I ended up wearing jeans and a basic silk button-up top with a cami underneath. None of the clothing screamed luxury, which was important considering our destination. With my cash, card, and an ID in a mini wallet in my pocket and my phone in my hand, I caught an Uber back to Manhattan.
Tucked on a side street, an unassuming door led into my favorite spot. My brother had been the one to find it back when we were in high school. He’d learned, then taught me the art of pool. Though he was far better than me, I could hold my own.
I sidled up to the bar the owner stood behind.
“Where’s Piper?” I asked.
“Doesn’t work here anymore,” Kingsley said. The older man was black and beautiful, and I might have flirted with him if not for the shiny wedding ring on his finger.
“That’s too bad.”
“What are you having tonight? The usual?”
I decided to switch things up and said, “Not tonight. Rum and coke, please.”
He nodded and quickly poured it for me. I was just putting the cup to my lips when a man approached.
“Hey, gorgeous.”SixLizzyThere was no denying that Griffin was a tall drink of cold water on a hot summer day. That was also apparent to every woman in the bar. They had taken notice—maybe because he didn’t look like a biker or blue-collar worker in his slick clothes that spoke money.
“Hey, you,” I said.
As he bent his head in an obvious move to kiss me, I turned my cheek so his mouth landed squarely there. When he pulled back, he said, “You’re killing me, darling.”
I couldn’t help but love the Southern accent he injected into that last word.
I gave him my best cheeky smile. “You’ll live.”
The door opened, and the breeze it carried seemed to curl around my hand as if to grab my attention. The door was at my back, forcing me to glance over my shoulder to find the creator of every fantasy I’d had since the first time I’d seen him.
He walked in defying all fashion rules in ripped white jeans and a matching wife beater covered by a black leather jacket, looking like an avenging angel.
In my moment of distraction, Griffin leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Let’s get out of here.”
When I turned back, our lips were only a whisper apart.
I’d be hard pressed to choose which of the two men was better-looking. But the difference was the flutter in my belly I got around Striker that I hadn’t experienced with Griffin.
I swallowed and pulled back some. “Don’t be silly. You just got here. And that cute brunette over there can’t stop grinning at you.”
He glanced at the woman at the other end of the bar, farthest from the door.
Kingsley approached and said, “The usual?”
“Yes.” That one gruffly spoken word was confirmation it was the same man who had called me a princess the only other time I’d seen him.
When had he become a regular? I’d come here a lot… before making things official with Hans. That had to be when he’d started coming.
Coming… that sparked something in me. Though I loved sex, I didn’t have many partners. Outside of my last relationship that had lasted some months, I hadn’t had an actual cock in me for far too long. I felt my dry spell cracking from Striker’s mere presence.
“Let me take you to dinner.”
It took me a second to blink away my thoughts and focus on Griffin, who’d just spoken to me. All the playfulness was gone from his face. In its place was a seriousness I’d never seen before on him.
“I can make you happy,” he added.
Before I could be pulled in the vortex that was Griffin, I took his arm. “Let’s go play.”
My words apparently took him by surprise, and I tugged him toward a pool table a group of guys were vacating.
When I met Griffin’s questioning gaze, I said, “You can play, can’t you?”
Some of his teasing nature came back as he smiled. “What? Of course, we have pubs like this back home.”
“Really?” I joked with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes, with less American accents,” he said with a wink, his smirk back in full force.
“Rack them up,” I said, purposely not looking at the bar area or the man who had my full attention even though he wasn’t in my line of sight.
Why did Griff and I have to be so much alike? I’d accused him of only pursuing me because I was the one woman he had to chase. Was I any better? The man who’d plagued my every fantasy had made it clear he wasn’t interested in me and labeled me a princess. I’d been fascinated with him ever since.
“Lizzy?” I glanced up and Griffin appeared as though he’d been speaking to me. He waved toward the pool table before slipping behind me and placing his hands on my hips. “You need some help?”