Page 14 of Luck of the Draw

“You say that like this isn’t your first rodeo.” Skye slipped the straw between her lips again and sipped, side-eyeing him. “How many times have you been here before?”

“This bar?” He hitched a shoulder. “I’ve been here a handful of times.”

“No.” She shook her head and twirled her finger in the air. “New Orleans.”

“I’m from here.” The bartender set down his drink, and he pushed the credit card toward her with two fingers. “Born and raised, and the only time I ever didn’t live here was four years while I was in the Marine Corps.”

Skye raised her eyebrows and pulled her chin close. “Well,oorah,” she said, winking and giving a tiny, flimsy salute with two fingers.

Brennan gave her a wide grin. “Nice. I’m guessing you know some Devil Dogs.”

“I know Jake Gyllenhaal in Jarhead.”

He laughed. “I see. His experience was a bit different from mine.”

Skye inclined her head and sipped again, now eyeing him with a different look that told him she either had a thing for a man in uniform or didn’t care for military types at all. “I would not have guessed you were from here.”

“Oh no?”

“Yeah, you don’t look like what I would’ve expected a New Orleans native to look like.” She dragged her gaze from his face to his feet and back up again. He didn’t miss the way she discreetly bit her bottom lip, and this was going to be a lot easier than he’d anticipated.

He glanced down at his clothes as he adjusted his jacket. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. Just more casual I guess.” She laughed lightly. “They call this place the Big Easy, right? You’re dressed for a big corporate meeting, and that’s basically the opposite ofeasy.”

“They do. I don’t always dress like this.”

“So, what do you normally wear?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes I ditch the tie.”

Skye laughed again as she touched his forearm. All these little behaviors underscored the fact that after a really shitty fucking day, he was going to end his night doing his favorite stress-relieving activity; that is, doingher.

“That’s a shame. I like the tie.” She pressed her index finger on his sternum and slid it down about a half an inch. “Is it silk?”

“Of course.”

She bit her bottom lip again and turned her eyes to his. “Nice.”

A look passed between them, and there was so much sexual electricity it seemed he could cut through the mandatory song-and-dance and take her back to his place right then. But that wasn’t how Brennan did things. He wasn’t a sleaze, and finesse was important. He didn’t believe in half-assing anything, especially not when it came to women. The thing that separated Brennan from every other guy who went into a bar with a single intention was his insistence upon doing things the right way. That meant ensuring the entire interaction was just as enjoyable and accommodating for her as it was for him.

He shifted on the stool so he could face her directly. “So, what’s with the suitcase?”

She glanced at it and then back at his face. “I just got here.”

“It seems cumbersome to drag it around the Quarter. Why didn’t you drop it off at your hotel?”

“Oh.” Skye held her hands up in front of her, offering an excited smile and posturing as if she were about to tell him a big secret. “So, what I heard from someone was if you don’t book ahead of time and just show up at a hotel when you get here, you can get a much cheaper room rate.”

Brennan cocked his head. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, you might have to try a couple of different places, but usually you can get a really good rate because they inevitably have rooms that are going to go un-booked.”

His brow pulled low. “That’s the opposite of what I would think would happen. It seems like waiting until the very last minute would cause you to pay more. Especially since it’s Mardi Gras week. This is when all the tourists come. You might not get a room at all.”

She lifted her shoulders and sipped her drink. “Maybe not. I guess I’ll find out, won’t I?”

No, you won’t.Brennan held back a smirk.You’re not going to be in any of these hotels tonight.

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