She fixed her outfit, taking care to smooth down her skirt, avoiding his gaze the whole time.
“Are you okay?”
Her head bobbed in a tight nod. “It might be hard to believe, but I’ve never done that before. You know, in a bar with a stranger, up against the bathroom wall.”
“I hope I haven’t added to your regrets.”
Her silence told him she hadn’t decided one way or the other yet.
“If it makes you feel any better,” said Alex, approaching slowly and reaching for her hand, “I haven’t done that before either.”
She gave him the side eye.
“I’ve done many things, but not that. I don’t know what it is about you, Dana. I think I could forget myself around you.”
“Maybe forgetting’s overrated.”
“Look, do you want to go grab a coffee somewhere and talk?”
She removed her hand from his. “Um, do you think you could give me a few minutes?” She nodded toward the cubicles. “To freshen up.”
“Yeah. I’ll just be in the men’s.” He headed to the door, but when he turned around, all he saw were downcast eyes. “I’ll wait for you in the hallway.”
She disappeared into a cubicle, so he left. Shaking his head, Alex walked into the men’s room. Thankfully, it was empty as well. At the sink, he turned on the taps and ran the water on the coldest setting. Once it was nice and frigid, he splashed some on this face and toweled off.
Bracing his hands on the basin, he stared into the mirror.
A tired man stared back.
However, there was a new light in that man’s eyes, one Alex hadn’t seen in himself in a while.
It was all because of Dana, the beautiful woman who’d asked him to screw her in a tiki bar bathroom.
Shit.
She could barely look at him now. She regretted the moment, anyone with eyes could see it, and he couldn’t blame her. When she’d made her move, after confessing how her ex had broken her heart, Alex should have been the one to step back and keep a cool head. He should have known better, should have realized their quick fumble might have added to her pain.
Unfortunately, when she’d whispered in his ear, he’d lost all sense.
He just wanted to forget his own pain.
Now Dana would think he’d used her for some cheap bathroom sex. In a way, maybe he had been using her. He’d done it because, even in their short time together, Dana helped him feel something other than the numbness he’d carried for so long.
He needed to prove to her that he thought she was worth more than bathroom sex. If he didn’t make that clear, it would bother him.
He liked their banter and the intelligence shining in her eyes. She intrigued him.
To say nothing of the fact she was so fucking beautiful. Her cocoa skin was smooth and warm. Her light perfume made him want to breathe deeply. He wanted to bury his fingers in her curls and stare into her midnight eyes all night long.
He was getting ahead of himself.That’s what happens when you remove yourself from the world. You get carried away.
Maybe it was time to join the world again.
He’d known it was time when he’d bought Vice from Liam Doyle. The casino hotel would be his lifeline. It would force him into the land of the living.
Was he ready? Probably not.
He’d felt ready when he was holding Dana in his arms. A man could get used to holding a woman like that. Although it had lasted mere minutes, he’d tasted her fire. She’d clutched at him, her fingernails scratching the skin under his shirt. When she came, she made the sexiest little noise he’d ever heard. It was something between a sigh and moan, and he became hard just thinking about it.
