Page 6 of As Devils Love

“Is that right?” Her nose crinkles deviously. “Then I’ll have the most expensive thing they have on the menu.”

“A finger of whiskey doesn’t strike me as your kind of drink,” I tease, gesturing to the liquor cabinet’s top shelf, where an imported bottle of Japanese whiskey reigns supreme above the rest of the cheap liquor.

“Hmm. You’re not wrong.” Her eyes sink to the glass-fronted mini-fridges and their easy drinking options. “Fine, a shot of tequila and a cider will do.”

“Coming righ—” the rest of my words get stuck in the back of my throat as my eyes move to the far side of the bar.

They’re instantly drawn to a leather jacket clad towering figure, who fills out his bar stool so well, it looks as if he’s floating on air, instead of sitting down. Beneath the jacket, rippling muscles flex and strain against a tight gray tank top, which barely extends over the golden belt buckle holding up his jeans.

His exquisite body aside, it’s his emerald-green eyes that hook me. If Simone and I hadn’t just gotten here – and if I didn’t want to get on the dance floor immediately – I’m sure they’d be able to reel me in, too. His gaze is inviting, but it looks so calculated. I guess it has to be, when the rest of his face is hidden beneath a black, biker’s face mask and all his desireshaveto exit through his eyes.

It’s his lack of inventive originality that makes me want to go over to him and see what makes his mind tick. He spent a great deal of money to get in here, and probably took the time out of what is no doubt a busy schedule, if what Simone says about celebrities and high-powered individuals is true. But, instead of playing the game and going all out on his mask’s design, he’swrapped his face with a cheap covering of cotton that you can buy for ten bucks at a dress up shop.

Someone moves over to his side and snatches his attention away from me. They share a brief conversation before both depart for the dance floor.

I’ll see you out there, big boy.

I order our drinks, choosing to get the same as Simone. A tequila to lower inhibitions, and a sweet cider to quench the thirst that will come from the workout we’re about to get.

After slamming back our shots, we head back into the wall of noise and join the many gyrating bodies on the dance floor. At first, everything is great amid the feverish dancing and sweat-sparkled bodies of New York City’s royalty. At least, that’s what I’ll call them, since I don’t know who’s underneath the masks swaying and weaving between Simone and me.

As I dance, I catch glimpses of father’s men, but it’s not them I want to see. I don’t know where my infatuation for the guy at the bar has come from, but I presume it’s something about the way he managed to hold my interest longer than a few seconds without making some filthy remark about my attire.

Or the nonchalant way he walked off without so much as a single word said. Tall, dark and mysterious is right up my alley, and he has it in spades.

After a while of it just being Simone and I, someone steps in between us and whispers in her ear. She stops dead for a second, eyeing the guy up and down, before leaning in to speak into my ear. Even this close, she has to shout for me to make out what she’s saying.

“This guy asked for a dance. Mind if I entertain the request?” I know I would hear lust dripping off her words, if she wasn’t competing with the music.

“Of course not,” I shout back. I’m not worried about security with father’s men here, so why stop Simone from enjoying herself? “Go have fun.”

As her focus moves to the man who came to steal her away, mine falls to the second drink of the night. I downed the cider somewhere between the second and third track we were dancing to, and after this short break to speak, I notice how parched I am.

I wade through the sea of frantically moving bodies and make my way back to the secluded bar we were in earlier. Might as well have my thoughts to keep me company since I’m alone.

But the barman who served me before is ready and waiting the second I approach. I’m sure there’s a coy smile on his lips, and it matched the playfully raised brow above his right eye.

“It’s your lucky day,” he announces as I take a seat in the stool. “Saw you eyeing the bottle up there, and it just so happens someone ordered you a cocktail that has it, and several other high-priced drinks, inside it.”

He pulls a cocktail out from behind his back and sets it in front of me. It has a dark orange bottom and grows progressively lighter in color until it reaches a yellow top.

“What? Who?” I take it off the counter and inspect the contents.

He shrugs and shakes his head. “The whole point of a night like tonight is secrecy. Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to.”Bullshit. If my suspicions are correct, it was the towering slab of muscle I saw earlier. Masked or not, you’d remember him. But it’s the barman’s job to keep the secrets for tonight, so I won’t ask any more than that.

“Well, that sure wasn’t what I was expecting.” I chuckle to myself.

“We call itThe Morning After...” The barman goes back to do his job and waves a hand over the drink as if presenting it to me.“…because once you’d had it, you’re not gonna remember a thing until tomorrow morning. Only the highest end booze, blended with orange juice, various sweeteners and served over crushed ice.”

“Sounds dangerous.” I’m salivating for my first sip.

“For your wallet…,” he starts. I can’t help but chuckle at his salesman-pitch mentality to a single drink. “…this puppy will run you more than my week’s paycheck. You must’ve made arealimpression on the dude who bought it.”

“Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to.” I parrot his words from earlier but it’s a sincere answer.

If it is the green-eyed guy I saw earlier, I didn’t do anything to deserve a drink like this. We barely looked at each other before he wandered off.

I swish the small straw through the glass, mixing the top contents with the bottom before I take my first sip. An involuntaryhmmof satisfaction follows it. Holy shit, it tastes like angels dancing across my tongue. My next sip, and all the subsequent ones are met with the same thrill as the first, until half the glass is empty.

---