Page 11 of Wretched Soul
When my chest is only an inch away from Lily’s back, she looks up and her slate grey eyes widen. Fuck, she’s beautiful. She steals the air from my lungs as she inhales deeply, and I don’t take my eyes from her as I lean close enough for her auburn curls to tickle my cheek.
“Did you tell these men they could touch you, Lily?” I whisper in her ear.
Her wide eyes dart left then right. “What men?”
Her friends have vanished.
I place my hands on either side of the bar, caging her in. The barman has stopped polishing his glass and meets my eye. I nod once, and he turns away to deal with his other customers. He knows who I am. Everyone who works here knows who I am, and they treat me with the respect a trusted friend of their boss deserves.
“As much as I like that answer,” I tell Lily. “I think we need to have another talk about your personal safety.”
She bites her lips. “Why? Am I in danger?”
No, but I might be. I widen my stance so she doesn’t realize the effect she’s having on me. I point at the three drinks that have been left on the bar, taking my focus away from my thickening cock.
“Today’s lesson is that we don’t accept drinks from creeps in a nightclub,” I begin, anger and frustration hardening my words. If something were to happen to her, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.
Lily ignores my growing agitation. “It’s an occupational hazard.”
“Only if your occupation is to get fucking drugged.”
“I saw the drink being poured in front of me,” she points out.
“You didn’t see who made the cocktail you were handed when you came in,” I remind her.
Her head turns slightly so she’s looking at my profile and not my reflection. “You watched me come in?” When I don’t answer, she tries another approach. “Those drinks were handed over by a server. I saw her ID.”
“And she was a woman, so of course you trusted her,” I add for clarification. “Psychos can have accomplices. I could have given her a uniform and sent her over to you. Do you see anyone else being handed free cocktails?”
She pulls her head back for a better look at my expression. Naturally, I give nothing away. “They were from you?”
“A slow-acting drug could be coursing through your veins as we speak,” I say. “I could be keeping my arms at either side of you just waiting for you to fall into me. I could be that fucked up.”
She swallows a lump in her throat. “Are you?”
I hesitate, unsure how truthful I should be. I opt for evasion. “I would never harm you, Lily. If I’m scaring you, I’m sorry. I just want you to be more careful in future.”
Lily relaxes enough to turn to face my reflection again. “So, you’re saying I’m not supposed to letanyonebuy me a drinkeveragain?” Her hips wriggle as she talks, and I swear her ass is trying to connect with my hard-on.
“You had two guys surrounding you,” I remind her. “While one was talking to you, the other had plenty of opportunity to slip something into your drink. Have you ever seen a girl who’s been roofied?”
“I’m not stupid. I know what to look out for,” Lily says, continuing to argue. “And I hope you realize you’re victim blaming. Go deal with the assholes who spike our drinks. Don’t put all the responsibility on us!”
“Oh, believe me,” I say in a low, menacing voice, “if anyone else touches you, I’ll be dealing with them.” That shuts her up. And it leaves me almost speechless too. I’m already claiming her. My nose brushes against her ear. “I should make you mine.”
Her breath catches on an inhale. “I don’t even know your name.”
“No, you don’t,” I agree as I lift my gaze to the barman.
He isn’t looking at me, but he’s had me in his periphery so he comes over immediately. “What can I get you, Sir?”
I tip my head to the abandoned drinks. “Take those away and get me two fresh ones.”
As the barman sets to work, I brush my lips over Lily’s curls. I breathe her in deeply and taste the citrus notes of her shampoo.
“Is this a test?” Lily asks, eyeing the drinks the barman sets down in front of us.
“Might be,” I say. “Pick up the glass, Lily.”
