Why on earth am I encouraging this? I'm way too old for him. With perfect timing, the little waitress sidled up to the table with an exaggerated swagger and slowly planted four new glasses of wine onto the table.
My sensible head told me if I drank one more of those large pours the staff served, I would be smashed. So what? You deserve a little attention, and the taxi fare will be worth it.
"Just a 'customer' I satisfied a little more than I should have," he said, using air quotes, as he hid another secret smile behind the long index finger he rubbed across his lips. I immediately got the sexual reference and felt mortified for promoting the exchange.
"Can I interest you in anything else?" the waitress asked as she interrupted, obviously deciding a guy who looked like Sawyer was no love interest of mine. When he turned to look at her, it allowed me to study his handsome chiseled jawline a little closer and decided this word didn't do him justice.
No, Sawyer was stunning with plump lips that promised soft, sensual kisses and hours of erotic pleasure for any lucky woman. But by then I'd become captivated by the glint of mischief in his enthralling, bright hazel eyes.
I shook my head at the thought and his eyes honed in on mine. I blushed at the notional idea that he may just have read my thoughts at that moment.
Without knowing anything about him, I was certain he could seduce in a heartbeat and melt the hearts of the iciest of women with his stunning appearance and easy beguiling charisma in mere minutes.
Apart from how he looked, he was sexually confident, and his most disturbing trait was the magnetic aura that had drawn me toward him.
When he caught me staring at him his sexy smile spread wider. "Nope, I think we have all we need right here, unless … " he murmured, leaving the question to hang in the air and held my gaze a little too long that I forgot to reply.
It had been years since a man had looked at me with desire, but I recognized the look of longing. An instant thrill that a man such as Sawyer could look at me at all ignited a spark of excitement that shot straight to my core.
"Unless?" I muttered, suddenly feeling brave. Perhaps it was the desperation of a sex-starved woman who had broken loose in me as I willed myself to hold my ground and stare back at him with defiance.
"Do you want something else, Billie?" I would have had to be naïve to have missed his double entendre, but I felt my confidence plunge to the floor when I figured he was toying with me. However, the familiarity in the way he used my name stirred more butterflies and my confused mistrust of men prevented me from flirting back.
"No, I'm good," I managed, my voice sounding flat as I squeezed my thighs together again. My panties were drenched and I imagined for a moment this was not just some game. That I wasn't just someone to amuse himself with, while he took refuge from the rain and some other woman.
A lopsided smile curved his lips as he casually slumped back in his seat, but continued to observe me intently with his big hazel eyes. A few moments later, they wandered leisurely over my body and he inhaled a deep breath.
Unnerved by his scrutiny, I focused momentarily on my fresh glass of wine and lifted it to my mouth. Conscious of the wicked sexy gleam in his eyes, I took a gulp and focused on setting my beverage back down on the table. I did my best not to look up at him.
"Damn. Has anyone told you lately how beautiful you are?" His comment made my eyes snap up to meet his, both shocked by his frank comment, convinced he was toying with me.
"Hmm. I call bullshit," I snickered, my heart ignored my head and thudded against my chest at the compliment anyway. I looked over his shoulder toward the door then back to him. Twisting my lips, I gave him a wry smile, because I'd felt foolish for allowing his comment to schmooze me a little.
For a few moments, we sat in silence before I flashed a wry smirk his way. "There was no woman, was there, Sawyer? If that's even your real name. And if there was, I think it's safe to say you can leave now," I added and forced myself to dismiss him.
Not wanting to see his reaction, I looked away, feeling foolish, and watched the waitress collect some glasses like my curiosity toward him had run its course.
"Oh, yes, ma'am, she was there. And the name that I gave you is real," he replied, chuckling. "Trust me, she was real, all right," he told me, his eyes turning wide and round, the implication in his voice telling me he thought she was a handful. "Anyhow, what kind of husband lets his beautiful woman frequent bars on her own?" He nodded at my wedding band, the last visible evidence of my life before.
I had no idea why I still wore the ring, despite everything I'd been through with Logan. Perhaps it had been a subconscious effort to fend off unwanted advances from men who might think as a soon-to-be divorcée, I'd be desperate to jump into another relationship.
My hand instantly left my wine glass and I twisted the gold ring that had once meant the world to me while his eyes studied me carefully.
"The cheating kind who used to love me and left his wife and his child with broken hearts." I cringed when I heard myself say this aloud to a stranger.
"Jesus, darlin' what the …" he sighed and shook his head. "Fuck … I'm sorry, that was my bad. This isn't my business and I'm sorry for the intrusion," he offered. His boyish cocky demeanor instantly changed, and I felt angry with myself for blurting it out like that. I had been lost for a few minutes in his attention, but his question about my wedding ring immediately reminded me they sat mere feet away from me.
My tablemate had the grace to look embarrassed when he realized he'd hit a raw nerve.
"It's fine," I snapped. My tone sounded in direct opposition to my words. "It's just … he's here in this wine bar—with her, I'd bet."
"You followed him?"
"Hell no. Just an unlucky coincidence."
"Fuck."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Since he left I've managed to avoid him. All communication has gone through our lawyers, all visitation arrangements for our son, through his parents or a third party … until today. Then …" I looked out of the window and silently cursed the relentless pouring rain and the lump that had threatened to form in my throat. "This had been the one day when I'd felt strong enough to get on with my life and fate threw me under a bus. How many people are there in New York? How many bars?" I asked, leaving the rest for him to connect the dots and still reeling from my bad luck.
"Seriously?" he asked, leaning over the table toward me, his head turning as he scanned the crowded room, even though he had no idea who he was looking for.
"Go figure, huh?" I asked and heaved a sigh. "What are the chances of this? This has been the one day I'd felt brave and Logan decides to mess up my determined attempt at being single."
"Has he seen you?"
"Yep, and he approached me, too. Probably couldn't resist it. I imagine he wanted to find out why I was hanging out in a wine bar alone. Oh, and despite the fact he's with his new woman, he wants me to give him an hour of my time."
Sawyer scoffed, which confirmed my thoughts on the matter exactly. "Does he think he deserves it?"
"According to him, ten good years gives him the right to that hour."
"And how do you feel about this?"
"Not even if he let the whole New York Yankee baseball team ride him bareback," I retorted.
Sawyer threw his head back and laughed loudly, and I cringed at the attention he drew, and instantly scanned the room to see who was looking at us. When I glanced back at him, a grin spread on my lips with how infectious his low rumbly laugh had sounded. Despite my dismay, my heart felt lighter for his reaction.
When his eyes met mine again, they widened in surprise like he'd had an idea and he slapped his hand on the table next to mine. His expression turned serious, his gaze intense as he shook his head.
"Damn, I'm pissed at him and I don't even know him. Any man who cheats on the woman he takes an oath to should be castrated with a set of rusty bolt cutters," he said, angrily. "Makes me so goddamn mad, because it gives the rest of us dudes a bad name. This
happened a year ago, you said? You still sound pretty beaten up about it."
"It was a year ago next week," I replied. My heart clenched because I sounded like one of those desperate women who counted things down to the minute. I wondered why I'd even told him this, and deduced the wine must have loosened my tongue.
"You think he's looking at us?"
"Probably, after the way you just laughed," I guessed, considering this for the first time, and thinking he was most likely scoffing about us being together.
"Hmm. Gotta wonder what's going through his mind right now, seeing you with me?"
"Knowing how you look and the fact you're with me, he most likely thinks you took a wrong turn or I hired you to be here or something," I answered without a hint of humor.
"Escort? Is it that obvious?" he asked, jerking his thumb at himself playfully, a hint of amusement in his deep gruff tone.
I snorted at his quick wit. "Jesus, hello?" I gestured my thumb toward my chest in a 'check me out' kind of way, pointing out the obvious differences between us: my age, my dowdy black slacks, white blouse, and—confirming my suburban appearance—a gray woolen coat. My attire was in total opposition to the super sexy, ripped, polished CEO thing he had going on.
"I'm looking. I've been looking since I first sat down. What man couldn't help but notice you, Billie? You might think me forward when I say this, but you're a very sexy woman," he said, nodding toward my damp, practically transparent blouse that revealed hints of my ivory lacy bra underneath. I folded my arms across my chest and he chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I don't see the humor in what you're saying."
"I don't feel attractive after what I've been through. It didn't exactly fan my ego."
"Why are you putting yourself down like this? We're just getting to know each other here, and how you see yourself isn't how I see you at all. In case you haven't heard this lately, I think you're hot as fuck."
The shock from his statement; true or not, sent another zap of electricity coursing through my body. My stomach flipped in response to his description of me.
His words had hit home in the nicest possible way, and I felt flattered, but not entirely convinced he'd been serious. I chuckled sheepishly at his admission.
For a few moments we stared at one another, me in denial, him … well, goodness only knew what he'd thought at that moment. However, because of his kind attention, I felt a form of insta-love for my tall, dark, handsome stranger. Touched that he'd taken the time to care about how I felt just when I'd needed it the most.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but there's no need to … I mean, I'm certainly no Beyoncé," I replied. To me, she was the epitome of exotic, elegance, and beauty.
"Well, I know that, darlin'. For one, you're not tall enough, and I hate to burst your bubble further, but I'd say you're maybe half her size. I'd say you're more of a Natalie Portman with long hair, if you need to reference someone at all. No point in comparing apples to oranges."
"Natalie Portman, huh? Damn, you're smooth, but I'll take it," I replied and snickered again. His comment had made me feel just a little bit taller than my five foot three in my chair. One thing I knew was my kind stranger had both gall and a silver-smooth tongue, because he was clever and hadn't hesitated in his reply.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Logan and cringed. The jolt of shock had been of quite a different kind to the ones Sawyer had stirred in me. Looking over Sawyer's shoulder, I watched as he spoke to the redhead I knew instinctively was my homewrecker.
As if it were gearing up for attack, my body immediately locked up as I braced myself and felt pressure on my mouth as my lips automatically pinched tightly together. Blood roared in my ears as my heart rate spiked when Logan turned and headed directly toward us.
Without turning around, Sawyer leaned over and slipped his hand into mine. I stared down at it, still in shock and he gave it a small squeeze.
"I take it the man of the moment is behind us?" he muttered intuitively in a barely-there voice. Turning my focus on Sawyer, I remained slightly frozen and nodded slightly, too choked up from a sudden collective of warring emotions rising within from my chest to my throat.
Previously, I'd only seen a picture of Poppy. It had been tucked into Colby's beach bag after a trip to Nantucket with them, shortly after his eighth birthday. This woman's face wasn't all that, but she was ten years younger and had a body I could only dream of. My petite, boyish frame was nothing like the taller, curvy, buxom redhead I'd seen clinging possessively onto my cheating husband's arms moments before.
Staring confused by my thoughts into Sawyer's eyes, my feelings had fleetingly stretched from absurd to sublime. What the hell am I doing? The girl Logan had chosen over me was everything I wasn't. She was more suited to the young, gorgeous man staring intently back at me than she was to Logan.
"Trust me?" he questioned in a whisper, his serious hazel-eyed gaze intense. I had little trust in any man, but without waiting for my answer he leaned farther across the table and intimately swept my long still damp hair behind my ear.
A small thrill shot down my back in stark contrast to the nerves crippling me as Logan moved closer. Sawyer, undaunted by his approach, swept the rest of my hair behind my shoulder with the back of his hand, exposing my neck. A quick burst of adrenaline unexpectedly erupted within me and immediately sparked feelings of desire I hadn't realized I had missed until that very moment.
Fighting to ignore how my body was reacting, I convinced myself Sawyer was a brilliant actor. He genuinely looked as if he had wanted me and the tender unhurried way he touched me made me feel desired.
My heart felt as if it were about to explode in reaction because, acting or not, it had been a very long time since any man had looked at me the way Sawyer did. Considering the circumstances I had felt ridiculous when I suddenly wanted to lean into his hand for a more tangible connection. However, I could have cared less Logan had been watching by then.
With a soft smile like he got a kick out of making a show of us, his gaze rolled leisurely up my neck, traced across from my ear to my lips, and his tongue immediately licked his own. I felt his weighted gaze crush in my chest until I could barely breathe, and it dawned on me; Sawyer's brazen intent was to kiss me.
Wet heat pooled between my legs, my breathing staccato as my heart missed a beat. I struggled to control the unwanted, yet inevitable desires my young acquaintance's actions had stirred within me.
It only took me one more beat to remind myself that what he was doing wasn't how he truly felt, but some elaborate ruse to help give me payback to Logan for how he had treated me.
Taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger, he tipped it up as I sat hypnotized by his undivided attention. All the while tiny vibrations of anticipation collected at the center of my core. Scoring the soft pad of his thumb across my lips, he slid it down to my lower jaw again, dragging my lips apart before he traced his fingers up my cheek and back into my hair.
As he cradled the back of my head, my focus cleared a little from my mesmerized state, and I noted his pulse beating rapidly in the hollow of his neck. With this came the realization I was not alone in anticipating what could follow.
In those few seconds, I almost believed he truly wanted me and we were on our own and nothing else had mattered. As we continued our trance-like stare the air grew heavy as pressure built between us.
When his hungry eyes dropped from mine to my lips, his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed and instantly my already fast heartbeat raced. The pace was so rapid it made me feel dizzy and my mouth went immediately dry. It was a crazy situation, but from that moment on, everything else in the room appeared to fade away.
Fascinated by his slow deliberate moves, I sat transfixed, small bubbles of desire running through me while his other hand cast a tempting trail between my ear and my collarbone. Stopping, he rested his fingertips there and in that instant his tender touch centered me.
One, two, three beats passed before he t
apped my bone lightly, regaining my attention. It had felt like a silent code between us as if to say, Stay with me on this.
Anxiety mixed with pleasure slowly gave way to desire, which seeped into every cell I possessed. Revenge was at the forefront of my mind and I lied to myself that it was the only reason I would allow Sawyer this liberty with me.
I had expected Logan to interject and cause a scene or something, but that isn't what happened as Sawyer moved closer, brought his mouth to my ear, and his warm breath ghosted over it. My damaged heart pounded in my chest like a virgin teen experiencing her first intimate touch from her sweetheart.
"Nothing like seeing your better half seduced by another man to put things into perspective," he murmured seductively in a low raspy tone only I could hear. His words created instant shivers of need that ripped down my spine.
My knees ached from squeezing them together as his suggestive intent fell from his hot heavy breath and made contact with my skin.
"Mmm, you smell delicious," Sawyer muttered, loud enough for Logan to hear. He inhaled deeply, and I wondered what the hell I was doing and thought for a moment how desperate I must be to allow a stranger to explore my body this way.
Yet, Logan was right there, and Sawyer's seduction felt so amazing I couldn't find the will to move a muscle to stop him. I never wanted him to stop.
Closing the space between us, he pressed his soft, wet lips against my neck and one beat later I was covered in goosebumps while another pool of desire flushed between my thighs. "Damn you taste good, Billie," he muttered aloud, not caring who heard him.
Hearing my name on his lips with such a seductive tone, no matter that he was a virtual stranger, had me enthralled. I blamed the wine, my desperation for payback, and Logan's sudden appearance as my reasons for allowing the ludicrous scene to get as far as it had, but the reality was Sawyer made me feel desired no matter how false the situation.
I closed my eyes for a second, too confused to react and too willing to accept Sawyer's touch, and when I opened them again, I blinked, my breath catching in my throat with the look of heat and desire staring back at me from the beautiful man in front of me.
DARE You, Dare Duet, Part One: Billie and Sawyer: Unchained Attraction Series Page 3
