The redhead—definitely not a natural red like Autumn—knew how to make good tips.
“Hey.” Her husky voice swept over him.
“Hey.” He took his time scanning the overflowing flesh to let her know he appreciated what she was generously sharing.
Her tongue swept over her bottom lip. “What are you in the mood for?”
Heh. “What’s worth havin’?”
Her lips curled up at both ends. “Depends. Are you hungry... or thirsty?”
He raked his gaze over her face, then continued down her chest. “Both.” She wasn’t bad. About a strong seven on a scale of one to ten.
Her blue eyes sparkled at his answer. She fingered the drink coaster, circling it with the pointed tip of her long, red-painted fingernail.
“Well,” she said softly, “got a good local IPA on tap. We also serve a mean anus burger.”
Deacon blinked. “What?”
The bartender smiled. “What? Are you asking what’s on the Angus burger besides cheese?”
That was not what he was asking, but he would go with that. “Sorry, didn’t catch your name.”
She shoved out her chest and her hand at the same time. “Oh, I’m Bambi.”
Bambi. He shook her extended hand. She scraped her nails along his fingers when she released it.
Deacon glanced around for a pole. Nope. No pole. No stage. He was still sitting in a local bar and grill. “Well, hey, Bambi, I’m Nick.” The name he always used when he was out hunting.
“Well, Nick,” she purred. “You can have whatever you want on that burger.”
“Can I now?” he purred back.
“Bambi!” came a bellow from the male bartender.
Bambi made a face and shrugged. “So, a beer and a burger?”
“Yeah, sure. I like my burger warm and pink in the center.”
“I’ll get that order in for you and be back in a sex with your beer... sec. Oops.” She put her fingertips over her mouth and giggled.
Deacon checked out her ass as she moved down the bar. Yep. Definitely a solid seven, maybe teetering on a seven and a half.
It looked like his thirsty, hungry and horny problem might all be solved in one shot.
His gaze raked over the patrons eating at the tables toward the back. No Warren, of course. No surprise.
Bambi was back in a flash, setting a pint glass filled to the brim in front of him. “I started a tab for you, Nick.” She tilted her head. “I don’t meet too many guys up here with a pierced nose. Besides your left nostril and right ear, what else do you have pierced?”
He lifted his beer to his lips, “That’s a secret I only share with a select few,” and took a long sip.
“I have a feeling it’s more than a select few,” Bambi answered. “But how does one get on that list?”
“It’s a rigorous process.” He hid his grin behind the beer.
Bambi rolled her eyes. “I doubt that. I’ll go check on your burger.”
As she went to move away, he reached over the bar and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. “Hey, before you do that, got somethin’ to show you.”
Her eyes lit up. “One of those secret piercings?”
“Not yet.” He slipped the picture of Warren out of his back pocket and placed it on the bar, tapping the photo with his finger. “Seen him in here recently? Or even around town?”
She picked the photo up to study it and pursed her dark red lips. “He doesn’t look familiar.”
“You sure?”
“He’s pretty cute. I’d remember him.”
Fuck yeah, she’d remember him. He left a lasting impression with women. And not a good one.
She lifted her gaze back to him and tilted her head. “Why are you looking for him?”
The lie—the one he used in most circumstances—slipped easily off his tongue. “He’s an old high school teammate of mine. Another buddy told me he was back in the area, but I can’t find him.”
She squinted at him. “Teammate?”
He puffed his chest out a little. “Yeah, football. Star quarterback of my alma mater.” The only time he’d ever touched a football was when him and Judge had tossed one around in the backyard as kids.
With her bottom lip caught between her teeth, she stared at him for a moment, her eyes raking over his chest and shoulders. She glanced at the picture again. “I can ask Danny. And some of the staff in the back.”
Deacon shot her a mega-watt smile. “That would be great. And really appreciated.”
“There are ways to show that appreciation,” she whispered, tucking the picture into the front pocket of the black apron wrapped around her waist. She gave him another smile and a wink as she turned. “I’ll bring your burger and make sure it has a warm, pink and juicy center just like you asked.”
Normally, with a woman dropping sexual innuendos like that, his dick would be starting to pay attention. Surprisingly, his wasn’t. Which meant, he needed to decide whether Bambi was worth pursuing or not for tonight.