I search the bar for Sofia, desperately hoping I can catch her eye and call her over to get me away from this guy, or provide back up at the very least. I spot her in the far corner, draped over her boyfriend’s lap in one of the leather couches, all but sucking off his face for everyone in the bar to see.
“Aren’t you gonna congratulate me on my fight?” Killian asks, drawing my attention away from my friend.
“I didn’t stick around long enough to watch until the end. And besides, something tells me you don’t need me to stroke your already overly-inflated ego, I’m sure you do a stellar job all by yourself.”
From behind the bar, Jett snorts a laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth to stifle it, his eyes darting between the two of us. “Okay, Ireallylike this girl.”
Killian shoots Jett a glare over the bar before flicking his gaze back to me. “No one said anything about stroking my ego, but I’m sure we could find something equally as pleasing to stroke.”
My nose scrunches, the sexual connotations all too clear. I glance to my right to see two blondes whispering and giggling a few meters away, undressing Killian with their eyes, not that there’s much left to undress other than his dark jeans.
My gaze returns to Killian. “Well, lucky for you, your fanclub over there is waiting,” I flick my finger in their direction, “I’m sure they’ll be all too happy to oblige.”
He tosses a quick glance over his shoulder. They shoot him their sweetest smiles and offer him a wave, but he turns back to me, uninterested. “Unluckily for them, they’re not the ones I’m interested in,” he replies. “Apparently snarky brunettes are what get me going.”
His warm chocolate eyes sparkle as they hold my gaze and there’s both an involuntary and an unwanted flutter in my belly.
“Hate to disappoint, but you’re not my type.” It’s a straight up lie. I didn’t realise until I saw him the other day that a man with a beard and covered in tattoos is apparently what gets me going but I don’t want him knowing that. The fact I seem to be attracted to Killian Hunt of all people is enough for me to be considering a lobotomy.
He’s rude and vulgar. So why the fuck is my skin growing hot and there’s a pulsing between my legs?
What is wrong with me?
“That’s not the impression I got the other day. Couldn’t keep your eyes off me if memory serves.”
“I didn’t know who you were then,” I point out.
He smirks. “Ah, you’ve heard of me?”
“Oh, I knowallabout you and your sexcapades. I’m pretty sure your name is infamous from here to China.”
“Oh yeah? Do tell.”
“Killian Hunt. Killer of men and hunter of women.”
He throws his head back as he barks out a laugh, the deep sound rumbling through his chest. “That’s a good one, haven’t heard that before. Seems my reputation proceeds me.”
“Not really something to write home to mommy and daddy about, is it?”
I seem to have struck a cord because his face hardens and there’s a brief pause, as if he wants to say something but he’s not sure if he should. “Not sure you’re in a position to judge. I’m assuming daddy didn’t take the news of you dropping out of law school all too well, huh?”
I huff. “Of course you know who I am.” It’s a wonder this is the first time my relationship to the mayor has been brought up since I got back.
“And you seem to know so much about me. So, come on, what else has daddy told you about me? How I’m such a bad man? How I embody everything wrong with society?”
“He told me about your time in prison.”
His jaw clenches, an unreadable expression crossing his face. “I doubt he’s told you everything.”
“He told me enough, and that’s all I need to know.”
“Aren’t all you lawyer types supposed to be impartial? You seem like clever girl, I’m sure you can make up your mind without believing everything daddy tells you.”
“But as you so clearly pointed out, I’m not a lawyer! I dropped out remember? And believe me, I am clever enough to make up my own mind about you, so thanks.”
I push off my stool in an attempt to leave but he blocks my path, my nose almost pressing against his bare chest, the scent of sweat and a fragrant hint of something woody and spicy invading my senses.
I crane my neck to meet his eyes. “Excuse me.”
