I stare toward him like a deer in headlights, unsure how to react. He stares back, looking like he’d like to punch himself in the face. I get the feeling he doesn’t like it when he compliments me, like the words are coming out of his mouth before his brain can stop him. Maybe it’s the student-teacher thing. Either way, it’s wildly inappropriate… and a little flattering.
“Thank you,” I say, my face burning hot.
His jaw sets hard, and he takes a long sip of bourbon, setting the glass down on the bar with more force than I expect.
He’s feeling uncomfortable. Maybe I should go.
I flash my glance toward him. “What am I here for?”
He mutters under his breath, “So aggressive.”
“Aggressive?” I blurt, my mouth agape. “Aggressive?I’m aggressive? You called me out in a classroom filled with a hundred students. You’re aggressive.”
He laughs. It’s not a hardy fun laugh, nor is it really even a laugh. It’s more a tortured smile, his gaze still on me.
“Are you always this interesting?”
Interesting?“Am I aggressive or interesting? I’m having a hard time keeping up.”
He does the forced grin thing again before kicking back another sip of whiskey. “Can’t you be both?”
I shake my head and twist toward the front bar, catching eyes with a cocktail waitress who makes her way over.
“What can I get you, honey?”
“A strawberry margarita please.”
She nods, flipping her hand down over her short skirt before she heads back to the bar.
I watch Viktor’s gaze, curious if this intense stare is something he doesn’t discriminate with, but he doesn’t check her out. He holds steady on me.
“There’s nothing else to look at,” he rasps. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” His stare is so strong it’s as though I can physically feel him on my body.
My stomach turns. I’ve never had anyone look at me like this before… ever.It’s electric, sexual, and incredibly wrong. Wrong that he’s doing it. Wrong that I’m liking it. Wrong that I have a great guy like Ryan begging me for affection and my panties are dripping wet for a murderer. This is why I’m a mess. This is why I’m only going to break Ryan. Knots tighten in my stomach.
Viktor leans in toward me. “Are you upset by my statement?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’m upset by a lot of the things you’ve said.”
I glance back toward the waitress who is making her way over with my frozen drink, little umbrella, and all.Thank God. I need it.
I suck in a cool sip of the liquid courage and set the fluted glass back down on the bar. It’s getting later, and the sun is sinking into the water, turning the sky pink and orange.
“What makes you so uncomfortable about the things I say?”
My stomach turns at the little pop of laughter he has after his statement and I snap.
“Why don’t you cut the shit,” I bark. “Tell me why you’re here. Are you planning to cut me into little pieces and mount my head on your wall? Is that what you did with Max?”
His gaze hits me hard, heavy, and intense. He wants me to believe whatever he’s about to say. “I would never… everfucking hurt you. And the man you’re talking about, Max, I didn’t hurt him either.”
I don’t know why, but I believe him. It’s something about the way he speaks. That steel aura. He’s strong and confident in everything he says. Maybe that’s the trick. If it is, it’s working.
He straightens his back and sucks down another sip of his drink before speaking again. “So what do you do for a living?”
“What do I do for a living? Is this a date now? You said earlier that you could see whyheliked me. Who’she?”
“The bartender.” He glances toward the bar. “He watched you walk out last night, and we got talking about you.”
