Page 163 of Beyond the Temptation: Vol 2

Zane hands us each a bottle of water, not bothering to ask for cash before he disappears. He’s worked here long enough to recognize when there’s potential between two people. He’ll put it on my tab because he knows me and knows I’m good for it.

Leila turns, angling her body toward me. “So… do you come here often?”

“You’re using lines on me now?” I ask, chuckling.

“I can see how you might think that,” she says with a laugh, “but it was a legitimate question.”

“Fair enough,” I say, and I can’t stop fucking smiling. “A couple nights a week, maybe. I like to hang out and unwind after work, and as I’m sure you can imagine, there aren’t a whole lot of places to do that around here.”

“You assume I don’t already know that,” she says, her expression curious.

“I don’t need to ask to know you’re not from around here. It’s a small town. It’d be impossible to forget a face like yours.”

That beautiful blush rises to her cheeks again, answering my earlier curiosity.

She’s reacting to me and I fucking love it.

I can tell she wants to duck away from the compliment, and though she doesn’t acknowledge it, I’m glad she doesn’t hide from me.

“So, what do you do?”

“We’re making small talk now?” I tease, making her smile. She’s fun to tease, but still, I answer her question, “I’m a tattoo artist.”

“Oh,” she murmurs. Something about my answer makes her brows furrow for the briefest second. I don’t have time to question it before her expression smooths, her face relaxing. If she didn’t have every ounce of my attention, I could almost convince myself I imagined it. “That’s cool. I don’t have any tattoos.”

“None? Seriously? Not even a tiny one hiding somewhere? Ankle? Lower back?”

She shakes her head.

I hum, looking her curvy little body up and down. “Shame. You’d look good with some ink. I’d love to get under your skin.”

“Who says you’re not already?”

This girl.

She’s got me twisted up in fucking knots.

One minute she’s acting bashful when I pay her a compliment, and the next, she’s boldly flirting with me. A total enigma. I can’t figure her out. For a second, the thought crosses my mind that she’s playing games with me, but I’m really not getting that vibe. Her age might have something to do with it. If she’s as young as I think she is, she may not be very experienced. If I had to guess, I’d say she knows what she wants, but isn’t fully confident in asking for it.

The way she's looking at me, I know exactly what she wants, and I'm more than willing to give it to her the second she says the word.

Everything in her body language tells me that we both want this night to end the same way, but she's afraid to ask for it and I'm trying not to come on too strong. I want there to be zero pressure, which is why I've held back. The whole time I've been next to her, I’ve had to resist the urge to reach out and touch her. It's on the tip of my tongue to invite her back to my place, but I want to let her get a little more comfortable with me first.

And that's exactly what I do.

I engage her in conversation about the most random things, just to keep her talking. And it's not only a means to an end, it's not only to get her in my bed at the end of the night.

Though, I still want that.

I want her.

But I genuinely enjoy talking to Leila. The conversation flows effortlessly between us and the more she talks, the more I want to hear what she has to say. I can't remember a time in my life where I've ever had this much fun simply talking to a woman before.

I want to get to know her, really get to know her. There's no way a single night will ever be enough, and since she didn't contradict me when I said she's not from around here, she's probably just passing through.

Which means one night is all I get.

I plan to make the most of it.

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