Page 7 of Silver Fox
She purses her lips, pulling them to the side with a knowing glance. “Enough to know how friendly he and my sister have become, in other words.” She jumps up on the sleek leather seat next to me, flagging Charlie down and folding her hands on the marble bar. “Can I get another Bellini, please?”
“Put it on my tab,” I tell Charlie.
“You don’t have to do that.”
I hold my hands up. “It doesn’t come with any strings.”
There’s a tantalizing quirk in her eyebrow as she stares me down, draping her long brown hair across her shoulder. “It better not.” A smile breaks out across her face a moment later, and I don’t know which expression I love more. Her stern stare gave me strict teacher vibes, but that smile has me readjusting my sitting position. “Are you waiting for someone?” she asks. “I don’t want to get caught by some woman thinking I’m trying to steal her man.”
Ha. I wish. Dating as a man in my position comes with its own set of hazards. Like when I’m trying to build an actual fucking connection with someone, hoping to eventually settle down and build a life together—and she’s just looking at me as a meal ticket.
The third time it happened, I called it quits. I’d rather be alone than with someone who only wants me for my money.
But even I have to admit it’s getting lonely. I’ve thrown myself into my work, into building the company up even more, but it’s getting old fast. A company doesn’t keep a man warm at night, and shares offer little in the way of companionship.
The Valentine’s Day celebrations are in full swing around us, but I shake my head, nursing my glass of whiskey. “Aren’t I a little too old for you?”
She takes a sip, her eyes locked onto mine. “Somehow I think you could keep up with me. Don’t you?”
I let the question linger, the air thick with tension. “Somehow I think you might be right,” I said softly. “What brings you here tonight, pretty girl?”
“Aside from the cheating boyfriend?” There’s humor in her tone, but her eyes tell a different story.
“Any man who could look at you and want to stray is a fucking idiot. Don’t waste another thought on him.”
Her jaw almost drops, and I wonder if her shithead of a boyfriend was even shitter than he appeared.
“Has no one ever told you that?”
She opens her mouth, but closes it after a moment’s deliberation.
Fuck, maybe no onehasever told her that.
I lean in, my nostrils flaring at her heavenly scent. “You see that guy over by the pool table? Blue NFL jersey? And the guy over near the entrance, blond hair, white t-shirt?” I give her a moment to get them in her sights. “Neither of them have taken their eyes off you since you walked in here.”
She turns back to me, suspicious. “How do you know when I walked in here?”
There’s electricity crackling in the air as we share an intense glance, practically close enough to kiss. “Because I haven’t taken my eyes off you either.”
Her lips bite into her pillowy bottom lip, failing to hold back her small whimper. “I didn’t see you.”
“I was sat over in the corner. Wasn’t much feeling like joining in the Valentine’s celebrations after finishing work.” Especially after a long day of trying to deal with auditors on the hunt for a rat.
“No,” she smirks. “You were just in the mood for sitting in a darkened corner, watching a woman who didn’t know you were there.”
“You know I’m here now,” I challenge her.
She lowers her eyelids, but makes no effort to hide her smile. “How could I possibly miss you?”
Leaning against the smooth marble bar, I move closer to her, slow and deliberate. “Tell me this, pretty girl. Because I’m desperate to know the answer. You walk in here looking like a million bucks and smelling like heaven.” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “Did you come to the bar tonight looking for a drink… or for revenge?”
It’s been months since I’ve been interested in a woman—and even longer than that since a woman has been interested in me for something other than my goddamn money.
And yet here was this woman, dressed in the sexiest outfit I’d ever seen, looking at me like she wanted to swallow me whole.
Oh just you wait.
“Revenge,” she breathes, the word barely audible above the bar’s low, sensual soundtrack.
