No Boundaries

2

Julie

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, waiting at the side of the bar for the last drink order.

“Three beers for you, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Hal.”

I placed each beer on the tray and lifted it carefully from the surface. All I had to do was drop these drinks off at the table and I could walk away.

I didn’t have to look at Mister-six-foot-five-sex-on-a-stick. I certainly didn’t have to flirt with him. And like hell if I had to let him keep touching me, no matter how much I liked it. I straightened my shoulders.

As soon as those football players walked in tonight, the other waitresses started fighting over who got to serve them. But the bar was divided into sections, and they sat in mine. Mine. As if I had some kind of ownership over Kane Hawkins.

I took a big breath and walked steadily to the table.

“Here you go.” I served each beer.

I jumped when I felt a hand palm my ass. My instinct was to slap it away, but I froze, absorbing the way he touched me. What in the hell was I doing?

“I’ll check on you gentlemen in a few minutes.” I tried to exit the table, but his fingers dug in a little harder. A little deeper and I almost let out a groan. Holy shit.

I wanted to say or do something, but didn’t know how or what just yet. My brain said one thing, and my body said something totally different.

I needed space. Air. A place to breathe. I knew that much. I bolted from the table and found a quiet place in the back hallway on the other side of the storage room. There was a screen door that led to the employee parking lot. I leaned against the wall and tried to steady my breathing.

My first night. The very first night here and I was acting like a drunk college girl being hit on by the school’s quarterback. I had to get my shit together.

I tensed when I heard the sound of boots cross past the employees only boundary. His shadow made it around the corner before I saw him. The only light came from the storage room. His face was dark. His body towered over mine.

“Hey.”

He pressed his hand into the wood over my shoulder, closing the gap between us. I placed my hands against his chest like I was going to push him away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

“Hi,” I whispered.

I didn’t know what was happening. I could smell the beer on his breath and faint traces of cologne from his shirt.

“What are you doing back here?” he asked.

I hadn’t been able to look him in the eyes all night. Too much lust and hunger was buried there, but I took a chance. As soon as I did, I knew it was a mistake. He wanted to devour me. Now.

“I needed a break,” I whispered.

“Break from what?” he teased. His body leaned into mine and I sighed. He was a solid mass of muscle and strength.

I knew exactly what I wanted to hear from him. Some kind of reassurance that he wasn’t the man I had read about. That the fact that he had followed me back to the private hallway meant he didn’t think of me like he did the rest of the bimbos that worked here. I wanted something that I knew Kane Hawkins wasn’t capable of giving me. So why didn’t I get the hell out of this shadow?

“What is it exactly that you want from me?” I asked, my voice raspy with nervousness.

His lips brushed over mine without touching my skin. “I wanted to see if I was right.”

My heart pounded. Thank God there was blaring music and a bar full of people celebrating the Sharks’ win or he would hear what he was doing to me.

“Right about what?”

“How wet you are.”