What?I mouthed.
He’s so hot, she mouthed back, still with that tempting little smirk on her face.
Acting purely on instinct, I leaned forward, bringing my mouth to the spot just above her ear as I whispered, “You disagree?”
A small, barely perceptible tremble went through her. She didn’t respond, only looked up at me with rosy cheeks and a hooded expression that heated my blood.
“No one’s been in here other than Barry over there,” the bartender responded. Clearly, Barry was the old geezer sipping his pint. There were various noises of disappointment before one said, “Let’s check the restaurant next door.”
I looked back at Shannon. My fingers itched to touch her more. What would happen if I moved another inch into her personal space? Would she welcome me or—
Suddenly, the door to the snug opened, and Dymphna appeared while Shannon dropped my hand. “The coast is clear. Do you two want to order something, or are you just here to hide?” She cast a wry glance between us, and I looked to Shannon, who shrugged.
“You serve food?”
“Sure do. Want some menus?”
“Why the hell not?”
She turned, and I motioned for Shannon to take a seat at the tiny booth inside the snug.
“I can’t remember the last time I was in one of these,” she commented as she removed her coat and placed it neatly over the back of the seat.
“They’re a dying breed, all right. Useful for times like this, though.”
She eyed me curiously. “You used to love meeting your fans. What changed?”
I exhaled. “It’s not that I don’t love it; there’s just a time and a place, you know? We do meet and greets before and after shows where it’s all organised. Getting mobbed on the street is the kind of chaos I’d prefer to avoid, especially with young fans. They can be overzealous and things can get out of hand.”
“Understandable,” Shannon said just as Dymphna returned with the menus. I quickly scanned the options while Shannon told her, “I’ll take the soup and a tea. Thank you.”
“Same here. And some chips, please.”
We handed back the menus, and Dymphna left while Shannon busied herself checking the time on her slim, silver wristwatch. Meanwhile, my phone was vibrating like crazy in my jeans pocket. I pulled it out to check, and there were a bunch of missed calls from Elias and Kami, plus a few from Dixon wanting to know if I’d been mobbed by fans. It took me a minute to text everyone back, letting them know I was fine and the location of the pub where Shannon and I were currently hiding out.
When I put my phone away, I found Shannon studying the frosted glass within the wood panelling of the snug. She was so beautiful when she didn’t realise she was being observed, and unbidden, my gaze traced the delicate lines of her cheeks, her pert nose, and sumptuous lips. Just staring at her had my cock stirring. I had to ask a benign question to distract myself from how much I wanted her.
“How far are we from your office?”
She lifted her gaze to mine, unaware that I’d been defiling her with my eyes. “Oh. Not far. A few minutes’ walk.”
I cleared my throat, chasing away my desire. “I’ll have Isla drop you back. She and Dixon should be here soon. Don’t want you to be late for your meeting.”
“You shouldn’t ditch them like that,” Shannon said. “They’re only there to look out for you.”
I grinned. “Do you worry about me, Kryten?”
She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t get any crazy ideas. I mainly worry for Zara. She’d be distraught if anything happened to you.”
“Of course.” I steepled my fingers together. “So, tell me again how you ended up at my gig today?”
“I work nearby and was out for lunch.”
“You haven’t been following me online?”
“No.”
I smirked. “Okay.”
