“Well, a bar like this isn’t usually a place frequented by people like you.” She brings my attention back from my thoughts, her dark-red lips curling into a small smile.
“This is a vampire bar, is it not?” I counter, raising a brow at her.
She tilts her head slightly, her eyebrows crawling up her forehead. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
Enjoying the banter, I tease her, innocently asking, “What do you mean then?”
Mallorie pauses for a moment, her eyes darting over me before returning to meet my gaze. “Do you want a drink, or are you just here to interrupt my work?”
I laugh, watching as a faint pink hue rises in her cheeks. “I’ll take a drink while I interrupt your work. Same as last time, please.”
She spins around, getting to work on my drink. I can’t keep my eyes off of her as she floats around behind the bar. The way her hips swivel with each step, her hair bouncing slightly and flowing down past her shoulders—she’s completely mesmerizing.
The other bartender girl with cherry-red hair slides in next to Mallorie, glancing over her shoulder and looking right atme. When she realizes I’ve caught her, she quickly turns her attention forward, leaning close to Mallorie’s ear.
I’d kill to know what they’re saying. If only my hearing was as good as my sense of smell.
Within an instant, someone reaches across the bar and slaps the redhead’s ass. The assailant isn’t fast enough to fall back in their seat unnoticed. Mallorie spins around with her hand gripping the collar of their shirt before even I have the chance to react.
For a human to be this aggressive with a monster of any kind is rather rare. For it to be a young woman is even rarer. She’s practically snarling in his face, holding the squirming vampire in his place, and boy, is it ever hot.
The noise around the bar falters slightly, people starting to notice the commotion and wanting to hear what’s going on. I never would’ve guessed that Mallorie would be so fearless—it makes her that much enticing. Being able to hear what she says to this guy would be the cherry on top.
“You want to touch her, then she gets to touch you.”
I can finally hear Mallorie’s voice, but the words surprise me. A blatant threat.
The redhead steps up next to Mallorie, and it almost feels like a rehearsed scene with how seamlessly they move together. The redhead raises an arm, and as she swings it toward the man’s face, Mallorie releases his collar and moves out of the way.
A sharpsmackcan be heard down the bar, as the man didn’t have time to avoid the slap. He stumbles into the person next to him, gripping his face.
Now that’s what I’d call a slap.
As the vampire recovers, I notice his fangs poking past his lips. This time, I move faster than Mallorie, shoving him back as he goes to lunge over the bar. A vampire is probably five times stronger than a human; a drunk, angry vampire is closer to tentimes, and just sloppy. He must’ve been so surprised by Mallorie catching him originally, that it affected his speed.
“I think that’s enough,” I command, keeping a straight face as I stare down the vampire.
He is clearly new, likely only having become a vampire in recent years. When you’re a vampire, almost everything is heightened. Every emotion, feeling, desire. It can become very overwhelming, and without guidance, you can lose control. He likely hasn’t had much help, or maybe he simply doesn’t respect others.
He opens his mouth, baring his fangs at me. I very slowly tilt my head to the side, raising my brows to challenge him. He falters, closing his mouth and shrugging my hand off of him, then stalking away from the bar. A smirk begs to crawl onto my face. I’ve still got it. It’s been so long since I’ve had anything close to a fight. It’s good to know I can still be intimidating, even while dressed for business.
I straighten my suit and return to my seat, Mallorie standing across from me with my drink. Her cheeks are rosy and her chest rises and falls faster than normal. Is she flustered or furious? Either way, I like that I have an effect on her.
“I had it under control,” she states, her voice softening as she slides my drink across to me. “But thank you.”
I pull my card from my jacket and hand it to her. “I know you did. It was quite the sight, but you shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
“We have bouncers, but weekends are always so busy, they can’t be on top of everything that happens,” she explains, as if trying to defend her workplace to me.
Nodding, I lock eyes with her. “Understandable.”
I mentally kick myself for not responding with something more to continue the conversation.Understandable?Howboring of me. She watches me for a moment, and I take a sip of my drink, which makes her squirm slightly where she stands.
As Mallorie begins to walk away, I rack my brain for anything that will keep her here a moment longer, blurting out, “So, where did your fearlessness come from?”
She freezes in place for a second before turning to face me, leaning on the bar. “Fear is something that holds people back, so I’ve worked to overcome it.”
“Everyone is afraid of something.” I lean a bit closer, lowering my voice. “What are you afraid of?”
