Page 12 of Cruelest Vow

“Absolutely,” I said half under my breath. The plan was spectacular except I had no interest in being hooked to anyone for any length of time. In addition, my father would likely have the man killed. That wasn’t something I could explain to the girls. I finished the first drink, quickly moving to the second. I needed to dull the pain more than I had in a long time.

When I noticed Marla’s eyes had turned into saucers, I darted a glance at Joy. She tilted her chin, her smile drifting into a moment of shock and awe.

“What in God’s name is it?” I turned and craned my neck to see through the crowd, sucking in my breath a few seconds later. In a sea of men who looked as if they’d just walked off a runway in Milan, the dude striding toward the bar seemed completely out of place. It wasn’t that biker bars didn’t exist in New York. There were plenty of them. But given the location of the posh, trendy tavern of treats and trickeries, it was usually filled with pompous men in expensive suits.

For a few seconds I was so taken aback I couldn’t breathe.

Blood rushed to my brain and the lights seemed to dim, except for the bright spotlight casting a strange, sensual aura around him.

Get a grip, sunshine. He’s just a man.

Seeing a man sidle up to a slab of marble costing more than my apartment wearing dark jeans, a black tee shirt, and a weathered leather jacket was rare. He consumed the area around him, customers on both sides moving out of his way. The place was crowded, the real estate of seats in high demand, but he had no issue placing his motorcycle helmet on the stool beside him. He slowly removed his sunglasses, although the sun had dipped below the horizon minutes before.

“Whew. That man looks pissed,” Joy breathed.

“He looks thirsty,” Marla whispered.

“Maybe he’s going to rob the place,” Joy added.

I snorted. “In the middle of three hundred people? I don’t think so.”

She shrugged. “People are brazen these days.”

“He looks like a movie star attempting to disguise his identity.” Marla fanned her face.

“You’re drooling,” I told her.

“He could be a serial killer,” Joy said as she sighed, her hand shaking as she pulled her drink to her lips.

“So what? Imagine the fun had by all beforehand.” Marla was positively hypnotized.

“He’s just a man stopping by for a drink,” I told them, although he was my one treat for the evening. Other than the copious number of drinks.

I studied him for a few seconds. If the hunk was here to meet anyone, it wasn’t obvious. There was no other way to describe him other than tall, dark, and menacing. I tried to drink him in as if a drug, if only for a few seconds. At least six foot five. Short-cropped raven hair, a powerful square jaw covered in an enticing three-or-four-day stubble. Even from thirty feet away, I could make out his barrel chest and wide shoulders, both leading to slender hips and long, muscular legs. I wasn’t usually this aroused by seeing any man, but he was every woman’s fantasy.

If she liked them brutal and dangerous.

He overpowered the stool, so much so I was prepared to hear a sharp crack of wood at any second.

I shivered inwardly, realizing I was holding my breath. Everything about him screamed of danger, the man devastatingly seductive. When I noticed ink in the intricate design of vines crawling on the side of his neck, my pussy clenched. I had a thing for bad boys with tats.

“Earth to space girl. Didn’t you say your father was fairly conservative?” Joy whispered as she leaned across the table.

Conservative wasn’t a word I’d use to describe a man who enjoyed using brass knuckles before breakfast, wiping off the blood then grabbing a piece of toast. “Why?”

“Then marry someone like that. He’s perfect. The ultimate bad boy.”

Joy always made me laugh. I could envision it now, although I had to admit, the thought was intriguing. I shifted my gaze away, still unable to relax. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Marla asked as she pushed my arm.

“No. That’s not going to happen. I’m not here to pick up a man. Just to drown my sorrows.” Now I sounded pathetic.

“What happened to the adventurous girl?” Joy lifted a single eyebrow.

“I’m still her. I was the one who went rock climbing last year. The two of you had drinks at the bar.”

“Pfft,” she huffed. “That’s not the kind of adventure I’m talking about. He could be the perfect fake husband.”

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