Page 29 of The Keeper

I gripped the glass tighter, shooting him a dirty look.

Bennet glanced at me curiously. “The one from the Legends?”

“Ah. My third prince has arrived.” Dawn flashed a warm, wide grin. “You all look like kings on your thrones.”

Thank fuck she interrupted at just the right moment. The absolute last thing I planned to do was tell these two about Victoria. Just thinking about her was enough to do me in.

The part of me I’d been ignoring all day muscled its way to the forefront of my consciousness. Allowing myself to drown in thoughts of what we’d done last night wasn’t just dangerous, it was fatal. Some deep, unknown part of me longed for her in ways I’d never imagined possible.

She was gone by the time I woke up this morning. No trace of her remained in my London flat, except for the faint smell of her perfume on my pillow. She didn’t even leave her number. Shouldn’t surprise me though. No follow up contact was one of my preferred traits of a one night stand.

And that’s what I’d wanted, right? Only one night with her. One night to see how much I could take.

Boy was I wrong.

“Xavier.” Dawn’s voice snapped me back to the present. “What can I get you, love?”

“Do you have gorgeous, redheaded Americans on the menu?” Cade asked, looking pointedly at me. “He seems to be quite interested in those these days.”

The murderous stare I aimed at him did not go unnoticed by Bennet or Dawn. Now it was my turn to fantasize about throwing him into next week.

“Watch yourself, Gallagher,” I warned.

He just laughed in his Cade way. Dismissive. Unaffected. Almost as if to say lighten up, you tosser.

“You must be speaking about Victoria.” Dawn smiled. “I saw you two flirting the other night. She’s a firecracker, that one.”

All three of us looked at her. She saw our expressions and chuckled.

“I’ve known her and her family for a long time. They used to come here while on holiday in the summer months.” Sadness swept across her features. “Not anymore though. Pity.” She sighed and appeared to collect herself so as not to reveal anything further. “Come let me know what you want to eat when you’re ready.”

I took another long swallow of beer and watched her walk away. Didn’t really feel like eating anything anyway.

Bennet and Cade bickered back and forth about the match on now. Both clubs were in the bottom three. I couldn’t be bothered caring about relegation or goal differentials right now. Not when every piece of me wanted something I couldn’t have.

A dormant part of me had stirred the second I pulled off the road to see if she was having car trouble. It grew restless while we flirted at the pub. Her whispered demands of more and harder woke it the fuck up last night. I’d buried that part for a reason. I promised myself it would stay buried.

But then Victoria happened with her soft beauty and melodic laughter and sexy, dirty confessions. I wanted to hear all of them. I wanted to know all of her. And not just in the carnal, physical way.

I wanted to know her thoughts on random, everyday shit. How she took her tea. If she even drank tea. Probably a coffee person. If she curled up on her couch at night to binge Netflix shows. What —if anything— I had to do to impress her.

Things I couldn’t easily learn from an internet search, which I have yet to do, thank you very much.

I flexed my hand. I wanted to hear her laugh. It was so pleasant and bright.

This is crazy. I’ll never see her again. Last night was it.

“You’re awfully quiet, mate.” Cade’s booming voice cut through the thoughts that slowly wrecked me.

I sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Sorry.”

“No worries. Want some chips?”

“No thanks.”

Bennet placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, a look of concern on his face. “Did something happen?”

“Other than his brother being a twat? No.” Cade scowled before taking a drink. “This match is lame. Another round or should I settle up?”

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