling of eyes on her pricked her senses and she didn't even have to look to know it was Pierce.

Lifting her head, she shifted her gaze to the end of the bar and confirmed her suspicions. His concerned eyes swept over her and he mouthed "are you okay?" from across the bar.

She nodded with a forced smile that was obviously not convincing as she only got a skeptical arched brow in return.

He was on his feet and making his way toward her after such a questionable performance which made her stomach swarm with butterflies.

Pulling her into him, he held her against his chest and whispered down into her ear.

"Talk to me." he whispered as she leaned into him, trying to take weight off of her tired feet.

"I'm okay. I'm just exhausted." she said honestly.

He rubbed his strong hands up and down her back in response to her words, which released the tension she had been holding there.

"I'll let Julia close up tonight. I'm beat." She looked up at his handsome face and rested her chin on his chest.

"You just say the word and I'll take you home."

Home?

She knew it was probably a thoughtless slip on his part and most likely a meaningless goof, but she'd be lying if she didn't like the way it sounded.

"The word" she said with a sarcastic smile.

He let out a deep laugh that rumbled in his chest and caused the dimple in his cheek to make an appearance as he smiled down at her.

"Smartass," he chuckled.

Raising his hand, he twirled his pointer finger in the air in a circular motion, making eye contact with Caleb and Slater as he did it. The nonverbal gesture prompted both men to gulp down the remaining contents of their drinks and stand at the ready to leave.

Their ability to communicate without talking surprised her briefly before she reminded herself of what they did for a living.

Pierce kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the parking lot to their vehicles and parted ways.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight." Slater said with a laugh.

"Fist fights and free drinks? It's like Heaven, without the angels." Slater paused briefly before bringing his eyes to Natalie. "Well just one angel," he corrected himself.

Slater's compliment was harmless and endearing, but she felt Pierce tighten his arm around her shoulders which was adorable.

Caleb gave Pierce a friendly slap on the back, then turned to Natalie before heading toward his jeep.

"How's this doing?" he asked as he lightly brushed a thumb over the bruise on her cheek.

"Sore, but it looks worse than it feels."