Page 24 of Where We Found Our Home
She clears her throat and looks away for a moment.I see you, Ciara.She gets fidgety every time someone mentions bringing her into their circle or getting to know her better. The girl’s got walls as tall as a castle. Lord knows I’ve got my own walls surrounding my heart, but something makes me want to tear hers down. Dreams be damned.
“So, what can I get you to drink?”
“Surprise me.”
“Hmm, a challenge. Okay, I see you. Liquor or beer?”
I think I’m going to need some liquid courage to get through tonight. “Let’s go with liquor.”
Ciara saunters off, and I can’t help but watch the gentle sway of her hips as she goes.
Isaiah is caught up in flirting with Nina. He’s always a flirt, but I’ve never seen him so enraptured in just one woman. A woman whose breasts are spilling out of her shirt and who is wearing shorts that barely cover her ass purposely brushes up against him, but he doesn’t spare her a single glance. Interesting.
My thoughts jump back to the sexy siren, Ciara, when she returns with my drink. “Cheers,” she says.
I smile as I raise the glass to my lips. “A whiskey, neat. How’d you guess?”
Her eyes travel slowly down my body, and I’m five seconds from hopping over the bar and taking her mouth when she answers. “Well, you decided you wanted to be a firefighter when you were five years old and never gave up on that dream until you became the Fire Lieutenant sitting in front of me. That’s a man who knows what he wants and doesn’t need to put on airs about it. You don’t crave attention, but you can capture the focus of a room easily. You’re comfortable with yourself, and you’re a simple man who enjoys simple pleasures. Enough said.”
Okay, looks like I’m not the only one doing the seeing here.
“Damn, girl. Color me impressed.” She takes a bow and saunters away again. She grabs her water from behind the counter and raises it to me in a silent cheers.
Cheers.I lift my glass in solidarity and maintain eye contact with her as I take a long swig.
Ciara
This man is killing me, and I’m in desperate need of a new pair of panties at this point. He’s been sitting at the bar all night, staring at me. I can feel his eyes on me no matter where I am, and instead of feeling uncomfortable, I’m feeling an overwhelming sense of…want. I can’t take much more of this tonight. There’s no denying the desire in his eyes, and I’m sure that same desire is reflected in mine every time I look his way. He is downright mouth-watering in his Air Max’s, black jeans that look like they were tailored to his muscular thighs, white T-shirt, and denim jacket. I want to lick him from head to toe.
He walked in here with his brother, Isaiah, who reminds me a little of Bryson Tiller. Isaiah’s been laying the charm on Nina all night which doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is the full toothy laugh she gives him. Oh, he’s good. It’s actually ridiculous how good-looking the Cole family is, but my eyes are planted on the anomaly that is Lincoln Cole. Holy shit, Simone may not have been wrong about needing my lady bits serviced because they’re starting to do all the thinking for me at this point.
He gives me the rundown of how much I’ll like the rest of his family when I meet them. Though I have no doubts about that, the thought makes me nervous. I can’t seem to distance myself from the people in this city, and what’s worse is I don’t think I want to. Knowing the danger I could be putting them in by doing so, what does that say about me?
After I serve him his whiskey, I take the opportunity to run to the other side of the bar for some much needed space. I make the mistake of looking over at him again, and he winks at me. He fucking winks! I’m concerned that I’ve soaked through my panties to my jeans now. I just need a second to breathe away from his lustful eyes. I tell Nina I’ll be back, and she nods before calling Julie over from the tables.
I step inside the back room to fan myself and take a deep breath.
A minute later, Nina steps into the room with me and closes the door behind her, taking in my flushed appearance.
“You okay?” she asks.
“Yep. Just needed a moment.”
She gives me a knowing smile. “That Lincoln is hot as hell. Honestly, I thought I was gonna spontaneously combust from the vibes he was throwing your way.”
You and me both.
I fan myself again, and Nina takes pity on me and changes the subject. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay closing with Lindsay tomorrow? It’ll be your first time shadowing a closing shift, but if you’re not comfortable yet I can have Julie switch with you.”
I’m grateful in this moment for Nina knowing I need a distraction to bring my body temperature back to normal and grateful to Julie and Lindsay for covering the bar while Nina babies my ass back here. I’ve never had a man make me feel so off-kilter before.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Where are your parents off to again?” Nina is taking the night off tomorrow to babysit her younger brother and sister while her parents go on vacation.
“Honestly, I don’t remember,” she sighs. “I can’t keep up with their many adventures or trips, which sucks for my brother and sister, but that’s what happens when your parents wait sixteen years between their first two kids and then eight years between the last two.”
I let out a whistle. “No offense, but what were your parents thinking?”
“I don’t think they were. I think they were panicking that my teen years were flying by and they didn’t want to be empty-nesters so they had my brother. I’m pretty sure my sister was an oops baby, but she was the best oops. I don’t know what I’d do without Logan and Jada. I just wish they didn’t have to get the short end of the stick because my parents are in retirement age and want to embrace that.”
