The barman set a bottle of Bud in front of him, the glass peppered with condensation.
He took a slug. The malty taste spread on his tongue and down his throat.
Movement to his right caught his attention—the entry to the ladies’ restroom swinging open.
And there she was. A goddamn vision in red, strutting in neck-breaking heels across the room. She owned the place. Without even knowing it, she outshone everyone else in there. Just the way she moved, the tilt of her chin, screamed sex goddess, shouted confidence, and he would’ve made a deal with the devil right there and then to see her walking naked to her table.
Except he wouldn’t want anyone else to see her pert little titties bouncing or her pale, tight ass wriggling. Carter wanted that for himself, and himself alone.
He wanted her. All of her.
The ache in his groin increased. A semi was rapidly approaching. Not great in leathers.
He watched her reflection slide into a booth opposite Willow. She smiled, reached for a large glass of white—something French was most likely her poison of choice—and took a sip. Afterward, she licked her freshly glossed lips.
Carter almost lost it. The mental image of her licking his cocktip with her small pink tongue was nearly his undoing … again.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, swiping his beer into his fist. “Fucking fuck it.” How had she gotten under his skin so damn quick?
He walked over to the booth, his attention set firmly on Leah. She was talking now, waving her right hand around as if stressing a point.
When he stopped at the table, she fell silent, dropped her hand, and stared up at him.
Was he mistaken or had a flash of pleasure combined with her look of surprise?
“Carter,” Willow said. “You’re still in town?”
“Yeah, had a few things to wrap up.” Without asking, he slid into the booth next to Leah and set his beer on the table.
Leah scooted a few inches away from him.
He resisted the urge to clench his teeth and kept a smile on his face. He’d have her begging to get up close and personal with him by the time he was finished with her.
“Really?” Willow said.
“Yeah, really.” He set his elbows on the table, knowing he was filling the small space yet not really caring. “Nothing illegal, you’ll be pleased to know.”
“I hadn’t presumed that at all,” Willow said.
“I had.” Leah raised her eyebrows at him.
“Ms. White, your opinion of my character pains me, here.” He laughed and pressed his hand to the center of his chest.
“If you had a heart, perhaps I’d believe you.” She took a sip of wine and did that thing with her tongue again afterward.
Carter shifted on the bench, a pathetic attempt at making his cock more comfortable. “Why do you think I’m heartless?”
She didn’t answer. But she didn’t tell him to piss off either, so he took that as a good sign.
“I love deeply,” he said, maintaining eye contact with her. “I love passionately, and is it so wrong that I’d hunt down and kill anyone who hurt someone I cared about?”
She stared at him, as though trying to see into his soul.
He didn’t blink, she could look as deeply as she wanted to.
“Your chapter has left Pierce?” she said.
“Yeah.”