I slipped my phone in my pocket, ignoring his text for now. Instead, I was going to enjoy a few drinks and the sound of local drunks around the old musky bar as a distraction.
My eyes flitted up, connecting to the group of young women across the bar, one standing out over the others.
A blonde, a redhead, and a woman with waves so dark I could get lost in them.
The three of them laughed while flipping their hair and sipping on their girly drinks. Colton stood in front of them, joining in on the fun. The dark-haired girl hadn’t made eye contact with me just yet, so I stole a moment to read her from afar.
She wore a smile indicating she was happy to be here, but her eyes told a different story. They looked tired, worn out, and mysterious. A flashy sequin tank top hugged her tits, her cleavage so palpable I lifted my whiskey to my lips to quench my thirst. A thin gold chain sparkled from across the bar, leading all the way down between the crevice of her tits, drawing my gaze lower and lower until my eyes locked on her exposed midriff. Her little top was so tiny, if she dared to shift her body too fast, her entire chest risked being out in the open for all eyes to see.
From across the bar, I could see the fine lines etched in her skin; small tattoos sprinkled up and down her arms and across the fingers gripping the stem of her glass. The double shot of whiskey that flowed through my veins had me desperate to know the story behind them.
Colton walked away for a brief moment to help the other guests, making his way back to me.
“Another?” he asked, nodding his head toward my almost empty tumbler.
“Not just yet. But whatever she wants for the rest of the night, put it on my tab.” I nodded to the girl across the bar that had me infatuated and distracted from a shitty day at work.
“Ohhh. You know, she’s just drinking the five-dollar-special tonight, but if I had to guess, I’d say maybe she’d be in the mood for something else.” Being the true salesman that he was, Colton really knew how to grow a bar tab.
“Whatever she wants,” I repeated before he walked away with dollar signs in his eyes.
Sipping my drink, my eyes never strayed from her. While Colton talked with her, I waited for her crystal blue eyes to find mine. When they finally did, a smirk grew on her lips. She looked at me, her lips moving, reciting her order to Colton.
At the same time that he was pouring up her drink, her friends finished theirs, kissed her on the cheek, and left without paying. My mind was reeling with what might happen next. I had no problem making the first move, but I also enjoyed watching her from a distance.
Colton walked around the bar with another drink that looked a hell of a lot like mine, but I wasn’t in need of a refill just yet.
“She said she wants what you’re having, and if you want any chance with her tonight, you’ll need to cover her and her friend’s tab.”
I did say,whatever she wants, and technically, her request fits.
The manacross the bar looked exactly like the type of clientele I was used to being around. Sharp clothes, whiskey neat, fancy black watch that probably cost more than a car, and a card so heavy in his wallet you could run it over and it would still be in prime condition.
Lifting the amber liquid to my nose, I took a whiff. Vanilla, oak, and spice flowed through my senses. The smell rich and the taste smooth when it hit the back of my throat. It didn’t burn like the cheap whiskey I’d been used to. It tasted just how I imaginedhewould.
Before I set my glass down, I raised it to the man across from me, a simple gesture, but not one that said I would be making the first move. He returned the motion, taking a sip of his own, never breaking eye contact with me. His dark eyes lasered deep into mine, his Adam’s apple bobbing with a thick swallow, and his tongue poking out to lick the drop he’d left behind from his lips.
You could cut the sexual tension with a knife.
When the wealthy looking man stood up, pushing his seat in, my heart began to race. For a while now, I’d been used to being around men that demanded attention in any room they walked into, but it was different with him. As he walked toward me, he demandedmyattention and no one else’s. His gaze was set on me, and for the first time in a very long time, I wasnervous.
Shoving that feeling down, I put on a face that screamedconfident. I wasn’t going to show him that he had the ability to make my knees weak in just the first few moments of eye fucking each other from across the bar.
The smell of cigarette smoke wafting around the bar faded away the closer his musky cedarwood scent moved toward me.
He was all man.
Now towering over me, I drank in the smell of him when his deep voice rumbled in a way that I felt it all the way down to my toes. “Whiskey looks good on you.”
Leaning on the bar, his tattooed forearm was completely exposed from his white button up, the ink spreading all the way down to his fingers. His inked-up arms were so thick the veins popped out from the grip he had around his glass.
Fuck.
My mouth went dry.
Seeing the dark watch wrapped around his wrist was the slight reminder I needed to run. It was too late to entertain this man on my night off. But his appearance alone made the hair on my arms stand straight.
I shouldn’t. Then again … we were in the city meant for sinning.
