Page 9 of Tastes Like Misery

Our eyes locked, and he didn’t move, the corner of his mouth ticking up into that devilish smile that had my panties soaked the night before. My body betrayed me with the need to have him give me all the same pleasures again. Pushing it away, I pulled the hammer back, the sound of the click making the blood in my veins hot with the need to fire it. Guns were my passion, something I rarely had the money to use anymore. Bullets were expensive when I couldn’t even pay my rent.

Still, I knew I was an excellent shot, my time in my youth firing at the bottles lined up on a fence, something I’d done for so long it was ingrained in my muscle memory. The fucker still looked amused, not an ounce of fear in him and I hated him for it.

“Maybe I was right about you,” he grinned wickedly.

“And what’s that?” I asked, not moving an inch, refusing to give him any leeway.

“You’re more than just a petty thief. You have big balls for such a little lady.” Glancing at his friend behind him, he said, “See, I told you I was late for a good reason. This hot little thing would be perfect. Especially with how she escaped the danger she was never in.”

Confused, I dared to glance at the man, still keeping Dane in my sights. The tall man was just as wide as Dane, his defined arm muscles practically ripping his polo shirt. The blond of his hair peeked out from under his cowboy hat. His jeans were immaculate, the buckle on his pants gleaming even in the dimmer light of the bar. Looking as if he was a model for western wear, something in the way he fidgeted despite dressing so suave reminded me of a snake oil salesman, but a much hotter one.

“And who the fuck are you?”

He stepped forward, as if I weren’t holding a gun pointed at his friend’s head, and held his hand out, “Oliver Thornton. It’s nice to meet the woman this fucker hasn’t shut up about since he showed up. Now I see he had a good reason to be late.”

I refused to move and his hand dropped to his side, giving me a sheepish smile I knew was a ruse. A dimple appeared on his cheek and I almost fell for his charm, my gun lowering just a smidge. The roughness of his voice sent all the best sensations straight to my core. Damn, these men were making it hard to keep up my anger. I focused on his tongue, sliding over his bottom lip as I tried to keep my hands steady. He spoke again, “I see you two had a bit of a miscommunication. How about if you put the gun down and we have a drink, talk it out? I’ll make sure he compensates you for whatever wrongs he’s done.”

“I don’t want money,” I responded with less conviction than I tried to convey.

Finn, the man whose name I now knew, butted into the conversation. “You did mention you want to get out of this town,” he said quietly, for my ears only.

“Not helping,” I sing-songed, my way out of this situation, getting more and more appealing. It wasn’t like I wanted to kill a man in cold blood. Well, I did, but it would be such a waste of a man who could bring me to ecstasy like no one ever had before. My resolve waned quickly.

Dane, despite my current vitriol for him, somehow was the one to get me to put the gun down. “Sweetheart, you know we played each other last night. You tried to take everything of value from me. Me taking that sweet cunt for myself. Mmm, I’ve never had a woman make me hesitate to leave. If this fucker,” he pointed behind him to Oliver, “didn’t get on my ass about being late, I would have stayed and ravished you more.”

My pussy clenched, thinking about how damn good he felt all night long. Yeah, I wanted more of him. Despite almost ending up screwing his friend on the bar just a few minutes prior, I doubted Finn would have filled me like Dane did.

“I don’t care what your excuse is. You have no idea the shit I went through to get out of there. You owe me a new pair of stilettos at the very least. I had to break my favorite pair to escape,” I pouted as I put the gun away, still keeping it within reach. “But fine, you can talk. Maybe I’ll listen.”

I grabbed a bottle of Jack, the only thing we had worthwhile, and fixed him a glass on the rocks just as he drank at the hotel. “Oliver, what’s your poison?”

“I don’t suppose I could get a martini,” he grinned.

“You could, but I don’t trust the olives. They might be from the seventies,” I answered wryly.

“Jack and coke then. Thank you, Vivian,” he said politely, throwing a fifty on the bar. There was something behind his eyes that just didn’t sit right with me. Proper on the outside, the smile not reaching his eyes as he raked them over my body. I tried not to shiver as he reminded me of a serial killer on one of those shows. Damn, though, if it didn’t make me want him just a little.

After serving them all, I faced Dane, my hands on the bar, “Spill. Why did you pull that shit on me?”

He took a sip of his drink and studied me before leaning forward as if he had a dirty secret to share. “Reginald is an old friend of mine. He would never have had you arrested. I wanted to see how you would get yourself out of it to find out if you were right for the big plans I have.”

My curiosity needed to be satiated, but I couldn’t let him know just yet. I would hold my cards close until I got all the answers I needed. “And how did you plan to find me if I passed?” I called him on his bullshit.

“Reginald would have gotten it for me. I assume you frequent only the best hotels in the city. He has many contacts who would keep him informed of your whereabouts. I knew it would be easy to find you, baby girl. Or easy to forget you if you didn’t pass the test.”

“You are an arrogant asshole,” I purred, leaning closer to him. “If you hadn’t put me in that situation, you would have been easy to forget as well. Just another fuck, darling.”

He didn’t seem phased by my insult, instead changing the subject, “You look much better without that awful blonde wig.” He reached up and grabbed a lock of my hair, twisting it around his finger, “My dick is hard just thinking of ravishing you. The real you.”

“Keep dreaming, Dane. I’m not the forgiving kind of woman.”

“I’ll take hate sex. I know that sweet cunt of yours is so fucking wet right now. I can see it in your eyes and smell your arousal,” his smooth voice hitting me in all the right spots.

“Sorry, but I think that’s arousal from your friend’s touch you’re sensing. If you hadn’t interrupted, his cock would be buried inside my wet pussy,” I challenged him. “You were just a one nighter, remember?” I quirked a brow, challenging him to say differently.

He sat back, defeated, but still sitting with that smug look on his face. “You’re right. I have plenty of other places to stick my dick. Far less complicated ones than you.”

“Ah, but you don’t want to, do you Dane? You couldn’t stop talking about me. You gave me some sort of test. Men who want a one-night stand don’t do that. You want more from me.”

---