Page 5 of One Night With the Devil Next Door

I lose my self-control and jerk my head in her direction. “I am not playing hard to get.”

She worries her bottom lip as she studies me. “Then what are you doing?”

I shrug one shoulder. “I’m letting him know I’m not interested.”

The bartender finally gets to us so I quickly order our drinks.

“You are totally interested,” she argues.

“Am not,” I throw back.

“How could you not be interested? I mean, I know it’s dark in here and it’s hard to see his face, but you can tell he’s hot. And he’s obviously interested in you.”

Two drinks are handed over and I pass her one. “Exactly. You can’t even see him and you know he’s hot. He’s probably a total fuckboy.”

She sips the pink liquid in her glass. “So? Who cares? You’re looking for a fling. That’s kind of the type you need so you have a clean break in the morning.”

I take a long drink. “I’m. Not. Interested.”

She grins. “Well, that’s too bad because here he comes.” Without another word, she spins around and walks away, leaving me alone.

I turn to look through the crowd. Sure enough, that gray shirt is stretched tight across his broad chest and it’s moving closer and closer. When he’s a few feet away the crowd between us seems to part for him. He’s still swallowed up by darkness, and I’m unable to see his face clearly until he’s standing right in front of me. He leans against the bar at my side and turns his blue eyes on me, offering up a sexy grin.

“I’m Lincoln. Everyone calls me Linc.” His elbow is resting on the bar, but he opens his hand between us to shake.

I look from his eyes, to his hand, and back. “I’m…not interested.” Grabbing my drink and offering a smile, I turn to walk away.

I’m surprised when he stands up and side steps into my path. “I saw you watching me just like I was watching you. You’re not really just going to walk away from me after I came all the way down here to meet you, are you?”

My hand moves to my jutted out hip as I look up at him. He is good looking. He’s tall, thin but muscular and toned. He has black tattoos sticking out the bottoms of his short sleeves—sleeves that are stretching around his biceps, trying and failing to contain them. His dark hair is short, longer on top and slightly messy like he’s been running his fingers through it. His blue eyes seem icy in the dark club, but they’re surrounded by long, thick lashes that would make any girl jealous. He has high cheekbones, a straight nose, soft-looking lips, and a strong jaw with a thick five o’clock shadow. He has a dimple in his chin and when he smirks, a dimple forms on each cheek as well. Fuckboy is a total understatement. This man has swagger for days. He owns that bad boy vibe and plays into it like it’s his greatest strength. It also happens to be my greatest weakness.

I remind myself to remain strong. I square my shoulders and raise my chin. “I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time, but this is a girls’ night out so I really should get back to my girls.” I take a step and he moves with me.

“One drink.”

I hold up my drink. “I already have one.”

“One shot then.” He shrugs.

“No thanks.” Finally, I step past him and walk away. I’m a little surprised that he doesn’t block my path again, but maybe he’s trying not to come off too strong. I turn and glance at him from over my shoulder. He’s still standing at the bar, his jaw is flexed, and his blue eyes slightly hooded as he watches me walk away. I pull my eyes from him and smile to myself, happy now that I seem to be getting to him just like he’s getting to me.

I find the girls at the table we claimed earlier. Anna looks up at me as I approach. “How’d it go?”

I slide into my seat. “What do you mean?”

“With the hottie?”

“I told him I wasn’t interested. Just like I told you. End of story.” I bring my glass to my lips, and take a sip.

Anna shakes her head, looking a little annoyed at me. She turns her attention back to her group of friends and with her eyes no longer on me, I’m free to glance back toward the bar. Linc is handed a beer and he slips some money to the bartender. He brings the bottle to his lips and as he drinks, our eyes meet again. I feel my face heating up under his stare. He pulls the bottle away and sends me a cocky grin. Damnit, he’s caught me staring.

He doesn’t leave the bar. Instead of going back up to the VIP area, he stays, watching me as I sit with the girls. I’ve noticed a few women come up to him, trying to strike up a conversation but he always blows them off. He has his sights set on me for whatever reason. Maybe he isn’t your typical fuckboy. I mean, a fuckboy would forget the one who turned him down. He would take any girl he could get and Linc is clearly not interested in anyone but me tonight. Maybe I should give him a chance? But how am I supposed to do that without humiliating myself?

I finish my drink and then we head back out onto the dance floor. We start dancing as a group together, but then the other girls pair off. Piper and Anna are dancing while Jade and Lucy dance together, leaving me alone. I feel silly dancing by myself, especially since I’m not much of a dancer anyway. So I turn to head back to the bar but I stop suddenly right before I walk straight into Linc’s chest. My eyes move up slowly, stalling briefly at his lips before moving up to lock on his icy blues.

He offers me a smile. “I saw you out here alone and I thought I’d save you.” He holds up his hand. “What do you say?”

I roll my eyes as a quiet laugh slips out. I have to give it to him: he is smooth.

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