by Shayla Black
“So do you,” Axel said. “I won’t point out that I’ve never seen you here, but I’ll guess you’ve never been to a place like this.”
“Never,” she admitted. “What gave me away?”
He chuffed. “Leaving the door open so you could gape with barely disguised horror was a start. I particularly liked the way you turned slightly green when you stared at the guys about to do to body shots with Trina.” He nodded to the corner where the bearded men and the woman in the halter top all laughed. “So why are you here?”
She’d forgotten how observant he could be and how accurately he could draw conclusions. He did it in an instant, as if nothing in the world shocked him anymore. The world still shocked her all the time.
She hadn’t, however, forgotten how direct he was.
“Curious,” she lied and held in a wince at her lame answer.
He shrugged. “Let me try another way: The place is more than half empty, so why did you sit next to me?”
Brutally direct, she mentally corrected.
Mystery gaped for an answer. “Why not?”
In retrospect, she could have been a little less obvious and a little more coy in choosing a seat. Maybe she should have sat a few stools away, ordered some terrible wine, and seen if he’d struck up a conversation. But she’d taken one look at him, and any thought of careful or logical had flown out the window.
He leveled her with a disbelieving stare. “That’s all you’ve got? You couldn’t even have come up with a good lie?”
Not really. She could have gone the “You look familiar” route, but that would have been too close to the truth. As far as she could see, that only left her one tactic.
“You’re very attractive. Pardon me for being interested.”
A little smile lit up his eyes before he took another swig of beer. “I didn’t say you being close upset me. You’re attractive yourself.” He stared a moment longer, then glanced down at his empty beer before he shifted his attention to her untouched glass. “You sure I can’t get you something stronger to drink? I can’t believe a girl like you would risk life and limb to come to this dive for a swig of water.”
Truth was, drinking didn’t hold a lot of appeal for her. In the past, she pretended otherwise, but . . . “While I appreciate the offer, I’m actually not interested in alcohol.” She forced herself to meet his inquisitive stare. “Would you like to find somewhere more private to . . .”
“Talk?” He gave her an ironic curl of his lips.
“No.” She sucked in a shaking breath. “To fuck. Would you be interested?”
