Page 269 of A Matter of Time

My body was flushed and hot now that Sam had ignited my libido, so I caught another cab and headed toward one of my usual haunts to pick somebody up. I needed a stranger with no strings attached to quench my desire.

They were playing Billie Holiday standards at the lounge, and the singer had a deep, sultry sound to her voice. I ordered a snifter of Hennessy and sat at the end of the bar, listening. When I drained my glass, another one was right there to take its place. Turning my head, I found a very handsome man smiling at me.

“Finally, you show up.”

“I’m sorry?” I smiled at him.

“You don’t remember me?”

I didn’t, but that happened a lot.

“You picked me up here, like, a month ago.”

I had no idea who he was. “Sure.”

He smiled slowly. “You don’t remember, but that’s okay… I remember you.” I took a sip of my drink.

“But you haven’t been around in a while, and you wouldn’t give me your number.”

I nodded. I hardly ever gave out my number.

“I kept thinking if I hung out here, I’d bump into you again.”

“And now you have.”

“Now I have.”

“Is that a good thing?”

He nodded, leaning forward. “It’s a very good thing.”

“You live around here?”

He nodded. “Yep, real close.”

“Thanks for the drink.”

“You finish it, then you can have another at my place.”

And I was ready to take him up on his offer. My body was basically throbbing with pent-up desire, and he was as good as the next guy. At least we liked the same kind of music. It was something. So I smiled at him and would have continued our flirty conversation, but the hand that slid up my left thigh made me turn my head in the opposite direction. Sam Kage was there, leaning on the bar, just staring at me and waiting.

I was stunned. “What are you⁠—”

“Excuse me,” the guy began, leaning in close to me. “I was talking to⁠—”

“Fuck off,” Sam said flatly before returning his eyes to mine. His smile was huge. “He’s with me.”

And because it was Sam Kage talking, the guy disappeared. I turned my head to say something nice to my admirer, but he was gone. The detective was just too big and scary.

“Look at me.”

I exhaled sharply and dragged my eyes to Sam.

“Can I sit?”

I shrugged.

“It’s nice in here,” he said softly, sitting down on the barstool beside me, pushing my drink out of my reach. “You like this kinda music, huh?”