I look up and…
…he has a scar that slashes across his left cheek below his eye.
Exactly like the one I gave Rhys Ravenstone.
Chapter Five
Get hold of yourself, Charly.
Rhys Ravenstone is fictional. This man, who dares to instigate himself into my space, isveryreal, extremely gorgeous, and enormous. His clothes are dirty, and his midnight-brown hair is unkempt. But it’s his eyes… Those ebony eyes slice me like twin razor blades. Without a doubt, he’s the man from last night.
I slap the menu on the table. “Okay, enough,” I hiss. “This shit wasn’t funny last night, and it’s even less amusing now.”
Holy shit, his scowl is terrifying. “And I told you this isn’t a fucking joke.”
I dragin a deep breath, hoping to find my Zen. Yeah, no. If Zen is way over there, I’mwayover here. We’re a million miles apart. “How about this?” Ishoohim away with my hands. “Run along and kindly go take a flying leap off the tip of your own dick.”
For a fraction of a second, his expression is hilarious. He seems to be mentally trying to figure out the mechanics of that, then shakes his head. “Physically impossible.”
“Oh, my gawd, cut the shit. You’re not Rhys Ravenstone. That person doesn’t exist. He’s make-believe. An avatar. A fictional book boyfriend I created as a joke because I was bored.”
“Yet here I am.” His voice is a tight, low rumble of thunder, his eyes harboring the coming storm.
I flatten my hands on the table and lean toward him. He smells like last night’s rain, and there’s a hint of a shadow darkening his jaw. Also, he looks exhausted, as if he hasn’t slept. Why do I feel guilty for his lack of sleep? “You’re a predator,” I accuse in a nasty hiss. “I don’t know how you did it or hacked the app, but I’m going to figure it out and expose you as the scammer you are. And when I do, you’re going to be in trouble.” I bang my fist on the table. “Big trouble.”
“I’m quaking in my boots.”
“Damn right, you are.” I lunge forward and swipe a finger over the scar on his cheek. It’s real.Huh. Scowling, I try to wipe off his tattoos. Keyword:try. They don’t so much as smear. So, I pinch at them, trying to lift them if they’re stickers or something. Turns out they’re authentic as well.
Okay, I don’t like this, not even a little.
The smug bastard leans back and folds his arms across his massive chest, a smirk on his gorgeous face. “Satisfied?”
Ana returns with my beverages. Her gaze instantly lands on Rhys. I’m tempted to remind her to lift her jaw off the ground, but I can’t blame her. The man is truly a prime specimen of masculinity. Even tired, with raggedy hair and luggage under his eyes, he’s the sort of man a woman wouldn’t mind licking to claim as her own. Confronted by this…antihero…live and in the flesh confirms something I’ve wondered about since the day I picked upHaunting Raptureand fell in love with the main male character.
Authors are correct—a facial scardoesadd the perfect splash of yummy.
In fact, it’s so nice I’d lick him twice.
Too bad Rhys is an asshole here to either make a fool out of me or scam me.
“Do we need another menu?” Ana asks.
I glare pointedly at Rhys. “Do we?”
He gives her a curt nod but says nothing.
“Guess that’s a yes, please,” I answer in his stead.
Her grin is radiant. “Awesome. Coffee? Juice? We have orange, apple, cranberry, grape. Would you like a water? I can add a lemon for you if you like.” Will she offer to pick it fresh next?
Still, Rhys doesn’t say a word. He’s not looking at her, either. Nope, he’s staring directly at me, and it’s…unnerving.
“You can bring him a coffee and a water, please, same as me,” I answer for him again.
“Sure, okay, and I’ll bring that second menu quick as a wink.”
His hands are fisted on the table, and I slap them with my menu. “Wow. Manners. Guess you left them home, huh?”
