“I think I just found what I’m looking for,” she said with the slightest breath in her voice. “I’m here for one night.”
“Ah, fate is kind,” he said. “Because so am I.”
Her smile was so dazzling it about knocked him off his stool. “And what is it you’re looking for?”
“You.” The word came out so quickly he didn’t think to pull it back.
“Well then, it’s only fair you tell me something you are as well.”
He thought for a moment, then the truth hit him like a punch to the gut. “I’m not much at the moment either.”
She nodded, her expression softened by those long thick lashes. She blinked twice before looking down at her drink. “Funny how the ‘not much’ is the toughest to deal with sometimes.”
Huck knew that all too well. Because it was when things were quiet and still that he felt the most empty—a feeling he’d been using a warm woman in his bed to combat, but even that was wearing thin. Because he always left in the end. And would be right back to where he started: alone.
Which was where he needed to be if he wanted to avoid having his heart broken again. No way was he getting involved with a woman longer than a single night. Nope. Been there, done that, had the scars to prove it.
Hot sex was hot sex, but meaningless sex didn’t quite do it for him anymore. Which helped him avoid getting caught in the ticking time bomb that was a “relationship,” too. There was no chance of getting suckered into falling for a woman if he wasn’t interested in anything long-term.
This woman was different though. He couldn’t quite figure her out. There was a vulnerability encased by so much strength that he thought he’d imagined the brief look of sadness behind her eyes.
One thing he could tell was that she was 100 percent on her own terms. If she wanted one night with him, he wouldn’t have to worry whether it would turn into anything more. She knew what she wanted.
And she was fucking gorgeous.
“You’re the one staring now,” she said.
And damn it, he was. But he played it off with the well-honed charm he’d perfected over the years.
/> “You have my thoughts going now.”
“Wondering if I have tattoos?”
He shook his head. “I was wondering what you taste like.”
Those gray eyes locked on his. She didn’t simper like most women. Usually he’d pump the breaks and ease his way into flirting. Not with her though. She was coming on just as strong as he felt. He was usually the smooth talking one, trained in the art of melting panties. But this woman? She was sexy, confident, and…honest.
It was refreshing. No bullshit. No coy games.
He usually took charge in the bedroom, but the way she was looking at him made him man enough to admit that he’d love to be under her spell for a bit. What would the wicked-mouthed beauty do to him if he let her?
“One way to find out,” she said.
His thoughts exactly.
It’d been a while, a lot longer than he’d care to admit, since he slept with a woman. Which was bad considering his love of women. The anniversary of the day his fiancé had walked out on him was last week. But he hadn’t felt right in a while.
All the more reason to forget about the cocktail and take a drink of the woman in front of him. It wasn’t every day a woman set his blood on fire. Better to drown his pain in passion than alcohol.
He stood and placed money on the bar counter. She eyed his movements and rose to face him. He’d been right about her being a ten on the hotness scale. She was also pushing five-ten in height, which only made her all the closer to his ideal woman.
He didn’t want to be lame and ask if she was a model, but holy Lord, the woman was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Not an ounce of makeup or hairspray, and her raw beauty, combined with the depth in her eyes, made him want to reach out for her right there.
Can’t imagine the tip I’d have to leave if we messed up the bartender’s counter.
He chuckled. No, they’d go upstairs and do this right.
“One night, huh?”