“Can I get these?” he asks me as the barman steps away to make them, and I turn to him, plastering a wide smile on my face.
“Really? Thank you...”
“Steve.” He holds out his hand to shake. “You’re welcome...”
“Lo.”
“Nice to meet you, Lo.”
“Likewise.”
He looks behind me and frowns as a hand comes around the side of my neck, fingers tracing as I swallow.
“You okay, Angel?” is murmured huskily into my ear, and dammit, that tiny move does more for me than anyone else in this bar. I can’t evenseehim, and yet his touch and his voice have taken my breath away.
“Yeah.” I turn and look up at him as if he’s my sun, which probably isn’t too far off. He looks down with the same reverence, and we lock eyes for a minute as my awareness of everyone else in the bar disappears. He leans in, and my eyes flutter half-shut as, for some insane reason, I think he’s going to kiss me. And god, I really want him to. Every molecule in my body is straining toward him, but his lips don’t meet mine. Instead, they softly land on the same spot he kissed me in our apartment.
“He’s gone,” he says in a louder voice, dropping the act. “Let me know if he bothers you again.”
Disappointment crashes down on me like a physical force, but I somehow manage not to buckle, and annoyance filters in through my lusty haze. Haven’t I just spent the last couple of hours watching every girl in here paw at him? Yet I needed saving from a guy buying me a drink? No thanks.
“Thanks,” I start innocuously, turning back to the bar and downing my drink. “But I didn’t need you to do that.”
“You liked him?” he asks, his brows rising in surprise.
“I liked him enough.” I shrug with a faux lightness I’m not feeling.
Sawyer’s eyes change into something I’ve never seen before, and I can’t figure it out after this many drinks without him spelling it out to me. He smiles tightly. “Okay. Have fun then, I guess.”
I rejoin Fleur and Lee in the gym crowd, but when I see Steve go back up to the bar a bit later, I slide in next to him. It’s stupid and childish, but now I have a point to prove, and more than an itch to scratch.
I lean close to make sure he hears me over the music. “I think it’s my turn to repay the favor.”
“Oh, no way,” he says. “Girls who look like you shouldn’t pay for drinks.”
“I have to make it up to you somehow,” I say coquettishly, laying a hand on his arm. I make myself sick sometimes—how easily I can act like this with guys I’m barely attracted to—but I know what guys like this one want, and it’s the same as what I want right now. Might as well get there as obviously and quickly as possible. I’m not ashamed for being sexual and loving sex, I just wish I had someone I truly connected with.
Steve licks his lips and looks me up and down with a leer that I think is supposed to be sexy. We chat for a bit and I flirt like a pro, confirming I am in fact single despite what it looked like before, and laughing like he’s the funniest thing in the world. My eyes ache from the strain of not rolling them. Eventually, I’ve had enough small talk. “I’m going to pop to the little girls’ room,” I say as I look up at him suggestively.
Of course, he’s outside when I get out. I didn’t doubt for a second that it would work. If only I could be this effective and confident with the right guys. But no, the goal of tonight is tonotthink about them, and to try to ease some of my horniness.
“Were you looking for me?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer, instead pushing me back against the hallway wall and kissing me. Not the best technique, but he’s forceful with his mouth against mine, taking what he wants. Hmm. Maybe we can work with this. I pull away and walk backward, pushing against the door I know leads to a supply cupboard. Don’t ask me how I know, or why it’s always unlocked. Steve follows me in and kisses me again. You’d hope his enthusiasm would make up for the lack of skill, but sadly not. There’s a lot of tongue. I sit up on the low cabinet, and he’s got himself out and hard within seconds, but I’m not mad at getting straight down to business. I’m not here for his company.
“Condom,” I say determinedly.
“I don’t carry them,” he says with a shrug and a boyish grin, but this isn’t my first rodeo.
“I do.” Fumbling in my bag for one, I slide it onto him and wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes in. Not a bad size; better than Colin, anyway. But Steve’s clearly all show and no tell, setting the most bizarre pace and rhythm. I lean back to try and improve the angle, but nothing. “Go rougher,” I command.
“What do you mean?”
“Like, faster. Harder.”
“Like this?” Considering nothing has changed, no.
“I need you to be rougher with me.” He gets a bit faster and kisses me, and I worry he might finish already and leave me hanging. I can’t deal with that tonight. Pulling back, I yell against his lips, “Steve, rougher!” He smashes his mouth back to mine before biting my bottom lip so hard it splits. I gasp at the sting of pain and push him away, licking at the tender spot and tasting copper. He freezes, seeming to realize that he may have gone the wrong route, and stares at me in horror. “I think we’re done,” I say as I push myself off the cabinet and stand.