I flashed him a fleeting smile before he headed to the other end of the bar to attend to another patron.
Hanging my head, I stared wearily into my drink. The bartender didn’t know the half of it.
Lately, not only had I been hanging on to my job by a thread, but my personal life was also in shambles. I wasn’t usually someone who had more than two drinks, but tonight was an exception to the rule. With my daughter gone for the night, I had time to clear my head. I needed to do some serious thinking and consider getting away from New York.
I’d always dreamed of the city life when I was a little girl, but now that I had everything I wanted…those things no longer mattered. The prestigious title at my restaurant consulting firm—which was hanging in the balance. The glitz and glamour of staying up late had certainly worn off. And then, of course, there was my soon-to-be ex-husband.
Rubbing my forehead, I blew out a lip roll and wrapped my fingers around the cold glass. I put it to my mouth and let the sweetly flavored gin drink coat my throat. Memories flooded me, and I remembered the very first time I’d been on a date with my ex-husband, and he’d ordered me a gin and tonic, too.
Raising my eyes up and across the room, I noticed a man at the other end of the bar. Liquid heat flushed my body when our gazes met. Devilishly handsome, he wore a blue suit coat and his red tie was loosened on his white button-down shirt.
He flexed his jaw, staring at me, and I looked away, my heart pitter-pattering abnormally fast.
I glanced in the mirror behind the bar, suddenly conscious of what I was wearing. I had on a floral romper on this hot, steamy New York night. It barely covered my top—almost not work appropriate.
I’d definitely caught a few stray eyes coming my way during the day today.
I could feel my cheeks flushing as the man’s presence overpowered me.
Darting my eyes toward him, I was surprised to see nothing where he’d just been sitting.
When I heard the low voice behind me, I froze.
“This seat taken?” the low voice said.
Jerking my body around, I saw the big man standing in front of me. He was taller than I’d imagined, with dark hair and dimples. He had a rougher look than most men you’d see in New York.
To sum it up, he looked like trouble.
Which was exactly what I was trying to stay out of tonight.
“It’s taken,” I said, not allowing my voice to shake.
“Perfect. I’ll keep it warm then,” he said as he sat down next to me, drink in hand.
I blew out a hard exhale. “Look, mister, you seem great, but I’m just not in the mood tonight.”
He nodded slowly and sipped his drink. “I don’t think you know who you’re talking to.”
I scoffed, feeling my blood pressure rising at his audacity. “I think I do. You’re another city asshole who’s going to try to pick me up. Not interested.”
Turning away from him, I pulled out my phone from my purse and pulled up my Instagram.
“You’re a pretty good judge of character, you know that? But you’re only half-right.”
I didn’t want to respond, but my curiosity got the best of me.
“Oh? What part did I get right? And what did I miss?”
“I’m no city boy. But I am an asshole. So you’re one for two. Bully for you.”
I spun my chair around, rolling my eyes. “Did you just say ‘bully for you’? What year is this, 1924? No one speaks like that anymore.”
He was looking at his phone, thumb scrolling on his Instagram, so I poked him in the shoulder.
“Um, hello! I’m engaging you in conversation now. Aren’t you going to say anything back?”
Looking up, he blinked a few times. “Please don’t touch me.”
I ground my teeth. What was his problem?
“Oh, so you come over and sit next to me, but now you don’t want to talk.”
He shrugged, not looking up from his phone. “I decided against it.”
I flashed him a false smile. “You’re a piece of fucking work, for Christ sake, you know that?”
He squinted. “Excuse me? Did you just take the Lord’s name in vain?”
“Oh, please. Like you’re some saint in a suit. The way you’re smirking, I bet you pick up girls here every night. And I’m absolutely not interested.”
He took another swallow of his drink, put his phone in his pocket, and stared at me.
“It is true what they say about women like you?”
I widened my eyes. “Women like me? What the heck does that mean?”
He winked. “You city gals. The prettier you are, the more likely you are to strike a man down. It’s all good, though. I get it. You want to drink your gin and tonic in peace and quiet. I’ll go.”
I felt a rush of relief upon hearing that, but I was also suddenly a little bit anxious that he was leaving.
Maybe this guy wasn’t the nicest, but at least he was intriguing.
After getting up from his barstool, drink in hand, he paused, staring at my left hand.
Reaching out, he grabbed it and touched it, examining my fingers.
“Are you a hand doctor? Because if not, this is a little weird.”
I pulled my hand back but then instantly realized I’d enjoyed him touching my skin. It had been so long since I’d touched a man when flirting.
“Not a hand doctor. But I do recognize a wedding ring tan line when I see one. Are you married? I didn’t get your name.”
“Dagny. And yes, I am separated, but not fully divorced yet.”
“That sounds unorthodox.”
“It is.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I clenched up, having figured my “separated” line would push him away, like it does most guys. “With you?”
He nodded.
“You don’t seem like the type of guy who likes to ‘talk things out’ with women.”
“Oh? And just what type of guy do I seem like?”
Raising his eyebrow, he leaned back in his barstool with a hint of that smirk.
I rubbed my arm and looked into my drink, not wanting to admit to him what I was really thinking: he was the type of guy who made my mind wander to dirty, devious things. It had been much too long since I’d felt lips like his on my body, and I was thinking just where on my skin they might feel the best. Maybe just a plain old kiss on the lips would do.
At least, normally that would do for me.
But I was overdue for something more out of the ordinary. And he seemed exactly like that fun type of guy. My heart flooded with warmth, and I bit my lip.
“I was just thinking you’re the type of guy who…knows what he’s doing.”
He nodded. “I know how to do a lot of things.”
Involuntarily, I felt myself leaning in toward him, as if his lips were a landing pad and I was a helicopter that needed to hit the target to stay alive.
Laying my hand across his right thigh, I felt his lips push up against mine, and my legs parted slightly. I could feel my palms moisten from excitement, and I loved the feeling of his finger on my chin, drawing me closer to him.
I closed my eyes and a little moan escaped me as the touching of our lips sparked butterflies all through my body.
For a few moments, I felt the pain of my job, my failed relationship…all of it washed away into nothing, into a kiss so perfect and pure.
There was no agenda behind this contact, nothing but pure lust.
As I pulled away, though, I realized something else.
There was no love in this kiss, either.
And I couldn’t just expect the problems of my life to fade away with a fleeting romance with some stranger, even if he was sexy as hell.
I pulled my lips away. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I really should be going. It’s getting late.”
He bit his lip. “Early bedtime tonight?”
Pulling my purse from the bar counter, I stood up and flashed him a fake smile.
“Very funny.
My kid isn’t at home tonight, so I don’t have a curfew.”
His expression widened. “You have a son?”
“Daughter, actually. But that doesn’t mean I can just stay out all night.”
“I see,” he said.
I was expecting him to get all needy and beg me to stay for some reason, but he did nothing of the sort.
“And you seem like bad news,” I baited playfully.
Even though I was telling him I had to go, I was hoping like hell he’d give me a good enough reason to stay.
He shrugged, that smirk hinting at the corners of his mouth. “That depends on your definition of bad news.”
I furrowed my brow. “My definition is…a guy like you. So I’m going.”
“You’re going,” he repeated.
“Are you sad?” I asked, and as soon as I said it realized how weird I sounded.
“Very. I thought we had something special here,” he added playfully. “I guess we’ll never know.”
“Something special? Right. So you’re telling me you don’t do that with girls in this bar all the time?”
“Only with the pretty ones.”
I swallowed, trying to leave the bar, but for some reason, my feet wouldn’t carry me out.
Something about this man drew me in. He seemed a little rougher around the edges than most men.
“You want to stay,” he said after a long, awkward pause.
“Are you trying to convince me?”
“I’m just stating a fact.”
He put his hand on mine. “Stay. Have one more drink with me. I can see it in your eyes, you want to.”
I closed my eyes and felt the breeze of the rooftop flow through my hair.
Hesitantly, I sat down.
“Just so you know, this has nothing to do with how handsome you are. This is just me needing to be at the bar for one more. The bar is my therapist.”
“I can be your therapist.” He winked.
My skin flushed, and I felt a pang near my heart.
There was exactly one type of therapy I wanted from this man, and it began with s and ended with x.
I mean, in Dagny’s fantasy world, I wanted that.
In Dagny’s real world, I would never go home with a stranger the first night.
“Well then,” he said. “Tell me about this ex of yours.”
“Well, he’s technically not my ex officially yet. We’re separated, not divorced.”
“Okay, got it. So your non-ex. And the father of your child.”
“Oh, boy. You really want to have this conversation?”
“I live for these conversations. Tell me all about him. I’ll bet he’s an interesting guy.”
I took another swig of my gin and tonic, finishing it. When I signaled to the bartender, he nodded and brought me another drink.
My buzz rolled through me as I thought about how to start this story.
“You really want to hear about my ex, Mr. Sexy Man?”
He laughed. “Mr. Sexy Man. That’s my name?”
“Hey, if you don’t like it…”
“I like it. I’ll listen. Just tell the story.”
“I met him. We had a whirlwind romance. I moved out to his small town to be with him, but we hit a rocky patch. So I moved back here, to New York, with my daughter.”
With a fresh drink in my hand, I sat back and eyed the stranger. It’s funny that sometimes the person you trusted the most was just some random stranger.
Maybe I shouldn’t have trusted the man in front of me. But the way he was looking at me, with those deep, dark, mahogany eyes, he was practically hypnotizing me.
“First, what’s your name?”
“Sam,” he growled.
“Well, Sam. Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure is all on this side of the table. I must say I’m more than a little intrigued what kind of man an attractive woman like yourself settles down with.” His eyes flitted up to meet mine. “Or should I say settled down. Past tense.”
“Right. Because we’re separated now.”
He stirred his drink. “So when did things, you know, go south with him?”
I sighed into my drink, trying to remember but at the same time not wanting to remember.
“I wish I could tell you exactly when things went wrong. But the truth is, I’ve always loved him. Maybe I still do. But he was working so much for me and our daughter that I hardly ever saw him anymore. Throw in the fact that I was working full time as well, and it was a recipe for our relationship to fizzle.”
“And I can imagine your sex life took a hit.”
Goosebumps rolled across my body when he said that.
“It did.” I swallowed. I felt desire stir up in me for this hulk of a man in a suit. That kiss we shared was wrong. What kind of man kisses a woman a minute and a half after meeting her? Three minutes after making eye contact?
But the honest truth was that he turned me on so much I was becoming afraid of what I might do if I stayed here with him.
How far I might want to go with Sam.
I laughed out loud. What a silly name. Sam.
It didn’t do this sexy man any justice. He was much too attractive for three letters.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that your sex life hasn’t been the greatest with him.”
“Thanks.”
“Does he still love you?”
My heart fluttered. “I don’t know if I should be talking to a stranger about this.”
He furrowed his brow. “Who am I gonna tell?” he said, his tone irreverent.
“It’s not about that. It’s personal information, that’s all. Again, personal information. What about you, Sam? You haven’t said one word about your status.”
He swallowed a gulp of his drink. “Same thing as you. Wife—I mean my ex—we’ve had the most amazing times of our lives together. It’s sad when it doesn’t work out.”
He shrugged, tonguing the inside of his cheek. “Actually my story sounds a lot like the reverse of yours. I put in too much time at my job. We lost touch. What are you gonna do? And there were some very good times.”
“Good times like the night you were making out in the shower and you broke the nozzle?”
His eyes widened. I couldn’t tell if it was a sarcastic widening or not. “How’d you know?”
I bit my lip. “You seem like an accident-prone guy.”
“Ah, yes, the bad news thing you mentioned about me. It’s true. Cheers to that.”
We clinked glasses and I sucked a little of mine down.
“So Sam,” I said, putting my hand on his forearm. “Where are you from?”
“Some little small town you’ve probably never heard of in the Midwest. I’m in New York to take care of some business.”
“And have you been able to?” I swallowed, letting the sultriness of my voice loose. If I was going to flirt—and whatever was in the summer air already had me in an elated state—I might as well be shameless about it.
“Take care of business?” I finished my sentence, licking my lips.
He smiled. “Oh, yes. I’ve taken care of lots of business. Lots of big, important business. In fact…” Pausing, he looked left and right, as if he cared if other people were around. He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “There’s only one piece of business I haven’t taken care of this week.”
“What’s that?” I swallowed, feeling my heart thumping at his sex-infused stare.
“I met this hottie at a bar. A total smoke show. And I’m going to take her home.”
Liquid heat ravaged me as I realized this was a smoke screen for talking about me, in third person, to my face.
“Well, maybe she’s not that kind of woman.”
“She’s not that kind of woman,” he said.
“No?”
He shook his head. “But I’ll make her that kind of woman for one night with me.”
My skin tingling, I turned my body toward him. I could feel my blood boiling, a
nd I wasn’t sure if it was with anger…or desire.
Probably a little bit of both.
This man was driving me wild, making me oscillate between telling him to screw off…and just saying yes, screw it, where’s your hotel?
At the current moment, I felt I might choose either one of those options. It would feel so incredible to just let go, throw caution to the wind, and sleep with this gorgeous stranger.
I swallowed hard, feeling the word vomit bubbling up in my throat. I was going into autopilot again.
“I’m not going to sleep with you. But if we did, I’m curious what you would do with me.”
He cocked his head. “That sounds like a dating show question.”
“It kind of is a dating show question. An awesome one!”
“I didn’t know we were on a date, but I’ll answer. I never plan out what I do in bed. I just do what strikes me in the moment.”
Desire flares through me, and I rub my arm again. “Good answer.”
“Is that the same thing your hus—I mean your ex, would have said?”
“You’d have to ask him. Although there wasn’t too much sex going on in the past month of our relationship. He was working a ton and…oh, I don’t know. We just stopped syncing up.”
“You know what they say. As sex goes, the relationship goes.”
“Is that what they say?” I tilted my head a little, curious to hear this man’s thoughts on relationships. He seemed wise for just being an office worker.
He nodded. “That’s how it was for my ex and me.”
“What happened?” I rubbed the back of my neck and felt myself shaking a little.
“Like you said, we stopped syncing up. We got off track.”
“And you think a one-night stand is a solution to that?”
He leaned in, speaking in a lower tone of voice. “It seems to me like you’re the one with the one-night stand on your mind. I’m truly just out, enjoying your company. Are you hot? Yes, of course. You’re fucking gorgeous. I love your red hair and the freckles on your cheeks. But I’m done with meaningless sex. There’s no point in that.”
Tossing my hair aside, I could feel myself blushing.
Sam could sense it. “What on earth are you thinking about?”
I blew out a hard exhale and swallowed the lump of embarrassment in my throat. “I hooked up with my ex the first time the same night.”
Alphas of Seduction Page 27
