A grin spreads across my face. “I can do that.”
Mack ambles over, slinging a towel over his shoulder and raising a brow at the new girl at my side. "What'll it be, Cap?"
I don't take my eyes off her. "Two Sex on the Beach cocktails, Mack."
Her cheeks flush a shade of pink I want to put my mouth on.
"Christ." Mack groans, reaching for the vodka. "You couldn't just order the poor girl a beer like a normal person?"
He serves our drinks, and soon, time becomes a blur of cold drinks, her flirty laughter, and the way she keeps brushing her knee against mine under the high-top table.
"So," she says, swirling the little paper umbrella through her drink. "What does a forward guy do when he's not buying drinks for lost women at bars?"
I take a slow sip of my own cocktail, watching the way her tongue darts out to catch a drop of peach schnapps from her lip. "Depends. What does a lost tourist do when she's not getting bad directions?"
"Oh, I see. You're avoiding the question. I like it." She leans in, elbow on the table, chin in her palm. "Let me guess. You work with your hands. You've got that look."
"What look?"
"The 'I break things and people pay me for it' look."
I laugh, surprised at her honesty. Nobody talks to me like that. "And here I thought I was being charming."
"You are. That's the problem."
I watch her for a second, and see there's a flicker ofholy shit am I really doing thisbehind those green eyes before she buries it. She's nervous. Putting on a show of being someone she's not.
Good. So am I.
"And you? Let me guess. You're running from something. Ex-boyfriend? Annoying family?"
Her smile falters for half a second, like I've hit the jackpot, then sharpens. "Let's just say, I came to be somewhere where nobody knows my name."
Oh, sweetheart.
"So you came to a town full of strangers," I say slowly, "to be a stranger."
"Sort of. I came to do one reckless thing before my life gets very, very serious."
I chuckle and tip my head. "Well, from what I hear… I'm the most reckless thing this entire town has ever seen."
"Yeah." She holds my gaze, steady as hell. "You do feel like a reckless thing."
She tips her glass toward mine and I have to bite back a groan.This woman.I want to fuck her brains out and pick her brain. All at the same time.
The combination is dangerously intoxicating.
We keep talking, and soon, we’re three drinks in when she leans closer, the scent of her washing over me.
“So,” she murmurs, her voice a little tipsy. “What’s the plan after this?”
I let my gaze drop to her mouth, then back to her eyes. My blood heats.
“Well, that depends on you."
She hums, tapping a finger against her empty glass. "Why me?"
“Because.” I lean in, letting my warm breath coast over her neck. A flush spreads across her chest, visible above her neckline. “Lucky for you, I have a very strict policy against letting beautiful strangers wander Beachside alone after dark.”
