Page 10 of Killer Attraction

“Sorry, man,” the guy stuttered before he darted away, giving me one last wary look.

“What the fuck was that, Nate?”

I looked over at Aiden and cocked my head to the side as I watched him march toward me, his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. He was angry, but I didn’t know why.

“You’re mad?” I ask, wanting to understand what I’d done wrong. I was protecting him.

My little bird let out an exasperated huff and tried to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm.

“Aiden?” I wasn’t used to people reacting to me the way he did. I’d say it was wrong, but everything about him felt right.

“Fuck, Nate,” he muttered as he stalked off the dance floor, leaving me with no other choice but to follow him.

He stormed up to the bar and ordered two shots. I thought at first he ordered one for each of us, but I watched him as he downed the first and then the other right after. Before he could even reach into his wallet, I had my card out and handed it to the bartender.

“Should I re-open my tab, or is that all you need?”

He glared at me for a moment and then let out a deep breath as he braced his hands on the bar and leaned back as he contemplated his choices.

“Can we get two waters? Then I’m good.”

I nodded to the bartender to let her know we’d take the waters and be on our way. “Of course, anything you need.” Aiden let out a sardonic laugh that left me more confused than ever. "Talk to me, little bird.” My voice was soft but commanding, dare I say, almost pleading.

He took a sip of his water and watched me as though he were studying me.

“Why do you call me that?” he asked.

I was pretty sure he asked me that night, too, but I don’t remember if I gave him an answer or not. But all I could do was shrug in response. There weren’t adequate words to make him understand. Especially if I wanted to try to keep him in my life.

Which opened up a whole other can of worms and unanswerable questions.

The frustration was easy to read on his face, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I couldn’t give him the answers he wanted, even if I had been inclined to tell him the truth.

“Fuck it,” he said, chugging his water before he grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the bar.

CHAPTER SEVEN

AIDEN

All I wanted was to unwind. To go to my favorite club, drink, and maybe find someone to take me home with them so I could forget all the bullshit I’d had to deal with during the day.

I hadn’t been there long when I felt strong hands grip me from behind as I swayed to the beat of the music. While I wasn’t the best dancer, and most of the time, didn’t actually like to dance, I could sway and grind with the best of them. Not even caring about who was behind me, I closed my eyes and let the music and the feeling of someone else being close to me wash over me.

The feel of their hands was all wrong though, even though they were big and obviously strong, just the way I liked them. But they didn’t hold me the way I wanted to be held.

Like Nate touched me when we had been locked together.

After a couple of songs, I tried to move away from the guy I’d been dancing with. My mood had soured, unable to stop thinking about a certain someone who had just disappeared on me after fucking me senseless. Not that it was too unusual. A lot of people were intimidated by the fact I was a detective and didn’t stick around once they got off.

But there was something about Nate. Something that didn’t want me to let go of him, even though I didn’t have a choice.

When I tried to slide out of the guy’s arms, they tightened, holding me in place.

“Where you going, sweetheart?” the guy slurred, obviously drunk.

I sighed. The last thing I wanted was to deal with a drunk idiot who didn’t know the meaning of the word no. I was supposed to be having fun and maybe getting laid. Not dealing with this.

“Thanks for the dance, but I think I’m done for the night.” Again, I tried to move out of his grip, but even drunk, he was strong. Not that I couldn’t get out of his arms if I really tried, but I didn’t feel like getting into an altercation.

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