“Not much of a beer drinker then, even with all yourexperience?”
“Not much of a drinker at all.”She took another sip, and he almost laughed.“If this is what the so-called good stuff is like, I don’t think I’m going to start.”
How old was this girl?He put aside his weird impulses, which seemed to pop up whenever he was around her, and surveyed her with a critical eye.Too thin, too much history, but she had a world-weary look in her brown eyes that only came with some years in the rearview.She’d seen things.
Still, he wasn’t a man to leave things to chance.“Are you even old enough to drink?”
She glared, giving the first indication that there might be a backbone in there.“I’m twenty-four.”
A baby.
Not that he was ancient.But thirty-five was a whole hell of a lot of living—and hard living—in comparison.He took a drink of his beer.“So you didn’t have much of a twenty-one run.”
“My older sister tried.”She took a hasty sip of beer and set the bottle down.“It doesn’t matter.Thank you for the beer.”
He leaned back, carefully stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles.Going home was the right thing to do.He’d repaired whatever blow he’d delivered to her ego.Staying around was just asking for trouble.
Jude opened his mouth to say good-bye, but that wasn’t what came out.“You have any vodka in this place?”
“What?”
“Vodka.The more expensive the better.I have some in my house, but you’re a smart girl and that means taking drinks from strange men is something you don’t do.”
She blinked.“I would think inviting strange men into my house is also something smart girls don’t do.”
Not unless they’re looking for trouble.He kept the words restrained, but only barely.Fuck, what was it about this woman that tried his control so thoroughly?He didn’t know, and that made her dangerous in a way he wasn’t used to.He couldn’t afford distractions right now.
I could ask her about Sorcha.
But if he did, he’d spook her, and she might tip off Sorcha before the woman finally flitted back into town.So he affected a neutral expression.“What do you say?”
She seemed torn, but finally nodded more to herself than to him and stood.“I saw some liquor, but I didn’t investigate to see what kind of bottles they were.”
He had when he’d been snooping around, so Jude knew there were three bottles of Belvedere stashed in one of the cupboards.He noted the tense set of her shoulders as he followed her into the house, and fell back another step so he didn’t loom over her.It didn’t seem to help.
Sloan pulled out one of the bottles and held it up.“Vodka.”
“Good.”He decided waiting for her to take the lead just wasn’t going to happen, so Jude nudged her to the side and went through the cupboards like it was his first time here, coming up with two tumblers, a carton of cranberry juice, and one of those little lime-juice things.He caught her staring and shrugged.“Just sit down and I’ll make you a drink that you don’t have to choke down.”
“I don’t…” She looked away and then back.“Why?”
“Why what?”He dropped a handful of ice into each glass and poured healthy dashes of vodka.He didn’t necessarily want her sloppy drunk, but the tight set of her shoulders could do with some loosening up.
Right.Because you’re such a fucking white knight.
He wasn’t.The longer he spent in her presence, the clearer it became he didn’t have any intention of leaving her alone.It had been a while since he’d had sex—too long if he was really considering takingthiswoman to bed.
But ever since the thought occurred to him last night, he hadn’t been able to get it out of his head.He wanted her, and it was only some long-dead honor demanding he stay the hell away from her.
His honor had died with the rest of his family.
Any chance he’d had of resurrecting it had died with his first mark when he was twenty-one.
Jude finished the drinks off with the cranberry juice and a squirt of lime and then found a spoon to stir them.He slid one over.“Try it.”
She took a sip and gave him a cautious smile.“That is a bit better.”
He downed half of his drink in one swallow, not sure if he was searching for the drive to leave or to make a move on her.At this point, it could go either way.
