Page 11 of Savage Protector

“Name’s Houston. And you’re Izzy,” he repeated.

My nerve endings lit up from the way my new name rolled off his tongue and sizzled across my skin as more heat flared between my legs. I didn’t think a stranger was supposed to have this kind of an effect on me.

We stared at each other as the waitress dropped off two beers and four shots of tequila, complete with a bowl of cut limes and a shaker of salt.

“I guess if we’re going to do it, we should do it right.”

He continued to stare at me as if he saw straight through to my soul. Judging by the devilish smile on his face, the double meaning of my words did not go unnoticed.

Two shots later I slammed the glass down on the table, shoved the lime in between my lips and sucked hard. For a few intense seconds the alcohol burned like hellfire in the pits of the underworld before giving way to the familiar heat I savored.

Sex may have been off the table in my life, but alcohol was not. It had long since become an easy way to soothe my nerves when I most needed it.

I peered up at my mystery badass again and studied him. He’d removed his leather jacket and there were bits of interesting tattoos peeking from his shirt sleeves. Interesting as in I wanted to know what they were and if I could lick them.

He met my gaze. Houston knew exactly what was going on in my brain. That little smirky smile had returned, leaving him looking quite pleased.

“Here, chase it with this.” He handed me one of the beers and I dropped the lime onto my napkin.

At least while I drank I didn’t have to figure out what to say next and the ice-cold brew cooled the burn of tequila. I couldn’t quite say why I enjoyed it so much since it didn’t have a particularly great taste, but I was damned proud of myself for taking the time to learn that I could drink it and even more so when it gave me the warmth I so often went without.

“You hungry? We could order some food.”

I shook my head. “Maybe later.” There had been no time to eat since breakfast, but my stomach rebelled at the thought of food. My body was still processing the stress of the day. And for obvious reasons I couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than him and whether or not he would touch me again. Or kiss me. Or…

I must have been giving off some kind of weird vibe because he paused with his beer at his mouth and studied me for a second. “You okay?”

“Yes,” I answered, out of breath.

“You don’t drink much, do you?”

I went with his excuse and shook my head. He didn’t need to know I was starting to crash from an overdose of adrenalin and all I really wanted to do was climb all over him and just—

Shit. My body had a clear mind of its own and it was losing it.

“C’mere.” He dragged my chair away from the table and pulled me into his lap. “You need to take a breath and relax. Whatever happened to you today is over.”

Relaxation wasn’t possible with his hands on me. He was making it worse. “I—I can’t—” The sensations of his touch were on the verge of starting a firestorm right there in my panties and it was beginning to rival the nice buzz going on in my head.

I needed to do something to distract myself and quick or I was going to drown in reckless behavior. “Are you from around here?” I blurted the question a little forcefully, but it worked.

“Close enough. A couple of hours northeast,” he said, stroking his hand up and down my back.

I might have thought too soon. There was nothing normal about the sensations his touch created.

“What brought you to the city?” I hated the breathless tone of my voice. Could I possibly appear more unsophisticated? If I was going to make it on the run I needed to get my shit together. You know, learn to be cool.

I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud. My mind had gone straight to the absurd.

Tonight, however, would be my first night as someone new and I was free to do whatever the hell I wanted. If that happened to be a one-night stand with a sexy, strong badass then I’d embrace it and not feel bad about it for a second. If there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty it was that I was sick of feeling bad.

“Change of scenery,” he whispered at my ear. “I just got on my bike and rode. This is where I landed. You?”

A bike? A shiver worked up my spine. His level of badass continued to increase by the second.

“Born and raised. But thinking it’s time to take a nice long vacation as far away as I can get. Have a little fun, you know? Actually, it’s far past time.”

His hand paused on my back for a second before he continued his easy strokes. He might have taken that last statement the wrong way and then again, he might not have. I had no way to tell.

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