Page 4 of Long Hard Road

“Can I get you anything, angel?” He asked when he caught me staring. “Maybe something to wipe away the drool?”

I gasped and my face heated to an uncomfortable burn. Being caught drooling over his incredible body was bad enough, but just hearing him call me angel was enough to send blood rushing and not just to my face. “I’m fine,” I said breathlessly.

“Don’t undersell yourself.” His stroll toward me was ridiculously sexy. “You’re a lot more than fine.”

“I’m not interested,” I blurted out.

Nate chuckled. “I appreciate your directness, but I wasn’t hitting on you.”

“Oh. Sorry.” I spent little time around men in a social capacity and had no idea how to flirt or recognize the signs of flirting.

“I know when a woman is out of my league.” He poured an inch of amber liquid into a glass and took a deep swallow that had me riveted by the abrupt movement of his Adam’s apple. “Not to mention you’re barely old enough to be in this bar and I’m probably a decade older than you.”

“I’m 24,” I protested.

“You’ve just proved my point.” He took another sip of his drink.

“You have something against younger women?”

He shrugged. “Not generally. But I’m not looking to flirt with one.”

“Why not?” I was genuinely surprised. In my limited experience, men didn’t care if a woman was younger as long as she was legal. And that wasn’t always a dealbreaker either.

“Do you want to flirt with a guy eight years younger than you?”

I shuddered. “No, but that would be a literal child. I’m not a child.”

“Maybe to me you are.” He laughed as he swatted away the bunched-up napkin that I threw at his face. “I was wrong. You’re obviously very mature.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed again. “Maybe you’re really just too afraid that you can’t keep up with a younger woman.”

“Nope. That’s not a concern.” He placed his large hands on the bar and leaned forward, tightening the corded muscles that had captivated me. “You’ve never been with an older man, have you?”

There was no way I was going to form words so I just shook my head and finished the rest of my drink in one big gulp.

“Hm.” Nate continued to appraise me. “It’s too bad you’re not interested, angel.”

My heart was thudding loud enough that I worried he could hear it. I knew he could see the flair of my nostrils as I sucked in a sharp breath. This man wasn’t just some older man in a random town in Colorado. He was everything I’d been forbidden from having and if I stared into those eyes for much longer, I might do whatever it took to have him.

“I should go. Thanks for the drink.” I pulled a twenty-dollar bill from my pocket and slapped it on the bar.

“The weather is brutal out there. Be careful on the roads.” Nate looked like he wanted to tell me not to go.

“I walked,” I said, reaching for my coat.

Nate reached across the bar and grabbed my hand. “You can’t walk home alone in a snowstorm in the middle of the night.”

“I can’t?” If anyone else had tried to prevent me from leaving, I would’ve yanked my arm away and told them to go to hell. But something about Nate’s worried expression had me settling back onto my barstool. “Are you suggesting I sleep in the bar tonight?”

“No. I’ll walk you home.” He let go of my arm and took a step back. “Just give me a few minutes to close up.”

“But what about – ” When I looked to where the other patrons had been sitting, I was shocked to see empty seats. I had been so captivated by Nate’s every word and movement that I hadn’t realized the other people had left and we were alone.

Nate walked around the bar and started clearing away the last of the empty glasses and beer bottles. I watched for a moment, entranced by his smooth movements before shaking myself out of my stupor and joining him in the clean-up.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said when he caught me picking up a red stirrer beneath a table. “Emilio never keeps the Nest very clean. He says it’s part of the charm.”

“I thought that was you.” I was proud of myself for finally being able to say something without stammering. It was an extra reward to earn a deep chuckle from Nate.

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