Page 10 of Dirty Little Secrets
Kristina links her arm with mine. “Ignore him,” she whispers. “He’s allergic to women who have power. Especially ones that look like you.” She tosses a fifty on the bar and waves to the bartender. “Shots!” She points at me. “It’s her birthday, and she needs to get fucked up.”
Laughter erupts. I blink, startled, as the bartender approaches with green eyes, cuffed sleeves revealing the edge of a tattoo. He leans in, flashing me a smile. “What can I get you?”
I hesitate, scan the drink menu for anything that isn’t vodka or Gin.
“A glass of wine,” Landon says, stepping behind me.
Kristina rolls her eyes. “She’ll have a Whistling Butterfly, she tells the bartender, pointing her finger at the menu. “Followed by a shot of Patron Silver and I’ll have the same.”
“Coming right up,” the bartender says.
And then…
A new voice cuts through the noise. Low. Smooth. Commanding. Igniting me from within. “Put it on my tab.”
My breath catches before my eyes even confirm it’s him. Xaiden Drazen stands a few feet away in a charcoal gray suit. The glow of the lights highlighting his sharp jaw. The gleam of his watch, filled with a million glittering diamonds under catching attention.
He hands the bartender a black card. “Whatever my employees want tonight is on me.”
Landon stiffens like he got caught sneaking out. “We didn’t mean to leave early––”
Mr. Drazen interrupts him. “Happy birthday, Nori.” His breath brushes over my skin like silk and smoke. “The Whistling Butterfly is a good choice. I hear it’s…dangerous.”
I nod but remain poised even though my stomach flips. My name sounds different this time coming from his lips. Intimate. A caress to my fragile ego.
Kristina beams. “You heard the man!”
Everyone stares from the office stares. I don’t think it’s often he shows up to these kinds of things. The air around the bar vibrates. I lift the drink the bartender slides over. The rim chilled. The first sip tastes like berry, citrus, and heat. Like sin wrapped in sugar as it slides down my throat.
Mr. Drazen leans closer and I swear the skin over my shoulder melts when he says, “Enjoy it.” I look up, and just like that, he’s gone. But the warmth lingers in my belly and it’s nothing to do with the drink.
Landon glares over the rim of his wine glasses. “You didn’t tell me he was going to be here.”
“I didn’t know.”
He sets his empty wine glass on the bar counter with a clink and looks me up and down with disapproval. “You weren’t wearing that this morning.”
I don’t answer I wasn’t. And soon, it won’t matter.
Kristina raises her glass, her eyes glinting.
I lift mine. “Here’s to danger.”
Our glasses clink. And I swear, somewhere behind me, I feel someone watching. I look over my shoulder, but it’s three guys that work with Landon. Xaiden Drazen is nowhere to be found.
I turn to Landon and he’s still watching me with a scowl.
“You should order another drink,” I say, dryly.
7
XAIDEN
“It didn’t take much to find out why everyone at the office left early,” Bash says from the driver’s seat as I slide into the back of my Rolls, peeling off my jacket.
“No.”
I was losing my mind when I couldn’t find anyone in the tech department. Then I went to the executive floor and found all the offices empty like it was Memorial Day and everyone had the day off.
