Beauty in the Ashes

I looked up and my eyes connected with gray ones.

Lust filled my tummy and I found my body leaning across the table towards him without my permission.

I had moved here after a failed relationship and here I was finding myself attracted to pretty much every man I came into contact with.

Clearly, it had been way too long since I’d been laid.

You know, that should’ve been my first clue that my boyfriend—I refused to speak or even think his name—was cheating. It got to the point that he never wanted to have sex with me. At least I gave him a right good black eye when I found him in bed with my best friend. That thought left a satisfied smirk on my face.

“Hello? Do you have a name?”

I was jolted out of my thoughts and back into the present with the sound of the handsome man’s voice.

“Oh, uh, my name is Sutton,” I supplied, hoping he didn’t think I was weird for blanking out for a moment.

“My name’s Memphis,” he introduced himself and I finally let my eyes peruse over his features.

Messy bronze colored hair fell over his forehead in an effortlessly sexy way. His jaw was defined with a narrow nose and his lips…I was really wondering what they’d feel like on my body. There was a mischievous glint in his unique gray eyes as he checked me out too. He was tall and lean—not overly muscular, but enough that I was really curious to see what his chest looked like behind the sleek black button down shirt he was wearing.

Clearing his throat, Memphis smiled knowingly. He could tell I wanted to jump his bones, but he didn’t act cocky about it. There was a sweetness to him, and I knew that like Caelan I should stay far away from this guy, but for completely different reasons.

“I better get back to work,” he tossed his thumb over his shoulder towards the fancy bar, “anyone want drinks?”

Everyone around me rattled off their order.

“You?” He prompted, tilting his head to look at me.

“Surprise me.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “I can do that.”

“Well, new girl,” Frankie chuckled, as he leaned back in the booth and draped his arm behind Jen, “you really get around.”

“Excuse me?” I scoffed, my eyes threatening to bug out of my head.

He chuckled. “You and Gregory have some weird relationship that I can’t even begin to understand,” he eyed me, watching my facial expressions. “Do you know that the other day I saw him crack a smile at you when you had your back turned in the hallway? In the three years that he’s lived there he’s never smiled.”

He smiled at me?

Why did that fact fill my body with warmth?

“Then Cyrus here can’t stop picturing you beneath him.” Frankie pointed to where Cyrus sat beside me, watching me out of the corner of his eye. “Now you’ve got Memphis watching you.” The same finger he had used to point at Cyrus slid to point at the man behind the bar.

“It’s the shoes,” I said in a dead-pan tone.

Frankie snorted. “No, it’s not the shoes. You’ve got that whole exotic look going on. The black hair, olive skin, and those blue eyes…not to mention your body…you’re every guys dream.”

Jen scoffed, throwing off his arm. She slid out of the booth, her face red with anger as she stomped towards the bathrooms.

“Shit,” Frankie cursed under his breath, sliding out after her. “Baby!” He called. “I wasn’t included in that statement! I like blondes!”

Cyrus laughed hysterically, clutching his stomach. “Oh, that was entertaining. He’s going to have a lot of groveling to do to make up for that one, and Jen’s going to hate your guts now,” his gaze slid to my face.

Daphne rolled her eyes. “And I’ll have to listen to the make-up sex,” she gagged. “I really need to get my own place.”

Cyrus looked across the table at her with a smile playing on his lips. “Trust me, the whole hall can hear them when they start going at it.”

“Bleh.” Daphne made a face of disgust.