Page 5 of Escape You

“I’ve been in New Jersey for almost a week. How did I not meet you before?”

She laughed, a small, sad sound. She didn’t want to leave any more than I did. “I think we already established bad timing. But you know.” She glanced down at her watch. “Right now, I have nowhere to be.”

The spot where her hand had touched me prickled. The heaviness in my chest lifted and was replaced with anticipation. I racked my brain for a reason to walk away and came back empty. Tomorrow, my leave of absence would end. Until then, I was literally a free agent. “Same. How about a dance?”

She blew out air, then flipped the key back to the locked position. “Okay. But no more questions. I don’t want to lie to you.”

“Okay.” I ignored the red in her cheeks. Now that I’d decided to stay, my body wanted to do more. My mind had all kinds of ideas. Would she let me kiss her?

I strode over to the jukebox. “Does this thing work?”

“I think so. Allie keeps it here for some of her regulars.”

“Allie?” I raised an eyebrow. “Your coworker’s name is Allie.”

She slow-blinked. “Forget I said that.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “Done. I won’t ask about your friends either.”

She ambled over to me and leaned on the Plexiglas. Her gaze scoured the old song titles before it settled on my index finger. What were the odds of walking into a random bar and meeting someone like her? She felt familiar, exciting, and so lonely. My body was already addicted to her energy and that intense look in her eyes. I’d always been a sucker for alpha females. And she was that.

“I think I know this one.” I dug a bill from my wallet and fed it to the machine. “I’m afraid we’re stuck with Frank Sinatra.”

She chuckled. “There are worse things.”

I punched in the numbers for my selection and waited forStrangers in the Nightto start. “Suits us tonight, don’t you think?”

“Cheesy.”

“There are worst things.” I echoed her words. “Can I ask you one thing?”

She shrugged. “You can ask. I don’t have to answer, though.”

“How is a woman like you not afraid to be locked in an old building, alone with a stranger, and in the middle of the night? I may or may not be a decent guy.”

She smiled at the ceiling. “I’m a good judge of character. I know you won’t touch me until I ask you. Also, I can take care of myself.”

The single lightbulb hanging off an old beam gave her cheeks a glow that made my fingers itch to touch her. I nodded. “Of course, you can.”

“Let me rephrase that. I’ve fought guys off before and won. The gun helps.”

I’d be lying if I said the badass act wasn’t a huge turn-on . Something told me she wasn’t bluffing. I supposed all bartenders had to be trained on how to put drunk assholes in their place. I wouldn’t mind a sparring session with her. If I could I take her out on a date, I could see us doing that.

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. How about you? In your fancy clothes, with your fancy wallet. How do you know my friend and I are not trying to con you out of some cash? There isn’t a soul around for two miles. No one would come if you screamed.” She gave me a wicked smile.

My cock jerked at the implication of her words. We were completely alone to do whatever we wanted. “I probably wouldn’t mind if you took my money. That would give me an excuse to chase after you and make you pay.” I stalked closer to her. A smirk pulled on her lips as she shuffled back. “Do you like that? Do you like being chased?”

“I can’t answer that question.” She shut me out again.

Dammit. Just when I thought I was making progress. Something in her past made her learn how to fight. Was that the reason she ended up working at a dive? I had to let it go. This mystery wasn’t a case for me to solve. She’d been clear on the rules for tonight: no names, no questions.

The song on the jukebox ended. After a few beats of static, the same tune started over. I let out a nervous laugh because I was utterly turned on by her. She exhaled slowly. I offered her my hand, and she took it. The adrenaline shot straight to my navel.

As if we’d danced to this song a million times before, she easily stepped into a double turn before she fell into my arms. She slid her hand over my heart and into my hair. I bent over to hold her waist. I didn’t trust myself to do more than that. When she rose up on her tippy-toes, her cheek grazed my nose.

Her skin was soft and cool against the warmth of my breath. She shivered when I lowered my head and my lips touched the curve of her neck. I wanted to kiss it, leave a mark on her. Something to make her think of me tomorrow. Something to remind her that tonight had been real.

I inhaled. Her scent branded me. She smelled of candied apples, watermelon, or a sweet summer night. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and not let myself go down this rabbit hole. This woman was a complete mystery to me. That was a dangerous thing in my line of work.

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