I run my finger around the edge of the glass as I contemplate him.
Truth is, he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen, but that’s not what intrigues me. What really captivates me is how clever he is.
I don’t intimidate him, and that’s a rarity.
Not that I’m conceding. He’ll mess up soon enough, but there’s no harm entertaining myself until he gets there.
A slow smile spreads over my lips, and when his black eyes settle on my mouth, I crook one pale-pink-manicured finger, beckoning him close.
Of course, he does exactly what I want, leaning in.
For a second, my head swims because he smells so good. I breathe him in. What is that? It’s on the tip of my tongue. It’s not cologne. No, it’s too nuanced for that. It’s clean skin, a hint of spice and a man willing to do filthy things.
“Tell me.” I let my attention drift over his face before lowering my voice. “What’s it going to take to get you to shut up?”
Most men would distance themselves, maybe laugh or get irritated, but this guy just stares right back, locked in like a heat-seeking missile. So penetrating and direct, it’s almost unnerving. “Something I’m beginning to realize you’re incapable of.”
“What’s that?” The lick of heat, low in my belly, annoys me.
“You couldn’t be quiet if your life depended on it.” Something’s lurking underneath that distracting face, a keen, cunning intelligence.
I sweep my long, sable hair off my neck, so it tumbles over one shoulder. “Are you trying to issue some sort of dare? Like I won’t be able to stand the thought you might not think I’m a good girl? Because that’s pretty lame.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Has it ever occurred to you that I’m not hitting on you?”
Maybe at home, with people I’ve known my whole life, who have certain expectations and disappointments, I’d be less cocky. But in this place, I can be myself. “You can’t gaslight me, so don’t even try.”
“Even though I didn’t ask, you were clear you’re a no, and I took you at your word. Which leads me to my original purpose—drinking in silence.” He juts his chin at me. “But since you’re one of those chaos people, you’re standing in the way of that objective.”
I draw in my breath at the way the words roll off his tongue and seem to lick across my skin. “I’m chaos? Me?”
“You’re like a character in a cartoon that walks around in a cloud of mayhem, sucking everyone into your storm.” He gives me another leisurely once-over. “Only clean and gorgeous.”
I concede he’s incredibly effective. I’ve been called gorgeous many times in my thirty-two years. In my experience, it’s the flowers of compliments, cheap and easy. So it shouldn’t have an effect, but with that amused heat in his expression, I feel it in my bones.
He is custom designed to hate-fuck.
I wouldn’t have to worry about his feelings at all.
I give the man across from me a sad, pitying look. “Maybe you’re too pretty to use your brain to connect the dots, so let me help.” I gesture at the near-empty bar. “There are plenty of other seats. Pick one, and you’ll be clear of my dust and safe from danger.”
“I was here first,” he says, his lips quirking.
“Very mature.” I wonder if he’d let me slap him. He looks like he could take it. “Have you considered being a gentleman and moving?”
Please don’t be a gentleman.
He shakes his head. “No, I have not.”
Excellent. I pick up the drink, frowning when I find it empty. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Because you’re a smart woman.” He calls to the bartender.
The man wanders over, grinning as he looks back and forth between us with knowing in his faded blue eyes.
“I’ll take another.” The stranger tilts his head in my direction. “Get her one too. She needs it.”
“I don’t want your drink,” I say, just to be contrary.