I chuckle, shaking my head.
"Is there anything you wouldn't do?" I mutter to the phone. My best friend is…well, frankly, she's an unhinged little psycho. She creates problems out of thin air. It's one of the reasons I love her.
"Depends," a deep voice drawls beside me. "What do you have in mind?"
I squeak, dropping my phone, and whip around to find the businessman standing beside my table, grinning at me. There's something cold in his blue eyes that I didn't expect. He's handsome, with blond hair and a scruffy jaw.
"Um…I…um…" And there I go. Same story, different day. I have thoughts, plenty of them. They just refuse to exit my mouth.
He notices my dilemma and takes pity on me as he slides into the seat across from me. "I'm just teasing, babe. You looked lonely over here." His gaze lingers on my boobs. "And beautiful in that dress."
"I…thank you," I whisper, pretty sure my face is hot enough to start a forest fire right now.
We stare at each other for a long moment, neither of us speaking. He isn't what I expected. He's older, for one thing, at least forty-five. And he seems...intense in a way I didn't expect. The guy I've been talking to has been effortlessly charming and kind of sweet. This man doesn't give me sweet vibes.
"So…" he drawls. "You come here often?"
"N-not really. My friend suggested it."
"Ah." His lips curve. "Is she as hot as you?"
I blink at him, caught off guard.
"You ever play together, babe?"
"P-play together?" I frown at him. Is he talking about video games or something? The last time I tried to do that, I killed my whole squad in the first five seconds. Twice.
It's not my fault they trusted me with the grenades.
"Yeah." His eyes glitter as he stares at me. "You, her…a third. Naked."
Oh.
Oh.Gross.
My heart sinks into my stomach. Oddly, relief shoots through me at the same exact moment. It's like I'm disappointed by mankind and relievedthisman is a pervy jerk I can refuse to ever see again, all at once. It's a weird feeling.
"No," I say, my voice firm for once.
"Damn." He reaches across the table, running his pinky down the back of my hand. "Maybe I can change your mind. Might be fun."
He's touching me.
My whole body trembles, my anxiety so freaking loud I can't think through it.
He misreads it as interest and leans closer. As soon as he does, I smell the alcohol on his breath.Gross."You want to get out of here, babe? Go somewhere private and let me see what's under that dress?"
I'd literally rather sleep with an actual demon. But the words won't form. They're stuck in the back of my throat, frozen.
I glance across the bar, hoping the hostess or bartender is nearby.
The whole world tilts when I look directly into Jasper Medlock's furious gray eyes. He's standing just inside the bar, his angular jaw clenched, his hands in fists at his sides, the fabric of his t-shirt straining across his barrel chest. He looks mad as hell, and so beautiful I want to cry.
Daddy.
The thought forms in my brain before I can stop it, the same way it always does. I want to hide from it and hide from him… but I can't. Isn't that the problem? I've never been able to hide from it, no matter how hard I've tried.
And I have tried. I've tried so damn hard to pretend it away, to act like I don't look at him and feel like I'm going to explode because I don't belong to him in that way. I want things from him that I know I shouldn't want, but I've never been able to stop myself from wanting them, either.
