“Because I saved your ass in that alley,” my hero jumped in. He leaned in closer. “Who were those guys, by the way? Did you know them?”
He studied my expression, waiting on my answer. Waiting to see if I lied or not. That part was interesting.
“No,” I said, telling the truth. “No idea.”
He kept staring at me like he was trying to crack a safe. Or learn something. Maybe figure something out.
“So what were you doing out there?”
I drained the rest of my beer. “Running?”
“Really fucking fast too,” he added. He seemed impressed.
I shrugged, and he raised one hand and called for another round. As the bartender began pouring, I glanced over his shoulder. The brunette with glasses had finally come out of the bathroom. She looked for him, but only for a moment, then wandered back into a small circle of people.
“What about your girl back there?” I asked. “Isn’t she gonna be pissed that you’re over here talking to me?”
“Who, Claire?” He didn’t even look back. “She’s a friend, that’s all.”
“A friend, that’s all?” I repeated.
“Yup.”
It occurred to me he hadn’t looked away. His eyes were on mine still, his pale blue irises diving into my brown. As stupid as it sounded, I felt my heart beating faster. I was feeling a lot warmer, too.
“Sorry about your jacket,” I said, so I could shift my gaze legitimately onto his body. His shoulders really were amazing.
“Not a big deal.”
“And you’re right,” I finally admitted. “You did save my ass. I do owe you one.”
I allowed myself a smile and he smiled back, causing my stomach to do a somersault. That was it for me. The cherry on the top of the sundae. He didn’t just smile with his face, but with his whole spirit, all at once.
“It’s too nice an ass not to save,” he quipped, actually glancing down at my ass.
He looked back at me and the music stopped. The chatter, the clinking of glasses — everything around us was just gone. It was like time itself ground to a screeching halt, taking the whole bar with it.
“I’m Serena,” I said, extending one hand.
He ignored my hand. Still smiling, he responded by tilting my chin gently upward and pressing his lips against mine. I didn’t hesitate for an instant to kiss him back. Sparks flew, my face going flush as it felt like all the blood in my body rushed into my cheeks, all at once.
Holy shit.
My mind spun away wildly, taking every last thought along with it. All that existed was his hand against my face, soft yet firm, his tongue sexy and confident as it swept past my lips and swirled against my own. His mouth was sweet. Everything between us full of electricity, and passion, and promise.
“I’m Damien,” he said finally, as we broke apart.
3
SERENA
We sat nested together for a minute or two longer, making small talk. Pretending we didn’t just have the best first kiss of all time. Damien’s leg was between my knees now and I was rubbing it against mine. Squeezing it intentionally on occasion, trapping it between my thighs.
For the first time in ages I was actually nervous. Like someone had opened me up and poured a whole flock of butterflies directly into my stomach. All of this was new to me, and totally out of character.
I found that I didn’t care.
“You got a place, Damien?”